With an elbow leaning against the rustic mantle, Chase joined the conversation from where he stood near the fireplace. “Sweet.” The young sniper lifted the bottle in his hand in a cheerful gesture.
“It will be if the two start a bidding war,” Logan half-joked, sipping on his own beer. “Property’s stupid expensive around here.”
“Yeah, but…” Lucky’s light blue eyes bounced from Logan’s to Natalie’s and back again. “I mean, not to be tacky, but didn’t you tell me Frost Avionics give y’all an insanely big check? To, you know, help soften the blow of their owner being an embezzling, drug-trafficking murderer?”
Yeah, the billion-dollar company sure had. Logan had never seen so many zeroes on one check. Definitely never one with his name on thePay to the order ofline.
And the check they’d sent to Natalie had even more.
At first, he’d been tempted to rip them both to shreds. Had evenstartedto tear his straight down the middle, but Natalie’s hand had stopped him.
Not because she was greedy or thought any amount of money could make up for what those three bastards had done. There wasn’t enough money in theworldto replace the memory of almost losing her forever.
Just thinking about seeing her lying on her kitchen floor, bleeding and unmoving…
I thought I’d lost her. Like we lost Hunt.
He hadn’t lost Nat, thank fuck. They were both still here, and finally, finally ready to move on. And, as much as he’d hated the idea at first, they had a plan to use Frost Aviation’s money to do it.
“I bet you guys could buy an entire city block with what those assholes paid out,” Chase snorted.
“You decide whether or not you’re gonna keep it?” Archer asked point-blank.
Like Donovan, the explosives expert had never been one to hold back or worry about being socially acceptable or politically correct.
He had a question, he asked it.
But Logan didn’t give his friend and former teammate an immediate response. Instead he looked to Natalie who was staring up at him with a smile.
His pulse spiked, his chest filling with so much warmth and love he could barely stand it. And those eyes of hers were staring back at him with hope and love and the promise of a future, and he knew…
It didn’t matter how much money they had or where they lived. As long as this woman was by his side, Logan would always be home.
But a house wasn’t the only thing the newlyweds had discussed building. And the slight dip of Natalie’s pretty head was the signal he’d been waiting for.
“Actually…” He addressed the group as a whole. “That’s a big reason why we invited you guys this time.”
“I knew it.” Lucky shook his head in feigned disappointment. “Didn’t I tell you?” He shot that blue gaze Donovan’s way. “I told Van on the way here there had to be a catch. I mean, nobody gives away free food and beer out of the goodness of their hearts.” His focus slid to Nat’s as he added, “No offense.”
“Uh…offense taken.” Natalie tossed that shit right back at him. “Wedidinvite you here out of the goodness of our hearts, thank you very much.”
God, I love her.
“She’s right,” he backed up the woman he loved.
Because that’s what a good husband did. He supported his wife. Always.
It was something his dad had apparently never learned, but Logan wasn’t his dad. He was his own man, and only he had the power to choose what kind of husband he turned out to be.
And just as he’d vowed to her in front of the judge, family, and their closest friends, Logan would do everything in his power to be the best damn husband—and eventually, the best father—he could possibly be.
He had her back, and she had his. Forever.
“Nah, you two are up to something.” Chase clearly wasn’t buying it.
“No, really.” Logan shifted against the seat’s leather cushion to adjust his position. “We wanted to have y’all over before you left town.”
“There’s another reason, though.”