“So we’ll wind up at the chef’s table with a special menu?”
He shrugged. “Before we worry about that, let’s christen this room.”
I hopped up on the counter and moved my legs apart so Harrison could nestle closer between them, and we were off.
To the first of many orgasms to come, I hoped.
A couple of hours later, we were finishing up our meal at Surfside, a perfect little locals-only restaurant that turned out to have shockingly good food. The wine, low light, and beachy vibes had soothed Harrison’s tension, and it finally felt like we were on a mini vacation together.
I’d been successful for a little while in making him forget about the family stress waiting for him back at the resort.
“Are we thinking dessert?” the waitress asked us. “Do you have room?”
“Of course they have room,” a man said as he dragged an extra chair over to our romantic table for two.
Harrison scowled as he swung his head toward the uninvited guest, then relaxed into a smile once he finally clocked who it was. The waitress walked away as the reunion unfolded.
“Logan,” Harrison stood up and gave his brother a side hug. “How did you find us?”
“I know how you operate,” he answered as he slapped Harrison’s back. “I figured you’d skip the resort tonight, and Drew confirmed it. So here I am, crashing your party.”
It was similar to the stilted greeting between Harrison and Drew, but different at the same time. There was more palpable tension between the two older Ashford brothers, while this relationship felt tamer. Still not great by any stretch, but I got the sense thatHarrison didn’t feel in competition with his youngest brother the same way he did with Drew.
Logan turned to me. “And I’ve heard all about this superstar. Dad went on and on about you, then Drew, and of course I know you were behind my brother’s televised apology tour.”
We shook hands, and once again I was confronted with yet another handsome Ashford. But “handsome” didn’t quite cover it. Logan was magnetic like his brothers, but there was a different quality to him I couldn’t put my finger on.
It had to be the youngest-child syndrome at play. Most likely, Harrison took all the hard knocks as the oldest, Drew was the ever-steady middle son, which took the pressure off of Logan so he could do whatever the hell he wanted. He was even fairer than his brothers, a literal Ashford Golden Boy.
“Nice to meet you,” I replied as we shook hands. “And I keep telling everyone thatHarrisonis the reason things went so well with Scarlet. I can only take about twenty-five percent of the credit.”
“Well, the two of you are quite the power couple,” Logan said as he plopped down at our table uninvited.
Harrison met my eyes at the word “couple,” but he didn’t refute it.
Maybe Sarah was right? Maybe I should lean in and enjoy the weekend without overthinking everything. And I had a job to do: keeping Harrison in a decent mood despite the undercurrent of family drama.
Maybe Logan would be the antidote as well? He didn’t seem as direct as his older brothers.
I opted to steer the ship. “I hear you’re a golfer.”
“Not really,” Logan chuckled. “At least not anymore.”
“Logan was on the team in college, which means he’s better than all of us, but since his handicap isn’t a ten anymore, he thinks he sucks,” Harrison explained.
“You almost beat me last time we played,” Logan exclaimed. “That was a fucking wake-up call for me. I need to be more consistent.”
“Are you and Dad going to play?”
I saw Harrison’s expression tighten as he asked the question.
“Probably.” Logan reached over and popped a leftover french fry from Harrison’s plate in his mouth. “But he’s been sort of off since he got here. I think he’s having a hard time with this birthday.”
More tension. Wonderful.
“Do you think that’sallit is?” Harrison asked his brother. “Because I’ve picked up on some weirdness as well.”
“You could just ask him about it,” Logan said.
