Page 77 of Hearts Storm

Surprise me.

LIZZY

Tossing my phone onto the coffee table, I sink deeper into the couch and press play on The Babysitter. Twenty minutes of mindless entertainment before the hurricane that is my girl group gets here.

But I can’t focus. My mind keeps drifting to how Brex’s eyes darkened right before he kissed me, his thumb pressing into my bottom lip, and the authority in his voice when he told me what time he’d be picking me up.

And Logan. Always lurking in the back of my mind. The way he woke me up and held me after my nightmare, the gentleness in his touch when he wiped away my tears. For a moment, his walls were down, and I saw him. The same man from our sexalicious filled weekend at Hotel Indigo in Portland. Wild, hot as fuck and so much fun.

My phone buzzes again.

BREX

How’s your head?

Still attached.

BREX

Brat. Take it easy, Pretty. TTYS.

I smile down at my phone, warmth spreading through my chest.

The sound of tires on gravel outside makes me look up. Lizzy’s Jeep is pulling up, Sasha and Noia in tow.

Perfect timing. Hopefully, the girls will be enough of a distraction to keep me from obsessing over two men I can’t seem to stop thinking about, no matter how hard I try.

Lizzy, Sasha, and Noia hustle into my house, arms loaded with takeout bags and bottles of wine.

“Calvary’s here!” Lizzy announces, kicking the door shut behind her.

“Hope you’re hungry,” Sasha adds, setting bags filled with Chinese food containers down on the coffee table. “We got enough to feed a small army.”

Noia holds up two bottles of red wine. “And, of course, we brought the good stuff.”

I laugh, tucking my legs under me to make room on the couch. “You didn’t have to go all out.”

“Seriously,” Lizzy scoffs, dropping down beside me. “After the shit day you’ve had? You deserve it.”

“Besides,” Noia says, uncorking one of the bottles. “We need an update on the two hotties who want to boink you sitch.”

I groan, sinking deeper into my blanket.

Grabbing some plates and silverware from the kitchen, Sasha sets them down on the table and pops a squat on the floor.

“Logan called,” Lizzy says. “Told me he had Brex bring you home and that you could probably use some girl time. I think he felt a little bad about kicking us out before.”

“He did?”

“Of course, he did. I told you… he’s got it bad. Just can’t admit it to himself or anyone else.”

“Did Brex just drop you off or…?” Sasha trails off, digging into one of the takeout bags.

“He asked me to be his date to the Firefighter’s Charity Gala this weekend,” I blurt. “Then he kissed me and left.”

The room erupts in a chorus of excited chatter.

“Shut up!” Lizzy grabs my arm, shaking it excitedly. “That’s huge!”