AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Weird, right?”
She turned to find Logan standing behind her. He looked around to make sure Leo wasn’t in sight, then kissed her cheek. Her body responded to his nearness: the press of his thighs against hers, the smell of his aftershave, the tickle of his hair against her cheek.
She was immediately damp between her thighs, and she wondered if that would ever stop happening. If she would ever stop wanting him. If they’d be together long enough for her to find out.
“So weird,” she answered, knowing he was talking about Hawk. It was like being teenagers again — thinking the same things, finishing each other’s sentences, wanting each other all the time.
Speaking of weird.
“Good though,” Gabriella added. “He looks happy.”
“He is,” Logan said, coming to stand next to her. “Not what I would have expected, but he deserves it.”
“Agreed.” She looked around the room. “Where is Leo?”
“Outside with Willow and somebody’s twins, learning to throw the frisbee,” Logan said. “Jag is out there too.”
She nodded, although she wasn’t worried. The house was teeming with enormous, muscled men who worked for Imperium, plus their husbands and wives and the smattering of children that had Leo over the moon. He hadn’t been around many children since they’d come to California. She worried that he was lonely even though he had Bea, not to mention Logan, Hawk, Jag, and all the other people who worked for Imperium that doted on him.
He looked down at her. “You okay? Having fun?”
“I’m good.” It had been a nice day, filled with laughter, presents for Laurel, and tons of good food.
He studied her like he didn’t believe it.
She laughed and squeezed his arm. “I’m good. Seriously. It’s just… different.”
“From?”
“From Chicago.” She hadn’t realized how quiet her life was there, how contained. She’d spent the past few years moving between her house and her office, with a handful of regular stops — the grocery store, Leo’s school, Nathan’s house — in between.
There was no family for big gatherings, and while Gabriella’s office was friendly and familial while they were working, they all worked too much to be eager for more time together after hours.
“It’s a lot,” Logan said, a little sheepish.
She smiled. “It’s nice. You and Hawk… you built this.” She looked up at him. “Think about that.”
He nodded. “I do sometimes.”
“But?” She heard the qualifier in his voice.
“But… it hasn’t seemed complete. Until now.” He looked down at her, his eyes shining with emotion she was afraid to name. “Until you.”
She swallowed. Serious talk about their relationship made her nervous. It hadn’t been as bad in Chicago. She’d been able to fool herself into thinking Logan would come to her if they stayed together. He’d been so integrated in her life there, getting Leo ready for school and making him food and reading him stories and playing with him outside. It had been easy to imagine.
But she hadn’t known about all this, hadn’t realized what he would be leaving behind, if he even wanted to leave it behind. She couldn’t deny that he had as much of a life here as she had in Chicago — more probably — and where her life had seemed the dominant one while they were in it, now she felt herself circling the drain of his, felt the temptation to let go, to let it take her.
Except that meant erasing everything she’d worked so hard to achieve. It meant returning to a part of herself she’d buried under years of law school and professional achievement and two thousand miles of distance.
Logan touched her hand. “Don’t get scared on me, Ella,” he said softly. “I’m just happy you’re here.”
She squeezed his hand. “Me too.”
Leo burst through the open patio doors where most of the guests had migrated after the cake, and Logan dropped her hand. They were still being careful around Leo, even though Gabriella spent every night in Logan’s bed, sneaking back into the guest room before Leo woke up.
“Logan!” Leo tugged at Logan’s hand. “Come watch me throw the frisbee!”
“You got it, buddy.” Logan let himself be dragged outside.
