My eyes grew wide. “Excuse me?”
“You’re with Logan Turner, aren’t you? We just saw the two of you together,” another one of the vultures declared as they all closed ranks around me.
“We’re friends. He’s a wonderful man,” I explained, feeling suffocated.
“I’ll say. I mean, he better be to have been named the NFL’s most eligible bachelor this year, but I guess that isn’t really true since you two are an item now.” The mousy blonde shot daggers at me as her tone sharpened.
“I came over here for a drink, not to gossip.” I tried to fight my way to the bar, but those bitches were planted in a tight circle.
“Oh come on, sis. We can all see the way the two of you look at each other.” Josie giggled with a slight hiccup at the end.
“Excuse me?” I narrowed my eyes at my sister. “I thought we had dropped the Logan issue.”
“But you admit there is an issue.” She pointed her finger at me, practically hitting me in the nose.
“Oh no, there’s an issue?” one of the women gasped behind me.
“There’s no issue,” I shot back.
“Hey, Ari, how’re those drink’s coming?” Logan’s husky voice shot over the horde of women.
Pushing the gaggle aside, I gripped his hand, leading him to the side of the patio.
“Were you named the NFL’s most eligible bachelor?” I questioned.
He rubbed the back of his neck. “Yes. Why?”
“Why didn’t you tell me that?” I couldn’t fight back the overwhelming feeling that everyone was watching us.
“Does it really matter? So some magazine thought I would look good on their cover one month—big whoop. It would have been Roger, but your sister snatched him out of the running.”
“I can’t do this here.”
Storming through the house and out Josie’s front door, I waited impatiently for Logan to scramble after me.
“What has gotten into you?” he demanded, slamming the door behind him.
“Logan, we can’t do this anymore. I’m not having fun and this situation isn’t light. We have my sister hearing wedding bells and telling me to talk you into taking me to Europe, tabloids printing pictures of us kissing at a bar, and all of Josie’s friends asking me what it’s like to be with you. We need to break this off before it gets any more complicated than it already is.”
Starting to pace, Logan shook his head. “You’re just scared because you’re actually starting to have feelings for me. I can see it all over your damn face, and if I’m being honest, I am so relieved because I broke the no-getting-attached rule the moment I kissed you on that oceanside terrace at your sister’s wedding. I only went along with this whole bullshit plan of yours because having just a bit of you was better than not having you at all. I fucking love you, Ari, and if that scares the shit out of you, I don’t care, because it’s the truth.”
“I have to go.” Tears started streaming down my face as I rushed for my car.
Logan chased after me, blocking the door handle. “You can’t do this, Ari. Please don’t do this.”
“You can’t love me, Logan. We’re not even dating. We’ve only known each other for a few weeks. This is insane.”
“And you will always love me, won’t you? And the rain won’t make a difference?”
“Don’t use Hemingway to weasel yourself out of this one, Turner,” I barked at him.
His pleading eyes met mine as he grabbed my shoulders. “That is how much I love you. I know you’re going to freak out and be terrified, but a little rain is worth it if it means I get you. Heck, I’m scared shitless, but I am here just begging for a chance to show you how truly amazing life can actually be if we do it together.”
“Get out of my fucking way, Logan. You’ve ruined all of it. There’s no going back after that damn L word gets tossed into the mix.”
“Fine. Run. That’s what you’re good at. Fuck, you’re better at running than I am, and I get paid millions of dollars a year to do it.”
Logan retreated from the car, marching over to his Range Rover and speeding away.
Sitting in my driver’s seat, I left a voicemail for Josie. “Sorry I had to leave so quickly. I think the mussels didn’t agree with me. Call me tomorrow to let me know how the rest of the night went.”
I was paralyzed. I hated Logan for ruining everything. I hated the way those women had so easily gotten into my head. I hated that my sister had to show me those damn news articles right before the party. I hated that Logan was right about everything.