“So how do you know what he can afford?”
“I…” His frown deepens, and he looks at the door Tink and his teammates just went through. “I don’t,” he admits and drops his head. “My apologies. I’ll make sure he finds your website.”
“Good.” And now I don’t know where to put my frustration, so I stand here awkwardly until I remember what we said to each other before Tink took the conversation back. “Uh, if you don’tmind me bringing some stuff to your apartment, I’m going to need it for some meal prep in the morning. If it’s still okay that I use your—”
“Wouldn’t have offered my place if I minded you being there, Sav.” There’s that nickname again. Did the team rub off on him, or is this just Logan getting cozier?
What am I supposed to do if it’s the latter?
“Why do they call you The Hero?” I ask warily.
His expression hardens. “Not sure. I was only starting to realize they do.”
“That’s the name you get when you think you need to be a one-man-band,” Moxie says, coming up to the table. He pats Logan on the back and gives me a broad smile. “This was great, Savannah. I haven’t seen my team that happy since our championship win last year. Who’d have thought some good food would boost morale?”
“Ithought,” Cole says as he gets to his feet. “That’s why I hired her. And don’t forget that you and Callahan were the ones pushing for this.” He holds his hand out for me to shake and smiles. “Great first impression, Savannah. I’m looking forward to what you bring to the table tomorrow.”
I need to respond, but I’m stuck on the fact that Logan helped get me this job.Directly. Why didn’t he tell me that? “Thank you, sir,” I squeak after a moment. “Uh, Cole.”
“Sir,” Moxie repeats with a snorted laugh. “Big step up from Rihanna, eh?”
“Can it,Malcolm,” Cole growls, and the two of them shove each other out the door, followed by a longsuffering Mel.
Logan’s lips twitch with a smile as he watches them go, and I am suddenly far too aware that we are very much alone now. It’s getting late, and I need to get some solid sleep so I have the energy to keep up with my contracts, but Logan doesn’t seem any more interested in leaving than I am.
“You earned yourself some admirers tonight,” he says, then adds something under his breath that sounds a lot like, “Can’t say I enjoyed that.”
I should pretend I didn’t hear it. Or tell myself that he said something completely different. But Logan apparently convinced Cole to hire me for his rugby team, and it’s impossible not to read into that. He did thatbeforeI told him about Lola’s event.
“What can I do to help you clean up?” Logan asks. “Put me to work.”
I pick up the tray of food and head for the kitchen while I process the new information. “You don’t have to help, Logan. You’ve already done so much as it is, and it’s not like I’ve held up my end of the deal.”
He slides in front of me, blocking my path and taking hold of the tray before it collides with his stomach. “We’re way past the deal, Savannah.”
Blinking at him, I try to understand the intensity in his gaze. “What does that mean? You haven’t been able to talk to your mom yet.” Which, honestly, is relieving. I’ve kind of connected our friendship to his goal to get face-to-face with Lola, and it feels like whatever this is between us will be gone as soon as he gets his answers.
I don’t like that.
Logan sees something in my face and tilts his head to the side. “It means I want to change the nature of this relationship of ours.”
“Relationship?” There are multiple meanings to that word, but I get stuck on the more romantic connotation, though standing in the middle of a sweat-scented hallway with a crusty tray of tamales isn’t all that swoony. Better if I nip that one in the bud. “You reluctantly hired me to make meals for you so you could use me to get to a woman who doesn’t want to talk to you.”
Logan huffs out a sharp exhale. “That’s how it started, yeah.”
“And now you want to change things because…?”
“Because you don’t need anything from me anymore, and I don’t like that you have no reason to keep me around.”
He…hewantsto stick around? “You still need me to get you a chance to talk to Lola,” I say, though that’s not remotely what I want to talk about. I should ask him if he’s still going back to Australia when the season ends. How long will he be here?
Logan’s lips quirk up on one side. “You gave me a chance, Sav.”
“You haven’t—”
“It’s not your fault I was a fool on Friday. You did your part, and I took the easy way out. Like an idiot.” He gives me a self-deprecating grin that somehow makes him more attractive than he already was. My poor heart is threatening to thump right out of my chest, and I don’t know how much longer I can fight the pull I feel toward him. Logan chuckles. “It’s getting easier to see why you don’t like me.”
If only that were true. “There’s a chance you’ve grown on me,” I admit.
