“Exactly. That bitch will be there. Let’s go and find out what she said to Logan.”
It made sense now. I glanced down at my jeans and sweatshirt. Then I shrugged. I was starting not to care what anyone thought of how I dressed.
Nate slid his plate over to Mason. When he took the other half of the sandwich, Nate popped a chip in his mouth and asked, “You want me to come too?”
Mason hesitated, then said, “No. Stay here in case Logan shows up.”
“You want me to wait here?”
“Yeah. Watch the game downstairs. Call a girl over.”
Nate bobbed his head and tossed another handful of chips in his mouth. He said around them, “That sounds like fun. I’ll do that. You don’t mind if I get a blowjob on your dad’s couch?”
Mason frowned at him. “Did you really just ask me that?”
“True. Logan lives here.” He wrinkled up his nose. “Maybe I should put a blanket on the couch.”
Or Logan did live here.
I was horrified at my own thought. I couldn’t think like that. Logan wasn’t Garrett. He wasn’t David. He wasn’t Analise. He was coming back. He had to.
Mason was watching me, and my eyes widened when I saw his gaze on me. A dark look flashed in them, but then he shook his head. The look was gone when he asked, “Are you ready to go?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” I murmured, but stood and followed him to the car. It was after we had gone a few blocks that I asked, “Are we going to talk about it?”
As I asked that, I watched. His hand tightened around the steering wheel before he replied, “About what?”
“Mason.”
He never looked over. His gaze remained straight ahead. There was no outward reaction, but I felt the shift. He closed himself off from me.
“Logan has feelings for me.” I paused, holding my breath. “What she said was right, wasn’t it?”
His lips pressed together in a thin line.
My stomach dropped. It was. I closed my eyes. Holy shit. I couldn’t believe this was really happening. “We have to talk about it.”
“Why?”
“Why?” I couldn’t believe him. “Because your brother has feelings for me. That’s why.”
“It shouldn’t affect anything, unless you have feelings for him.” He looked now, his head moving in slow motion. When his gaze connected with mine, I felt punched in the gut. The anguish there was paralyzing. He thought I did. I saw it then.
I shook my head, but my voice was soft. “No. I don’t.”
“Are you sure?”
“I can’t come in between you guys. I can’t be like that other girl.”
“You’re not, Sam.” He softened his tone too. “Look, I don’t know if Logan really does have feelings or not. I have a suspicion that he does, but I don’t know. He’s never said a word to me. I don’t think he’s ever acted on it.” He waited, watching me.
My eyes got big. “No. Never. He’s never said a word or anything.”
“Then it shouldn’t be a problem. I’m more worried about when he finds out that Nate and I manipulated him.”
“Maybe he won’t figure it out.”
“He’ll figure it out.”
He sounded so sure. “How can you know that?”
“Because he knows me. I broke the code. We don’t do that to each other. He’ll be more mad about that then the other thing.”
“Oh.”
“Sam, you have nothing to worry about. He’ll be mad at Nate and me, not you.”
A lump formed in the back of my throat. “I was a part of it too.”
“He doesn’t know that or need to know that. Nate and I will cover for you.”
“Mason.” I stopped. This sounded so easy. Logan will be mad. Mason and Nate will apologize, cover everything up, and Logan will get over it. He wasn’t saying it in those words, but that was what he was thinking. My gut told me otherwise. There was a major hole in that theory. Logan. I shook my head. “I don’t think you can cover for me.” I didn’t think it would be the easy to fix.
Mason glanced at me. My head went down, but I felt his gaze on me as he wheeled the car into the club’s parking lot. “Well, we’re here. We can figure this out later.”
“Okay.”
As he parked and got out, I did the same. When I was about to lead the way into the door, he caught my hand and pulled me back. He pulled me in for a hug and bent low to murmur into my ear, “It’ll get better. I promise. Happy birthday.” He pressed a kiss to my lips. “I should’ve said that this morning. I’m sorry.”
I shivered. It was the same effect as always. When I got close to Mason, my body wanted him. Without thinking, I pressed into him and lifted my lips. He was right there and his lips brushed against mine, teasing them, “I am sorry. I love you, Sam.” His hand lifted to cup the side of my face, and I closed my eyes, leaning into his hold. I whispered back, “I love you too.” Then he dipped and his lips pressed fully against mine.
Home.