Page 67 of Keeping Kasey
“I’m not going to apologize for being a woman or for being good at what I do.”
“No one’s asking you to,” he says with a shrug. “But you wanted to know his issue with you.”
“And you?” I ask.
“What about me?”
“What’s your issue with me?”
“Who said I have one?”
I lift my brow, and after a moment, he sighs.
“Aside from the obvious,” he says, gesturing to me in a way I can only assume impliesthe obviousis my personality. “Things have been weird since you got here.”
“Because you all lived such normal lives before I came along.”
He ignores me.
“Logan has always been high-strung, but it’s gotten worse since my uncle died. Stepping into the boss role so suddenly is a big adjustment—but it’s more than that.”
Matteo doesn’t elaborate on whatmore than thatincludes, but based on my observations, I can fill in the blank. Logan may have spent years preparing for this job, but it wasn’t his birthright the way it was Damon’s. And while I don’t think a single one of his soldiers believes he’s unworthy of the job, I wonder if there’s a part of Logan that questions himself.
“He seems distracted,” Matteo finishes.
I laugh. “Your problem with me is that I make Logan happy? Sounds like you should be thanking me.”
Matteo doesn’t share my amusement. “Distracted, not happy. It could be dangerous.”
“What do I have to do to convince you people that I’m not some criminal mastermind trying to dismantle your family?”
“That’s not what I mean,” he says. “A family’s boss is their symbol, and that symbol needs to project strength. Logan is only a few months into this job following his brother and father’s deaths, and the impending marriage of his sister to a former enemy. Every move he makes is being scrutinized by his enemiesandallies. They’re looking for any weakness they can use against him.”
“And you thinkI’ma weakness?”
“I think you could be,” he says with an unapologetic shrug. “This family iseverythingto Logan, and I wouldn’t want him to jeopardize that for… whatever it is you are.”
I start to tell Matteo that our fling isn’t significant enough to distract Logan from his job, but I hesitate, remembering how desperate we’d been for each other after only two days apart.
It’s just lust, I tell myself, and I’m relieved to still believe it.
There’s no question about what Logan and I are. The expectations have been clear from the beginning.
Just sex.
Nothing else.
I lean back in my seat as the plane touches down. “Well, I’m happy to report that you have nothing to worry about. Logan isn’t the type to putanythingbefore his work. No distractions from me.”
Matteo nods, not looking particularly convinced.
Once the plane comes to a complete stop, the three of us gather our things. The door opens, and bright afternoon light streams in as I grab my bags, and Ford is gone before I even turn toward the exit.
Ford’s muffled words reach Matteo and me from inside the plane, and we exchange a curious look before heading to the exit.
The reason for Ford’s uncharacteristic expressiveness becomes clear when I stop dead in my tracks at the top of the stairs and see who he’s talking to.
Logan stands on the runway.
