Smart, Sexy and Secretive (7 page)

“
I love you,” she says. Then
she says it again and again and again, and my heart swells. I kiss
her like there’s no tomorrow, until we’re both breathless. The
lights turn off.

“
I think that’s our cue to
leave,” I say. I shove the curtain back, and Friday glares at us,
her purse over her shoulder.

“
Did you just have sex back
there?” Friday asks, deadpan.

“
Oh my God, no,” I
say.

I shove Friday’s shoulder gently, kind
of like I would one of my sisters if I had any.

“
That’s so unsanitary,” she
warns.

Emily covers her mouth, trying not to
laugh.

“
If you did, go spray
something back there, will you? Some antiseptic or something.” She
scrunches up her nose.

“
We didn’t,” I say, growling
as I reach for Friday. She hates it when I give her noogies. She
screams and ducks outside my reach.

“
Well, when you do, don’t
get germs all over the place. Put down some paper or something.”
She’s serious about this, but it still makes me laugh. Now I won’t
be able to get the idea of having sex with Emily out of my head
when I’m at work.

“
I’ll be sure he sanitizes,”
Emily says. I wrap my arm around her, pulling her into my side. I
kiss her, and if we don’t get out of here soon, I’ll have no choice
but to take her back behind the curtain and then
sanitize.

We follow Friday out the door, and she
turns and locks it. “Good night,” she calls to us. It’s still early
on a Saturday evening, so I don’t offer to walk her home. She turns
away but then spins toward us again. “I’m glad you’re back, Emily,”
she says, cupping her hands around her mouth as she yells. Then she
walks away.

“
She’s something, isn’t
she?” Emily asks.

She’s definitely something. We just
don’t know what.

“
Do you want to go and get
something to eat?” she asks. I realize she has her black canvas bag
over her shoulder. I take it from her and put it over my
own.

“
You came prepared, huh?” I
ask.

“
I had a feeling you
wouldn’t send me away.” She grins up at me. I couldn’t send her
away even if I wanted to.

“
Let’s go home and order a
pizza,” I suggest. I look down at my watch. “Hayley will still be
up. I’m sure she wants to see you.”

“
Take me home,” she says. So
I do.

Emily

We step through the door of the
apartment Logan shares with his four brothers, and I jump back when
they all yell, “Surprise!”

I look up at Logan who
shakes his head and signs the word
sorry
. Then he pulls me to him,
wrapping his arms tightly around me, but it’s not for more than a
moment. His brothers rush at me. Sam and Pete, the youngest
brothers in the family, get to me first. The twins attack me from
both sides, squishing me between them like I’m the filling of a
sandwich. They squeeze me, and they press their lips against each
of my cheeks.

“
If you lick me,” I warn.
Sam already has his tongue out, but he sucks it back in really
quickly and grins at me.

“
Welcome home,” Sam says. He
steps back, and Pete’s arms fall around me. He squeezes me tightly,
clutching my head against his chest as his hands tumble through my
hair.

“
Would you cut it out?” I
grouse, trying to flatten my hair back down. Pete laughs and steps
to the side.

“
Welcome home,” Paul says
before wrapping me up in his arms. He really is a big guy, even
bigger than Logan, and I think he could wrap around me
twice.

“
Thanks,” I murmur against
his chest. I can barely breathe, but it’s worth it.

Then there’s Matt. He leans against the
kitchen counter with his arms crossed in front of his chest. He
doesn’t smile. His eyes are wet, and he blinks really
quickly.

“
Come here, big guy,” I say,
making a come hither motion with my fingers. He pushes off the
counter and starts toward me.

“
I’m going to kiss your
girl, Logan,” he warns. Logan’s eyebrows shoot up, but he doesn’t
complain. He smiles and shrugs his shoulders.

Matt stops in front of me and tips my
face up to his. He looks directly into my eyes and holds my gaze.
“Thank you,” he says.

I gulp past the lump that’s suddenly in
my throat and try to sound flippant. “For what?” I ask with a
breezy wave. He won’t let me look away though. He holds my face
between his palms and stares into my eyes.

“
For saving my fucking
life,” he says. “Thank you.”

He leans down and kisses me on the
cheek with a loud smack.

“
Oh, I didn’t do anything,”
I start.

He looks down at me, and his gaze is so
serious that my insides quiver. “Yes, you did,”
he says. “I’ll never forget it.” He looks over at Logan. “I’m not
the only one you saved,” he whispers to me. That lump in my throat
grows ten times its size. “You ever need anything at all, you come
to me, all right? I’d do anything for you.”

“
Could you kill a guy for
me?” I ask. He could at least bust Trip’s kneecaps.

His eyebrows scrunch together. “There’s
probably a story there. I hope you’ll tell it to me
later.”

I nod. “You’re better, right?” I ask. I
hold my breath while I wait for the answer.

He smiles. “I’m not dead.”

“
Well, there’s a start,”
Paul says, jumping in. “We should have written that on the cake.”
He takes the top off a small cake box and
Welcome Home
is written across the
icing. “For the guest of honor,” he says with a
flourish.

“
Can we eat the pizza now?”
Sam whines. “Or do we have to keep doing the reunion
thing?”

Paul smacks the back of his little
brother’s head. “She saved his fucking life, dickwad.”

Pete mimics Sam’s whine. “Can we eat
the pizza now?”

I laugh and pick up a piece, shoving it
into my mouth.

“
Thank God,” Paul moans as
he reaches for a piece for himself. He smacks at Sam’s hands as he
gets in his way. “I was starving.”

I’m so touched by their impromptu party
that I can’t stop smiling. I have this stupid perma-grin on my
face, but I’m just so happy to be here. Logan pulls out a chair at
the table and motions for me to sit. But I suddenly feel little
fingers tugging on the legs of my jeans. I look down at Hayley, who
blinks her pretty blue eyes at me. Hayley is three, and we spent
some time together when I was here before.

“
Welcome home,” she says. I
set my pizza on the counter and reach for her. “Oh my goodness,” I
breathe as I bend down and pick her up. She wraps herself around me
and holds me close. She lets me go and whispers in my ear. “Are you
staying for good?” She chews on her finger as she waits.

“
I’m staying forever and
ever.” I am. I’m never leaving again, no matter what. Anything else
we need, we can work out as a family. This ragtag bunch of boys and
Hayley are as much a family to me as my parents are right
now—they’re home.

I set Hayley on the edge of the counter
and cut a piece of cake for her. Her eyes gleam, and she smiles
sheepishly at her father.

“
Food first,” Paul warns. I
stick a fork in the cake and take a big bite, and then hold a
smaller forkful out for her. Paul scrunches his brow and says,
“Fine.
One
bite.”
He holds up a finger in warning.

Hayley grins, and I feed her the
cake.

“
This is really good,” I
murmur around my cake.

Pete smacks Sam on the shoulder. “See,
told you she would love it,” he says.

Sam blushes and says, “It’s just a
cake.”

I point to the cake.
“You
did
not
make this.”

More pink creeps up Sam’s neck.
“Sometimes I bake.” He puts his hands on his hips and balks at me.
“Real men bake cakes. And pies. And cookies. And other shit.” He
waves a hand through the air as he scolds me. I had no idea Sam
could bake. It’s really some of the best cake I have ever
eaten.

“
Real men with really small
dicks,” Pete says, holding his fingers about an inch apart. Sam
punches his shoulder.

“
Ask your girlfriend about
my dick,” Sam tosses back. “She seemed to like it a lot last
night.”

“
Knock it off,” Paul scolds
as he takes Hayley off the counter and sets her on the floor.
“There are girls in the house.”

“
They don’t count as girls,”
Sam says around a mouthful of pizza.

“
Well, thanks,” I
complain.

“
You know what I mean.” Sam
is still talking with his mouth full.

Logan wraps his arms around my waist
and places his chin on my shoulder. “Feels like a girl to me,” he
says. He growls and nibbles on the side of my neck.

God, I love being here with them. I
missed a lot while I was away, and I want to find out everything
all at once.

Can we sneak out of here
and into the bedroom yet?
Logan signs to me
after he turns me to face him.

That would be rude.
I shake my head.
We just
got here. Did you know they were going to do this?

He shrugs his shoulders and
grins.
I knew there was cake. The pizza is
just dinner, I think. They didn’t know when you’d come
by.

You could have warned
me.

Where would be the fun in
that?
He jerks a thumb toward the
bedroom.
Can we go to bed yet?
He waggles his eyebrows at me.

Where would be the fun in
that?
I ask. My pocket vibrates, and I
reach for my phone.
It’s my
mom
, I tell Logan. “Hello,” I say quietly.
I walk toward Logan’s bedroom so I can hear my mom talk.

“
Are you all right?” my mom
asks.

“
Of course. Why wouldn’t I
be?” I step into Logan’s room.

“
I just wanted to be sure.
Trip called your father and said you weren’t at your
apartment.”

“
Mom,” I start.

“
I know, I know,” she
interjects. I can almost imagine her holding her hands out in
surrender. “Are you at Logan’s?” Her voice is almost
singsong.

A grin tugs at my lips. “Yes, they had
a party for me,” I admit. “It was really nice.”

“
And Logan?” she asks. “How
is he?”

What she really wants to know is how
angry he is at my father. “He’s fine.”

“
Your father will get used
to him,” she says.

“
He’ll have to.” That sounds
flippant, but it’s not. It’s the truth.

“
Emily,” she warns. She
takes a deep breath. “Even you have to admit he’s not what your
father envisioned for you.”

He’s not what I envisioned for myself,
either. I never even hoped to find someone as kind and generous as
Logan. “I know. Isn’t it great?”

My mother heaves a sigh. “There’s a
party tomorrow at the hotel. Your father is hosting it. We’ll pick
you up at three.”

“
Wait,” I say. “Why do I
have to go?”

“
It’s a family event,” she
says. “You should bring Logan. It’s not black tie, but it’s rather
formal,” she warns.

“
Mom,” I moan. I’m pretty
sure Logan doesn’t own a tie, much less a black one. “I don’t want
to go.” I probably sound like a two-year-old, but I don’t
care.

“
It’s not optional. Your
father is presenting his new ad campaign, and there will be some
New York officials there.”

“
I wanted to spend tomorrow
with Logan,” I say quietly.

“
I told you to bring him
with you.”

“
He doesn’t have anything to
wear,” I admit.

“
Oh,” my mother chirps.
“Never fear. I’ll take care of it. I’ll have some things sent over
for him. And for you, too. You can both take your pick of what to
wear and send the rest back. Or keep it. I don’t particularly
care.”

I can see Logan in a formal setting. He
can fit in anywhere. I’m sure of it. “All right,” I sigh. “Send
it.”

“
I’ll send it to your
apartment.” She stops talking and lets me absorb her words. “That
is where you’re staying, right?” she asks. I can almost feel her
grin through the phone.

“
Yes, Mom. My apartment.” I
bite back a groan.

“
We’ll pick you both up at
three,” she tells me. “Love you.”

She’s gone before I can
respond.

Logan pokes his head into
the room.
Everything ok?

I nod.
My mom said my presence is requested at a party
tomorrow.
I raise an eyebrow at him.
Any chance you could go with me?