“I'll take it.”
We talk business for a while. The Vance acquisition is moving forward. The Team Blaze deal is in final negotiations. Everything is fine. Everything is handled. I'm not needed.
I should be grateful. Instead, I feel useless.
Logan checks his watch, then glances at the door. Something in his expression shifts. A tightness around his eyes that wasn't there before.
“What?” I ask.
“Nothing. Just work stuff.”
“You're a terrible liar. Always have been.”
He sighs, runs a hand through his hair. The gesture exposes the birthmark at his temple, the one he usually keeps hidden. Too tired to remember to be self-conscious.
“It's nothing you need to worry about.”
“Logan.”
“Kai.”
We stare at each other. He looks away first.
“Is it about Emma?”
The silence is answer enough.
Jealousy twists in my chest, sharp and unexpected. Emma told Logan something she won't tell me. My best friend knows something about the woman I... care about. Something I don't.
“She asked me not to say anything,” Logan says quietly. “I'm respecting that.”
“Since when do you keep secrets from me?”
“Since someone I respect asked me to.” His eyes meet mine, steady. “She trusts me, Kai. I'm not going to betray that. Not even for you.”
I want to push. Demand answers. But I stop myself.
If Emma trusts Logan, that's good. She's letting people in. Becoming part of my world. She and Logan are building a friendship that exists separate from me. That's what I wanted, isn't it? For her to feel like she belongs?
It still stings.
“Is she okay?”
Logan considers the question carefully. “She's handling it.”
“Handling what?”
“Talk to her, Kai. Don't let her shut you out.”
“I'm trying. She won't let me in.”
“Then try harder.” He leans forward, elbows on his knees. “She's stronger than you give her credit for.”
“I know she's strong. That's not what worries me.”
“Then what does?”
I stare at the ceiling. Two hundred and thirty-seven tiles. I've had a lot of time to think in this room. About Emma. About us. About the secrets I'm keeping.
