In and out, in and out, three words that are on repeat in my mind, reminding me to breathe. I’m standing stock-still in his living room staring at him, Michael. Then it hits me . . . he lied to me. I’m angry long enough for my brain to catch up to the fact that I also omitted the truth. I gave him my middle name.
“Out, now!” he roars. Cole, Gavin, and Tristan linger around me. Cassidy and Mr. Jones leave without another word.
“Leave,” he says again through gritted teeth.
I feel an arm come around my shoulders. Looking over, I see that it’s Gavin. He smiles down at me, winks, and turns his attention to Mi—Kacen.
“Welcome back, man,” Gavin says.
Kacen’s blue eyes flame with anger. “I need a minute with, Pa—Logan.” He looks from me to Gavin.
“Don’t think that’s a good idea, my friend. You seem to be standing on the cliff of anger, and our girl here”—he pulls me closer—“doesn’t need to be on the receiving end.”
Kacen lets his arms hang at his sides. His fists gripped tight. “I’m not going to hurt her, or yell at her. I just need a fucking minute with her.”
“It’s obvious the two of you know each other,” Tristan pipes up.
“You could say that.” Kacen answers him, but his eyes never leave mine. “I met Logan in Hawaii.”
“Ah, so she’s the one.” Tristan laughs.
“K, you good?” this from Cole.
His answer is a simple nod, eyes still locked with mine.
Cole steps next to me and gently squeezes my arm. “We’ll just be in the kitchen. Guys.” He jerks his head toward the door. Tristan follows obediently while Gavin releases me, but doesn’t move to follow him.
Once he’s no longer touching me, Kacen moves his heated eyes from me to his friend. They have some sort of silent conversation that has Gavin releasing a heavy sigh and retreating toward the kitchen.
Then there were two.
“So, Logan . . .”
“So, Kacen . . .” I mimic him.
Running his fingers through his hair, he sits on the couch. “Come sit,” he says without looking at me.
Slowly, I walk to where he’s now sitting on the couch and sit on the opposite end. I clasp my hands in my lap and stare at them, just waiting for him to tell me that I no longer have a job.
Kacen surprises me when he clears his throat, gaining my attention. He holds his hand out for me. I slip mine into his and we shake. “My name’s Kacen Michael Warren. It’s nice to meet you.”
My eyes find his, our hands still locked. “Nice to meet you, Kacen. My name’s Logan Paige Andrews.”
His shoulders relax when he hears Paige is my middle name. Without knowing, we both omitted our first names, wanting to be someone else without the lie.
Realizing I still have a grip on his hand, I release my hold and place my hands back in my lap.
“You were gone.” His voice is thick as he speaks softly. I’m sure he’s worried about his bandmates listening in. Although it sounded like they had already heard about me, about Paige.
“I’ve never been much on goodbyes. Besides, we both knew it was a fling.” Something I’ve never done. I don’t exactly know the protocol on this type of thing.
“Yeah,” he agrees. “I still would have liked to have been able to say goodbye to you.”
Me too. “Hawaii . . . was a first for me. I wasn’t exactly sure on the protocol and just figured slipping away was the best bet.” I decide I might as well be honest with him.
We’re both quiet while the words I had just spoken lay between us.
“So, you’re my new PA?” he asks.
“Well, yes, I guess as long as you decide that I can keep my job.”
“I requested a male. Jones looked at your name and assumed.”
I nod. “He explained that you would be upset and there would be a chance that I could possibly be . . . relieved of my duties.”
“The guys,”—he gestures toward the kitchen—“they’ve run off the last several assistants, for various reasons.”
“He explained that as well.”
“Look, I know how excited you were about this position. I’m willing to see how things go, if you think you can work with me after . . .” His voice trails off.
After you gave me the best sex of my life. “I can.”
He studies me. “The guys can be—”
I interrupt him. “I’ve spent the day with them. I know they can be flirty and suggestive. However, I’m not some groupie. The fame of the band does nothing for me. I don’t want the spotlight. I want to do my job and that’s it. I can handle them.” I just don’t know if I can handle being around you.
“All right then. We’ll try it and see how it goes. I’m sure Cassidy has shown you your office?” I nod. “Good, she will be the one training you, so to speak. Really, your main job is keeping us in line.” He smirks.
“Challenge accepted.” I wink and hold out my hand. He briefly hesitates before giving it a firm shake.
“You can come in now,” he yells over his shoulder. All three of them come bursting back in the room. Gavin’s gaze locks on mine. I smile, letting him know all is well.
“So, do we get to keep her?” Cole asks.
“Jesus, she’s not a fucking pet,” Kacen chides him.
“No, but she is one hell of a cook. I vote we keep her,” Tristan adds.
Kacen runs his fingers through his hair and shakes his head. “Yes, she’s staying.” His eyes lock with mine. The blue pools take me back to just a few days ago. I push the thoughts of our time together in the back of my mind. Just a memory, Logan. Just a memory.
“Okay, well, I need to find Cassidy. There were a few things she was going to discuss with me about your schedule. I’m just going to head to my office.”
I stand to leave and Kacen grabs my hand. “Logan, it’s after five. You’ve been here all day.”
I smile down at him. “I’ve already been informed that the job has unconventional hours. Besides, I spent most of the time hanging out with these three. I hardly feel like I worked at all.” With that, I leave the four of them staring after me. Once I clear the door, I rest my back against the wall and suck in a deep breath. I’m relieved I get to keep my job, but nervous as hell working with him every day. How am I going to separate the memories of our time in Hawaii from this new working relationship we have?
“Off fucking limits, I mean it.” I hear Kacen’s warning as I scurry down the hall to my office.