He took her hand in his and gave it a squeeze. “I was going to say the same thing to you.”
“Logan.”
“Hmm,” he murmured sleepily, his eyes drifting closed.
“Can we do that again?”
He chuckled, his lids lifting briefly. “Sure. Give me a few minutes.”
She laughed softly. They hadn’t talked yet, but at least he wasn’t sprinting for the door. They had time to get into the heavy stuff. Later.
She sighed happily at the thought of what else they’d do later before giving in to her own need for sleep.
Nineteen years earlier…
* * *
Logan studied the lake until he found his sister. Sure enough, Rachel was boob-deep in the water, wrapped around Jack and kissing him like the guy was going off to war or something. He wouldn’t mind so much, but last week she’d been doing the exact same thing with Walt.
“We need to make a pact,” he said, glancing over at Evan. The two of them were sitting in the sand, chowing down on hot dogs they’d bought at the concession stand. He knew a lot of his friends were looking forward to growing up, becoming adults, but Logan figured they had it made. They were fifteen, out of school on summer break and their biggest decision each day was whether to hit the beach at the lake or head over to the park to play baseball.
“What kind of pact?” Evan asked.
“We don’t hook up with each other’s sisters.”
Evan glanced at Rachel and Logan spotted the reticence on his friend’s face. He knew. Knew Evan had been looking a little too often in Rachel’s direction. What Evan didn’t realize was that Logan was putting the pact in place for his friend more than his sister. Rachel was a man-eater.
“I don’t see what the big deal is if?—”
“I mean it, man. I don’t want you hooking up with Rachel.”
Evan frowned and then, because he really was a good friend, he shrugged and agreed. “Fine. But same goes for my sister.”
Logan looked across the sand and spotted Lacy building a sandcastle with her little friend, Bucky. “You got it,” he said with a grin.
Evan rolled his eyes. “You realize I’m getting the bad end of this deal.”
“It’s a bro code,” Logan said, reaching out for the traditional handshake to seal the deal. “And it’s binding. Forever.”
Chapter Seven
Logan stirred as a roar of thunder pierced the quiet of the evening. He and Lacy had been dozing in bed for nearly an hour, both of them physically exhausted.
Then he recalled the thunder. “Damn.”
“What’s wrong?”
“I left the windows rolled down on my truck.”
“I don’t understand why you drove here. You only live a few blocks away.”
He reluctantly disentangled from her embrace. “Made a furniture delivery, and then came straight here.”
“In a hurry to see me?” she teased.
Logan tickled her, enjoying her giggle. “Yeah. I held out as long as I could, and then realized I was being a first-class tool. Turned the truck toward your place and decided it was time to set things right.”
He reached for his jeans and tugged them on.
