“You’re going to be late,” I say.
“Doc.” He reaches for me, and I let him draw me into his arms, partially because it’s my favorite place to be, even when I’m annoyed. He kisses my temple, and then he frames my face with his big hands to place a bristly kiss on my forehead. “I don’t want to fight.”
“We’re not fighting, Logan. This isn’t a fight. I’m just annoyed with you.”
“I don’t like you being annoyed with me. Be annoyed with someone else.”
“Go to the arena, and maybe I’ll find something else to be annoyed about.”
“You’re still coming to my apartment?”
“I’ll have to think about whether Iwantto go,” I mutter.
“It was a stupid thing to say, and I didn’t mean it.”
I think he did, but I also don’t want to argue about it, especially when he’s a little bit right. My frustration isn’t at him. Have I changed at all since I was with Dalton?
I rise on my toes, and I kiss his cheek. “You should go.”
“Are we cool?”
“The coolest.”
His expression is skeptical, but he gathers up his things before planting one last quick kiss on my lips. “If youwantto come over, just know that I want you there.”
“Noted,” I say. “Good luck with the photos and commercial.”
He releases a deep sigh before he opens the door to the clinic and leaves.
Instead of going home, I head to my brother, Nate’s house. When I ring the doorbell, it’s not Nate that comes to the door, but his pregnant wife, Hollyn, with their dog, Henry, at her side.
“Is Nate home?” I ask.
“No. He’s out with Wyatt Burgess and Ellie Cooper scouting filming locations.”
“Shut up!” I cry. “I love the movies they’ve done together. They’re on the island?”
“Ellie has a movie she’s scouting locations for. She’ll be directing Wyatt. They reached out to Nate through Posey.”
“If I’d known that was happening, I’d have shown up sooner.”
“You can come in and wait, if you want. I don’t know how long they’ll be. They left a few hours ago.”
“You didn’t want to go?” I ask as I follow her into the house.
“Posey and I were meeting with interior design clients, and Wyatt and Ellie are on a tight schedule. Couldn’t make it work for me to tag along. If they decide to shoot here, I’m totally going on set, though.” Hollyn lets out a little laugh. “I’ll probably just stare at them in awe instead of being normal. There are celebrities and then there are Wyatt Burgess and Ellie Cooper.”
“So true,” I agree, taking a seat on one of the couches.
“You’re becoming quite famous yourself,” Hollyn says, wandering into the open-plan kitchen. “Drink?”
“Water would be great,” I say. Without thinking, I add, “Do you think it’s a bad thing that I like to be needed?”
“What?” Hollyn asks, returning to the couch across from me with a glass of water with not nearly enough ice. Henry hops up beside her, curling into Hollyn’s side. “Why would that matter?”
I take a long sip and try to gather my thoughts. Nate’s perspective is the one I wanted, but the urge to talk this out is too strong. “Growing up how we did, I think I felt a bit useless sometimes. So I took on jobs and causes and anything that gave me purpose. Wherever I was needed, that’s where I went.”
“Makes sense,” Hollyn says. “I found purpose in making enough money to survive. You had to find it somewhere else.”
