“Anything you want, sweetheart.” He turned his hand so his was holding hers. “You can tell me anything.”
Sweetheart.
God, she loved it when he called her that.
Praying what he’d said was true, Natalie drew in a stuttered breath and blinked the unshed tears away. With her hand in his, with his swirls of greens and blues hanging off her every word, she let it all go.
“I want you, Logan.”Way to just blurt that shit right out there.“I think that’s probably obvious by now,” she ignored the voice in her head. “Or maybe it isn’t. Or wasn’t. Of course, now…” A nervous chuckle. “Guess the cat clawed its way right out of that bag, huh?”
Those lips she couldn’t wait to taste—reallytaste—lifted into the sexiest half-smile she’d ever seen.
“Both bags,” he teased, presumably referencing the fact that they’d each admitted their mutual attraction.
“Bothcats,” she just had to try to one-up him.
“Touché.” Logan grinned. But then, “Sorry. I promise I won’t say anything more until you’re done.”
They shared a comfortable laugh, and Natalie realized just how close to perfect the man truly was. Here she was, risking the most important non-familial relationship she had by revealing her true feelings, and there he was…
Making me laugh.
If she wasn’t already in love with Logan Hayes, that would have been the moment it happened. But there was still something he needed to know. The final brick in the wall she’d all but managed to tear down.
“I think I’ve felt this way for you for a while now, I just…I wasn’t sure how to process it.” Another deep breath and slow exhale. “And I was scared. Scared of what everyone would think. Archer and Lucky and those guys,” she clarified. “I mean, they were Hunter’s team, you know?Yourteam. And I would never,everwant to do anything to disrupt the brotherhood you five have. I can’t even…” She shook her head and blew out a breath. “God, if I ever did something to cause a rift between you guys, I’d—”
“You wouldn’t.” Logan shook his head. “I’m sorry, I know I promised not to interrupt, but I can’t sit back and let you worry yourself sick over something I know would never happen.”
“You can’t possibly know that for sure.”
“I do know, because I wouldn’t let it happen.”
He sounded so sure of himself, and she realized that confidence was part of what made him such a good leader.
“It’s not just the guys that worried me. I also felt…” Natalie’s voice cracked, her eyes filling once again. Nose burning with the rising emotion, her bottom lip began to tremble, but she pulled it between her teeth and got herself under control. “I felt like I was betraying Hun…” She cleared her throat. “I felt like, by having these thoughts and feelings for you, I was betraying Hunter.”
A tear escaped, but before she could reach for it, Logan’s hand was already there. Gently brushing it away with his callused thumb before letting his hand fall back down to his lap.
And still, he kept his word and remained silent as he waited for her to finish.
“I know it probably sounds silly, given that he’s been gone two years now. But these feelings…” She searched his gaze. “They’re not just about my physical attraction to you. They’re…more.” That last part was almost a whisper. “They’re stronger than that. Deeper. And, that emotional connection I feel we have…at first, it made me feel like I was somehow cheating on Hunt.” She shook her head with a huffed chuckle. “It’s stupid, I know, but that’s how I felt.”
Sensing he was struggling to hold back, Natalie took a breath and gave him a chance to respond.
“First things first,” he started, only after she gave him the green light. “Your thoughts…your feelings…those aren’t stupid, Nat. They’re yours, and they’re valid. And anyone who ever tells you otherwise can deal with me.”
Her lips twitched at his cavemanesque attitude, but she gave him the same courtesy he had her, and simply listened.
“Two, everything you said…everything you’re worried about? I’ve been struggling with the same damn things.” Using his free hand, he began listing them off for emphasis. “The guys, betraying hunter’s memory, feeling like we’d be going behind his back...” He let his fist close but shook his head. “I’ve been struggling with that same shit for so damn long.”
Natalie’s pulse spiked, and she couldn’t keep herself from asking, “H-how long?”
A flash of guilt crossed in front of his gaze before he admitted, “Long enough to know this…whatever this is I feel for you…it’s not going away.”
Whatever this is…
Why did that hurt? It wasn’t like she’d expected him to declare his love for her or anything. And it wasn’t like she’d vowed to be his forever, either.
In fact, the only thing Natalie wanted to think about tonight was…