I stepped into him and placed my hands on the scruff of his cheeks, forcing his sneer to soften.

“And I love you, and I love Oliver—more than I ever thought I could love anyone. You’re both…”

Words failed me. A soft sigh escaped as the depth of my emotions and our connection settled in. “You’re part of me, and I’ll never let anyone hurt either of you ever again. I’ll protect your son with my life. But for him, I’ll also try to understand his mother—try to give her a chance, because he deserves to have a mother in his life. Don’t punish him for her mistakes.”

Silence hung between us. He closed his eyes slowly as my hands slipped down and wrapped around him. He held me flush against him and buried his face in my hair.

“You really are an angel.”

“No, I’m just a woman in love. And nothing will change that.”

Chapter Fifteen

Frozen

Logan and I lay on the sofa, utterly satisfied. Our naked limbs were tangled together, bodies covered in sweat, clothes strewn across the room. His fingers stroked my hair, my back against his front. I was thankful for his oversized furniture that accommodated us perfectly.

“Before I forget, your car is parked safely in your driveway,” Logan said, surprising me.

I smiled to myself. “Thank you.”

We lay in silence a while longer before he spoke again.

“How was Scout?” he asked, kissing the shell of my ear.

“Good. He likes Julia,” I said in a tranquil whisper.

He tensed. “Julia? I thought Luke was watching him.”

I perked up at the subject at hand, remembering the inquiry Logan had coming and relieved he’d seemed to forget his own about Hilary. “He is, and Julia’s helping.”

“So their Valentine’s date went well, I take it.”

“She didn’t say anything to you?” That didn’t surprise me.

“Not a word, but she rarely does.” His hands added relaxing pressure to my scalp. “I wish she’d focus more on school than boys.”

I relished the massage, but needed to hold my wits. “He likes her—a lot.”

“What’s not to like? My sister’s a doll.”

Before I could say anything, he added with a snicker, “Most of the time.”

A smile curved my lips as I rolled onto my stomach. Half resting over him, I placed my chin in my hands, my elbows against his chest. “She told me about Larry.”

His hands stilled just as they found my back, and after a moment’s pause, he replied, “Our dog?”

“Of course. Is there another Larry?” I teased.

“I was a child, and I hardly remember half the stuff Lawrence goes on about. That’s the only reason Julia even knows about the so-called imaginary friend, which I’m sure she told you about given your tone.”

“I think it’s charming.” I traced my finger over his nipple.

“Liar.”

My giggle couldn’t be contained. “You had an imaginary friend! What’s not cute about that?”

“Can we change the subject, please?”

“No.” I dipped my head and ran my tongue over the ripples of his abs.

“You’re impossible.” He moaned as I continued my ministrations.

“And you are adorable. So what was he like?”

“I don’t remember, but our dog was awesome. He was a Great Dane, and terrified everyone that came by—kid or adult.”

I lay there enjoying the sound of his husky voice washing over me. The moment was too tender to disrupt it with a firing squad of questions about Mark and Julia, but my curiosity got the best of me.

“So did anything else happen today that I should know about?” Logan asked.

“Actually, your sister said something I wanted to ask you about.”

“Did she now?”

“What did you do to Mark?”

His carefree expression dropped. “Do?” He laughed, but it was humorless.

“You forced him to break up with her?” I knew he wouldn’t lie to me, but I was on edge with disappointment.

“No, I did nothing but help the guy.”

My eyes squinted in confusion. “And how did you do that?”

“I pulled a few strings and got him a job in his field that pays triple what he was making before and could lead to a lot of new doors opening for him in the future.”

That wasn’t what I was expecting.

“I don’t understand. Why would that—”

“The job is in Africa,” he added, looking bored.

“Oh.”

“So you can see why my sister wasn’t happy. But nobody forced him to accept the offer. He made his choice.”

“You dangled gold in his face. Of course he took it. Who wouldn’t?” I scooted down and sat at the end of the couch.

“I wouldn’t.” He sat up, gripping my shoulder and turning me to face him. “If given the choice between money and you, I’d choose you without a second thought.”

“Because you have money! Mark doesn’t. You can’t even compare the two. And you only did this because he hurt me. It had nothing to do with Julia.”

“Believe it or not, I’d rather be poor with you in my arms than the richest man alive without you.”

Damn it. How could I hold on to my anger when he said things like that?

He pressed his lips to my shoulder.

“You don’t know…Mark might have felt that for Julia if given the time.”

“They dated for months. He made his choice, and one day Julia will see I was looking out for her best interest. Mark is a douchebag. My sister deserves a man that will adore her.”

In spite of myself, I laughed. “Did you just use the word ‘douchebag’?”

He raised a brow. “It seems I did.”

“Wow, you really don’t like him, huh?”

“You already know that answer.”

I did, but I still hated that Julia was suffering because Logan’s perception of Mark was skewed due to my past with him.

“Would you have done this if Mark and I had never dated—if he’d never hurt me?”

“Yes.” His reply was quick, and his next words were genuine. “I met Mark the first time I came to Harmony a few months before I moved here. I know the type of guy he is, and that’s why I did it. But because he hurt you, Caleb and I settled something a while ago.”

I winced. “What does that mean?”

“It means Mark knew better than to speak to you at Haven the night you and Hilary came in, and he paid for his mistake.”

“What did you do?”

“Nothing for you to worry about. Just know I gave him a chance to fight for my sister, to prove me wrong, and he left her with only a text-message goodbye, dropping blame on me. Not that I mind, as long as he’s out of her life.”

“Maybe he’ll come back for her—save up and return to make things right.” It was doubtful, but I’d always been a hopeless romantic underneath it all.

“And if he does, then he may earn a crumb of my respect.”

The whole conversation was exhausting. I didn’t disagree with Logan—Julia was better off without Mark. But of course I’d feel that way.