Page 42 of Meet Me in the Valley
All I see is Logan. All I feel are his hands, trembling against the small of my back. All I want is to close the gap.
Our noses brush as I whisper, “You’re going to miss your flight.” My fingers lazily brush through the hair at the base of his neck, unable to stop touching him even when my mind screams to let this go andstop.
But I can’t just yet. Not yet.
“Fine. I’ll miss it then,” he whispers back, clenching his jaw at the same time as his fingers dig into my hips. A jolt of warmth shoots through my center at the painful gravel in his voice, melting into a faint sigh that escapes my lips—despite my best intentions.
I’m losing my grip here. All the new feelings I’ve developed for him thrash inside me like a Category 5 hurricane. I can’t tame the winds. I can’t calm the waters. It’s muddying my vision, clouding my judgement. I place my hands on his chest, pulling myself off of his forehead to fucking breathe. My heart beats wildly—athump thump thumpthat’s rapid and out of control.
“Go, Lo.”
“Tell me to stay.” He gently holds my wrists that splay across his chest.
Stay.
“No.”
“Tia …” he nearly begs, and I shake my head, taking a step back from him.
“I’ll be okay, Logan. I promise,” I say more to myself than to him. He holds me captive for a few moments, then finally turns to open the trunk to grab his suitcase as I chew on my thumbnail—trying to process what the hell is going on between us.
Thank God I’ll be with Audrey for the next few days before I leave for Vegas, so I can have someone to break this down with. I’m losing my damn mind.
Slamming the trunk closed, Logan’s face fills with a strong determination. Just when I thought I’d be safe from the longing in his eyes, he proves me wrong.
“Are we going to talk about what you said last night?”
I stiffen, rolling my bottom lip against my teeth. No matter how hard I try to school my features, Logan reads me like a book, sensing my unease.
“I’m not getting on that plane until we talk about it,” Logan tacks on.
We’re not ready for this conversation.
“W-what did I say?”
He slightly winces at my reply, scratching behind his neck as if he’s suddenly developed hives. He looks nervous, a little hurt. It’s putting me on edge. His eyes flash with a hint of frustration, narrowing at me.
“You need me to spell it out for you? Because I will,” he murmurs, bringing his sinful hands around my face, rolling his forehead against mine.
Please don’t.
I squeeze my eyes shut. My temples throb with his closeness and from the debaucherous aftermath of last night. I was six sheets to the wind and higher than Ben Franklin’s kite. Bits and pieces of Logan and I in the vineyard flicker behind my eyes.
The smell of sweat on his skin. The dirt against my back. The way the smoke tasted leaving his lips as he exhaled into my mouth.
“You look like you love me, T.”
“I do.”
The weight behind those two words I uttered last night hits me hard and fast. My heart seizes up and lurches into mythroat, making it hard to swallow. I’m nowhere ready to face the music. Every part of me screams, “How could you have been so careless?”
I couldn’t help that my body was literally floating among the stars, causing me to be loose-lipped and reckless.
I fell victim to Logan’s charm. I got sucked into his orbit the very same way every woman before me has. Risking our friendship over my infatuation for him will only get me hurt in the end.
Because if it’s one thing I know for sure: falling in love with Logan Harper is a one-way ticket to heartbreak.
My thoughts spin as his forehead rests against mine, and his fingers graze my cheeks with a tenderness that’s both comforting and confusing. It’s too much and not enough all at once. I open my mouth to speak, but the words catch in my throat. I try to wet my lips, but my tongue won’t move. And I don’t dare open my eyes—because if I do, I’ll fall headfirst into the gaze that’s already unraveling me.
