“ONE MORE TRIP and I think we’ll be done.” Tate put a box marked study in the new office off the kitchen and turned to see Logan lounging against the counter drinking from a bottle of water.

It was late Saturday afternoon, and they’d been up and at the whole moving business since six that morning—and, of course, it was raining. The movers had arrived at seven thirty, packed up the furniture within a couple of hours, and the two of them had been unpacking boxes, rearranging the furniture, and making a few final trips for the remaining items. Their plan was to finally be out of the condo tonight so the place could be repainted this week and they could hand the keys off to Priest.

Logan screwed the lid on his empty bottle and put it on the counter as he looked over to the table and chairs they’d put in the breakfast nook by the back door. “I think you’re right. We just have a couple more things to grab and then we’ll officially be out of there and moved in here.”

“Yeah,” Tate said as he crossed over to Logan and laid a hand on his waist. “So how about we head over there now, get them, and then pick up some dinner on the way back and eat in our new place?”

Logan pursed his lips as he took hold of Tate’s hips and tugged him between his feet. “Or we could skip all of that and I could just eat you out in our new place.”

Tate laughed and shoved him in the chest. “Be serious.”

“I’m being dead serious.”

“We need to be out of the condo by tonight. You know that.”

“Hmm…I also know there are plenty of hours left until the clock strikes twelve,” Logan said. “Plus, I think you need to be out of these clothes more than we need to be out of the condo—”

“Logan…” Tate kissed him quickly but then took a step back when Logan’s hands started to slide around to his ass. When he was out of reach, Logan pushed off the counter and let out a long-suffering sigh.

“Okay. Fine,” Logan said as Tate started walking backward to the living room. “Let’s go and get the last of it. But Tate?”

“Yeah?”

Logan started in his direction, his eyes burning a hot trail in their wake as they roamed all over him.

“Just know that when we come back here tonight, your ass, and the rest of your sexy self, is going to belong to me.”

Tate’s feet faltered at the fierce look of possession in Logan’s eyes—Jesus, he’s all kinds of intense right now—then he stumbled as his calf hit one of the boxes in the living room and his back hit the front door.

A sensual smirk crossed Logan’s mouth and then he kissed Tate and switched on the porch light for later. “Let’s go. Sooner we leave, the sooner I can get you back here.”

* * *

IT WAS AROUND the moment that Tate parked in his spot at the condo’s parking garage, for what would likely be the final time, that Logan’s nerves kicked in.

Oh, he’d been trying to play it cool all day. Actually, he’d been trying not to think about tonight so he wouldn’t slip up in any way. But as the day had moved along, he’d started to run over his plans in his head to make sure he hadn’t missed anything, and now that it was here… I’m nervous as hell.

“I’m surprised you’re not jumping out of the car.” Tate’s voice pulled Logan from his thoughts and had him turning his head to face him. He looked damn near perfect sitting behind the wheel of his chromed-up and polished muscle car.

In a pair of faded ripped jeans, a simple white V-neck Henley, and his leather jacket—the one with the patch on the sleeve—Tate was sexy as hell. All Logan could think as he looked at those windblown waves of his was, James Dean, eat your fucking heart out.

“Logan?”

“Huh? What’d you say?”

Tate started laughing. “I said I’m surprised you’re not jumping out of the car. You were in such a hurry to get here so we could leave.”

That was half true. Logan had been in a hurry to get to the condo, but not for the reason Tate thought—though that idea in his head now was a difficult one to push aside.

He’d actually been in a hurry because he’d texted Cole as they’d been leaving so his brother could get inside and put the final things in order, and when he’d text Logan back to say it was done, well, they couldn’t dawdle after that.

“It’s been a long day, that’s all.” Logan added a wink, and when Tate leaned across the car as though he were going to kiss him, Logan reached for the door handle. If he puts his mouth on me here, we are not going to leave the damn car. He pushed open his door. “Don’t try to distract me. Out. Now.”

Tate chuckled. “Fine. Have it your way. If you don’t want me to kiss you, I’ll just save it for someone who does.”

Like hell. Logan moved so fast then that Tate barely had time to blink. He grabbed a fistful of that white Henley and one side of Tate’s leather jacket and yanked him across the console. As Logan crushed his mouth over the top of Tate’s, a growl left him and went straight to Logan’s balls. Christ, this is not part of the plan, Mitchell. But when Tate’s hands came up and cupped either side of his face, any and all plans flew the fuck out of his brain.

Tate’s tongue in his mouth had Logan’s temperature spiking in an instant, and Tate’s hand reaching between them was almost enough for Logan to shove Tate’s seat back so he could unzip him and suck the cock he knew would be hard as a rock in those jeans but…it was the vibrating in his pocket that finally had Logan putting a palm to Tate’s chest and gently pushing him back.

When Tate’s eyes found his, they were dark with desire and wild with a need Logan wanted to fulfill. But before he did any of that, he said, “I want you upstairs.” And he really meant it.

More than he wanted his next breath, Logan wanted Tate upstairs and in the place they had lived for the past four years so he could finally make him his in all possible ways.

* * *

TATE BLINDLY REACHED behind him for the handle of his door, not willing to take his eyes from Logan’s until he absolutely had to. That kiss had been something else. And the way Logan was looking at him right now was… Damn, it was making his heart trip as much as it was making his cock throb.

“You need to get out of the car,” Logan said.

“I am.”

“No, you’re not.”

Tate nodded but didn’t move, and when a small smile played on Logan’s lips, Tate’s heart did that funny skip-a-beat thing again.

“Get out of the car, Tate.”

Tate bit his lower lip but then pushed down on the handle and tore his eyes from Logan. This was the last time they were ever going to be at the condo alone, and if Logan wanted him upstairs one final time? Then he sure as hell was going to get his ass out of the car and into that elevator.

He shoved open the door and was out and shutting it behind him as Logan walked around the hood of the Mustang and waited. As Tate got closer, he noticed Logan’s jeans weren’t doing shit to hide the erection he was sporting, but they looked good on him with the black tee he’d worn today. Right now, he also had on a Northwestern University full zip hoodie that he’d left undone, and for some reason this particular outfit was hands down one of the sexiest things Tate had ever seen him wear.

“You’ve got to stop looking at me like that,” Logan said when Tate stopped opposite him.

“Why?” Tate took hold of either side of Logan’s hoodie. “Don’t you like how I’m looking at you?”

Logan put his hands on top of his. “I like it too damn much.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“No problem.” Logan chuckled, as Tate brushed their lips together. “You are so impatient tonight.”

Tate bit Logan’s bottom lip, and when he groaned, Tate smiled against his mouth. “Yeah, I am.” He saw Logan swallow, and then took a step back and held his hand out.

“Then let’s go upstairs.”

Tate narrowed his eyes slightly. He’d fully expected to have to fight to keep his clothes on as they made their way upstairs after that blistering kiss in the car. But as he slipped his hand into Logan’s and they headed to the elevator, Logan remained quiet.

What’s going on with him? Tate thought, as Logan punched the up button and then swept his thumb over the pulse point of Tate’s wrist, making a shiver race up his spine.

When they stepped into the elevator and the doors shut, Tate leaned up against the back wall and Logan moved to stand beside him, and they each watched the numbers above the doors light up.

As they went from the parking levels to the lobby, Tate grinned. “I remember the first time I ever got into this elevator.” Logan’s eyes found his, and Tate winked. “I was so damn nervous.”

Logan scoffed, and knowing what he was likely thinking, Tate rolled his eyes at himself. “I know. I know. It’s crazy to think about now. But I swear, it took hours for this elevator to reach your floor that night.”

“Our floor. And I think it still does,” Logan said, frowning, and Tate looked back at the numbers.

“You called me that night. Do you remember?”

“Yes,” Logan said. “I thought you got lost.”

“Liar. You were just impatient.”

The elevator reached their floor and dinged, and when the doors slid open, Logan said, “I still am.”

And as Logan led him out into the hallway, Tate decided he had absolutely no problem with that.

* * *

LOGAN REMINDED HIMSELF to breathe as he stopped at their front door and pulled his keys from his pocket. Tate was standing so close behind him that Logan could feel his breath on the back of his neck, and he knew Tate had no idea what was planned.

It appeared Tate thought exactly what Logan wanted him to. That he was bringing him up here for one final “goodbye” to the place—and in a way, he was. Just not the goodbye the gorgeous man behind him expected.

Tate’s hands on his waist had Logan’s shaking a little as he inserted the key and unlocked the door. He could feel the rigid length of Tate’s arousal against his behind, and it was taking all of Logan’s control not to take care of that first and then maybe ask this next question when Tate was in a state of euphoria. But when he’d gotten out of the car, Logan had quickly checked his phone to see the text that had come through from Cole: We just left. Everything is set. Good luck. Call us when it’s official. And Logan knew there was no turning back.

As he pushed open the door, he stepped aside, and Tate walked around him and gave a deliciously salacious grin before running his fingers down Logan’s chest, then he turned and headed inside. Logan shut the door and followed, and as he got down the hall and into the living space, he took in a seriously unsteady breath.

Cole and Rachel had done good. They’d followed his request to a tee, and as Logan’s eyes adjusted to the lit candles placed all around the living room floor, across the kitchen island, and by the door that led out to the balcony, he finally noticed that Tate had stopped dead center and was silent.

Okay, this is it, Logan thought, as he slipped his hand into the pocket of his hoodie and felt around for the box. Once his fingers were wrapped around it, he took the final steps so he could reach out and get Tate’s attention.

Finally, he turned around. Tate’s mouth was tipped up on one side in a crooked kind of smile, and he had a look of confusion on his face as Logan took a step toward him.

Logan swallowed, knowing it was now or never, and lowered to one knee, determined to do this right. Determined to make it perfect. As soon as his knee touched the hardwood and his eyes found Tate’s, Logan saw his feet falter. Tate’s crooked grin turned to a slack jaw, and then he blinked a couple of times.

Logan turned the box over in his pocket before he cleared his throat and said, “Tate.”

When Tate said nothing in response, letting his eyes scan around the room again before coming back to Logan wide and even more confused, Logan started again.

“Tate…” When his voice trembled, Logan cleared his throat. He’d never had so much trouble getting words out of his mouth in his life. “Tonight when we were coming up here, it was funny you brought up the first time you came to this place, because over the past few months, that’s all I’ve been able to think about.”

“Logan, I—”

“Please,” Logan said. “Let me get this out or I just might forget something important, and when it comes to you, everything’s important. Four years ago, when I met you, I never could have imagined that this is where it would lead me.” As Tate stared down, Logan saw his Adam’s apple bob, so he took the hand by Tate’s side and laced his fingers through Tate’s. “I had a plan for my life. Rules and a motto I lived by, because that’s the way I am. I like to research things. I like facts. And I liked knowing where I was going. But after one conversation with you, those rules and motto, they changed. And after a month of knowing you, they no longer existed. Instead, you became my plan.”

Tate shook his head a little and then looked around again. But when Logan gently squeezed his fingers, Tate brought his focus back to him, and Logan continued.

“We both know I’m a little slow on the uptake when it comes to relationships and settling down. But I’d like to think that’s changed. Actually, I know it’s changed.” Logan drew Tate’s hand up to his lips and shut his eyes as he kissed it. “I love you, Tate. You changed my life’s plan in the best way possible and made me want things I’ve never wanted before—with you.”

Logan took the small box out of his pocket, flipped it open, and looked up to lock eyes with Tate. “William Tate Morrison, will you marry me?”

Logan’s heart was thumping so loudly he wished he could stop it for a second so he wouldn’t miss Tate’s reply as he came down to his knees opposite him. Now, face to face, it was easier to see Tate’s features in the flickering light of the candles, and they looked…strained. And when a tear slipped free of those blurry brown eyes that Logan loved so much, Tate whispered, “No.”

Logan got his wish then.

His heart stopped.

And then it shattered.