My breathing slowed. “About what?” I braced myself for impact.
“That whole thing about my mom telling Norman about us. I made it up.”
I frowned. “Why?”
His fingers twitched on his jeans. “Because I asked her if we could get a meeting set up, and she said no. She didn’t want to use that connection for something that wasn’t important, but she’d already volunteered me for his outreach, so . . . I told her I wouldn’t do it. Unless my girlfriend could get an intro. I tried saying you were just a friend, and then she couldn’t understand why that would be so important to me, so I made it up.”
I took that in, thinking back to that night at the gallery. How his mom had taken him outside the tent. “So Norman offering me the job?—”
“Had nothing to do with me. But I thought I was just getting you the intro?—”
“And you didn’t know that lie would last.”
He nodded, and the pieces clicked into place. Why he’d been so eager to come over to my place. Why he hadn’t even blinked when I told him that I’d signed the contract.
I pushed off the desk, pacing in front of him. “But you didn’t have to stick with it. As soon as I told you I signed the contract, you could’ve told me. We both would’ve still gone to the events and . . .” I stopped and looked at him. “Why didn’t you call it off?”
His Adam’s Apple bobbed. “Because I didn’t want to stop talking with you.”
“We still could’ve talked.”
He scoffed. “You weren’t my biggest fan, if you remember.”
That was true. Would I have spent time with him had I not believed I’d gotten him into that mess? “So you coming to the gallery?—”
“I wanted to be there.”
“And picking me up when Jenna’s car died.”
“Wanted to.”
“And the hotel room?” My mouth went dry.
Logan cleared his throat. “Definitely wanted to.”
I turned toward the desk, dragging my fingers through my hair. “Then why did you keep talking about January? Why did you say?—?”
I gasped as Logan’s hands circled my waist. He turned me to face him. “Because you were right.” He lifted a hand and smoothed the hair from my cheek.
“I like that you keep saying that.”
He chuckled, his hand resting between my neck and my shoulder. “I didn’t want to be the one to take the risk.”
My breath came in short gasps. I recounted our conversation in the supply closet at the gallery. Everything Logan was saying, it was exactly what I’d hoped for. But Shar’s words came crashing into my head.There’s a hit he’s not willing to take right now, isn’t there?
“Logan—”
“I talked to my mom. About her and Norman. About the affair. About how long it had been going on. I told her she could tell my dad, or I could, but it wasn’t staying a secret.”
The room seemed to tilt under my feet. “When?”
“The night of the press walk through.”
My eyes widened.That night?“What happened?”
“She left,” he said simply. “Not permanently, I don’t think. But she left the house. Said she needed space. He—” Logan’s jaw tightened. “My dad didn’t take it well.”
“What about Norman?”
