Page 53 of Unmistakably Us

Her last word was sing-songy, and if he hadn’t been so consumed by his own big secret, he would have noticed her waving a coffee pod in front of her face triumphantly.

“This is the good stuff, and if you tell the truth, that that swill wasn’t worth pissing in, I’ll share my secret stash with you.”

“Yes, it tasted like ass,” Logan admitted once his brain finally caught up to reality. “Why do you even have that crap, anyway?”

Tori turned with a little hop at his admission and started brewing a cup of heaven. “Michael loves it. Chicory or some shit. Says it’s the best thing ever. I just tell him how awesome it is because he’s so devoted to it and when I took my first sip, he was like a kid at Christmas watching me.” She shrugged like it was no big deal. “But, as soon as he turns around, I dump that shit and replace it with a cup of this pure ambrosia.”

Logan was blown away by that little secret. She drank sips of something she couldn’t stand all in the name of making his brother happy. That kind of sacrifice, no matter how small, was something Logan wasn’t used to witnessing or experiencing.

After bringing the mugs back to the table, she resumed her previous position. This time, he noticed the difference when she reacted to her sip. “Why would you do that?”

She flatly stated, “Because I love him and would do anything to make him smile, even consuming some of that vile liquid.”

That!That is what Logan now wanted. Before, this would have been a roll your eye moment at the lame people drinking shitty coffee, when they really didn’t need to. If they both felt the same way, one wouldn’t want the other to give up a damn thing and the other would…still do it.

That was a realization he hadn’t been expecting when his mind wandered down this path. Tori’s voice brought him back.

“Don’t let my stash go to waste, drink up.” Logan did as she commanded and found himself making the same sounds she had earlier. “See how much sweeter life tastes when you embrace the truth?”

Okay, this was way too coincidental for her not to be talking about something else. The way her gaze fell on him as they drank their coffee in silence told him all he needed to know. Somehow, she knew or at the very least suspected that he was Michael’s brother.

With a heavy sign laden with shame, Logan lowered the cup to the glass-covered, carved surface, another of Dax’s one-of-a-kind masterpieces. “You know, don’t you?” It wasn’t even a question at this point. The gig was up, and Logan was relieved. After everything he’d lost, it seemed like a fitting way to cap off the weekend from Hell.

The smile that graced Tori’s beautiful face was blinding. She’s smiling, what the fuck? Setting her mug down and popping up like her ass was on fire, Tori spoke on her way out of the kitchen. “I don’t have the foggiest idea what you’re talking about, but I should get Michael.”

Foggiest idea, my ass.There was so much sugary sweet innocence in those words, she sure as fuck knew and wanted Michael to be the first one he told.

As soon as she exited the kitchen, she spun before her ass even left his view. Grabbing the mugs, she dumped the contents into the sink while muttering apologies for being wasteful. After rinsing the cup, she brewed another cup of that crap in his original mug and set it in front of him with an apologetic smile. “Sorry, can’t let the secret out.”

Before she could bounce away, Logan gently grasped her wrist. “Thank you, Tori.” His voice was low and wobbly. He had never had someone worry about his interest as much as the Reids had. Even with this massive secret, one that would hurt her husband, she cared.

When she placed her hand on top of his, he almost lost his shit and cried. “No thanks needed. It’s what family does. Just remember to be one hundred percent honest, even if it paints people in a bad light and causes pain. Michael doesn’t tolerate half truths and could never build trust on them.” With a gentle squeeze, she disappeared to retrieve his brother. That was the first time he’d even thought of him that way without hesitation or pain, just joy and hope.

Ha, take that Chotkey douchebags. In spite of your best efforts, Logan has a measure of joy and hope. Fuckers. Logan drank half a cup of the chicory coffee and didn’t wince. He wanted to drink it. In some way, after Tori’s confession, it made him feel a connection to his brother.

When Michael sauntered into the kitchen, he dominated the room. Logan viewed him in a different light. This was his little brother. Not the one he blamed or resented, but one he—loved. Apparently, he was sprinkling that shit around like glitter at a pony party. Logan nodded and raised his mug in salute and took a swig. “Ah.”

His little brother busied himself brewing a cup of his own. Michael turned, crossed his feet at the ankle, and leaned against the counter. Sipping the brew with an appreciation that no one else really got, he bragged about it just as Tori had described. “Good stuff, right? It’s the chicory. It’s like the nectar of the gods.” His face lit up, a look Logan mourned missing out on for years.

Even so, Logan was ill-prepared for how that radiant look went nuclear when he sipped it with an appreciation to rival Michael’s own. Logan didn’t have to fake it as much as he thought, because like Tori, the appreciation was real, just not for the coffee. It was for the happiness it incited. Such a simple fucking thing made his brother so happy. Holy shit, I get it. I fucking get it. That was a first, a scary first, an incidence when someone else’s happiness meant more than his own. He finished the cup because he wanted to recapture that…that rush.

Like an anvil dropped from a mountain by a roadrunner, it hit him—he felt that way about January. He would do anything to have her gift him with that winning smile. Yes, he had already admitted to the dreaded L word, but this realization made it not dreaded. What he was experiencing now was life. No more shell days. No, he would do whatever he had to do to make her happy…anything except letting her marry another man she didn’t love.

Logan could see that now. She didn’t love that other dickbag. She loved him…he just knew it. Even an Academy Award-winning actress couldn’t have faked what they had. She was making someone else happy; that would be the only thing stronger than what he experienced on a visceral level that she felt for him.

A plan, that’s what he needed. He couldn’t rush in half-cocked or he would screw this up and push her further away. Besides, there was only one person she loved enough to protect that way, and he would need to know why. Logan would be the man who made her smile like that or he’d die trying.

Even though Logan thought them gone for good, shoulder Gene and Kip decided it was time to pipe up again.

“Hey, look at that, Kip, the boy finally gets it.”

“Yep, our work here is done, for real this time.”

“Don’t screw it up by reverting. We’re out.”

Just like that, he found a peace he’d never known, all with the help of a couple of miniature imaginary rock gods and the Reids.

Buuuut, first thing’s first. I have to tell Michael and remove that barrier from between us…and between me and January.He had selfishly put her and the whole Reid clan in an impossible situation. One he could rectify right now.

With an impressive deep breath, he launched it. “Michael, I’m your brother, well, half-brother. I didn’t come here with the purist of intentions, but if you’d give me a chance, I’d love nothing more than to clear the air between us and maybe tell you about your amazing mother.”

Michael didn’t seem angry or shocked, but he did seem leery, which was completely expected after a bomb like that was just lobbed in his modern kitchen.

“Well,” Michael placed his cup in the sink and motioned for Logan to follow him. Once in the very packed living room, Michael took a seat next to his wife and motioned for Logan to grab a chair. “We are all family here, so I think everyone should hear this. Start at the beginning and don’t leave a fucking thing out. I’ll reserve my stance on this matter until then.”

“Fair enough.” Logan breathed a small sigh of relief. Michael didn’t throw him out on his ass. While his words and set of his jaw were harsh, reminding him of their father, there was a softness too. Logan dared to see it as a level of acceptance and hope. That word again. It would either be the death of him or it would be his life.

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