CHAPTER 1
LOGAN
I can’t keep putting it off.
I haven’t been back in the office since the day I found out my business partner hired my ex-girlfriend. I’ve kept busy, taking on assignments that take me as far from Whiskey Run as I can get. But my business, Stronghold Security, won’t survive with a boss that never comes in, so I’m going to have to face the music and walk into the office. Even if every time I look at Bree, my heart cracks a little wider. And even if seeing her that first day made me realize I’m not over her. Fuck, nowhere near it.
I look up at the new sign for the business.Stronghold Security. It’s big, bold, and lit up on Main Street. Zach and I talked about the design, and I knew it was coming, but seeing it now really makes me feelthat it’s all coming together. He told me in an email last week that Bree had been working on it and it would be up this week. Hell, every email I get from him mentions something about Bree. There’s no escaping her.
I get out of my truck and take a deep breath. It’s still dark, and there’s at least another hour before the sun rises, but Bree is already here. I had hoped to get here and go straight to my office and shut the door. Hell, I’d planned to stay there all day if it meant I could avoid her.
As I look into the big bay windows, I see her already stationed at her desk. She has her hair in curls, and it’s hanging over her shoulders. My jaw tightens as I think about our time together. It was two years ago, but it might as well have been yesterday. We met in the produce section of some bodega in New York. I was on an assignment with the Ghost Team, and I was happy to be on a mission in the States instead of overseas. I remember looking up from the apples and there she was, reaching into a stand-up cooler for a drink on the top shelf. Her back was to me, and as my eyes traveled down her body, I knew in that instant that she was going to be mine. Her curvy body and luscious ass had me taking a step toward her,wanting to block her from the sight of any other men. I didn’t know anything about her. Hell, I hadn’t even seen her face, but I’d never reacted to a woman like this in my life, and I knew she was meant to be mine.
And when she turned and gave me an apologetic smile, asking me to reach something for her, I knew in that moment that I would go to the ends of the Earth for this woman. She’s beautiful in a way that takes your breath away, and I felt like a fool as I just nodded and pulled out the drink she wanted. I held the bottle out to her, but I didn’t let it go. I remember the urgency I felt, as if letting go meant she’d walk away from me and I’d never see her again.
“Hi,” I stuttered.
She bit her plump lip, her smile widening. “Hi.”
”Go to dinner with me.”
I realized after I said it that it was more of a demand than a request, but she didn’t even blink. It was almost as if she was feeling everything I was feeling. She looked down at her sweatshirt and leggings and then back up at me. “I can’t go like this. I just got out of a workout class, and I should shower.”
My legs almost buckled just thinking about her in the shower. I cleared my throat. “You look beautiful. And…”
I paused because I knew that the words that were about to come out of my mouth were too controlling, too possessive, just too much. Hell, I still didn’t even know her name at that point, and I was about to tell her that there was no way I was leaving this store without her.
She lifted her chin at me curiously. “And what?”
I clenched the bottle in my hand to stop from reaching for her as the words tumbled from my lips. “And I don’t want to let you out of my sight.”
She blinked up at me, and I continued. “I figure you’re not going to tell me where you live just yet… not until we know each other better. And I don’t want to let you go until I know everything there is to know about you.”
I fully expected her to walk away or even call the cops. We didn’t even know each other. It was a big city, not like Whiskey Run, where everybody knows each other. She surprised me, though, and just shrugged. “There’s a great Italian place just around the corner. Does that work for you?”
I let out a huge breath and nodded. “Yeah, that’s perfect. Anything you want.”
Her eyes lit up at that, and instantly I thought of all the things I wanted to do to her.
And as we walked to the counter so I could pay for our things, I knew that my life was about to be forever changed. I just didn’t realize that it would include a broken heart that destroyed me.
I blink as if I’m shutting out the past and bringing myself into the now. I can do this. Hell, I have to. I firm my jaw and pull my shoulders back and walk into the office.
I have every intention to walk right past Bree without a glance. But I only get three steps into the room before she breaks the silence. “Good morning, Logan.”
My heart does a shimmy in my chest just hearing her voice. It’s soft and low, bringing back memories of the two of us in her bedroom. And even though I know I shouldn’t, I lift my head and look into her eyes. I stop in my tracks. “What’s wrong with you?”
She flinches at my tone but pulls herself together quickly. “Nothing is wrong with me.”
I gesture to her face. “You look tired.”
Her cheeks bloom red as she rolls her eyes. “Well, thank you for that, Logan. You look well-rested.”
My first thought is she’s lying because there’s no way I look well-rested. Hell, I haven’t slept through the night in the last three months. And second, she’s clearly not going to tell me what’s going on.
I put my hands on her desk and lean over her. “What’s wrong with you? Are you sick?”
I wait for her reply. Bree was always sassy, and I’m expecting a zinger comeback, but instead she just shakes her head. “No, I’m not sick. I’m just not getting enough sleep.”
