Page 114 of The Lost and the Found

I looked away, unable to voice my fears to Logan, but he was a smart man. There wasn’t much I could hide from him, and I knew he could see all of my insecurities on my face.

“Do you not know how precious you are to me?” he asked, pressing a quick kiss on my cheek.

I shrugged. Perhaps I knew to some extent. But saying that out loud sounded way too conceited.

He smiled. “You are. You are, quite possibly, the most important person in my life.”

“Not Veena?” I asked, and I wanted to take the question back. I didn’t want him to think I viewed this as a competition between his sister and me, where we both competed for Logan’s affection.

He shook his head. “Grant, her husband, loves her very much. He might even love her more than I do. I was once the most important man in her life, just like she was once the most precious person in mine. But life happens, and I’m okay with that. I couldn’t imagine a better man to take care of my baby sister. And she no longer needs me.”

“And because I need you, I’m the most important person in your life?” It might be true. That I needed Logan more than I needed anyone else. But I didn’t want to need him.

He shook his head. “No, baby. Because I need you so goddamn much. That’s what makes you the most precious person in my life. Because I love you, and I couldn’t imagine spending even a minute of my life without you.”

“I love you, too.” And my voice cracked the end. I didn’t care. I wanted Logan to see all of my defenses down.

“You have nothing to worry about. Veena will love you simply because I love you.”

“Promise?” It was a silly thing to make him promise me, but I needed his reassurance, and Logan gave it to me.

“Promise.”

* * *

I was finished gettingready just as the doorbell rang.

I walked out of the bedroom, and Logan was there, offering me reassuring smiles as he led us to the front door.

When we opened it, we were treated to a very loud squeal coming from a very small woman, as she hurled herself into her brother’s arms.

I couldn’t make out what she was saying, but Logan could, and he was nodding along to her incoherent babble. It was obvious how much she missed him. I turned away to give them a moment and met the man who was with her, still at the threshold.

“You must be Grant,” I said, holding out me hand. He came in and closed the door behind him, taking my hand. “I’m Hayden.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Hayden. Logan’s been telling us about you. It’s nice to finally put a face to his descriptions.”

My eyebrows shot up in surprise. Logan was not the talkative kind. Sure, he was more social and much more charming out of the two of us, but to willingly offer something about his personal life, even to sister, didn’t sound like him.

Grant caught my surprise and said, “Well, not so much as telling, and more so that Veena had threatened to come over if he didn’t tell her about you.”

We shared a smile then, just before Veena walked over to us. She seemed genuinely happy to see me, and I was able to take in Logan’s sister for the first time. She was extremely beautiful, like I thought she would be, but that wasn’t why I suddenly felt like I wasn’t getting enough air to my lungs.

“Have we met before?” I asked.

Veena sucked in a sharp breath and she turned her gaze to Logan briefly before looking back at me. “I don’t think so.”

She sounded unsure. And I didn’t want to come off as pushy, but I was sure I’d met her before.

Like Logan, she had hazel green eyes and dark hair. Her skin was this beautiful olive tone, and a smattering of freckles graced the bridge of her delicate nose. Her lips were full, and she looked like the female version of Logan. Except, she was much smaller than him. She was shorter than me by a couple of inches.

And like the first time I met Logan, she gave off this sense of familiarity that I couldn’t shake. Wouldn’t I have remembered if I’d met her before? Her features were much too stunning to ever be considered forgettable, yet I couldn’t pinpoint when I had met her.

I turned to Logan and noticed his expression darkening. He only ever looked like that when he didn’t want me to see his emotions.

Veena caught my attention by grabbing my hand in both of hers. “It’s probably because I have one of those faces, you know? But I don’t think we’ve ever met. It doesn’t matter, because I have been wanting to meet you ever since Logan brought up your name.”

A small smile touched my lips then, and all of worries from before felt silly.

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