Page 66 of Bloom: Part 2

“Baby, listen to me.” I took his face into my hands and pressed my forehead to me. “You’re the only one for me. Nobody else. Just you.”

Thankfully, Joel had the good sense to step inside. I didn’t know what to make of Grimm’s son, but I’d been right along. He wasn’t as simple as he portrayed. Neither was the reason he was in Smoky Vale.

“Logan.”

“Yes?”

“I don’t want to be here anymore. Can you take me home?”

He didn’t have to ask twice.

20

BLOOM

The drive home was tense. Too tense. Logan’s grip on the steering wheel was tight, and his posture rigid. The car wove its way along the quiet street, the light from the headlamps casting long, stretched-out shadows that danced around us.

I fiddled with my ring. What had he and Joel talked about? Did he think the other guy was an upgrade? And why the hell not? He was good looking and obviously smart. He seemed to have his shit together. Everyone liked him. Jamie had told us so many stories about him that I felt I knew him personally. Stories that made the other boys laugh.

“The boys want to throw me a bachelor party,” I said, trying to sound cheery and not let my anxiety creep into my voice. “What do you think?”

“Sure.”

Just sure? That was all he had to say? His tone was monotonous, and his simple reply did nothing to ease my anxiety.

“I heard the one they had for Cass was wild. They ended up getting arrested, and their Daddies had to bail them out.”

“Mm,” Logan grunted noncommittally, his eyes never leaving the road.

I bit my lower lip, spinning the ring more forcefully on my finger. Why wasn’t he talking to me? Had I done something wrong? I’d been so good for the past couple of days. Crowe had also agreed to our marriage. Shouldn’t Logan be happy?

The silence stretched out, each passing second more suffocating than the last. I fought against the urge to grab the steering wheel, to get him to stop the car and talk to me. To tell me again that he didn’t want Joel. To swear on his life that he would want no one else but me.

Soon we were turning into our driveway, and the automatic lights flooded the perimeter of the house. Logan parked inside the garage, the beam of the headlamps falling on my motorcycle. I hadn’t ridden it in what felt like forever, yet the shiny chrome and leather didn’t seem to have a speck of dust. Logan had taken care of it for me just like he’d said he would.

He loves me.

“Logan.”

“Let’s get inside.”

He still opened doors for me. That was a good sign, right? I couldn’t bear it anymore. My stomach was tied up in knots. I wrapped my arms around his waist from behind, desperate to provide the only thing I had to offer.

“Logan, let’s have sex.” As soon as we were inside and he shut the door, I dropped my hand to the waistband of his pants. If I reminded him how good it was between us, he would stop thinking about Joel. He would see that I was better.

His body went still. “Not now, Bloom. I need a drink. Can you go up without me?”

I let my arms fall to my sides. “Without you?”

He cupped my cheek and kissed my forehead. “It’s okay. I’ll be up in a minute, I promise. I didn’t drink nearly enough at the clubhouse because I had to drive us home.”

His eyes had softened, but he didn’t say anything else, just walked toward the kitchen. I watched him with a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach.

You’re overreacting. Don’t let your irrational fears in. You know he loves you.

And I did, but I couldn’t get how close he and Joel had been standing to each other out of my mind. I climbed the stairs, one heavy step at a time, glancing back repeatedly to see if he would realize I was barely holding on and come after me.

He didn’t.

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