Page 76 of Riding the Sugar High

“Thanks, Jo,” he tells her with a subtle bob of his head. “Where’s Sadie?”

“With my parents today.”

An awkward silence settles as I study her and she studies me. Seeing as last time we met she was half-drunk and trying to trick me into confessing, I’m not exactly sure how I feel about her, but I’ll play my part.

Aaron comes to stand next to her, an arm draped over her shoulders and a beer in his hand. “Primrose, I wanted to apologize about dinner. My behavior was inexcusable.”

To me?That’s who he wants to apologize to?

“Oh, thanks.” I shrug half-heartedly. “Family drama. It happens.”

He drinks a sip of beer. “Do you have a big family?”

Logan’s arm wraps around my waist and pulls me down on our shared chair. Balancing myself on his legs—and ignoring the fact that my feet don’t even touch the ground—I smile up at Aaron. “Uh, no. And we’re not close anyway.”

“Too bad.” After a sip of beer, he shrugs. “To be fair, Logan isn’t close to his family either.”

Logan’s body tenses beneath me. “And whose fault is that?”

“Yours.”

“I don’t think so, Aaron.”

Here we go again.

“Oh, is itmyfault?” He lowers his voice. “Are your felonies my fault too?”

I chew on my bottom lip, watching Josie as she exhales curtly, and Logan tips his beer back. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Aaron narrows his eyes at Josie. “Will you say something? Tell him he needs to confess.”

“I’m not saying anything at all,” she quips back. Her eyes fill with resentment, and setting her plate down, she clicks her tongue. “This is supposed to be a family lunch. Why do you always have to ruin everything?” And without waiting for Aaron’s answer, she walks.

Looking around, I notice the curious looks we’ve attracted and sink back, as if I can disappear into Logan’s chest completely.

This is so embarrassing.

Aaron barely acknowledges his wife and keeps his eyes on Logan. “They’re building a case against you. Do you understand?Arson,” he snaps, his voice hushed so that nobody else can hear. “It’s not just about two missing piglets anymore. It’s a felony. Up to twenty years in jail.”

My stomach twists with nausea.

“You’re a good person, okay? And I’m sure Primrose is too,” Aaron continues as he leans closer, concern painted over his face. “I know you don’t want her to end up in trouble, but you can’t go to prison for her.”

Logan’s hand protectively squeezes my hip, pressing me closer to him. “Primrose and I didn’t do a thing. Even if we did, there wouldn’t be any evidence to back it up.”

“Theyhaveevidence, Logan.”

“All right,” Logan says, mindlessly rubbing my hip. “Looking forward to seeing what.”

“Logan—”

“Look, Aaron,” Logan hisses, “If you think there’s anything you can say that would make me turn Primrose in, you’re even more delusional than I thought.”

“Huh.” He pauses, studying my eyes for a long moment. “So youdolike her.”

I pull my shoulders back, Logan’s thighs stiffening beneath me as his fingers stop rubbing. “Yes, I do,” he says then, as if he’s suddenly remembered about our cover. “Of course, I like her. She’s my girlfriend. And besides,lookat her.”

I bite my bottom lip, heat rising up my cheeks as Aaron’s expression softens.

---