She sighed and it was then that I noticed how tired she looked. She’d been having a shit time too. “Okay, I guess. Hopefully the divorce will be sorted soon and the house will sell. Then I can move on.”
Cassie and her bastard husband, Rick, had recently separated so she was living back with her parents. Arsehole-Rick’s new slut girlfriend keeps contacting her to whine about how long the divorce papers were taking, like it was Cassie’s fault.
“I just want it over now. It’s hard moving back in with your parents, you know? Especially living with Logan again!”
“Yeah, he can be a pain.”
“It’s good to see you so much again, though.”
I frowned. So much? “Do I stay here too much?”
Cassie laughed and shook her head. “No. Not enough, actually. We love having you here. You’re part of the family, you know that.”
I let out a sigh of relief. I did still hang at theirs a lot but I didn’t want to if they thought it was too much. Part of me felt like, because I was moving on I shouldn’t be here, but they were family to me, and I didn’t ever want to give that up. Cassie said I was part of the family, and I felt like it, too, but technically, I wasn’t anymore. I just hoped that when I eventually found someone else they wouldn’t think any differently of me.
“Thanks, Cassie.”
“What’s new with you anyway?”
“Hmm, not a lot. Some guy at work asked me out, but I’m not going.” He was nice and very good-looking but it didn’t feel right, I think.
“Why not?” I shrugged. “Chloe, it’s been ages and you said yourself you want to move forward. You can date whenever you like, there’s no set time you have to wait before you can be happy again.”
I squirmed on the seat. “Yeah, I know. I do feel ready to date again but…”
“But,” she prompted.
“I’m not sure.”
“Well, there’s no rush but why not just go for a drink? Something casual. You don’t have to marry the guy.” I smiled, chewing on my lip. Maybe she was right. It was only a date; I wasn’t committing myself to anything.
“Doesn’t have to marry who?” Logan questioned, suddenly appearing back in the kitchen. He rubbed a hand towel over his short, dark blonde hair.
“Chloe’s got a date.”
My heart stopped as I waited for Logan’s reaction. I had spoken to Cassie and Julia in depth about new guys, but not Logan. I could talk to Logan about absolutely everything else but he was close to Jace – they were more like twins – so it felt weird.
He frowned and turned his intense gaze to me. “With who?” It was a simple question but it felt like the Spanish inquisition.
“Um, Rhys from work.”
I felt like a child waiting for its parents’ permission to do something. What if Logan hated me for it? Would he see it as me betraying his brother? But he wouldn’t expect me to be alone forever, surely? He smiled tightly.
“Have a good time.” That’s it? “You ordered yet?” he asked Cassie, turning away from me.
“About to. Will probably be about half an hour.”
Logan nodded and grabbed a beer from the fridge, while I sat frozen, trying to figure out what his response really meant. Why did it bother me so much anyway? Well, because he brought me back to life after Jace died, that was why. Logan meant so much to me. I hated the thought that he could be angry with me.
I watched silently as Logan popped the top off the beer and took a long swig. What the hell was going on in his head? He then put it down and got two wine glasses from the cupboard. “Are you staying overnight, Chlo?” He started pouring the wine without waiting for my response. Looks like it.
“Yeah, thanks.” He put the glass of rosé down and sat opposite me. Awkward. It had never been awkward between us before. With Jace it was at first but with Logan there was no pressure. I was just his little brother’s friend and then girlfriend, so we hit it off straight away. I had no preparation for awkwardness with Logan. Usually, if I knew I was meeting people I would think of a few random things to ask, but I had nothing here.
If Cassie wasn’t in the room, I would have made and excuse and gone home. “I’m starting spinning,” Cassie announced. Okay…
“You don’t do any exercise, Cass, you should start with something less physical,” Logan advised. “Spinning is pretty full on.”
Cassie nodded. “I know. I want full on.” Oh, this was about Rick. She wanted to take her mind off everything that was going on. I went the opposite way when Jace died, there were no distractions that could have worked. I became a hermit and just existed. “Wanna come, Chloe?”
“Sure.” I’d been spinning before and it was complete hell but it worked. Logan was right though, someone who wasn’t used to exercise really shouldn’t start with that. “Your legs are going to kill you. You sure you want to go straight in with spinning?”
“I’m sure. I’ll call tomorrow and book it for next Sunday.”
Logan smirked. “I’m so glad I’m working that night.”
“Oh, shut up! I’ll be fine, Mr Muscles,” she teased, throwing a plastic lemon at Logan from the for show fruit bowl. She was so not going to be fine.
***