the living room and into the kitchen. Once we stepped through the doorway, my hand tightened in Logan’s for a split second. I wasn’t sure if this party was any better. The girl I recognized from last time was here. Samantha. She leaned against the counter, surrounded by a couple other girls. She was laughing at something, but the two girls next to her wore different expressions. One was a little heavier with red hair curling freely over her shoulders. She wore a scowl. The girl on Sam’s other side was much more petite with almost white-blonde hair. She wasn’t scowling, but she seemed confused, as if trying to figure out the world’s most important riddle. I noticed all of this before they noticed me.
When they did, Sam looked surprised, and suddenly the other two wore matching frowns. They did not seem to be fans of me.
“Hey!” A guy saw Logan across the room and raised his arms in the air. “Kade is here. Hell yeah, buddy.”
Logan let go of my hand and moved forward to bump fists with the guy. Then they pounded each other on the shoulders. After that guy, it was like a line formed. Logan stayed in place as guy after guy moved past him to do the same fist-bump-shoulder-pound thing. When I realized the line wasn’t going to end anytime soon, I sank back against the doorframe and folded my arms to half-brace and half-shield myself. I felt like I needed it.
“Hi.”
My muscles were rigid, but the soft voice soothed them a little. Samantha, the only girl I knew Logan cared about, had moved to stand in front of me. I looked down, and she held her hand out. Damn. She was nice. I swallowed a knot in my throat. I put my hand in hers and felt how she closed her hand over mine.
“Hi,” I said.
She smiled, and it lit up her entire heart-shaped face. She had dark brown eyes, beautiful plush lips, eyelashes that couldn’t be manufactured, and the long black hair that had helped me recognize her. I’d known she was stunning, but she was even more so up-close. Add the genuine kindness I sensed, and I was forming a girl crush on her.
After letting my hand go, she gestured to herself. “I’m Sam. I don’t know if Logan’s said anything about me.”
He hadn’t, but I already knew. “You’re dating his brother?”
She nodded. “There’s a whole long story that goes with that, but yeah. I’m dating Mason, and my mom is going to marry their dad, so I’m the future stepsister, too.” Her lips curved into an impish smile, and she rolled her eyes. “It’s all one big fuck-up, but Logan—”
She stopped as Logan sidled up next to her and placed his arm around her shoulders. He pulled her close and grinned down at me. “She’s family.” The fondness in his eyes was clear. He genuinely loved this girl. A sensation I hadn’t felt in a long time seized my heart, squeezing it in a painful grip.
I was jealous.
Completely.
Utterly.
I wanted what she had.
My throat was suddenly parched, and I let out a quiet cough to clear it. “It’s nice to meet you.” I nodded at her, and she smiled, a knowing look in her eyes. She’d seen my reaction and knew what it was. She grinned up at Logan. Her hand found his on her shoulder, and she squeezed it before removing his arm.
“We should all go downstairs,” she said. “Nate’s down there.”
“He is?” Logan moved back, his eyebrows bunching together slightly.
She nodded. “Yep, and he seems happy.” Her finger rested on Logan’s chest. “Don’t take that away from him.”
“Why would I?”
“Because the two of you bicker like you’re married. You’re either loving each other or you’re at each other’s throats. Stop it.” She meant business. “I’m getting flashbacks of Analise versus David 2.0.”
A look of horror flashed in Logan’s eyes. He stopped in his tracks. “Don’t insult me like that. At least tell me I’m David, not Analise. Anything but Analise.”
Sam shook her head, moving ahead of him. “Then stop the bickering.” She led the way out of the kitchen, and the two girls who’d been at her side earlier fell into place again.
Logan remained a step behind with me. He shook his head, muttering under his breath. “That’s the worst thing she could’ve called me. I’m not Analise. No way in hell. I’d be David all the way.” He cringed. “I don’t even want to be that.”