Page 10 of Winter's End

Logan was uncharacteristically silent.

“I’m sorry this shitshow ruined your wedding, Hill. I know it was a fake wedding, but you put so much time and effort into it, and now the whole town will talk about this for the next ten years.” Winter rolled her eyes and grimaced. “Sorry for being my friend, yet?”

“Hell, no,” Hillary declared with a grin. “That spectacle will be a pinnacle moment of my life. With any luck, our fathers will suffer aneurysms tonight and put us out of ourmisery.”

She leaned forward in her seat, making eye contact with every one of us. “The question is, how can I help? Other than my money?”

“I think we’ll have to cross that bridge when it comes, Hill. But knowing you’re on our side is a huge help,” Winter said. “We need all the resources we can get. We’re running out of people to trust in this town.”

“What’s the other confession?” Drew spoke up. “You said you had two confessions?”

His tone was uneasy and my heart ached for my friend who’d had to deal with too much change this year. Straitlaced Drew was getting his ass kicked; I didn’t know how much more the man could take.

I cursed myself for not sitting beside him. I wanted to rest his head on my shoulder and wrap my arms around him in a big bro hug. Then kiss the ever-loving shit out of him.

My cock stirred to life in my jeans, the very definition of wrong-time, wrong-place.

“Umm…” Winter fidgeted in her stance, and her eyes flicked nervously to Logan’s; they stared at each other for an agonizing second. “Logan and I had an—intimate moment—and it’s only appropriate that you all know.”

Talk about a climactic finish. I didn’t intend the pun, but now that it was out there, I was proud of it.

I mean … I wasn’t surprised, necessarily. I had watched the change between them over the past few weeks. I don’t think any of usshouldbe surprised if we were paying proper attention. Despite that insider’s intuition, another sting of jealousy shot through my guts.

By the look on Cam’s face,hewas surprised. And downright disgusted.

“I’m going to give you guys some privacy.” Hillary abruptly left the living area and headed down some hallway, closing a door behind her.

Cam stood from the couch, too. He didn’t say a word, choosing instead to head over to the patio doors, opening them up and stepping out onto the deck. Through the large windows, I watched him light up a cigarette as he leaned over the wooden railing on his forearms, looking up at the mountain in the distance.

Winter stared after him, apprehension etched into her features.

A heavy hush hung in the air as we all looked back and forth between Logan, whose smile rivaled a smug cat, and Winter, who stopped staring after Cam and somehow managed to look both defiant and apologetic.

“So, is this a thing now?” Travis asked, pointing between the two of them before wiping his palms over his face.

Logan opened his mouth, but Winter beat him to it. “No. It was one-time, and won’t be happening again.”

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Princess.” Logan folded his arms over his chest and winked at her; the look she shot him could kill a man.

A man with lesser resilience, maybe. Logan apparently had the resilience of a cockroach.

“I can’t say I’m shocked, but I’ve got to ask, Winter; how many guys are we going to share your time with?”

Travis peered intensely at her before his gaze flicked to his best friend outside; Cam hadn’t moved a muscle from his perch on the deck.

“I’d like to know that too, Winter.” Drew said quietly beside her. “I love you, and I want this. I’m not comfortable with outsiders coming into our family, though. That’s what this is, isn’t it? Our family?”

He pursed his lips and stood, reaching over to grab her hand and tugging her tightly into his lap on the couch between him and Travis once again.

“My turn to speak,” Logan interrupted before she could respond.

He stood from his seat beside me and circled around to the front of the couch, a casual hand in his sweatpants pocket while rubbing his other hand over the stubble on his jaw.

“I don’t want to be a part of this family. I don’t like half of you and I only tolerate the other half. I care abouther.” He pointed at Winter. “Yes, Princess, whether you want it or not.”

He smirked again, but it was softer somehow.

“And,” he continued, stuffing both hands in his pockets and slumping his shoulders in an unexpectedly humble pose, “I’m as fucked as all of you. All of my cards are on the table. I was on a bender. They threatened me with trumped-up drug charges, or I could comply and be a good little bitch boy.”

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