I laugh at something Rowan says. Just looking at him and Marie makes my heart swell, and knowing they are such great friends and support each other so much makes me really happy for their friendship. It’s been so long since I’ve seen them. I went to high school with Marie, and although Logan is the one who was closest with me during those four years, I became close with Marie as well.

And tonight I can’t help but feel they’re at the beginning of something great.

I listen to them playfully bicker back and forth and I can’t help but grin. I love watching them, but seeing them together also makes me think of what I want in my own life. A great friendship with the potential to become something more. I can’t help but think of Logan, of all the things I’ve missed with him, of all the things I want with him. I’m just about to get up and grab some plates for the pie I made when I hear three heavy raps at my front door. They’re so powerful that I actually jump in my chair.

I look between Rowan and Marie, but he’s already up and striding toward the door.

“Stay here,” he says to us. But I find myself getting up and following him, hearing Marie’s protest behind me.

I stand off to the side and watch as Rowan straightens in front of the door. He reaches out and opens it, but from my position I can’t see who’s on the other side.

I hear someone speaking, but it’s too low for me to make out what the other person is saying. But before I know it is happening, the front door is pushed open forcefully, and Logan is slamming into Rowan, taking them all the way back so he slams against the wall. I cry out and slap a hand over my mouth, feeling my eyes widen. Logan is much bigger than Rowan, and his body has him pressed to the wall, the anger and violence coming from Logan tangible.

“She’s not yours.” The words come from Logan like a knife to my body. My heart is thundering hard and fast, painfully. “You have no right to touch her.” I have no idea what is going on right now. It is like I am in some Twilight Zone episode, some alternate dimension.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Rowan sounds shocked, angry.

“She’s mine,” Logan says through gritted teeth.

I see the confusion on Rowan’s face. I don’t blame him. Mine probably matches his expression.

“What the fuck? Marie is the woman I want!” Rowan pushes Logan away and he moves backward. I know Logan allowed it.

Marie comes out then, her hand covering her mouth as well, the shock clear in the way she holds herself. She’s probably just as surprised about their behavior as what Rowan just said. I never knew they were anything more than friends, and apparently, neither did she. She looks between Logan and Rowan, and then has her wide-eyed stare trained on me. The room grows silent as everyone just stands there.

“Logan, what the hell is going on?” I finally say, my heart in my throat, my pulse racing. He looks at me, this tense expression on his face.

“I thought you were having dinner alone with him.” His voice is so rough, so deep. “And something in me snapped, Lila.” He runs a hand over his mouth.

I just shake my head, not sure what to think. “I don’t know what’s going on, Logan.” The room is tense, the air thick, almost suffocating.

“Maybe we should go,” Marie says to Rowan. “We should probably talk…about… things.”

“We will, but I’m not leaving your friend here with this asshole,” Rowan grits out, and Logan growls low, stepping closer to him. “I don’t know what the fuck has gotten into you, man, but this is insanity.”

It is, but right now that’s probably not the right thing Rowan should be saying.

“Rowan, it’s fine. Logan is calm now.” I stare at Logan. “Isn’t that right, Logan?” My voice is firmer. “There’s not going to be any trouble, is there?”

Logan shakes his head, his focus on me.

“I don’t think I should leave,” Rowan says again.

“Rowan, Logan has his shit together,” Marie says, but she sounds a bit unsure.

“I’m fine, seriously.” I exhale. “Logan, things are fine, right? This was just a misunderstanding.” The room is silent as everyone waits for someone else to speak.

Finally Rowan sighs and grabs Marie’s hand. He stares at Logan. “I don’t know what the fuck has gotten into you, but chill the fuck out.” He then walks past me but stops. “You need me, I’m waiting outside the door, okay?”

I smile. I should have known he wouldn’t go far. Rowan is a stand-up guy. I nod and thank him. I give Marie a hug, and they leave out the front door, shutting it softly behind them. For long seconds I just glare at Logan.

“What the fuck?” I don’t normally curse, but this night went from lovely to insanity. I don’t wait for him to answer. I just head into the kitchen and grab a beer out of the fridge. Once the cap is popped I down half of it, breathing out heavily once I’ve swallowed. I turn to see Logan standing in the doorway of the kitchen and hallway, watching me, looking a little guilty.

Good.

“Shit, I’m sorry about tonight.”

I finish the rest of my beer, watching him over the rim. I set the bottle down and wipe my mouth clean with the back of my hand. “You should be. What was that all about?” Truth is, my heart is thundering. Did he think Rowan was hitting on me? He said I was his, that he didn’t want Rowan touching me. All of those things were what I wanted to hear for years. And tonight they spilled forth like a volcano exploding.

“Talk to me. What the hell went on back there?”

He pushes away from the doorway and comes into the kitchen, pulling a chair out and sitting down. For long moments he doesn’t speak, and finally I move over to the other chair and sit down across from him. We stare at each other, this chemistry moving between us, but it’s thick, sucking the air from my lungs.

“I saw him through the window, watched as he touched you, and something in me snapped.” He’s staring right in my eyes, the intensity in his tangible.

“You said I was yours.” The words spill from me.

Nothing is said, and I swear the way he’s looking at me is like he’s reaching out and touching me.

“I did,” he says unapologetically. “And I meant it, Lila.” He leans forward. “I meant every fucking word.”