“Lucky I caught you on a break, then.” His lip curls as he takes another slug, but when I prop a foot on the bottom step, he cocks a brow at me. “I thought you celebrity types hate stalkers.”
I shrug, casting a glance over at Lily’s dark house. “I tried to wait until morning, but I couldn’t keep away.”
In fact, the urge to be here is unlike anything I’ve ever felt before. I don’t even need to see their faces; I just have to feel some connection to them, even if it’s simply because I’m here, talking to the man they share a life with.
“Because of Leo,” Logan asks, “or because you and Lily are scent matches?”
I pause, trying to read his expression, but I doubt I’d be able to crack his stoic profile with a flashlight and a blowtorch. “Lily told you?”
“She didn’t need to.” He tips the bottle again, his thick throat working. When he’s done, he sets it by his chair, his gaze intense when it settles on me. “I caught a whiff of something on Lily the other night, but it’s stronger now the three of you are together.”
Huh. I’ve read a lot about scent matches since meeting Lily, and there are a few theories around scent mutation after bonding, but I don’t recall anything about scent changes after a ten-year estrangement. “What does it smell like?”
He shakes his head. “I’m no poet, but if I was, I reckon I’d be looking out there for inspiration.”
He dips his head towards the fields behind me. The bouquet of scents is thick and heady in the warm night air. I take a deep breath, and as the sweet scent brings back memories of rose-sprinkled bedsheets, I feel a pang of admiration for the guy. It can’t be easy discovering that the omega you plan to bond has a scent connection to two other alphas. Add Leo into the mix, and I’m not sure I’d be as gracious if he turned up on my porch in the middle of the night. “I just wanted to make sure they’re real. That this is really happening,” I tell him, staring in the direction of the farmhouse. “I bet you think that’s hilarious, coming from a guy who makes movies for a living.”
He studies me for a moment, then shakes his head. “I get it. I’d come back on leave, and it wasn’t until I was standing here, breathing them in, that I could convince myself they weren’t some mirage I dreamed up in the desert.”
I lean against the porch post, since he doesn’t seem inclined to run me off for the moment. “How long did you serve?”
“All Leo’s life.” A slight grimace tightens his features. “I was gone too much. Life of a soldier, but you’re not the only one who wants to make things up to them.”
I sigh. “I’m pretty sure I get the lion’s share of guilt here.”
“Maybe. Sounds like your uncle was a piece of shit, though.”
“He was the whole shit,” I say sourly. “In fact, I’m fantasizing about digging him up and dumping manure in his coffin.”
He chuckles, a dimple popping in his cheek and softening his hard face. “Well, we’ve got plenty of that around here. Might be easier just to go piss on his grave, though.”
“Yeah, I guess. Except that California’s in a drought, and it’d be a waste of good water.” He chuckles again, but I move uneasily on my feet. “I want to apologize, by the way. It can’t be easy having us turn up like this. But we’re not here to ruin anything between you and Lily.”
His gaze slides away from me, and if I wasn’t such a master of body language, I’d probably miss the slight tic in his jaw. “I’ve known Lily since we were teens. You had what? A couple of nights together, ten years ago?” I nod reluctantly and he shrugs. “Scent matches are a big deal, but it’s her decision in the end, and I’m not backing off.”
“I wouldn’t expect you to,” I say, and I realize with a start that I don’t like the idea of him bowing out. I might have played guys like him over and over in my career, but I’ve always known I was always a pale facsimile of the real thing. Maybe it’s as simple as the fact Lily deserves to have someone like Logan looking out forher. “I don’t know how any of this is going to play out, but for now I’m just glad to be back in their lives.”
“Okay.” He sits up, his boots hitting the porch with a dull thud. “I’m gonna be in town a lot, getting my gym off the ground. It wouldn’t hurt to have an extra pair of eyes to watch out for them.”
“Of course.” I don’t even try to keep the ecstatic smile off my face. “Anything they need, we’re here to help.”
Logan gets to his feet, stretching his back until it gives a soft pop. “But you get rid of the media circus, okay? The farm is a real business, and Lily needs this summer to go well.”
I bite back an offer to buy every flower in sight – or maybe just send my accountant in to take care of whatever financial issues she’s having. But Logan must be a mind reader, because he’s already shaking his head. “She’s proud. Don’t insult her, Castle.”
Tristan kind of gave me the same lecture, but I just shrug. “I get it, but I owe her so much. And even if she doesn’t want help with the farm, she’s entitled to a decade of child support.”
“Then talk to her aboutthat. She’s always bent over backwards to give Leo what he needs.”
Meaningshewent without, sacrificing little luxuries that I never thought twice about indulging in.Fuck, I have so much to make up for.
“I’m gonna head to bed.” Logan turns, but nods towards the parking lot. “Tell your security guys they can park behind my house, just as long as they don’t go peeking in my windows.”
“Ah, sure. Thanks.” He continues on towards his front door, and I plaster my most winsome smile on my face. “I’ll be back for breakfast. How do you take your coffee?”
“You’re kidding, right?” His eyes gleam with that hard, flat light again, but there’s a slight quirk to the edge of his mouth. “Where do you think the Americano came from?”
“Ah, Starbucks?”
