Chapter 34
Ava
My arms stretch out as I wake feeling refreshed, only to look over and see that Logan is already gone. He didn’t mention having to work, so I assume he must be somewhere in the house, but with so much space who knows where he could be.
Slipping on one of his large T-shirts, I walk through his immaculate place, his heated floors like magic beneath my feet.
Everything is different without Logan, and because I’d only seen it at night, I hadn’t realized how much light it gets during the day. The white décor makes even more sense now as the sun streams through the large windows, creating a bright and airy space.
Tiptoeing outside, I look to the amazing view just over the pool. I bet it’s great to swim overlooking the city, and I make a mental note to enjoy a day in the sun with Logan in the near future.
Glancing around, I’m shocked by his lack of neighbors. I remember thinking that it seemed as if this was two properties the first time I saw it, and from the looks of its seclusion I think I may have been right. The Hollywood Hills are known for their views, but typically the homes are very close together. Logan, however, has more space than he knows what to do with, as well as privacy.
Wandering back inside, I go from one room to the next before hearing his voice far off down the hallway. Following his low tone, I find him in his office, as he stands facing the window shirtless, his naked back enticing me as his muscles flex.
“I need the background check. Something doesn’t make sense. That’s the only one from the list of suspects, right?” he asks, glancing over his shoulder and doing a double take when he sees me standing in the doorway.
“I… I don’t know. I’ll call you later. Ava’s here,” he says quickly before hanging up the phone.
“Good morning,” I smile nervously.
There a look of panic on his face and I’m almost certain I wasn’t meant to hear his conversation, which makes me feel a bit anxious. Logan has never hidden anything from me, even when it had to do with business or the theft from his house. His secrecy is disconcerting, especially considering my role in Petra’s deceit, and my stomach drops at the possibility of my betrayal being exposed.
“I missed you,” I saunter over, placing my hand on his chest, a gesture that typically starts another round in the bedroom between us, but today, his hand removes mine, as his eyes stray from looking directly at me.
“I have to go into the office,” he says before glancing down at me.
“Oh, okay. I can call a cab.” The embarrassment is apparent in my voice and I can sense his regret as I look away before heading to the door of his office.
My heart skips a beat when I feel his hand reach for my wrist, stopping me from leaving.
“You know I’ll take you home, Ava. I just have to handle something.” He pulls me to him and I lean into his touch. The fear of his love being snatched from me is so great I often feel like I can’t breathe from just the possibility.
“I thought we were going to spend today together,” I say, referencing a comment he made when he picked me up yesterday.
“I planned to, you know that. I just had something come up,” he explains, running his nose along my collar bone.
“Don’t be a tease.”
“You’re getting spoiled, you know that?” he jokes, following me out of the office.
“I told you from the beginning – the only thing you can spoil me with is time and parts of you,” I say, glancing over my shoulder.
“Well, there’s one specific part of me you can’t seem to get enough of,” he smirks when I look back in horror.
“Logan!”
* * *
After throwing my clothes from the previous night on, I make my way to the living room, where Logan is studying something on his laptop.
The second he notices my presence, he slams the computer closed, jumping to his feet before quickly escorting me outside. Unlike most days, Logan decides to drive me home himself, in the same LaFerrari he drove on our first date.
I replay the morning’s events in my head, trying to decide if I should be worried. My stomach is in knots just thinking of what he could have discovered. I’ve seen Rodrick in action – he’s not someone to play with, and I can’t imagine Petra being able to hide her crime forever.
I replay every joke and smile we’ve shared since I walked in on the strange call this morning he didn’t want me to hear. Deeming his kindness as evidence that we’re okay, I try to focus on those moments, convincing myself that it’s all just a coincidence, and there’s nothing to worry about. that there is something else that he is worried about.
But the look on his face when I stumbled into that office, and the living room as he looked on the laptop, were obviously frantic. There’s something going on – I mean, I heard him ask about a background check and suspects, it doesn’t get any more obvious than that.
We arrive at my house so quickly, I don’t realize we’re here until the car stops, my eyes nervously darting across to Logan as I try to read him.
“Okay, I’ll call you,” I try to sound casual, but he frowns at me with confusion.
“You’re not going to invite me in?”
“Are you serious?”
“If you’re not ready for that, I understand. I just thought… you know, I showed you my house.”
“First of all, you showed me one of your homes, there’s a difference. Second, I’d be happy to show you my place, but just keep in mind, I only stay here when I’m feeling airy, you know. It’s more of my artistic haven,” I begin, looking up at the roof of his car as if I’m in deep thought as he smirks at my mocking him.
“Now that I think about it, I don’t think I told my maid I’d be here, so the place could be completely abandoned, but you can see it,” I shrug, as I try to look as casual as he does talking about all his homes.
“Are you done?” he asks with a smile, pulling his key from the ignition.
My nerves are jumping, and butterflies flutter in my belly as I walk him into my foyer. I can’t remember if I made my bed before I left with him last night, so I try to take him around the ground floor first.
“Ava?” Petra calls out as I walk into the living room.
“Yeah?”
“We need to talk about your billings. You haven’t brought in anything this quarter because you–” Her voice abruptly cuts off when her eyes land on Logan, and she rushes from the room so awkwardly the two of us just stand there in shock.
“Your roommate is… interesting,” Logan says after a long pause.
“You have no idea,” I shake my head, before showing him the rest of the place.
“This is a nice place,” he pulls me close to him as we reach the landing at the top of the stairs.
“Yes, the non-Hollywood Hills real estate can be quite alluring without those gaudy views they have up there,” I joke.
“You know I don’t care about any of that, right?” he says, and for the first time I realize that while it may have been done without malice, I’ve been making fun of him, and it’s probably grown old.
“I’m sorry, I was just teasing because your place is so nice. I didn’t mean to bother you.”
“Trust me, Ava. No one gets bothered about having a nice home. I just don’t want you to feel the need to downplay your life because you’ve seen mine. None of that type of stuff matters to me,” he looks deeply into my eyes, erasing all of the doubt I had about his love for me and the strength of our relationship.
“This is my room,” I announce, waving my arm around as we enter. My stomach relaxes when I see my bed perfectly made and my room is clean enough.
“Hmm… so, this is where you sleep, huh?” he whispers seductively as his teeth graze along my neck.
“Didn’t we just discuss you teasing me?”
“Who said I’m teasing?” he asks before kissing my neck with his tongue before nibbling on my skin.
“You said you have to get to work.”
“Mm-hmm… but I’ve got,” he glances down at his watch before continuing, “at least ten minutes.”
“And I can have them?” I turn to face him, pressing my lips to his before he can answer.
“You can have whatever you want, Ava baby.” He deepens the kiss, sliding his tongue past my lips as he lifts me up and lays me on the bed.
This time, he undresses me completely, admiring my body before slowly diving into me fast and fully clothed. It’s exhilarating to rush since we’re usually never short for time with each other. Unlike his usual need to make me climax more than once, he works me up quickly, and comes right along with me, which has always been my favorite.
Logan leaves me with my thoughts after our quickie session, and I can’t help but wonder why Petra was so strange when she saw him. And it’s not the first time. She did the same thing when he showed up at the office and I’ve yet to figure out why.
The more I debate it, the more I’m sure there’s something I don’t know going on. The two of them have both been strange today, and I know I can’t ask Logan anything without looking suspicious, so that just leaves Petra.
Reaching for my phone, I decide to set up a meeting with her as I heard her leave the house as soon as I went upstairs with Logan, but I don’t want to scare her away, so I decide to play it smooth, sending a casual text.
Hey, I got tickets to this thing called lunch tomorrow – wanna go? My treat!
After a deep breath, I press send and wait for her response, already plotting how I’ll go about confronting her. My mind tries to think like her, imagining every possible way she can deny the obvious truth, when my phone vibrates.
Yeah
Her response is short, but all I need, and my plan is officially set in motion. The rest of my day is spent planning the lunch – from what I’ll wear to how I’ll broach the topic.
My friendship with Petra has undoubtedly been on the rocks since I found out about her deceit, and I honestly cannot see how we could ever come back from her lying about it if she denies her involvement. While I can believe she may have only played a role in the crime, she must return the jewelry to Logan if there’s going to be any hope for our friendship.
By the time I lay down for bed that night, my heart is racing, ready for tomorrow. Logan never calls me after leaving the office, which only makes all my insecurities resurface, as I fear what he could have possibly learned from Rodrick.
When I call, Logan’s phone goes straight to voicemail, and I lie awake so long, just looking at the ceiling, silently praying that I can fix everything tomorrow. Hear Petra’s confession and then come clean to Logan.