Page 34 of Sapphire Sunset

“The fact that I won’t act on how I feel about you is not a statementon how I feel about you.”

“Maybe. But the fact that I acted on how I feel about you makesme feel like kind of an idiot, so I need to go and just…get over it, I guess.Goodbye, Logan.”

Logan wanted to block the door before Connor closed it, butthat would be crossing a line. It left his arms with nothing to do, so heraised them above his head and then gripped his skull in a vain attempt to stopthe headache that had started to pound as soon as the Rolls’ engine started up.

He’d eaten twice that day, but as he watched the impossiblybeautiful car pull out of the parking lot, his stomach felt empty and his facefelt hot. And his throat felt like there was an apple lodged in it.

It was the right thing to do,a voice that soundedlike one of his first commanding officers said to him.And sometimes theright thing to do feels the worst.

But when he returned to the table to retrieve his almostempty iced coffee and the car keys he’d stupidly left sitting there, theteenage girls who’d been texting up a storm earlier were glaring at him likehe’d punched a kitten. They’d heard every word, apparently, and it looked likethey had strong opinions about the ones Logan had said to Connor.

It was the right thing to do.

He turned those words into a mantra as he drove home. But hewas only a few minutes from the coffeehouse when something caught his attentionon the side of the road, something bright orange and rustling in the canyonwinds. He pulled over and saw packs of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups attached tothose half chevrons of wire Connor had affixed to a pair of cowboy boots.

Connor’s gift. He must have pitched it from the Rolls on theway home.

As if some higher force had seized control of his body,Logan stepped from his truck, shook the dirt from Connor’s meticuloushandiwork, and placed the gift in the cargo bay. He told himself he was tyingup a loose end. And cleaning up some litter.

It was the right thing to do.

He figured he’d leave it in his truck until the painfulmemory of their meeting had faded, but when he got back to the trailer, hefound himself carrying the thing inside, with no plan for how he’d explain itif his dad or Sally asked him about it. But they were both dozing in the livingroom when he entered. As quietly as he could, he moved to his tiny bedroom. Hiscramped, one-room cell, as plain and unadorned as all the barracks he’d been housedin.

Once he shut the door, once he was alone with Connor’s gift,he ran his fingers over the leather of each boot, noting the shiny littlediamonds that flecked the rugged brown. Shiny and rugged.Kind of like meand him.

Kind of like what he and Connor could have been.

It was the right thing to do,he thought again.

Then he turned and punched one fist through the wall.

He couldn’t face Naser.

Not yet.

Couldn’t admit that Naser had been right about the Rolls andhis itinerary for the evening and maybe even the gift. But since it was obviousLogan had decided earlier that afternoon to drop the ax, maybe Connor shouldn’tbeat himself up over those gestures. It wasn’t like they’d turned the nightsideways. Also, Naser wasn’t theI told you sotype, but still. Itwould hang in the air between them and then Connor might do the thing he’d beentrying not to do ever since he left the coffeehouse.

He might cry.

Which was ridiculous.

They barely knew each other. It wasn’t like Logan was someepic loss.

But he felt like he’d glimpsed something between them thenight before, something he’d never felt or seen with someone else. Potential.Not just the potential for something that would work—the potential forsomething extraordinary.

So Connor had the Rolls drop him off at his apartment, thenhe hurried into the parking lot and fired up his BMW before Naser might noticehe was home.

He needed common sense. He needed someone he could trust,someone who could make a very good and very stiff drink.

He needed his mom.

But when he pulled up outside his parents’ house, he sawRodney’s ridiculous cherry red Lamborghini parked next to the driveway, lookinglike a Red Hot someone had chewed up and spit out while high on cocaine.

Talk about the last person he wanted to see. If his motherwas home, that meant she was sheltering upstairs to avoid his uncle’s presence.So Connor parked a half block away and snuck into the kitchen through the backdoor.

He heard his uncle’s voice in the living room and was almostto the back stairs to the second floor when he caught a glimpse of hisgrandfather in the living room. That was weird. His grandfather never droppedby for a casual visit. It was an unwritten rule that they always went to him,and Connor didn’t remember anything about tonight being a special occasion. If Rodneyand Grandpa Dan were here, that meant something was up. Something serious.

But since Rodney was clearly holding forth, he didn’t likedropping in. Instead, he tucked himself against the wall while he eavesdropped.

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