Logan’s smile was sad. “Evan isn’t just a shifter, Reid, he’s a wolf shifter.”
I knew exactly what he was hinting at, but I refused to admit it. “So?”
“So he can’t just let this go. It doesn’t matter what you tell him, what any of us tell him, for that matter. He believes he failed to keep you safe as a child. That’s not something he can just let go of.”
“This is all my fault,” I whispered as my vision went blurry. “I should’ve kept my mouth shut. See? I’m always fucking up. Always ruining things.”
“Stop,” Logan said firmly. “You’re not to blame, and neither is Evan. Your cunt of a family are the only ones atfault here. And if you ask me, that’s not the question you should be asking.”
“It’s not?”
“No.” Logan gently wiped under my eyes. “You should be asking why the thought of Evan putting himself in danger upsets you so much.”
I snorted. “I don’t need to ask that. It’s obvious.”
Logan smirks. “Is it?”
“Of course it is. I don’t want anyone else to get hurt because of me.”
“Hmm.” Logan threw the top he’d picked out at me. “You’re telling me you’d feel this way if Calan was the one doing the visits?”
“Umm…” I hesitated. I mean, Calan was the pack enforcer. Would I be this worried? “Yeah. I would.”
Logan gave a hoot of laughter. “Sure, hun. Mm-hmm. I really buy that thirty-second hesitation there.”
I stripped off my shirt and threw it in his laughing face. “Fuck off. I wouldn’t worry if you were the one going. Psychotic little shitbag.”
“You say the nicest things.” Logan winked. “Tell me this—do you think Evan’s attractive?”
God, why did he need to ask me that? I was fucking terrible at lying, even to myself.
Which was probably why I kept wanking to the memory of Evan’s heavy, soft cock between his thighs. The size it might grow to when hard. How hot it’d feel in my grip.
Evasive manoeuvres were required. “What’s that got to do with the price of fish?”
“Pretend you didn’t know who he was,” Logan said as I busied myself with the top he’d picked out. “If he just happened to come into your shop one day and gave youthat charming grin of his. Would you have asked him out?”
My head popped through the head hole just in time for me to glare at Logan. “You think his grin is charming?”
“I have eyes. Don’t worry though, Evan’s far too monogamous for me. I need at least two men to adore…and to adore me.”
I’d heard that from him before. “I’m sure they’re out there.”
“I live in hope.” Logan did a mock swoon. “But no changing the subject. Admit it, you think Evan’s fine.”
“So what if I do?” I said, shoving my feet into my shoes and refusing to look at Logan. “So what if he’s my exact type? I barely know the bloke, and even if I did, it doesn’t mean anything, Logan. It can’t.”
“Because of your past?”
I straightened up with a sigh. “Yes, but not in the way you think. Returning to shifter life isn’t what I want, Logan. I don’t want to be controlled or treated like a second-class citizen.”
Pity flashed through Logan’s eyes. “That would never happen with the McCarthys.”
“It’s not for me,” I repeated firmly. “Even if we didn’t share the past we do, Evan would never be someone I’d consider. Okay?”
“Fine.” Logan held his hands up. “I’ll drop it.”
My eyes narrowed. That was…easy. Too easy.
