The Promises We Keep (Made for Love Book 1) (119 page)

The dining room, which is an extension of the beautiful industrial sized kitchen, has a big table with enough chairs to seat all of us. I wonder how often Logan
’
s family uses this place to entertain people. As far as I know, she
’
s an only child, and I imagine this house would seem empty with just three people roaming around.

The view from each room is incredible, which I can tell even though it
’
s dark outside. From the dining room, you can see the patio out back. There
’
s a fire pit and sitting area underneath a gazebo that extends from the roof of the house. Beyond the gazebo there
’
s a pool, which has been covered for the winter, and a hot tub.
That
I was expecting; Logan made sure we all packed our bathing suits before we left Fort Collins.

After we
’
ve had a thorough tour of the main level, she takes us down to the basement. The den is decorated in dark yet welcoming colors and big, warn-looking, leather furniture. There
’
s a
huge
television that takes up almost the entire wall, and an extensive wet-bar that looks like it might as well be considered another kitchen. There are also a couple bedrooms, but Logan has arranged for all of us to sleep upstairs, which is where we follow her
—
bags in tow.

“
Each bedroom has its own bath,
”
she tells us as we climb the stairs.
“
And most of them have their own fireplace, too.
”

Of course,
I think to myself as I shake my head. The extravagance of this place never ends.
I
’
m not jealous. Not at all.

“
So, I thought Daphne and Trevor could stay in here,
”
she says, pointing to the first door on her left.
“
And Claire and Jack over here,
”
she says, pointing to her right.
“
Big Red and Little Red here; Sarah and Addie here, Roman and Beckham there, and I
’
ll be in the master bedroom at the end of the hall.
”
She claps her hands as she turns and faces all of us.
“
Any objections?
”

Claire gasps as she looks inside her designated room.
“
Babe, check this out!
”
They disappear, clearly not opposed to Logan
’
s plan. Daphne and Trevor don
’
t seem to mind, either. Avery, on the other hand, looks unsure.

“
Um, Sonny and I
—”

“
Oh, please. There
’
s no need to be shy about it,
”
says Logan with an eye roll.
“
Bump uglies all you want.
”
Avery
’
s jaw drops open as a blush paints her whole face.

“
It
’
s okay, sweetheart,
”
says Gray as he takes her hand, ignoring Logan
’
s comment.
“
There
’
s a couch. You can have the bed. Come on.
”
She goes willingly, but I don
’
t miss the glare she shoots at Logan before she
’
s out of sight. I think back to the homecoming football game about a month ago, when Logan almost got her eyes clawed out by my other half. After witnessing that, I imagine it
’
s still within the realm of possibility that a major cat fight could ensue in the next couple of days.
Just another reason why I couldn
’
t possibly have stayed home.

“
No complaints here,
”
says Sarah before she takes her things and heads into our room. I start to follow her, and then remember that Logan has paired Roman and Beckham in the same room. It makes sense, but it also feels like a cosmic joke. The look they give each other before either one of them makes a move sends a chill down my spine.
Okay, maybe not a cosmic joke
—
maybe the precursor to an old-fashioned showdown?
Is it possible that they each know that I have feelings for
both
of them? I know that Roman does
—
but not Beck
…
right?

“
Beckham,
”
says Logan, pulling me from my thoughts as she drapes the strap of her duffle bag over her shoulder.
“
If you get too claustrophobic in there, you
’
re always welcome in my room.
”
She winks at him before heading down the hall.

I take my cue from Avery and glare at her until she
’
s gone.

God
’
s laughing at me. He
’
s playing a trick on me and He
’
s
laughing
. If I were a lesser man, I would just take my stuff back downstairs and sleep on the couch
—
but I don
’
t want to be a jerk, so I just follow Roman into our room. I cough out a laugh when I realize this room
doesn
’
t
have a couch
—
instead, the sitting area has two armchairs and the king-sized bed is the only sleeping option.
Well,
aside from the floor
. I laugh again, remembering Avery
’
s comment about our resident queen bee.

“
We don
’
t have to share the room,
”
says Roman, his bag still in his hand.
“
I can talk to Logan. There are other rooms.
”

“
You can do what you want,
”
I tell him with a shrug.
“
It doesn
’
t matter to me. I can sleep on the floor. It
’
s not a big deal.
”
As petty as it may be, I
’
m not going to be the one that caves and bails on my room assignment. If he wants to be a girl about it, he can go right ahead.

“
No, that
’
s not necessary. Look
—
the bed is plenty big for the both of us. We won
’
t even notice that the other is there. Besides, it
’
s only for a couple nights.
”

“
Yeah. Okay,
”
I mutter.
Maybe this won
’
t be so bad after all. What is it they say, keep your friends close and your enemies closer?
It dawned on me not too long ago that this weekend might be the perfect time to tell Addison how I feel. I
’
ve been trying to figure out the right time and the right place and the right words
—
but it has yet to all come together. Here, in
Steamboat paradise
, in this big house, I might be able to pull it off. I want it to be romantic and I
’
m thinking this place could quite possibly be the perfect backdrop. I just have to work on getting her alone.
“
I
’
m going to see what kind of food we
’
ve got around here,
”
I announce as I head for the hallway.

“
Good idea. I
’
ll come with.
”

Considering the kitchen is a whole lot bigger than this room, which is saying quite a bit, considering the size of this room, I don
’
t object. I feel even better when we get down there and find Daphne and Trevor are already raiding the fridge.

“
Find anything good?
”
I ask when we
’
re close enough to be heard.

“
Yeah,
”
Daphne answers.
“
I think we
’
re going to go the pasta route tonight.
”

“
Daph makes a wicked alfredo sauce,
”
says Trevor as he heads to the sink to wash the bell peppers she has handed him.

“
I can attest to that,
”
adds Roman.
“
How can we help?
”

An hour later, we
’
re all sitting down to eat. They were right
—
Daphne
’
s alfredo is delicious, as are the veggies she saut
é
ed that we piled on top of the whole wheat linguini. We eat until there
’
s nothing left and we
’
re all full. By the time we
’
re done and the kitchen is cleaned up, it
’
s almost ten. Logan suggests that we all play a game, to pass the time before bed, and everyone agrees. Unfortunately for me, that means that I
’
ll have to find another moment to get Addie to myself; but the weekend has barely just begun, so I don
’
t worry about it.

Claire and Jack are the first to call it quits and head for bed. Sarah and Addie are next, followed by Daphne and then Gray and Ave. It
’
s around midnight when our group has dwindled down to four and we decide to say goodnight.

I wake up as the sun starts peeking through the curtains that cover up the massive window on the far side of the room. From where I
’
m lying, curled up on the most comfortable couch I
’
ve ever had the pleasure of experiencing, I have the most perfect view.

Avery is cuddled underneath the heavy, plush, duvet. The gigantic king-sized bed, with all the pillows and blankets, is almost swallowing her whole. I make a mental note to never invest in a king-sized bed
—
there
’
s too much room. The only thing that I ever want swallowing my girl in our bed are my arms. I can
’
t deny, though, that the peaceful expression on her sleeping face right now is probably the most beautiful sight I
’
ve ever seen.

I love her more than I love myself. She
’
s changed my life and I thank God for her every day. It
’
s not just the way she loves me or the way she accepts me, it
’
s the way she pushes me and challenges me and supports me no matter what. She helped me find a counselor, just like she promised; I
’
ve been going for a couple weeks, now. At first, I really didn
’
t want to go, but her encouragement got me through the door. I
’
m not saying it
s
easy or that I like it, but I can already appreciate the importance behind me going. I promised her I would try it and now I
’
m willing to stick it out for as long as I need to.