Page 43 of Unmistakably Us

“He told me,” January whispered, and she watched a smile split Logan’s face at something his brother said. They all seemed comfortable with each other, and that was a promising sign.

She decided then that she would do her best to get Logan to come clean to Michael before she left. It felt like the least she could do since she was essentially sneaking off in the dead of night to marry another man.

“That just confirms what I already knew to be right. I do love being right,” Francis delivered smugly. “Now, what are you going to do about your relationship with him? Seems to me, he’s working out that one on his own.”

Panic brought January back to the conversation. “Nothing, that’s what, and I respectfully asked that you don’t either.” January knew if she asked her to, for the most part, she’d hold her tongue and butt out, or at least, she hoped that was the case. January was banking on Francis’ respect for directness and letting people solve their own messes.

When Francis crossed her arms and gave her a stern look, January was afraid she had overestimated the situation.

“I ain’t happy about it, not one damn bit, but you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make his stubborn ass drink it. Can I just say one thing, then I’ll let it go?” Her words said she would but her face said anything but, however, January just had to make it through the weekend. Francis was too busy today to plan a scheme, so she should be good.

“Of, course,” January responded. She respected the older woman and wouldn’t pass on her wisdom.

“I love you like one of my own. You know that. Same with all those stubborn asses out there. That will never change, no matter the decisions they make. I don’t and won’t hold none of it against them because we are all worth being loved and accepted, no matter our mistakes.” Her words mirrored Gus’ but she knew they both believed it whole-heartedly. It wasn’t just lip service.

“However, that doesn’t mean that our choices and mistakes do not come with some steep prices. Can you afford to pay this one?” Francis went silent for a moment before wrapping January in her arms. “Don’t answer me, think about it and answer for yourself.” When she released January, Francis grabbed a bowl of potato salad and instructed her to grab another with some Jell-O whipped cream concoction and they headed outside.

Francis didn’t mention it again.

* * *

SpottingJanuary coming through the door was like someone cranked up the sun. She was so beautiful with her radiant blonde hair a mess and zero make-up. She was wearing a tank top proclaiming she goes both ways, with white and red wine glasses underneath. The white shorts made her legs look so long and tan. Tan they were, long, well, they were the perfect length when wrapped around his neck.

Her Chucks were the same color as the wine, and it struck Logan how put-together she looked without effort. It was obvious she was not a high-maintenance chick, but somehow, she still looked better than everyone here.

They all paled in comparison to her, even those wearing heels and designer clothes.

Tori’s voice was an irritant, although he couldn’t make out her words. He vaguely heard a few, but he continued to stare at January. He had tunnel vision bad. When her hazel green eyes finally met his, she blushed and tucked a wayward strand of hair behind her ear.

Tori was still talking, and now, her words were registering in his brain. “You know, if you leave your tongue lolling out in the sun like that, it’ll get sunburned.” Logan didn’t respond. She was just messing with him. Today, the ease between himself and his brother and his wife was pleasant. It was like once he changed his mindset, it was conveyed somehow.

“It happened to Sixx once. He couldn’t lick his balls for a week. Do you want that, not to be able to…lick anything interesting for a week? By the look on your face, I’m going to say that’s a hard no.”

“Torionna?” Michael softly scolded his wife…for him.

Logan knew he had it bad, and he wanted everyone to know it at this point. He and January had always been cool at gatherings, a little flirting and maybe a stolen touch, but that was it. Time to change things.

“Damn skippy, so I think I should roll it up and give that beautiful lady a kiss before I suffer UV damage, what do ya think?” It was rhetorical, but he knew Tori would understand his jovial jest and it would make an impact on the entire clan if he scooped her up in his arms.

“Oh, my God, you are sappy as fuck. You have it bad, but I guess there are worse people who could be a part of the family,” Tori said very tongue-in-cheek, or at least, he hoped. Michael clapped him on the shoulder and gave him a kind of nod of approval.

January had set her dish down and was heading his way, and he was on the verge of taking a step, when John appeared out of nowhere like a fucking bearded ninja. His words said he was there the whole time though Logan failed to notice.

“Don’t make me hurt you for doing her wrong. I don’t think you will, but I’m embracing some disclosure. If there’s anything left after Francis takes her pound of flesh, that is, or after my lady rips off your balls and feeds them the cats, I will pulverize what’s left.”

Logan had nothing. What do you say when you’ve just been threatened but somehow given approval at the same time. “If I do, I’ll help her with the castration.” Logan meant that shit too; he would rather suffer physical pain than have January suffer one ounce of heartache.

The grin that graced John’s face was a little scary and encouraging at the same time. Family was an ass-load of contradictions. “Good man, now, go make her feel like the only person in world that matters.”

Logan would do just that. He wanted them to be a couple, not just two people flirting or fucking in secret, but a real couple with all the shit that came with it. He barely got a step before she was right in front of him, stealing his breath and changing the rhythm of his heart with just her presence.

Without conscious thought or analyzing how she might react, Logan scooped her up and kissed her with the intent of sharing all his feelings in that one moment.

At first, her lips were stiff and her posture rigid. Logan died a little inside. His mind reeled with a million reasons why, but most all were she didn’t want him the way he wanted her. Didn’t desire to make their relationship public and would never stay with him by choice.

Those insecurities were raging through his body, slicing and destroying everything good in their path. When Kip and Gene showed up, he almost wept. If they were back, he hadn’t come as far as he thought. But as his soul was shriveling and he was trying to extricate himself from the kiss, her body relaxed into it. Her legs wrapped around his waist, and she held his face and took control of the public intimacy between them.

Two minutes or two years later, he heard whooping and hollering, causing January to drop her legs and pull back. When she wiped her mouth with the back of his hand, he almost lost his shit. Then she stammered and turned a shade of crimson that matched her shoes. She was more embarrassed now than that night behind the club.

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