“That doesn’t sound like someone who wants to hit it and quit it,” Adrienne says. She looks up at me. “Helikesyou.”
“What? No. He doesn’t. He’s just being bossy.”
“Oh, sweetie. Men aren’t as evolved as we are. They equate bossiness with care.”
“He doesn’t care about me, Ade. I think the only people he truly cares about are the guys on his team, and maybe their wives and girlfriends. There’s no way I make it anywhere near even the bottom of that list.”
The hum Adrienne makes is not a sound of agreement, and it makes my stomach do this weird bubbly thing that is somehow a combination of anxiety and hope. Which is ridiculous, because Logan made his position on relationships very clear that night we met in LA. He doesn’t do them. And there’s no way I’m going to be the one who makes him change his mind.
“I don’t know. You’re very care-about-able, Blair. Not sure why you don’t see that. But is it really so difficult to believe Logan could be developing feelings for you?”
“Yes.”
She laughs at that, but I’m not joking. I also don’t want to admit how much some sadistic, naïve part of me would love if he did. But that’s also the part of me who believed Noah would stick around, even after I moved back home and gained custody of my traumatized little brother. When it all first happened, I truly believed Noah would still marry me, and we’d be a family together.
I’m not that naïve anymore.
There’s no world in which Logan Byrne, serial playboy, develops feelings for a woman who is, for all intents and purposes, the solo parent of a thirteen-year-old boy.
“Would it be so bad to give things with him a chance?”
“I think it would be one of the most dangerous things I could possibly do, Ade.”
My friend’s face softens, and she grabs my ice-cold hand and gives it a squeeze. “You like him.”
“I don’t,” I say a little too vehemently. Even I don’t believe it. “I’d feel warm and fuzzy toward anyone who was good to Reed. I feel warm and fuzzy about you and Bryse for that reason.”
“So you feel the same things for Logan as you feel for me and Bryse?” Her tone is teasing, and she’s got that one eyebrow arched again. I’m bullshitting her, and she knows it.
“Yes.”
“Uh-huh. That’s why your thumb is hovering over the keyboard and you haven’t replied to him?”
Ugh. Looking down at my phone, I still don’t even know how to respond to his text.
Who takes care of you?
Me
I’ve been taking care of myself just fine for the last five years.
It’s been a long enough pause between his last text and mine that I figure he’s probably busy doing something else, and I’m not expecting his reply to come back as quickly as it does.
Logan
Of course you have. But you two have people in your corner now. It’s okay to ask for help.
“Shit, girl. That’s awfully sweet. How are you going to continue lying to yourself if he keeps that up?”
Me
Are you offering to get me a coat? LOL.
Logan
That’s exactly what I’m offering.
There’s a warmth spreading throughout my entire body at his words, even if I don’t really believe him. Adrienne’s right. He’s being very sweet. But they’re just words. Just flirty text messages. I’ve had plenty of experience with men offering pretty words. Doesn’t mean they’ll follow through.
