Chapter 9
The NFL’s Most Eligible Bachelor
Ari
“Ican’t believe you’re finally home,” I exclaimed, wrapping my arms around Josie as she greeted me at her door.
“I practically kissed the tarmac when we landed.” She ushered me into her kitchen.
“Was it wonderful?” I asked while putting my bag down and getting out my checklist for the party.
Josie twirled with elation plastered on her face. “Simply wonderful. You’ll have to convince Logan to take you before training camp starts.”
My stomach tensed. “You know we’re just friends, right?”
“Sure.Friends.” I wanted to bite off her fingers as she did air quotes and rolled her eyes.
“I’m serious. We’re friends,” I insisted.
She pulled up her phone and shoved it in my hand. “If that’s how friends act then I’ve been doing it wrong all these years.”
I gaped at the tabloid article with a picture of Logan and me kissing in the hallway of Might As Well.
“How did I not know about this?” Fighting back the bile welling up in my throat, I tossed her phone onto the granite counter. “So we kissed. People kiss. It happens.”
“The pictures from the ball were just stunning. You two look very good together,” she carried on.
“What?” I started to pace in a small circle around the island. “Can we just drop this?”
Josie grabbed me to halt my nervous wandering. I tapped my foot, glaring at my little sister.
She made a zipper motion over her lips. “Consider it dropped. Now what do we have to do for tonight?”
Looking back over my list, I ran through the last-minute items. “The caterers will be here within the hour to set up the tables and everything, and the bartenders are scheduled to arrive shortly after and will set up outside. They are bringing their own booze and bar, so that is all taken care of. I just have to grab the flowers in my car, and that’s it. I think we’re ready.”
Josie bounced on her heels. “I really appreciate you doing this for us.”
“I was happy to do it. Speaking of us, where’s my brother-in-law?”
She waved me off. “At the gym with Logan. You’d think those boys would take one day off during their offseason. I mean, isn’t that the point of an offseason?”
“You’d think,” I retorted.
“Didn’t Logan tell you they were gym buddies?”
“Just friends, remember? We don’t share every detail of our lives with one another.”
* * *
The party kickedoff without a hitch. Even with how big Josie and Roger’s home was, there were wall-to-wall people congregated, dwarfing the expansive space.
Standing in the back corner, I watched the mingling, scanning the crowd for the one person I really wanted to see.
Finally, through the swarm, a crooked grin caught my eye as Logan strode over to greet me.
“Why are you all by yourself?” he asked before kissing my cheek.
“Just making sure everyone is having a good time.”