Page 59 of Just Say Yes

Logan inched closer. “I’m glad you didn’t kick me out.”

His arms were strong and warm, and I snuggled closer. “Me too.”

“It turns out, you weren’t lying ...” His lips brushed the top of my head.

I adjusted so I could look at him. “Lying? About what?”

The corner of his mouth twitched. “About knowing your way around a dick.”

Heat flooded my cheeks, and I buried my face in his chest with an embarrassed laugh. “Oh my god! Oh my god.” I peeked up at him to see his eyes crinkled at the corners and a wide smile across his stupid face. “You heard that?”

A rumbling chuckle escaped him. “I’m pretty sure everyone at the Grudge heard you.”

My hands flew to cover my face. “Nope. No, no, no, no, no.” I playfully pushed at his chest. “Get out. You need to leave so I can die of embarrassment in peace.”

He laughed and tightened his arms around me so I couldn’t escape. “I’m not going anywhere. I’m still waiting to regain feeling in my legs.”

I bit my lip to hide a proud smile. “It really was okay?”

His face twisted. “Okay?Hell, it was life-changing. You’ve ruined me forever.”

I swallowed hard, struggling to find the right words. “I just didn’t know if it was okay that we didn’t ... you know, go all the way.”

“Hey,” he soothed, his demeanor morphing from playful to serious. “I meant what I said. Slow is good. That way, if I ever do get to have you, I’ll know I’ve earned you.”

When he’s earned me.

I liked the sound of that. There was honesty and safety in his words.

“Thank you,” I whispered.

The energy in the room had shifted—from desperate need to playful banter to shy stillness.

I was well aware that I was out of my depth with Logan, but somehow he didn’t make me feel bad for being less experienced. I felt empowered.

I closed my eyes and threw up a silent prayer that he genuinely meant the reassuring words he’d said.

Logan broke the silence by shifting topics entirely. “Hey, what do you have going on this weekend? Are you working?”

I mentally flipped through my calendar, though I knew exactly what was looming ahead of me. “I actually have to make a trip to Chicago. I’ll be gone overnight.”

“Oh, girl’s night out in the city or something?” he asked.

I wish.

I shook my head. “It’s a long story, but my father died. Someone needs to take his ashes to Chicago.”

He hummed and nodded. “I’m sorry to hear that. Are you sprinkling them somewhere special, or ...”

A wry laugh escaped. “No. Turns out he has a whole other family in Chicago—a wife, kids.” The silence stretched between us, but Logan patiently waited for me to continue. “My father was not a good man—that we already knew. What we didn’t know was that all thosebusiness trips were him actually going home to his real life. Turns out,wewere his dirty little secret.”

Tiny arrows of hurt and betrayal punctured my heart, but I still wasn’t ready to admit the full truth out loud—he had also killed my mother.

How could someone be so good at faking love? Our father had smiled at us, sat at our dinner table, even provided the occasional hug when we were hurting. But it was all a lie, every last bit of it. And yet ... some traitorous part of me still wanted to believe he cared, even just a little. Maybe meeting them would finally kill that hope—or give it life.

I wasn’t sure which was scarier.

Logan’s protective arms didn’t let me go. “Can’t someone else take the ashes?”

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