Logan was afraid if he didn’t pull himself together he was going to completely ruin his friendship with Katie.

Kissing her on the beach had been a big mistake.

He’d almost lost control completely, and then she would have seen how crazy about her he was. And as soon as that happened, she was going to withdraw from him.

He knew it was true.

She didn’t want a relationship—with him or anyone else. If she believed he was wanting more out of their friendship, she would make sure not to let it get any worse. Which meant not being close to him the way she was.

He couldn’t let that happen.

He tried to act normal as they returned to his parents’ house. His older brother, Sloan, with his wife, Maria, had stopped by, and they all had a big breakfast together. The conversation was friendly and chaotic as they caught up and shared laughter over eggs, bacon, waffles, and mixed fruit. That was good. That was a needed distraction.

They helped his parents clean up afterward, and by then it was nearly time to get ready to go to the reunion, which was a late lunch at a beach restaurant. The whole morning had passed without any return to the tension of their walk on the beach.

He tried to tell himself it was a good thing as he showered and changed clothes.

Katie was acting perfectly normal as she came downstairs before they left.

She wore a blue sundress and a dressy pair of sandals. She looked fresh and pretty and smiling and clever and everything he’d ever wanted.

He had to be very careful not to kiss her again.

He’d put on a decent shirt and trousers since the restaurant they were going to was a nice one. For a moment he could almost imagine she was his girlfriend for real, especially when she gave him a special smile and took his arm in a friendly gesture.

“You make such a lovely couple,” his mother said, coming in from the kitchen to see them on their way out the door.

“Mom,” he muttered, giving her a narrow-eyed look.

“I know, I know.” His mother laughed and patted his shoulder. “You’re just friends. That doesn’t mean you don’t make a lovely couple.”

Logan checked Katie’s expression and saw she looked a little uncomfortable behind her smile.

Damn it. This was going downhill fast.

There was nothing he could do to change his mother, so he just said good-bye as he and Katie left the house.

They were silent as he drove them over to the beach, and he really wished he knew what she was thinking.

“Sorry about my mom,” he said at last, as he pulled into a parking place at the restaurant. “You know how parents are.”

“Yes. I know. Don’t worry about it. She’s really great. Your whole family is.”

He knew it was true, and he couldn’t help but be pleased that Katie genuinely meant it. He could never have had any sort of relationship with someone who didn’t appreciate his family. “You’re still all right with coming to this thing with me?”

Her eyes widened. “Of course! Why wouldn’t I be?”

He wasn’t sure how to answer the question, so he just smiled and said, “Then let’s do this.”

***

The reunion wasn’t too tense or awkward or uncomfortable.

In fact, it was a little bit boring.

The lunch lasted about two hours, and he was able to chat with each of the twelve other guys on the chess team. Most of them were married now, and all of them had brought a wife or a date. He was really glad he had Katie with him and not just because it meant he wasn’t alone.

She went out of her way to be charming and to talk up Logan’s accomplishments with everyone she met. At first Logan appreciated it, but eventually he started to feel strange about it.

Not that she was going overboard. She was playing it exactly right, acting like a loving girlfriend.

He just didn’t want to be the kind of guy who needed a friend to help him out in a situation like this.

So he was glad when the group finally began to disperse and he could suggest to Katie that they leave.

She held his arm as they walked back to the car, and she waved a friendly farewell to another couple who were leaving at the same time.

He sighed in relief when they closed their car doors, effectively marking an end to the reunion.

Katie’s smile transformed into a warm, searching look. “That seemed to go well. Didn’t you think so?”

“Yes. Yes, it was fine. You were great.”

She relaxed against the seat and toed off her sandals. “I guess I’m good at being an adoring girlfriend. Who knew?”

Logan knew.

No one would be a better girlfriend than Katie.

She closed her eyes, and Logan’s heart ached in his chest at the sight of her dark eyelashes against her smooth skin, the full curve of her lips slightly parted, the graceful line of her shoulders, her breasts.

Her eyes opened so suddenly he wasn’t sure he’d effectively masked his expression.

She blinked at him. “You thought it went well, didn’t you?”

“Sure.”

“What’s the matter?”

“Nothing. It’s really nothing. Everything went well, and I greatly appreciate your help. I just wish…” He trailed off.

“You wish what?”

“I don’t know. I guess I just feel kind of stupid about the whole thing. I’m not sure what I was even thinking in asking you to do this for me.”

Her questioning expression softened into something soft, tender, heart-stopping. “You were thinking that you’re still second best somehow, that you still can’t measure up.”

He started to give an immediate denial, but the words never came out. She was right. Of course she was right. He’d always compared himself to other guys—his brothers, his friends at school—and he’d never felt like he could compare.

No matter how successful he’d become since high school, those feelings never really went away.

“You’re not second best, Logan,” Katie said, reaching out to touch his cheek very gently. “You’re the most amazing man I’ve ever met, and that’s never going to change. And I’m not the only one to see that.”

He couldn’t look away from the fond sincerity in her eyes. He couldn’t pull his face away from her hand, even though he knew he should.

His blood was pounding deliciously in his veins, all through his body. And he couldn’t possibly resist the need to touch her, claim her, sink into her.

He reached out and pulled her face toward him, claiming her lips with his.

She sucked in a breath of surprise, but she didn’t pull away. Her hand moved to the back of his neck, and she softened against him.

His mind roared with pleasure at her eager response, and his tongue slid into her mouth, tangling with her tongue, tasting her exactly the way he wanted.

She’d adjusted in her seat, and now she was wrapping both arms around him. She wanted to kiss him. Wanted to. He could feel it so clearly, and it released the coiled desire he’d been reining in for her for so long.

She was his.

She was his.

And he wanted to make her his all the way.

She was making throaty sounds of pleasure as his hands started to move down her body, touching her soft skin, her perfect curves. His groin was rock hard now, uncomfortable in the confines of his trousers. And he wasn’t sure how he was going to hold himself back.

Then Katie suddenly pulled away, gasping loudly in the quiet car.

“What… what…. what?” Her cheeks were flushed bright red, and her hair was mussed slightly. She looked like she’d just been kissed well and deeply, and he couldn’t help but like the fact that he was the one who’d made her look that way.

He cleared his throat, trying to make his brain work when all he was conscious of was his body and heart roaring in need and satisfaction.

She looked around at the parking lot, hugging her arms to her chest. “Was someone… watching?”

And that was like a kick in the gut. She thought he was still faking. She thought that incredible kiss couldn’t be real.

He stared at her, unable to speak.

Incapable of doing anything except barely holding himself back.

“I need…” She was looking frantically between him and the parking lot. “I need some air.”

He needed a lot more than air.

She added, “I’m sorry. I’ll be back in a minute.”

Before he could reply, she was getting out of the car and walking across the parking lot toward the beach.

He was so aroused and dazed that he couldn’t move immediately, but he did notice—in one of those random observations in the midst of intense feelings—that she had run away barefoot.

Her sandals were still on the floor of his car.