Under the Mistletoe, page 13
part #1 of Home to Heritage || Book Five Series
“I can’t believe she cheated on you with your brother.” Even though she hated the idea of Logan liking this girl, Devin wished she knew her address so she could go give her a piece of her mind.
“In her defense, she had always liked Liam. Everyone did. The only reason she’d agreed to the study dates with me was because she was hoping to get to know him. She hadn’t expected that she’d also start to like me. But when Liam showed interest…her affection quickly shifted back.” Logan shrugged and moved the pizza to a wire mesh tray.
“She was using you to get to your brother? I’d better never meet this girl.” Devin bit the inside of her cheek. “What did Liam do?”
“When he put it all together, he dumped her. I have never seen him so mad. After that, we were much more communicative when it came to girls. And that is when we agreed never to like the same girl again.”
“So when you realized you both liked me…”
“It was a hard pass for both of us. It had to be.” He put the pizza in the oven. “So as long as we’re asking questions, who was the best-looking guy in the room in college?”
“What?” Her voice cracked.
“You said that Liam wasn’t the best-looking guy in the room. Just curious who it was. Jake, Pete? I spent all those years jealous of my brother, but maybe I should have been jealous of someone else too.” He set the timer and sent a teasing smile her direction.
“Uh…” What did she say to that? She’d said it without thinking, and now she had to come up with an answer that he wouldn’t see through. Because now that they were back to an easy friendship, she didn’t want to jeopardize that.
“It’s no big deal. All water under the bridge.” He turned his back to the stove and leaned on it. “I just thought if we were friends and we were going to start again with complete honesty then—”
“Fine, it was you.”
Logan’s smile faded.
“So, maybe we aren’t ready for complete honesty.” When he didn’t move, she pointed toward the living room. “I’m going to wait out there.”
She took a step toward the door, but Logan was there in an instant, blocking her path. His eyes intense. He reached up and ran his finger over her cheek, igniting a fire of pleasure on her skin. He stopped next to her lips.
“There was glitter on your cheek.” His voice had a deep, husky edge that hadn’t been there before. “I’m not over you. I thought I was, goodness knows I’ve tried. But I’m not, and I’m beginning to believe I never will be.”
Her hands found his waist, and he drew in a shallow breath. The warmth of his skin reached through his T-shirt. In some ways, it was all happening so fast. And yet it had been coming for years.
Heat seemed to be rolling off him. “What would you have said if I’d asked you out at last year’s Christmas party?”
She tilted her face to him, and he met her gaze and held it.
“Yes.” The word came out on a sigh, and his face dipped toward hers—
The chime of a phone split the air, bringing Cal to attention as he barked around the room.
Logan blinked at her before dropping his hand and stepping back. He lifted his phone from the table and walked over to the sink, staring out the window. “Hello?”
Devin ran a hand over Cal’s head as Logan walked to the sink and gripped the edge as he stared out the window. “Yeah. Devin’s here.” Another long pause. “I have four-wheel drive…I understand…Probably best…I know…” He finally turned around and faced her. “You can trust me…See you tomorrow.”
He ended the call and released a deep sigh as he laced his hands behind his head. “That was my folks. Roads are getting bad. Not just the six inches that fell in the last few hours, but underneath is a thick layer of ice. Luke has already responded to three accidents. They’re staying at Libby’s tonight and said we should stay put.”
Stay put as in snowed in. As in they were staying the night here, alone. She swallowed and blinked at Logan.
That look said it all. They had just started a spark between them, and it wouldn’t take much to turn it into a roaring fire if they weren’t careful.
And now they were here alone. Oh boy.
Four hours, a pizza, and a movie later, and all Logan could think about was claiming that kiss that had almost been. But with how he was feeling now—how he’d been feeling all night—that would be stupid. It was one thing to give in to his desires, knowing that his parents could show up at any moment. Doing so, knowing they were here alone for the night…nope. That was asking for trouble.
Because everything in him didn’t want just a kiss with Devin. He wanted it all. The life, the future, the promise of tomorrow. And if he let them get wrapped up in the moment tonight, it could end up burning out before they even had a chance. He was not waking up with regrets, and neither was she. He’d make sure of that.
“Well, it’s late, and I still need to finish work.” He pushed off the couch and stood, bringing Cal to life. Logan scratched Cal’s ears then walked to the hall giving Devin a wide berth. “My mom said you could stay in the guest room down here. The bed is made up.”
Except…oh no. He took off ahead of her.
He flung the door open and froze. Right. This was where his mom said she’d put his work and notes that had been on the kitchen table when she’d arrived.
He gathered everything in record time and pulled them to his chest just when Devin appeared in the doorway, Cal at her side. A touch of uncertainty clouded her face. “In here?”
“Yup.” He took a sidestep toward the door.
“Is that Victor Holt’s next chapter?”
“What?” All the warmth drained from his face. How could she know that?
She pulled a sticky note off his sleeve and turned it around. What does Astryn want? was in bold Sharpie.
It must have dropped from his notebook. He snatched the note and stuck it into his notebook. “I can explain—”
“Or are you just a really invested reader?” That knowing gleam was in her eye. “I’ve suspected for a while you were working with him. But maybe you’re @HoltFanForever. That guy—or girl—has a lot of interesting theories on the message boards.”
“You follow a lot of message boards?”
“Super fan. Remember? I just hadn’t realized you were too, unless it’s just a job for you.” She let it hang there a moment then added, “Don’t worry, I won’t ask any questions that you probably shouldn’t answer.”
“Right.” The NDA. But surely if something was happening with them, he needed to tell her. Didn’t he? Then again, maybe that should come after he knew exactly what was happening. After all, he’d like to know if she was falling for Logan and not Victor at this point. “Let me take this to my room.”
She stepped aside, and he hurried up to his room. He dropped his laptop and all his notes on his desk. If they really did this, then there would be no keeping it from her, but he needed a little more time.
“Logan.” Her faint voice drifted up the stairs.
He stepped into the hallway and spotted her standing at the bottom of the stairs with Cal at her side. “Yes?”
“Is there a shirt I could sleep in?” She tugged at the sleeve of her sweater. “This might not work well.”
He returned to his room and grabbed a T-shirt, but the idea of her in his shirt sent a new wave of heat through him. Maybe that wasn’t what she wanted. She said is there a shirt, not do you have a shirt? Logan walked over to his parents’ room and grabbed a large T-shirt of his mom’s. It wasn’t nearly as big as his, but this way, she could choose.
He hurried down the steps to the guest room. She was sitting on the edge of the bed, no Cal. He must have gone in search of any food left out. She stood when he appeared in the doorway.
“I have two choices. This is my mom’s and this is mine.” He held them up, but when she didn’t reach for either, he set them on the dresser. Then motioned to two doors on the right side of the room. “This room has a private bath. And knowing my mom, folded towels in the closet and spare toiletries in the bathroom. But if you need anything else, text me.”
“Is everything okay between us?” Her teeth tugged at her bottom lip, and Logan closed his eyes a moment and took a step back toward the doorway. “I mean before the phone call…and now…are you upset with me?”
His eyes flew open. “Upset? No.”
“Then what is it?” Her face reddened, and her eyes seemed almost hurt.
Man, was he doing this all wrong.
“Did I read you wrong earlier? Do you not want to kiss me?”
He drew a slow breath and took a half step toward her. He clenched his fists at his sides to keep from reaching for her. “More than I want to breathe.”
“Then why—”
“Because if we are doing this”—he motioned between them—“then we are doing it right. We’re giving it the best chance. But if…well, if you feel at all about me like I…” He lifted his face to the ceiling for a moment and drew a calming breath. “I’m just saying that one kiss wouldn’t be enough…and I don’t want us to get in over our heads.”
“Oh.” A slight smile tugged at her mouth as she bit her lip again. The girl was going to kill him. “And so you know, you’re better with words than you think.”
She stepped to the dresser and claimed his T-shirt and hung it over her arm.
Right. Logan drew in a slow breath, swallowed, and marched out into the hallway.
She walked to the door and shut it partway, then looked up at him. A look not all that different than when she’d been inches from him four hours ago. “Good night, Logan.”
His breathing slowed. “Good night.”
She clicked the door shut, and Logan gripped the frame to keep himself from knocking and telling her he’d changed his mind about that kiss. He rested his forehead against the door and drew a slow breath again.
“Devin?” His voice was low, so if she’d moved away from the door, she wouldn’t hear him.
He swore he could hear a small laugh as the lock snapped into place. “Good night, Logan.”
Logan pushed off the frame and hurried back up to his room.
He shut the door, settled into the chair, and opened his laptop. He was down to an hour to get this to Christina.
He scanned where he left off.
Astryn closed her eyes. Rand had gone back to detached rescuer, but she wasn’t the same. Every inch of her had become aware of him. His warmth, his strength, his smile. She was being pulled toward him in every way. She had fallen for the brother she couldn’t have.
A few hours ago, he’d hated this scene because Astryn was falling for the wrong brother. But what if she wasn’t? Logan clenched his fists, the tension coiling in his shoulders as he recalled the way her eyes had sparkled—not at Liam, but at him. I never thought Liam was the best-looking guy in the room. It hadn’t been Liam she’d been watching. It had been him. Logan who had stepped in to help her. Logan who had bought her the bracelet and helped her feel seen. Logan who she’d wanted to kiss tonight. Her warmth against him, the way she leaned in, the way her eyes had pulled him in, it all made him ache with a longing he’d never experienced. He wasn’t invisible to Devin. Maybe he was more like Rand than he’d realized.
Now it just needed an ending.
Logan closed his eyes, trying to visualize the scene, but all he came up with was Devin’s face. The warmth of Devin’s skin. How much he’d wanted to finally taste her lips.
Logan opened his eyes and ran his hands through his hair. Maybe that was it. If he were Rand, finally being this close to the woman he cared about might be his undoing, even if she was engaged to his brother. And he had no doubt that the kingdom would be the last thing on Astryn’s mind. Logan hovered his fingers over the keys a moment, then let the scene come to life.
Rand bent closer to inspect the wound. His thumb skimming along her neck, sending fire through her veins. Her eyes trailed along the scruff of his jaw and paused on his lips.
“It doesn’t look like more than a surface scra—”
Astryn’s eyes darted to his. His caramel eyes bored into hers, his own expression a war of need and honor.
“Astryn.” His voice was low and raw. It was half plea and half warning.
And for the first time, Astryn grabbed onto the idea that the feeling, the desire, the deep sense that what was happening between them wasn’t one-sided after all. That just maybe he longed for her as much as she longed for him.
“You’re hurt.” Astryn ran her finger along a deep scratch on his chin.
Rand sucked in a deep breath as his eyes closed.
“Does it hurt?”
“No.” Rand made a low, guttural sound but kept his eyes closed. The muscle in his jaw twitched, then again. But he didn’t back up.
She trailed her finger over his jaw, and the muscle there seemed to soften under her touch as he leaned closer, his breath dusting her lips.
“Astryn!” Her father’s voice carried across the field. “Rand!”
Rand’s eyes flew open as he jerked back. He dropped his hand and stared at the ground for a moment. He gave her one last long look before he pressed his lips into a thin line and stood. He helped her to her feet, then quickly moved a few feet away, his head dropping back a moment before he yelled into the Cambrian forest in the direction the sound had come from. “Over here. We’re both here. She’s safe.”
Orin was the first to burst into the clearing. He dismounted before his horse had even come to a stop and ran to Astryn, lifting her to her feet then searching her over head to foot. “Thank Origin you are safe.” Then he seemed to freeze. “Where’s the pendant?”
“I-I wasn’t wearing it. I was afraid I would lose it and—”
“Thank goodness.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “But wear it from now on. It will protect you.”
Her father appeared and dismounted, then pulled her into his arms. “Are you really all right? It seems some will go to great lengths to keep our two kingdoms from uniting.”
Orin was there again. He gathered her hands in his. “You can trust me. This wedding will happen. It is only a week away, and I promise you nothing can stop it.”
The words were said as a promise, but they carried a sting. She glanced at Rand, who stood half shrouded in shadow. The pain in his eyes was unmistakable. Nothing could stop it. Not even the love of another.
Logan reread the final words. A level of satisfaction with his writing he hadn’t felt in a while coursed through him. He opened his email and sent the scene off to Christina. Hopefully, she’d be just as happy with it, because there wasn’t much time for changes before it was supposed to go live.
Logan hurried across the hall and showered and brushed his teeth. When he returned, Cal had claimed his bed in the corner. Logan leaned over his laptop and checked his email. One unread message. His hand hesitated over the email a moment before he clicked.
christina@christinajames.com
You nailed it. Well done. I think you’ve broken through whatever was holding you back.
He let that roll around in his head. Holding him back. Maybe denying his heart had been holding him back. What had his dad said? His character couldn’t feel until he allowed himself to feel. A deep guttural laugh rolled out of him. He’d definitely let himself feel, all right.
He read the last of the email.
Try to get me the next chapter a little sooner. Looking forward to finding out how this ends.
He shut his laptop and walked to the bed. He was looking forward to seeing how it ended too. Logan’s mind flipped back to when Devin had insinuated that he was Victor Holt’s editor. He should’ve just said no, but he’d been so caught off guard that he’d stood there looking guilty, which led her to draw her own conclusions. False conclusions that were both a convenient explanation for things he couldn’t say and potentially big trouble.
He needed to fix this before they could really move forward, but everything was getting so tangled.
He flopped back on his bed. It turned out he’d been wrong, that the person standing between him and Devin wasn’t Liam. No, it was Victor Holt.
eight
This wasn’t her house, and she needed to get up, but Devin hadn’t been able to resist starting the day with her dose of Victor Holt. And now that she’d read it, all she could think about was last night. The chapter seemed to mirror her evening with Logan. Not the kidnapping or trekking through the forest. But the way Rand had held Astryn, the way he’d touched her face, even the interrupted kiss. Although Astryn should’ve had much more of an internal scream with that interruption. Devin sure had. She had never hated phones more than she had at that moment when that ringtone had ended Logan’s kiss before it had begun.
She may have lost that chance yesterday, but she was determined to find it today. Even if Astryn couldn’t.
Devin pulled the blankets a little higher, savoring the events of the night before. She had no idea what moving forward would look like between her and Logan, but she’d never recover from the way he’d answered her when she’d asked if he wanted to kiss her.
More than I want to breathe.
Even now, the words and that rough voice sent a hunger through her that she hadn’t known before. Sure, she’d dated a handful of guys, but it’d never been like this.
Logan had always been this enigma, just out of reach. He kept everyone but his brother at a distance. But he had opened up a bit last night for the first time, and it was enough to give her hope. No doubt he still had doors he hadn’t shown her, but even a glimpse of who he was confirmed what she’d always known. Logan was the kind of guy she wouldn’t just crush on. He was the guy she could fall for.
