Smart, Sexy and Secretive (29 page)

Hayley grins, and I feed her the
cake.

“
This is really good,” I
murmur around my cake.

Pete smacks Sam on the shoulder. “See,
told you she would love it,” he says.

Sam blushes and says, “It’s just a
cake.”

I point to the cake.
“You
did
not
make this.”

More pink creeps up Sam’s neck.
“Sometimes I bake.” He puts his hands on his hips and balks at me.
“Real men bake cakes. And pies. And cookies. And other shit.” He
waves a hand through the air as he scolds me. I had no idea Sam
could bake. It’s really some of the best cake I have ever
eaten.

“
Real men with really small
dicks,” Pete says, holding his fingers about an inch apart. Sam
punches his shoulder.

“
Ask your girlfriend about
my dick,” Sam tosses back. “She seemed to like it a lot last
night.”

“
Knock it off,” Paul scolds
as he takes Hayley off the counter and sets her on the floor.
“There are girls in the house.”

“
They don’t count as girls,”
Sam says around a mouthful of pizza.

“
Well, thanks,” I
complain.

“
You know what I mean.” Sam
is still talking with his mouth full.

Logan wraps his arms around my waist
and places his chin on my shoulder. “Feels like a girl to me,” he
says. He growls and nibbles on the side of my neck.

God, I love being here with them. I
missed a lot while I was away, and I want to find out everything
all at once.

Can we sneak out of here
and into the bedroom yet?
Logan signs to me
after he turns me to face him.

That would be rude.
I shake my head.
We just
got here. Did you know they were going to do this?

He shrugs his shoulders and
grins.
I knew there was cake. The pizza is
just dinner, I think. They didn’t know when you’d come
by.

You could have warned
me.

Where would be the fun in
that?
He jerks a thumb toward the
bedroom.
Can we go to bed yet?
He waggles his eyebrows at me.

Where would be the fun in
that?
I ask. My pocket vibrates, and I
reach for my phone.
It’s my
mom
, I tell Logan. “Hello,” I say quietly.
I walk toward Logan’s bedroom so I can hear my mom talk.

“
Are you all right?” my mom
asks.

“
Of course. Why wouldn’t I
be?” I step into Logan’s room.

“
I just wanted to be sure.
Trip called your father and said you weren’t at your
apartment.”

“
Mom,” I start.

“
I know, I know,” she
interjects. I can almost imagine her holding her hands out in
surrender. “Are you at Logan’s?” Her voice is almost
singsong.

A grin tugs at my lips. “Yes, they had
a party for me,” I admit. “It was really nice.”

“
And Logan?” she asks. “How
is he?”

What she really wants to know is how
angry he is at my father. “He’s fine.”

“
Your father will get used
to him,” she says.

“
He’ll have to.” That sounds
flippant, but it’s not. It’s the truth.

“
Emily,” she warns. She
takes a deep breath. “Even you have to admit he’s not what your
father envisioned for you.”

He’s not what I envisioned for myself,
either. I never even hoped to find someone as kind and generous as
Logan. “I know. Isn’t it great?”

My mother heaves a sigh. “There’s a
party tomorrow at the hotel. Your father is hosting it. We’ll pick
you up at three.”

“
Wait,” I say. “Why do I
have to go?”

“
It’s a family event,” she
says. “You should bring Logan. It’s not black tie, but it’s rather
formal,” she warns.

“
Mom,” I moan. I’m pretty
sure Logan doesn’t own a tie, much less a black one. “I don’t want
to go.” I probably sound like a two-year-old, but I don’t
care.

“
It’s not optional. Your
father is presenting his new ad campaign, and there will be some
New York officials there.”

“
I wanted to spend tomorrow
with Logan,” I say quietly.

“
I told you to bring him
with you.”

“
He doesn’t have anything to
wear,” I admit.

“
Oh,” my mother chirps.
“Never fear. I’ll take care of it. I’ll have some things sent over
for him. And for you, too. You can both take your pick of what to
wear and send the rest back. Or keep it. I don’t particularly
care.”

I can see Logan in a formal setting. He
can fit in anywhere. I’m sure of it. “All right,” I sigh. “Send
it.”

“
I’ll send it to your
apartment.” She stops talking and lets me absorb her words. “That
is where you’re staying, right?” she asks. I can almost feel her
grin through the phone.

“
Yes, Mom. My apartment.” I
bite back a groan.

“
We’ll pick you both up at
three,” she tells me. “Love you.”

She’s gone before I can
respond.

Logan pokes his head into
the room.
Everything ok?

I nod.
My mom said my presence is requested at a party
tomorrow.
I raise an eyebrow at him.
Any chance you could go with me?

He pulls his head back, his
chin pushing toward his chest as he looks down at me.
What kind of party?

The really fancy
kind.

His gaze shoots toward his closet, and
I can already see him trying to plan.

My mom said she would send
clothes for both of us.
I hold my breath
waiting for his response.
I need clothes
too.

Is it important to
you?

Is it? No.
It’s important to my father. I have to go. And if
you don’t go, I’ll be stuck with Trip all night.

I can see the look in his
eyes when it’s settled.
I’m
going.

You don’t have
to.

I’m going.

He motions for me to come back out and
join his brothers. I push back my fears about tomorrow. I grab his
elbow as he walks by me, pulling him around. He wraps his arms
around me and I think I’m going to get a quick hug, but his hands
slide down over my ass and he hoists me up. I wrap my legs around
his waist as he pushes me against the wall.

“
Wow,” I breathe. But he
can’t hear me. His lips touch mine, kissing me hard, like he didn’t
just spend last night in my bed. He licks into me, and I slide my
tongue against the soft rasp of his. He steals my wits with every
kiss. With every touch, he takes my breath.

He lifts his head and brushes his nose
against mine, back and forth in little sweeps.

His arms are braced on the wall beside
my head, and I turn to press my lips against the tattoo on his
inner forearm. It’s the tattoo I drew, and it represents so much
about our love for one another. I drew the guitar with the broken
strings, shackles, and thorns when I was lost. And Logan added the
keyhole to the center. He unlocked my world. And I’m not lost
anymore.

I tip his face to mine so he can see my
lips. “Let’s skip the party,” I suggest.

He heaves a sigh. “We can’t.” He
presses his face into my neck and inhales deeply. Then he unhooks
my legs from around his waist. “They rented a movie.”

I can just imagine car chases and guns.
They are boys after all. “My kind or your kind?” I ask.

“
There are no gender
delineations here,” he teases, shaking his finger at me. He takes
my hand and pulls me out of the room. Paul is in the lazy chair
with Hayley in his lap, reading a book, and Sam and Pete are on one
of the sofas. Matt is alone on the other, so I sit down beside him
and lean into his shoulder. He reaches up to tousle my hair and
smiles at me.

“
I’m glad you’re back, kid,”
he says. I lean more heavily into him, and he lifts his arm to the
back of the sofa so I can nestle into his side. I breathe him in.
He’s so much softer than Logan. But the cancer took its toll. He’s
lost weight, and he has dark shadows beneath his eyes.

“
You sure you’re okay?” I
whisper to him. He looks down at me and tweaks my nose as Logan
pulls my feet into his lap.

I lay my head on Matt’s thigh and he
leans down to whisper to me. “Quit worrying about me and enjoy
being back.” His hand strokes absently down the length of my hair
as someone presses “play” to start the movie. I love this gentle
giant.

The movie starts, and it’s not a
thriller or a car chase. There’s no shooting. It’s a love story. My
eyes well up with tears, and I scrub them on Matt’s leg.

“
There’s no place like
home,” I say quietly.

***

I wake up to the feel of being hoisted
in the air. I reach for Logan’s neck, and he chuckles. “I got you,”
he says to assure me.

“
Don’t drop her,” Matt
warns.

“
I let you snuggle with her
all through the movie,” Logan complains. But I can tell he’s not
angry. “But she’s
my
girlfriend. And I’m not going to drop my girlfriend.” He nods
toward Matt’s room. “You going to bed?” Logan asks.

Matt stretches and groans. “In a
minute.” He stretches his leg out in front of him and wiggles his
feet. “My fucking leg’s asleep.”

“
That’s what you get for
stealing my girl,” Logan scolds.

Matt laughs. “It was fucking worth it.”
He calls to me, “Love you, kid!”

“
Love you, too,” I say back.
Matt’s voice is playful, but he means it. He does love me. I’ve
become the honorary sister he never wanted. Or at least that’s how
I see myself. I hope he sees me the same way.

The lights flash, and Logan looks back
over his shoulder. His brothers do that to get his attention when
he’s not looking. “What?” Logan asks. He hoists me
higher.

Paul points toward the drawer full of
condoms and arches his brow. It’s a house full of men, and they
have a kitchen drawer full of condoms. It works for them, but heat
creeps up my face when Paul points out that Logan needs to get
one.

“
Be right back,” Logan
says.

He carries me into the bedroom and
pulls back the covers. “I need to go talk to Paul,” he says. He
bends down with the intention of kissing me.

“
To talk about condoms?” I
ask.

He grins. “Among other
things.”

“
What other
things?”

He shrugs. “I don’t know. But he has
that look on his face like he needs to talk to me.” His lips brush
mine quickly. “Be right back.”

He walks out the door, and I can’t be
angry that Paul is trying to keep Logan safe. It’s what he
does.

Logan

I’m pissed that Paul made Emily feel
uncomfortable, but I try not to let it show as I walk into the
living room to find him. He’s sitting on one sofa and Matt’s on the
other. “I don’t need a condom,” I blurt out.

Paul’s brow lifts. “What the fuck?” he
says. He shakes his head. “Go get a condom. Don’t be
stupid.”

“
I’m not stupid,” I say. I’m
not. I’m really not. Am I?

Matt heaves a sigh. “You should ask why
he thinks he doesn’t need one,” he says. He shakes his head like
we’re both the worst kind of stupid.

“
Why do you feel the need to
pry?” I ask. I’m twenty-one fucking years old. I’m not a
child.

“
That’s what I do,” Paul
warns. He pats his chest. “I fucking care about you,
doofus.”

Matt coughs into his fist. “So, why
don’t you need a condom?” he asks gently. He holds up a hand to
stop Paul’s upcoming tirade. “I’m sure there’s a good
reason.”

I scrub a hand down my face. She
wouldn’t like me discussing this with them, but they’re not going
to shut up about it until I explain. “She’s on the pill,” I
hiss.

Paul laughs and points toward his
bedroom. He put Hayley to bed when she fell asleep, a few minutes
after the movie started. “So was Hayley’s mom. And look where that
got us.” I open my mouth to speak, and he holds up a hand to stop
me. “I love that little girl more than anything, and I don’t regret
one thing about the way she got here, but the pill is about
ninety-four percent effective, dumbass.” He throws a pillow at
me.

“
I’m going to marry her,” I
say. It’s like I have diarrhea of the mouth.

“
You better,” Matt
murmurs.

“
I will!” I shove him in the
shoulder. “I have to win her father over first, and then I’m going
to marry her.” So there.

“
Does she want kids?” Matt
asks. He would ask the difficult questions.

“
She’s afraid she won’t be a
good mother,” I admit. “But she’s wrong.”