return, the sensation that flooded Logan’s senses wasn’t the longing he’d expected. It was anger.
Suddenly he questioned every minute of their time together. From the moment they’d passed beyond the friendship stage, Allegra had been nervous, begging him to keep their relationship under wraps. “Temporarily,” she’d said. To give her time to get her father used to the idea. Yet the passion in her kisses had convinced him of her devotion.
Why didn’t I see it before?
Allegra simply hadn’t loved Logan enough. Not enough to stand up to whatever pressure had been applied, whether from his father or hers. Not enough to take a risk. Not enough to find a way to be with him. Had she loved him at all?
As Allegra stood with her gaze downcast, he couldn’t help comparing her to Ellery. Brave, defiant Ellery. Every fiber of his being told him Ellery would never let anyone dictate her future. Ellery had grit. She would fight for whatever she believed in. She would certainly fight for a man she loved.
Not that it mattered. That man would never be Logan. Ellery had made it clear she wasn’t interested in continuing their relationship beyond the weekend. Not even as friends.
But for tonight, she was pretending she liked him. He slid his hand to Ellery’s lap and entwined their fingers. He shouldn’t have brought her. He’d put her in the line of fire for no good reason. His stepfather wouldn’t hesitate to cut her down if he thought it would humiliate Logan. And her sacrifice would be for nothing. Ellery had come to help him win back a woman he no longer wanted.
He didn’t dare let Ellery know he’d changed his mind. Not after all she’d suffered to be here and all she would likely endure tonight. The least he could do was follow through with the original plan. But he secretly hoped Allegra would ignore him the entire evening.
And if Ellery volunteers to comfort me in my distress, who am I to say no? Holding my hand…an innocent kiss…
He closed his eyes, recalling how good she’d felt in his arms. A perfect fit. As if she belonged there. Too bad she didn’t remember any of it.
An elbow jabbed his ribs, jarring him back to the present.
“Wake up,” his mother rasped. “You were moaning!”
As the audience stood, Logan dropped Ellery’s hand and turned to watch the bride coming up the aisle on the senator’s arm. Logan’s stepdad sent a sneer his direction. Feeling inexplicably lighthearted, Logan responded with a wink and a grin. That it irritated his stepdad only made him laugh.
A flash of lime green caught Logan’s eye. From the back row, Cole Miller waved his prosthetic hand, and Logan let out a relieved breath that his only real friend had made it to the wedding. The ceremony lasted way too long, and Logan let his mind ponder weighty things like why Ellery’s skin was so much softer than his. Was it part of the X-chromosome or some secret lotion? He was about to lift her delicate fingers to his nose to test his theory when he heard her sniffing.
“Why are you crying?” he whispered, hoping she wasn’t having a panic attack.
She swiped at her eyes. “I always cry at weddings.”
Logan nodded as if this made perfect sense. It didn’t. Why would a person cry at a wedding? Especially when the bride and groom were strangers. As far as Logan was concerned, the thought process of a woman remained the world’s greatest mystery.
When the ceremony ended, Cole and his wife, Brooke, waited in line to enter the grand ballroom with Logan, his mom, and Ellery. From the number of phones aimed their direction, Logan assumed people were trying to get snapshots of the famous green-armed Houstonite.
“You may not want to be associated with us tonight,” Logan told Cole. “My mom and I aren’t exactly popular with this group, especially with Duane Edwards.”
“That’s ironic,” Cole said, “since I wasn’t even going to accept the invitation until you mentioned you were coming to this event. You and I are going to talk business tonight. We have a proposition for you.”
Brooke frowned. “I’ll be annoyed if you two talk techno stuff and ignore the rest of us.”
“You’re impossible to ignore.” Cole gave her a devilish grin. “Not only are you beautiful, but your belly is the size of a football stadium.”
Laughing, she pretended to shove him.
“When are you due?” Ellery asked.
“Four more weeks.” Brooke placed her hands on her rounded abdomen. “It’s either Jasper