Page 34 of Spreading Her Wings

The way he cradled me against his body was gentle. “She was supposed to be here this weekend, but she couldn’t make it. We don’t see her often, but you’ll meet her one day.”

Ikicked my feet up onto the desk in my office, imagining Katie whimpering on the plane ride home for the fifth time today. She’d hidden her face against my neck while I coaxed her to one gentle orgasm after the next. I pressed my thighs together, staring at the blank screen on my phone.

We had been back from Vegas for three days, and I hadn’t talked to her once after dropping her off at her place. Was she avoiding me? Tapping on her name, I brought the phone to my ear and listened to the ringing. Once. Twice. Then a click.

“Hey, you’ve reached Katie O’Neill. Sorry I missed your call, but leave a message—”

I hung up before the chipper promise to call right back. She hadn’t called me back once. I sighed, running my hand through my hair and tugging at the roots until it stung. I groaned, hitting the screen of my phone again.

The ringing sounded louder this time. It rang once, then twice. Another click. “Hey, you’ve reached Katie—”

“What the actual fuck?” I groaned, tossing my phone to the desk and stamping my feet against the ground.

The door to the office opened, and a false sense of hope filled me before Logan’s tattooed arm reached through the door, pushing it open wide enough to slip through before closing it behind him and muffling the sounds of the bar beyond it. “You going to hide in here all night?” He laughed, but I didn’t remove the scowl from my face.

“I don’t know. I might take off.” I imagined getting in my truck and driving to Katie’s house, breaking down her door, and holding her face until she talked to me.

Logan narrowed his eyes, suspicion on his face. “What’s your deal? You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m good. Just a lot going on.” I hesitated, not wanting to tell him what I wasn’t even sure of myself. I didn’t want to explain that the whole situation was pretend, but also that it had somehow become very real.

Concern covered his face. “With your sister? Is she okay?”

A small feeling of guilt settled over me when I nodded. “She’s fine.” Logan has been my best friend for a decade. He knew everything about my family. He knew about every time I’d almost lost her, but now wasn’t one of them. Andy was perfectly happy, engaged, and living with her billionaire fiancé in their fancy penthouse in Chicago. She’d never been better.

“Damn, bro. I’m sure it’ll all be okay. You know I’m always here if you need to talk.” He walked forward, patting my shoulder. I did know and nodded, but I needed to figure it out for myself first.

I pulled up an empty message, typing quickly.

ME

Are you okay?

It took a few minutes before her response came through.

KATIE

I need some time.

ME

Some time for what?

KATIE

I can’t talk right now, Auston.

ME

Why are you avoiding me?

The three dots flashed on the screen, indicating she was typing, before they disappeared. My stomach sank when her response didn’t come through.

Logan stared at me while I didn’t take my eyes from my phone, suspicion covering his face. Shaking my head, I stood up from the desk. “I’m going to take the evening off. Do you think you can close it up?”

“It’s only six o’clock, and you’re talking about closing up? Dang, you really are distracted.” He shook his head. “Of course I’ll take care of it. Go on.”

Logan had been my best friend for so long for a reason. I could always depend on him for anything. That’s why hiring him as my assistant manager had been a no-brainer. He would have my back when I needed him to.

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