Page 69 of The Christmas You Crash

Maddox grins at him. “Just wait, Byrne. You’ll fall hard one day and change your tune.” He runs his fingers through his girlfriend’s hair. “Best inconvenience ever.”

Logan Byrne, chronic bachelor, doesn’t look convinced. Hell, he didn’t even have to kick his date out for this conversation. Because he didn’t bring one. Heneverbrings one. Since I’ve played with the Rogues, never once have I seen Logan do more than hook up with a woman. And we all know about his one-and-done rule. He never has sex with a woman more than once. He never takes them out for anything more than a few drinks to loosen them both up, and heneverspends the whole night with them.

We give him so much shit for that one because the guy actually sets an alarm to wake him up in the middle of the night so he’s out by the time the poor woman he’s spent the night with wakes up. I suppose they know what they’re getting into—he’s brutally upfront about what he is and isn’t willing to give—but it seems so hollow. Especially now, with Lexi snuggled up next to me. Logan has no idea what he’s missing.

“Not that you ladies aren’t cool,” Byrne says to Isla, Mira, and Lexi between sips of his beer. “But I like my life the way it is. I enjoy plenty of female companionship. And I also enjoy my freedom. Not sure why I’d want the complications a relationship would bring.”

“Companionship.” Isla snorts. “You can’t even remember most of their names the next day. Don’t act like you’re in it for thecompanionship.”

“Oh, come on, Isla,” Griffin teases. “Byrne’s dick gets lonely. Even if he doesn’t.”

We all laugh at that. Even Lexi beside me. She was so tense when her dad showed up, but she’s back to her normal, charming self now. She piles on the teasing everyone levels at Logan, and I can’t help thinking that she fits in so well here with me. With us. And I know she’s not ready to go public yet, but I can wait her out. One day, she’ll sit in the family box with Isla and Mira, wearing my jersey and cheering me on. It’s going to happen. I’ll do whatever I have to in order to get us to that point.

“I bet the girls you’ve slept with have a Facebook group or something,” Lexi says between giggles. “Oh, I bet they call itFeeling The ByrneorThe Byrne Bookor something. And they all post their pictures and share their stories and comparenotes about their sexual encounters withtheLogan Byrne. And probably their latest STI test results.”

Mira laughs so hard, champagne sprays out of her mouth. Griffin howls with laughter, and the rest of the guys join in. Logan gives Lexi the evil eye. He almost looks menacing. Or, at least, he would, if his lips weren’t twitching.

“I’ll have you know, I’m totally clean.”

“You probably single-handedly keep your doctor in business,” Maddox teases.

“I wonder if any of the nurses are in your Facebook group?” Isla giggles. “If you signed a waiver, they could probably cut out the middleman and just give your conquests a clean bill of health.”

Bash shakes his head. “That would be a HIPAA violation.”

“That’s why he’d have to sign a waiver,” Isla replies.

Logan looks over at Lexi and says, “See what you started?”

“Sorry, not sorry.” She rests her head on my shoulder. She’s fitting into my world so seamlessly.

We spend the next couple of hours joking and laughing with everyone. And when the live feed on TV starts counting down from ten, I wrap Lexi in my arms and revel in this unexpected turn my life has taken.

Ten.

“I’m glad you’re here.”

Nine.

Her big green eyes blink up at me.

Eight.

“Me too.”

Seven.

“Making you come earlier…”

Six.

“…wasn’t nearly enough.”

Five.

Lexi flushes and presses her face into my chest.

Four.

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