Page 76 of Wilde Secrets

Logan grabbed his brother by the back of his shirt and hauled him out of his seat. “Hey! I’m fine here.”

“No, you’re not,” Logan practically growled, pushing Rowan in front of him as they headed to the bar.

Harper bit her lip, not sure what to make of the overly protective Logan.

“That was neatly done.”

“Hmm?” Harper turned to Cassie. “Sorry?”

“The way Logan made it so you didn’t have to answer. It was neatly done.” Cassie eyed her over the rim of her wine glass. “Don’t you think?”

Harper blushed, her cheeks heating. Was that what he’d done? Diverted attention so that Harper didn’t have to answer Rowan?

She glanced at the bar where the two brothers were talking, a half-smile on Logan’s face as he listened to his more extroverted twin gesture with his hands as he spoke. Logan turned his head as if sensing she was watching him and lifted his chin in acknowledgement, his smile widening briefly before he turned back to his brother.

“He’s a real loner. At least usually.”

Harper nodded. “I figured as much.”

Cassie tilted her head to one side, a brown curl slipping from her bun to trail over her neck. “He didn’t used to be.”

Harper sat a little straighter in her seat. “Oh?”

Seeing she had a captive audience, Cassie leaned forward, her forearms resting on the rough wood of the table. She looked one way and then the other, as if she were about to tell Harper a deep secret she wanted nobody to overhear. “Don’t tell him I told you this, but?—”

Harper scowled and leaned back, crossing her arms over her chest. “So don’t tell me then.”

“Don’t tell her what?”

Rowan sat down heavily in what had been Logan’s chair, but landed on the floor a second later when Logan kicked the chair’s legs out from under him.

“Boys!”

Amy approached the table, a scowl on her face. Unlike the first time Harper had met her, she wasn’t dressed for gardening. Instead she was wearing a pair of fashionable jeans and a sparkly turquoise tank top that showed off her tanned arms.

Amy noticed Harper looking at her top and did a small shake, making the sequins sparkle in the lights. “Do you like it? I got it today at the new dress shop in town.”

“There’s a new shop?” Cassie was immediately questioning her mother about it.

“You work too much, Cassidy love.” Amy smoothed a hand over Cassie’s hair, plucking the pencil from her bun with a frown. “It’s all anyone’s been able to talk about for weeks.”

Logan broke into the conversation, saving his sister from further interrogation about her lack of work-life balance. “Singing tonight, mom?”

“Of course! I wouldn’t miss it.” She frowned. “I need to show up Eva.”

Amy turned toward the stage, a fierce expression on her face.

Harper shot a questioning glance to Logan, whose lips were twitching. Cassie covered her mouth with her hand, faking a cough. Rowan found himself another chair and was sipping his beer, oblivious.

“I’m going to put my song in. Anyone else ready?”

Cassie jumped up. “Sure, what the hell?” She linked arms with her mom and the two of them made their way to the stage to put their requests in.

“Do I want to know?” Harper asked out the side of her mouth as she leaned closer to Logan. She picked up her wine glass and twirled the stem in her hand, watching as the pale liquid swirled in the glass.

Logan snorted. “She has this rivalry with a friend of hers over a song.”

Harper’s eyebrows shot into her hair. “Sorry, what?”