Page 67 of Whenever You Call

“Probably not.”

His lips twitched on one corner, but he never let a smile form. “It’s definitely a bad idea, Hannah.”

“Maybe, but I’m tired of always being sensible and cautious, aren’t you?”

“Some things can’t be taken back once they happen, and I don’t want to cross any lines with you.”

“You wouldn’t have to. I have enough bedrooms. You can choose any you want. I just need you here. I need to know you’re close, and I know it’s selfish, and I know it doesn’t make sense, and I know I shouldn’t be asking this of you, but here I am doing it anyway. For some reason you’re the one who calms me, Logan, and I’m desperate and hopeless enough to want to cling to that for as long as I possibly can.”

He closed his eyes, like everything I’d just said had pained him.

“One night,” he finally said, his voice quiet as he looked back at me again.

My chest deflated, and a weight I hadn’t realized had been there lifted from my shoulders… until he released me from his grip and took a step back, his hand coming up to rub at the back of his neck again.

“That’s all I can give you, Hannah.”

“I understand,” I said, hating the look he now wore.

“Do you?”

No, I didn’t, but everything about Logan standing in front of me told me he was beyond exhausted, and now wasn’t the time to ask him what everything meant.

“Yes,” I said quietly, offering him a flat smile before I reached for his hand, grateful when he took it and allowed me to lead the way.

I turned off all the lights and locked every door. I set the alarm and then guided Logan up the stairs, where he’d already been before. I showed him the guest rooms he could choose from, hoping he’d take the one directly opposite my room.

He did, and after showing him where everything was, he stood on the threshold of the room while I stayed out in the hallway, trying to drag this out as long as possible.

“Get some sleep, Hannah,” he finally said, towering over me, our bodies closer than they should have been.

“You, too, Logan.”

I didn’t linger at his door, waiting for him to say anything else. The pull I felt toward him scared me, so I turned on my heels and made my way inside my bedroom, closing the door behind me with a contentment in my heart I knew to be temporary, but grateful for it all the same.

He had a magic about him, Logan Thomas.

One I would find impossible to give up once the sun rose the next morning, but one I sensed I’d have to give up anyway.

My silent, unassuming, unexpected hero.

Chapter27

LOGAN

Ilay beneath the comforter in a foreign bed, staring up at the ceiling of a house I barely knew. No matter how exhausted I’d been, I couldn’t switch off from the way Hannah had looked at me when she asked me to stay.

How could anyone be with her and not see perfection?

Why would anyone want to take someone as pure as her and break her down into little pieces so they could build her back up into a version that suited them?

It made me fucking angry to think about it. It was as crazy as buying a classic painting only to strip the canvas of the artwork so you could paint over it to make it something less worthy. Something anyone could make.

I thought I’d stay that way all night, asking myself impossible questions that could never be answered, but somehow my body and brain figured out a way to shut me down, regardless. I turned on my side, stuck my hands under the soft, white pillow, and let sleep claim me, dragging me down into a black void where Hannah’s face was the only thing I could see.

In that world, I didn’t need to feel any shame about the thoughts I had about her. In that world, everything was simple. She was a woman in need of me, and I was a man able to offer whatever she demanded. At some point, I rolled onto my back again, falling further into a peacefulness that was soon to be interrupted.

The sinking of the mattress was the first thing to make my eyes flutter open, half of me curious enough towantto wake up, the other half desperate to stay asleep and beat the tiredness that had taken over. The unexpected body heat that followed had me scowling, despite the darkness being the only thing that met me when I looked up at the ceiling again, disorientated about where I was and who could be there.

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