After listening to his speech, my opinion of Logan completely changes. I see him in an entirely new light. Instead of some rich, cocky guy with nothing to do during the day, he suddenly becomes a part of a family. Both Liam and Kora were touched by his speech. Kora even cried! Maybe he doesn’t show this part of himself often, but at least it exists.

“You have quite a way with words,” I say to Logan when we’re alone. The rest of the party moved away from this side of the patio, toward the dessert table. It suddenly feels like the whole world has fallen away, and it’s just us, the cloudless sky, the bright yellow moon and the sound of calm waves falling onto the sand.

“Thank you,” he says moving closer to me. The moonlight illuminates his luscious lips and plays with the sparkle in his eyes. There’s a mysterious quality to them that draws me in.

Logan moves closer to me. He licks his lips and reaches toward my neck. The touch of his fingers along my jaw speeds up my heart rate. It feels like any second now it’s going to jump out of my chest. Slowly, his fingers make their way to my mouth and run along my bottom lip. His fingertips feel soft and rough at the same time. I look into his eyes. He leans even closer. I feel his breath on my lips and close my eyes. Our lips touch.

His lips are effervescent. At first, the kiss feels like the kiss of a butterfly. Delicate. His tongue is foreign, yet familiar. He tilts my head back and drops his. He kisses my neck. Slowly. Deliberately. The hair on the back of my neck stands up.

Our bodies get closer and our legs touch. I love the feel of his silk pant leg on my bare skin. Logan’s hands caress my shoulders. He pushes me back against the railing and our kiss gains momentum. It’s no longer fragile. We’re no longer breakable. Passion sweeps through me, and I push back against him. His hard, toned body welcomes me in, but doesn’t give much. He pushes me back. Harder this time. This time, the railing digs into my back. It’s a bit painful. It might even leave a bruise, but it feels so good.

“Logan?” I hear someone say his name. “Logan?”

Reluctantly, he pulls away from me.

“Are you serious?” the girl says. I can’t see her very well, she’s standing in the shadows, but I know one thing. She’s gorgeous. In her heels, she’s just as tall as Logan and all legs.

“What?” Logan asks unapologetically. I don’t know who this is, so I try to create some separation between us. But he puts his arm around my waist and pulls me back.

“What are you doing here?”

“It’s my brother’s engagement party. A better question is what are you doing here?”

She ignores him. Instead, she walks closer to me and extends her hand.

“Hi, I’m sorry for being so rude. I’m Sadie,” she says in a high, peppy voice. I nod, introduce myself and shake her hand.

“I’m the mother of Logan’s future child.”

If I had a glass of champagne in my hand right now, I’m certain that I would have dropped it.

“What?” I mumble.

“Shut up, Sadie,” Logan shakes his head.

“Oh, he didn’t tell you?”

I turn to Logan. He looks lost. His eyes search my face for some sort of response. My ears start to buzz, and I get a nagging pain in the back of my head.

“Sadie is my ex-girlfriend,” he says. “She just told me about this pregnancy. I don’t even know if it’s mine.”

“You’re such an asshole,” Sadie says tapping her foot on the floor.

“This is our first date, Avery. I wasn’t keeping this from you. It just wasn’t the right time to tell you. We hardly know anything about each other.”

“I have to go,” I mumble. Logan tries to come with me, but I push him away. “Leave me alone.”

I don’t know how to process this. I’ve heard about this happening, of course, but I never thought that it would happen to me. Millions of thoughts rush through my mind. Why didn’t he tell me? He’s such a dick! Sadie is right. It is our first date. I don’t know anything about him. Did I really expect him to open with this?

Somewhere in the background, I hear Sadie and Logan arguing. They definitely sound like exes. And if this baby is Logan’s, do I really want to do deal with this? Is this how we’re supposed to start our relationship? What relationship? This is our first date. Suddenly, we’re in a relationship?

Agh!

I want to scream and pound my fists on something, but I’m at a party. An engagement party, of all things. And Kora and Liam are so nice. I can’t make a scene. Keep it together, Avery.

I decide to drown my sorrows in cake and alcohol.

“Is everything okay?” Kora walks over to me, putting her arm around my shoulder. Oh my God. Is it that obvious?

“Yes,” I mumble and stuff some cake into my mouth. “Wow, this is delicious.” And it is. It’s some sort of magical chocolate, red velvet, cheesecake concoction. I’m certain that if I could eat the whole thing that all of my problems would go away.

“What is it with food that makes me think that it can make all of my problems disappear?” Kora asks. I look at her. It’s as if she can read my mind.

“Oh please, don’t stop, I’m just talking about myself.”

We both crack up laughing.

“Unfortunately, through a lot of trial and error, I have found that after I stuff myself silly, none of my problems are really gone. I’m just ten pounds heavier and everything is even worse,” I say.

Kora nods.

“Are you okay?” she asks.

I might as well tell her. I doubt that I’ll ever see her again after tonight. What’s the harm, right?

“I really like Logan,” I say.

“Did he do something bad already?”

“No, not really. I mean yes, but it was before me.”

“What?”

“I just saw Sadie.”

“His ex?”

From the look on her face, I’m pretty certain that she doesn’t know what’s going on.

“We were kissing and it was this perfect kiss. And then Sadie came over.”

“She’s his ex. They broke up a while ago,” Kora says.

“I know. That’s what he said. But then she said that she’s pregnant.”

Kora takes a step back. “Oh, wow. I did not know that.”

“Apparently, he just found out.”

Kora takes a deep breath. “That’s intense. I don’t really know what to say. But I like you, Avery. A lot. You’re very different from the usual girls that he goes out with. So, I just want to take this opportunity to warn you about Logan. He’s a great guy, don’t get me wrong, but he doesn’t always treat the women he dates well. He isn’t a cheater, he’s too honest for that, but he’s not one for long-term relationships either.”

I nod. That’s pretty much what I thought.

“I’m not sure what you’re looking for with him, or why Dolly even set you two up, but he has a history. And now, apparently, a future baby mama to boot.”