“But . . . you’ve thought about it?”
Logan was contemplative for a moment before he finally answered, his voice low. “More than you know.”
His words sent a ripple of pleasure straight through me.
“So what does this mean?” I dared to ask. “What do we do now?”
Logan lifted his shoulders in a small shrug. “This date is a good start,” he said. “I think it might be a good idea to lay out some ground rules, though.”
Ground rules? “Like what?”
“No sex, for starters.”
I looked at him, deadpanned. “What?”
Logan chuckled. “We can’t possibly try to navigate through whatever this is”—he motioned between us—“if we’re having sex like we did in Breckenridge.”
I stared at him, unable to form adequate words to respond with.
My silence must have told him enough, because he went on. “Amelia . . .” His voice was soft. “That was the single best night of my entire life, make no mistake. But you are one of the most important people to me. One of so few. I couldn’t live with myself if I let sex get in the way of that.”
I considered this for only seconds before I knew that he was right. Two nights ago, we’d let our hearts and bodies consume each other—but what if it wasn’t enough to sustain us? We had so much to figure out.
“I was somewhat worried that you would want this to be a friends-with-benefits thing,” I admitted.
Concern etched in his brow. “I wouldneveruse you like that, Amelia. I hope you know that.”
I nodded. “Okay, so no sex.” I felt my body diffuse a little. “What else?”
I watched as Logan rubbed the scruff on his chin with his hand. “We shouldn’t tell anyone. Not until we know for sure what this is.”
I already knew it was going to be a really big deal if and when my family ever found out about us . . . but I hadn’t actually thought through what it would be like to tell them. Would they be happy? Would they lose their minds? Logan was right—we needed to make sure we were ready for that.
If this didn’t work out, I would never want anyone in my family to look at Logan differently. I had to make sure that never happened, and right now, the safest thing for him was to keep this hidden. “I definitely agree with that. We keep it a secret until . . . ,” I shrugged, “until we can’t anymore.”
The waiter came by with our drinks, dropping a large glass of white wine in front of me and a lowball of whiskey in front of Logan. He also set a large platter of oysters on ice in the middle of the table, and they looked incredible.
Logan reached over to grab my plate, dropping four shells on it and squeezing a slice of lemon over them before handing the plate back to me to serve himself. “Ever the gentleman,” I mused, holding my glass of wine out to cheers him.
He shot me that breathtaking, lopsided grin of his. “Thank you for being here with me, Amelia.” He held out his glass. “To the future,” he said, clinking his glass against mine. I felt more hopeful than I had in a really long time. Here I was, sitting in this gorgeous restaurant with Logan, the possibility of a future that I’d given up on so long ago reigniting before me. It was a future that I could dream about again.
Just a mere week ago, I was willingly settled on a path of life that was just “okay.” I wasn’t brave, I wasn’t passionate, and nothing about my relationship with Noah was particularly remarkable. But Logan . . .
With Logan I saw magic. I could see beyond the stars. He made me feel wholly alive, and some part of me had always, always hoped for this. A beacon of hope that may have dimmed, but had never extinguished. I knew that it was only a chance—nothing was guaranteed—but it was the chance of my life.
We both took a sip of our drinks, and then dug in to the exquisite oysters in front of us, stealing glances at every opportunity.
ChapterSeventeen
After we finishedone of the most incredible dinners that I could remember, we were back in Logan’s car. It had gotten much colder outside as the night set in and I was thankful for the hot air blowing from the vents. “Where to now?” I asked, looking over at Logan as he rubbed his hands together, seeking warmth from the friction. I had to stop myself from rogue thoughts about how else he could warm up his hands.
Oblivious to my train of thought, he looked over at me and smiled weakly before looking down at the gear shift.Is he nervous?“I’d like to take you to see my shop,” he said carefully, “if you’re up for it.”
I felt my own face light up as I reached out to press my hand against the crook of his arm. “Logan, I wouldloveto see the shop. That sounds amazing.”
His eyes met mine again with a flash of relief and I realized that Logan was feeling vulnerable about this. Taking me to see his auto shop was important to him, and I could just kick myself that it had taken me this long to be a part of something so meaningful to him. Logan pulled out of the lot and onto the main road, and as he drove I found myself running through everything I’d missed. All the ways I should have been there for him these last few years.
Growing up, Logan had never outright asked me for anything—not exactly. But it also wasn’t a secret between us that he came to me with the big things in life. It was our thing, an unspoken rule, an alliance seared into our souls. Adam was his best friend, but . . . I was his person. And I’d let my feelings and insecurities come between us to the point that I wasn’t here to celebrate him for such an important milestone.
