Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 56885 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 284(@200wpm)___ 228(@250wpm)___ 190(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56885 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 284(@200wpm)___ 228(@250wpm)___ 190(@300wpm)
Piper: Call yourself OLD again, and it’s not the mob you’ll have to worry about.
I add a woman emoji, a knife emoji, and a laughing emoji.
Piper:
He replies with three laughing emojis.
Logan:
Logan: I won’t lie. I’ve thought about what it would be like. But it’s a dangerous place to let my thoughts stray to. It would make me want it too badly.
Piper: Well, I’ve got a new idea for an app. It’s called ‘what if’. It’s a way for people to sort out their future aspirations without putting too much pressure on themselves. It starts with discussing what they want while knowing it may not happen.
He sends a heart with his next text.
Logan: . I know what you’re trying to say, but LOL, how is that an app?
I giggle.
Piper: Okay, smartass, it would be a cruddy app. But you know what I’m saying.
Logan: I think you forgot to send me your favorite emoji. For the record, I was referencing the time you sent those to me. I’d never be so callous as to send you anything like that.
He adds a bunch of middle fingers.
Logan:
Piper: I know, Mr. Boss. I’d go straight to HR if you did anything like that. But please don’t avoid the question.
I add a laughing emoji with a kiss.
Piper:
Logan: I’m almost scared to think about a life with you. The second I put it out there, it becomes real and so much more difficult to resist because of that. But if you want to hear it, we’d do what we’ve always done. Make the best of what we have. Only this time, we wouldn’t be ‘making the best’ in the cynical sense. We wouldn’t struggle to make something decent out of the darkness where we started. We’d start with romance, with desire, with heat, with connection, and things would only get better from there.
Piper: Are you saying you’d be more attracted to me after years of being in a relationship than before? That’s not usually how it works.
Logan: I know for a fact that’s how I’d feel. We’d build a life, Beautiful. You’d keep working and keep making me proud. Eventually, you’d work your way up in the company. There would be no handouts – you don’t want them; you don’t need them – and when you take your place at my side like the queen you are, it will be wholly earned.
Warmth bubbles through me as I mentally clutch onto his words. He knows me so well already.
Piper: I’ll finally be successful at something.
Logan: You were already a success before you interviewed for my company.
Piper: Ha, good one.
I add a winking emoji.
Piper:
Logan: I’m serious. You tried two college courses. You put yourself out there. Then, you had the courage to accept that college wasn’t for you and chose a different path. You were LIVING, Piper, which is more than many people do. You should be proud of that.
I clutch my hand around the phone, my smile making my cheeks ache, but deep down, there’s a dark pit inside me. I want to make love to this man. I want to see what the future holds. But I can’t deny what he said about Elliot.
Would it be hypocritical for Elliot to judge me for being with Logan when he’s with Ruby? Sure, maybe… But is it outside the realm of possibility?
Absolutely freaking not.
Piper: Maybe you want to think twice before you commit to a whole life together.
Logan: I don’t need to think about anything. I know what I want, WHO I want, and it’s you, Hardcover. It’s been you ever since our first kiss.
CHAPTER 17
LOGAN
The next morning, I go to Elliot’s office. I won’t tell him I know about his relationship with Ruby. It’s not my place. I think Piper only mentioned it to me so we’d feel less guilty about what we’re doing. Or maybe it’s natural for her to share her news with her boyfriend.
As I knock on his door, a dark mood tries to grip me. Boyfriend. It’s like we’re playing roles, pretending to be in a proper relationship, that this can have a happily ever after.
Elliot is sitting behind his desk when he calls for me to come in. He’s got bags under his eyes.
“Have you slept?” I ask, concerned for him.
“Not much,” he admits. “It’s hard to with everything going on.”
“Yeah, I get that,” I mutter. “Sal came to see me again yesterday.”
“Was that before or after he vandalized The Clam?”
“After,” I tell him. “He admitted to that, tried to use it to scare me.”
“Tried,” Elliot mutters. “I’m guessing it didn’t work.”
“After everything I’ve been through, I refuse to let him intimidate me,” I growl. “I refuse to give him the company I – no, we worked so hard to build.”
Elliot shrugs. “I’ve tried to make you see sense. I don’t know what else you want me to say.”