Page 16 of Because of Logan

Another chair drags back, and a tall, lean, and good-looking guy sits down opposite to River, but not before giving Skye a quick hug and kissing her on the top of her head.

They have similar coloring, but his hair is a darker blond, his eyes are also blue, and it's obvious he works out often when he takes his parka off and drapes it over the chair. His arms are ripped with lean muscle. And that annoys me. Not that I look any worse than him. Playing hockey for the last twenty years has made me strong and muscular as well, even if I no longer play for hours every day. I still get together with friends to play, and I work out almost every day. But this guy has an in with Skye and he looks like competition. I do not share well.

Just the thought of another guy near her pisses me off. The unwelcome possessiveness startles me. I’m not the jealous or possessive type.

The alpha-male domineering bullshit I witnessed growing up with a father like mine always made feel uneasy. I’d never been jealous of Amanda in all the years we were together. Or anyone else, for that matter.

I don’t like the way it makes me feel. Not at all. I don’t know what to do with these feelings. They don’t sit well with me—feels like trying to put on clothes that are a few sizes too small. It doesn’t fit and makes me feel constricted.

So much for hoping this Bruno would be a bookish nerd. He’s anything but.

Bruno nods at River and then gives me his hand to shake, introducing himself.

“Hey, I’m Bruno. Nice to meet you, man.”

“Logan,” I say as I shake his hand. He has a firm handshake.

I’m looking for something to hate about the guy, for something to be wrong with him, but he’s friendly and seems nice. He puts an arm around Skye’s chair and nudges her toward him with a big grin.

“What’s up, Sugar? One more week and then I can get you drunk.”

A surge of irritation comes over me. I want to grab him by his preppy pink polo shirt and throw him out.Jesus Christ! What’s wrong with me?

“Oh-oh, better not say that in front of Officer Hot Cop. He hates drinking.”

“Who?” Bruno asks.

“Him.”

River points at me with my own cookie. Or half of it, rather.

“He’s a cop, and we got pulled over last night, and I don’t even want to know what Skye had to do to get out of the ticket. And now he’s taking her on a date so he can do more things to her I don’t want to know about.”

Bruno looks my way, assessing me with new eyes, and his hand curves protectively over Skye’s shoulder.

“Oh my God, River! Would you stop that? Nothing happened, okay?”

She glares at her sister.

“We got pulled over because I went through a yellow light and had a broken tail light. Logan thought I was drunk, but it was not me. It was River, and then he let us go. I ran into him a few minutes ago. That is all, end of the story.”

“Well, not the end of the story. Don’t forget your birthday date with me,” I say, gauging Bruno’s reaction.

Bruno surprises me when he says, “That’s cool. I won’t be here, and God knows what River would get you into. At least with a cop, I know you’ll be safe.”

He looks pointedly at me.

“Won’t she? Be safe, I mean.”

“She will.”

He earns respect from me with that question and the veiled threat behind the friendly words.Cop or no cop, I’m going after you if you hurt Skye.

“We didn’t decide—we’re just talking about it,” Skye says, looking uncertain still.

I don’t want to force her to go out with me. Hell, I’d never force a girl to do anything. I’m about to say something and give her an out. As much as I want to get to know her better, maybe I should run the opposite way. I’m much too interested, and I barely know more than her name. If I allow myself to go down this path... I don’t want to think about it.

Bruno leans closer to her and whispers something in her ear, then pulls back and asks her, “Okay?”

---