The entire bachelorette party stopped talking and turned to look. And, despite the fact that I’d been avoiding Logan all day—through the gauntlet of wineries and dinner here at the Airbnb (quite a feat, considering he was seated next to me and kept trying to catch my eye every time he passed the butter)—I looked, too.
And immediately felt my face flame.Oh, no.I recognized the dark-haired sprite staring back from a canvas half buried under half a dozen others. The paintings were piled next to the rest of Zoey’s art supplies, stuffed into a corner of the living room. I don’t know how I’d overlooked it during dinner—probably because I was so focused on ignoring the small private smiles Logan kept shooting my way anytime someone said something funny. Now his eyes were fixed on the painting and I wanted to spontaneously combust.
“It’s my study of Alexis!” Zoey’s lips were stained berry-red from a full day of drinking. To my horror, she ran over and dug the canvas out from behind the others, putting it on full display. “She’s been sitting for me for a big commission. I brought it in case I have time to work in the mornings when Annie gets up for yoga. Isn’t the closeup beautiful? I think I’m going to try to sell it separately.” Zoey beamed innocently around the dining table, unaware of the bomb she’d dropped.
The entire table was silent for a beat in which I could actuallyfeelsweat forming at my temples—then finally, Ben regained the ability to speak. “You gotAlexis Stoneto dress up as afairyfor apainting? Like, all of those things happened in a row?”
“Hey,” I said hotly. “I’m notthatshy.”
“Are those leaves on her boobs?” Mac asked.
“It’s tasteful,” Zoey insisted.
Lee pointed at Zoey with her wineglass. “I will give you three hundred dollars right now. You don’t even have to finish it.”
“No.” I turned so quickly to Zoey I almost gave myself whiplash. “You can sell it to anyone in the world but Lee. Or Ben,” I added, seeing the devious light in his eyes.
“I knew this painting was a winner,” she said happily. “What do you think of it, Logan?”
“Oh,” Logan said hoarsely. His eyes were fixed on the canvas. “It’s very, uh—”
I shoved back from the table. “How about I volunteer to do the dishes and in exchange, everyone agrees to wipe the painting from their memories.” I started noisily collecting silverware.
“I’ll help.” Logan rose quickly from his seat.
“How lovely.” Annie beamed at us from the head of the table. Her lips were every bit as berry stained as Zoey’s, which probably accounted for the dreamy look on her face. “It’s so nice when couples share responsibilities. That’s a sign of a healthy relationship.”
Claire raised her glass to me. “I agree with drunk Dr. Park. He’s a keeper, Alexis.”
Apparently even Logan Arthur had limits on public humiliation, because he ducked his head. “Better get these into the dishwasher as fast as possible. Excuse me, then.” He beelined in the direction of the kitchen, balancing a stack of plates.
“And he’s so cute,” Mac gushed. “Not to harp on the point, but does anyone else find him too handsome to be a real politician? I mean, they don’t usually look like that.”
“Rude,” Lee said. “I get plenty of emails from people propositioning me.”
Ben raised his eyebrows. “Youdo?”
“Yes. Foot fetishists, mostly. I have very alluring feet.”
Logan nearly broke into a run. While his back was turned, I took the opportunity to slice my finger across my throat and hiss,“Stop embarrassing me”at the entire table. The problem with hanging out with your older sister’s friends was that they inevitably appointed themselves your honorary big sisters, thereby granting themselves unlimited license to mortify you.
When we’d arrived back at the Airbnb to find two chefs working on an extravagant three-course dinner, I’d panicked about the fact that Logan didn’t know anyone, and if I was in his shoes, I’d be climbing the walls. But it turned out I had nothing to worry about. He was a natural at getting to know people. Dinner had gone very well—especially, to my surprise, between Logan and Lee. They’d bonded over their shared vegetarianism, the only two people to request grilled mushrooms instead of steaks. And if I wasn’t imagining things, I could’ve sworn Logan’s salty dissection of the attorney general’s recent brothel scandal had won my sister over despite herself. I could tell he was trying hard to impress Lee. It had done a pretty solid job of distracting me from thinking about whatever Logan wanted to say. But now that we were alone in the kitchen, I had to face the music.
He stood at the sink, scrubbing plates, a towel folded over his shoulder. He turned to me. “I wash, you dry?”
I nodded and slipped the towel from his shoulder, getting to work as he handed me wet dishes. “Sorry about them,” I said. “They’re a lot.”
Logan glanced down at me and grinned. “I love them.”
“Even Lee? EvenClaire?”
He laughed while he scrubbed, sending soap bubbles flying. “All of them. They seem like good people. And I like how protective they are of you.”
“Well, none of them went toe-to-toe with Carter at the Fleur de Lis for me, so I’d say you still come in first place.”
He flicked soap bubbles and they landed on my nose. “Thank you for knowing winning’s important to me.”
I wiped my nose and splashed him back—and to my delight, the bubbles got caught in his stubble, giving him a bubble beard.
