Logan was in so much trouble. Not because he’d broken down Weslee’s bathroom door or lingered longer than he’d needed to once he established her stalker wasn’t hiding out in her shower. No, he was in trouble because his prediction that his life would change forever was going to come true. He’d tried getting Weslee out of his head. Tried resigning as her security detail, but Sutton wouldn’t have it.

After Logan explained what had happened, the man had simply smiled and asked him if he wasn’t competent enough to protect Weslee Campbell. Logan was competent. He just worried he was compromised. Then Sutton asked him if another agent would value Weslee’s life more than him. Logan couldn’t answer yes. He would give his life for her. Had been willing to give his life for her. Another agent might hesitate to get in the line of fire, and in those few precious seconds, she could be hurt or fatally wounded.

So, Logan hadn’t quit. He was here to find the identity of the stalker and put him away so he couldn’t bother Weslee anymore. Then he wanted to see if this thing with Weslee was the real deal. It went against everything he’d ever believed—that falling in love wasn’t worth it because of the risk of losing them. What he hadn’t understood before was that missing out on loving a woman like Weslee was far worse.

It was a little crazy how fast he’d come to that conclusion. It made him feel guilty about suggesting to the team that they cut all ties with their girlfriends before they left on their last mission. The worst had happened. Well, almost happened. They’d been captured, tortured and presumed dead, but they hadn’t died.

Watching his friend, Blaine, suffer when he’d thought he’d lost Elena for good had gutted Logan. Creed had been in a similar boat, but he’d fought for Kiera and won her back.

He got why they’d been so torn up, but wasn’t ready to admit his feelings to any of the guys yet. Jace still didn’t know that Weslee was the same girl Logan had run into on the beach and then couldn’t stop thinking about. He cared about her more than any other girl he’d ever dated. He still had reservations about the whole thing and wasn’t ready to call it love, but his feelings grew stronger every moment he spent with her.

The shift had really started last night on the airplane when he’d comforted Weslee after the nightmare she’d had before landing in North Carolina. Logan had still been wrestling with everything he’d discussed with Sutton when the pilot mentioned he hoped Miss Weslee was doing okay. Apparently, she was afraid of flying, mostly on take-offs and landings. As they approached the runway in Chapel Hill, Logan had left the cockpit to check on her and found all three passengers sound asleep.

Weslee had looked so peaceful. Settling into the seat across from her, he decided to take a few minutes just to look at her. She was so incredibly beautiful. More beautiful now that he knew what a kind heart she had. Logan protected people, but Weslee nurtured them.

Since the plane was on approach, he didn’t return to the cockpit. He had just closed his eyes when she’d cried out in her sleep. Logan had tried waking her up, but the medication had really knocked her out. It wasn’t until he’d taken her hand that she finally calmed down. That’s when he knew how much he wanted to be there for her. He wanted to wake her up from bad dreams, kiss her whenever he wanted to and find out if they had a shot at forever.

But first, he needed to find out who was sending her cryptic messages, making her protection his first priority. He rubbed his thumb along the outside ridge of the simple bracelets he’d worn for the past year, which were a reminder of his pledge to protect those who couldn’t protect themselves. They had been a gift from a mother of two little Syrian girls Logan had saved when their village had been under attack.

In the midst of enemy fire, Logan had spotted the two little girls standing in the street crying and frozen in fear. Logan had Jace and Baron cover him while he dodged the spray of bullets pinging off the ground. It was like running through a massive hailstorm, trying not to get hit by one of the balls of ice. Logan had swooped in and picked up a girl in each arm and then dove for cover behind a crumbling stone wall. Both girls clung to him, no longer crying. He liked to believe it was because they felt safe, but part of him wondered if they just found comfort in knowing they wouldn’t die alone.

Logan wasn’t sure he or anyone else would survive. They were outnumbered and outgunned. Then three US Pave Hawks had appeared on the horizon and rescued them by dropping AGM missiles with deadly precision to silence the enemy gunfire. When it was all said and done it was a miracle there hadn’t been any casualties. Plenty of civilians and soldiers had received wounds, but none of them had been mortal.

Before he and his team had shipped out, the mother of the girls had given him the two homemade bracelets to represent her two daughters, thanking him over and over in Arabic for saving their lives. Logan hadn’t taken the bracelets off since then. It reminded him of why he’d become a SEAL and why he risked his life fighting for freedom for those who had never had it before.

Now they reminded him of why he would risk his life for Weslee. Only now the drive to protect her wasn’t just out of duty.

Still standing outside of her bedroom, he cupped his ear against the door and heard a blow dryer. At least that meant she was out of the shower. Shaking his head, he backed away and took the stairs to the first floor where the kitchen was. Standing around wasn’t going to get him the password to her computer any sooner. He couldn’t wait to find out why she was being so secretive about it. According to Jon, it had never been a secret in the past. So why now?

She’d slept in this morning, so he and Jon had gone over the security of the house, property and surrounding homes. The two of them had talked with the security guards at both entrances and agreed to give Logan a list of all those admitted each day. The head of the security needed to clear it with the other residents but didn’t feel like anyone would object. They all loved the Campbell family and wanted to keep Weslee safe.

Jon had given Logan the password to Weslee’s laptop just before he left for a three-day legal conference in Atlanta where he was one of the keynote speakers. Logan could tell the man was hesitant to leave. Mr. Curtis had tried getting out of the obligation without success.

“I promise to guard her with my life,” he’d told Jon when the car arrived to take him to the airport. That’s when Jon had come right out and asked Logan about his feelings for Weslee. Logan couldn’t lie and told him that he cared about her more than just his client.

He’d expected the man to react with anger, possibly fire him. Instead, he’d smiled and clamped a hand on Logan’s shoulder. “I’m trusting you to take care of her.” The pressure on his shoulder increased as Jon met Logan’s eyes. “Don’t do anything to break that trust.”

He hadn’t broken that trust, but he had broken down Weslee’s bathroom door. In his defense, her scream had turned his blood to ice, which, ironically, was the result of an ice-cold shower. It hadn’t even registered to him that she had zero clothes on at the time he’d busted the door open. It wasn’t until she threatened bodily harm that he realized how compromising of a situation they were in.

It was a good thing her pseudo-uncle was gone for three days. Logan needed to have the door fixed by the time Jon returned home.

Inez pulled a fresh pan of chocolate chip cookies out of the oven just as he walked in. He inhaled the delicious scent as he took another glance at the rustic looking farm kitchen housing appliances that cost more than his truck. He knew this because one look at the elaborate stove and actual pizza oven made him look up the unfamiliar brand names online.

He sure hoped the cookies tasted as good as they smelled. If not, they’d wasted a lot of money on a fancy oven. “Are these up for grabs?” he asked Inez when she glanced over and spotted him watching her.

She glowered at him, placing her hands on her hips. “I should say no, you scoundrel.”

“Scoundrel?” he asked with mock indignation. “More like a superhero. Did you see how fast I broke that door down when we thought Weslee was in trouble?” He emphasized the “we” on purpose. Weslee’s blood-curdling scream had scared Inez just as much as it had scared him. Her face had gone so white that Logan worried she was having a heart attack.

“I suppose that is impressive.” She tried not to smile but wasn’t very successful. Then she sobered and shook her finger at him. “I sure hope you didn’t see anything you weren’t supposed to see, young man.”

“Scouts honor,” he said, holding up the Boy Scout sign with his fingers. “I didn’t see anything.” That didn’t mean his imagination hadn’t tried to fill in the blanks.

“Were you truly a Scout?” Inez asked, sliding the sheet of cookies onto a cooling rack.

“Yes, ma’am.” He crossed the floor and took a seat at the bar. “Got my Eagle when I was fourteen.”

“I’m impressed.” She picked up the empty cookie sheet and stared him down. “Don’t you go stealin’ any of those cookies. They’ll be ready to eat in five minutes.”

He shook his head and pushed away from the bar. “Man, you really do think I’m a scoundrel.”

“Well don’t go runnin’ off to pout,” she said. “I’m just used to Miss Weslee snitching a few cookies when my back’s turned.”

Pout? Logan had never pouted in his life. He’d bet money that he hadn’t even done it when he was a baby. “Oh, I’m not leaving, Miss Inez,” Logan said as he rounded the bar to where a big silver bowl sat with the really good stuff in it. “And I don’t even want one of your freshly baked cookies.” He reached around her and grabbed a golf-ball-sized portion of cookie dough. “Not when I can have this.”

“Lieutenant Steele, don’t you dare eat that!” She tried to grab it from him, but Logan was taller and faster, keeping it out of her reach. She shook her finger at him again. “You’ll get food poisoning.”

“Never have before,” he said, just before biting off half of his stolen goods.

She looked completely horrified. “I can’t believe you eat raw cookie dough.”

“I can’t believe you don’t,” he said, popping the rest into his mouth.

“Don’t what?” Weslee said from behind him.

It was a good thing he didn’t startle easy or he would’ve choked on the cookie dough.

“He just ate raw cookie dough!” Inez said like he’d committed a capital crime. It didn’t make sense. The woman had laughed after Logan had barged in on Weslee while she was in the shower, but was throwing a hissy fit over cookie dough?

“Why does he get to eat cookie dough when you won’t ever let me?”

Now Logan felt guilty for eating the whole thing. If he’d known she wasn’t allowed to eat cookie dough, then he would’ve shared some of his contraband with her. As good as he was at stealth ops, he didn’t think he’d get close enough to the bowl to get another helping. Not with Inez standing guard over it.

“You two get out of my kitchen,” she said, pushing the bowl further back on the counter. “Go work on the computer, and I’ll bring you cookies and milk when they’re ready.”

Worry lines creased Weslee’s smooth skin at the mention of the computer. “We can stay in here,” she said, glancing toward the entertainment room where she kept her laptop. “I’ll just run and grab my computer and be right back.”

Logan couldn’t imagine what a sweet girl like Weslee was hiding on her computer. Whatever it was he could easily find it, even if she deleted it. The password was harder to nail down, but that didn’t matter once he had access to her files.

“I don’t think so,” Inez said. “If y’all stay in the kitchen then there won’t be any cookies left for the barbeque this evening.”

“What barbeque?” Weslee and Logan asked at the same time.

“With some of the neighbors. I told you about this, didn’t I?” Inez asked, directing the question more to Logan.

“Sorry, Miss Inez, but you didn’t mention anything about a barbeque.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “Where is it exactly and who all will be there?” Although there hadn’t been any more messages from Weslee’s stalker, Logan didn’t want to let his guard down.

“It will be at the Whitaker’s house next door.” She tore off another sheet of parchment paper for the cookie sheet pan. “I can get you a list of names, but it’s just a few of the neighbors that live here year-round.”

“Is Robbie going to be there?” Weslee asked, rubbing the end of her hair that hung over one shoulder.

“Who is Robbie?” Logan asked her, hoping he wasn’t another one of her past boyfriends.

“Weslee’s first crush,” Inez answered with a smile. “He’s eight or nine years older than her.”

“Eleven,” Weslee answered.

“Whatever,” Inez said, waving her hand in front of her. “Anyway, he’s recently single again…” She paused and looked at Weslee. “For the third time?”

“Um, I think it’s his fourth.”

“Third or fourth divorce?” Logan asked, already not liking this guy.

“Yes,” the two women answered in unison.

“He’s been divorced four times, and you still have a crush on him?” Logan knew he sounded a tad on the jealous side.

“I didn’t say I still had a crush on him.” Weslee narrowed her blue eyes at him. “And why would you care if I have a crush on him?”

“You just said you don’t have a crush on him.”

Her chin went up. “I don’t.”

“Good.”

“What do you mean by that?” she asked with annoyance.

Logan stifled a laugh. He liked this side of her. Trying to act all angry when all it really did was make him want to kiss her again.

“Oh, for goodness sakes. Y’all are givin’ me a headache,” Inez said before Logan could provoke Weslee anymore. “Yes, Robbie and his son are staying with Mr. and Mrs. Whitaker, so they’ll both be at the party.” She glanced at Logan and slid the silver bowl close to her. “And I’ll get you a guest list.”

“The sooner the better,” he said, eyeing the bowl of cookie dough and wishing he could distract Inez so he could grab another handful.

“Fine,” Inez said, hovering over the bowl as if she knew Logan’s thoughts. “Now, please go do whatever it is y’all need to do.”

Weslee didn’t argue further and made a beeline for the great room. Logan followed closely behind her. She picked up the laptop and backed away from him, keeping the device close to her chest. “You never said why you need access to my computer.”

“I need to read past emails and see if I can find the IP address they were sent from.”

“The police already did that, and they didn’t find anything.”

“Doesn’t mean I won’t.” He moved a few paces closer to her. “I’ve told you I’m really good when it comes to computers.”

“And you’re so humble,” she murmured, taking a few steps backward.

“You’re kind of grumpy this morning,” he said, taking another step closer. “Is it because I busted your door down?”

“No, I understand why that happened.” She wrinkled her nose and inched back another step. “I’m sorry I screamed.”

“So,” he asked moving closer, “if it’s not the door then why are you mad at me?”

“Who said I’m mad at you?”

“Weslee, I know when a woman’s mad at me.” Logan slowly closed the distance, trying to get a read on what had her so uptight. The chemistry was still there, but she was working really hard to keep him at a distance.

She moved further away until she had her back against the wall. She was trapped and still looked very kissable. Their gazes locked, and the memory of that hot kiss they’d shared the night before rushed to the forefront. Desire flickered in her eyes as if she were having the same memory. Could she be so prickly because she wanted to be kissed? Heck, she’d even talked about kissing him in her sleep when he’d carried her off the plane.

There was only one way to find out. “Should we just go ahead and kiss so we can get that out of the way?”

“I don’t want to kiss you!” she said, fury flashing in those light blue eyes. She was lying. And she wasn’t very good at it, either.

“I think you do.”

“No. I. Do. Not.” She pronounced each word slowly, like that would make it truer. But her eyes slipped down to look at his mouth twice during her four-word reply. Not very convincing, if you ask him.

“By the way, I’m glad you brought it up,” she said, her eyes dipping down to his mouth once more. “I know that kiss on the dance floor was for your cover.”

“My cover?” He’d already made it clear he wouldn’t pull the boyfriend card unless there were a viable threat. A threat to her life, not their potential love life. Weslee was the one who said the two women she’d referred to as Scarecrow Girls didn’t believe she was his girlfriend. He knew they didn’t buy it, but he didn’t care. He wasn’t into what they had to offer.

But for some reason, Weslee had needed them to believe she was with him. It wasn’t because she was in harm’s way. No, it was because she liked him the way he liked her. As in he didn’t want another man, especially Dallin Morrison or Robbie the divorced guy, talking to her or touching her. Right now, he was fighting the impulse to press her against the wall and finish the kiss he’d started the night before.

He couldn’t help smiling at her, which only increased her ire. “It doesn’t really matter now.” She gently cleared her throat. “The important thing is that I know that kiss didn’t mean anything.”

Didn’t mean anything? Logan’s entire universe had shifted with that kiss. Besides, she sounded more like she was trying to convince herself that it didn’t mean anything. Maybe he should kiss her again so she could reconsider her verdict.

The doorbell sounded before Logan could follow through with the pleasant task.

“I better get that,” Weslee said, ducking around him.

“Wrong,” Logan said, quickly catching up to her. “I need to be the one to open the door.”

“Of course you do,” she said, cutting him a sideways glance. “Am I allowed to stand next to you?”

“Behind me.” He heard her make an irritating sound as he stepped in front of her and looked through the peephole. A man stood on the porch holding a bouquet of flowers. He was blonde, tan and wearing expensive looking clothes. He supposed some women would call him handsome.

As Logan pulled back from the peephole, that primal instinct to claim Weslee as his own was back in full force. Mine. That’s all he could think as he reached out to unlock the door. While he couldn’t positively ID the guy, his gut told him he was about to come face to face with Weslee’s teenage crush.