28
Everything Gets Twisted
“Zoey, off the top of your head: five celebrities you would let step on your neck. If you don’t answer, you drink.”
“Lee!” Annie squealed. “You weirdo.”
“Sandra Oh,” Zoey said, holding up a finger. “And for that matter, Jodie Comer. Oh, hell, the entire Killing Eve cast.”
Claire swirled her wine dramatically. “Does anyone remember when being a politician used to mean something? Like when it came with gravitas?”
“That’s what I said.” I shot Lee a look lest she forget the Belle sex costume incident.
“It’s a bachelorette party!” Lee threw up her hands. “This is my time to shine.”
“What happened to politicians exhibiting decorum?” Claire asked Logan.
He grinned. “Hell if I know.” Then his attention caught on something over Claire’s shoulder. “Oi, wait a second. What’s that in the corner?”
The entire bachelorette party stopped talking and turned to look. And, despite the fact that I’d been avoiding Logan all day—through the gauntlet of wineries and dinner here at the Airbnb (quite a feat, considering he was seated next to me and kept trying to catch my eye every time he passed the butter)—I looked, too.
And immediately felt my face flame. Oh, no. I recognized the dark-haired sprite staring back from a canvas half buried under half a dozen others. The paintings were piled next to the rest of Zoey’s art supplies, stuffed into a corner of the living room. I don’t know how I’d overlooked it during dinner—probably because I was so focused on ignoring the small private smiles Logan kept shooting my way anytime someone said something funny. Now his eyes were fixed on the painting and I wanted to spontaneously combust.
“It’s my study of Alexis!” Zoey’s lips were stained berry-red from a full day of drinking. To my horror, she ran over and dug the canvas out from behind the others, putting it on full display. “She’s been sitting for me for a big commission. I brought it in case I have time to work in the mornings when Annie gets up for yoga. Isn’t the closeup beautiful? I think I’m going to try to sell it separately.” Zoey beamed innocently around the dining table, unaware of the bomb she’d dropped.
The entire table was silent for a beat in which I could actually feel sweat forming at my temples—then finally, Ben regained the ability to speak. “You got Alexis Stone to dress up as a fairy for a painting? Like, all of those things happened in a row?”
“Hey,” I said hotly. “I’m not that shy.”
“Are those leaves on her boobs?” Mac asked.
“It’s tasteful,” Zoey insisted.
Lee pointed at Zoey with her wineglass. “I will give you three hundred dollars right now. You don’t even have to finish it.”
“No.” I turned so quickly to Zoey I almost gave myself whiplash. “You can sell it to anyone in the world but Lee. Or Ben,” I added, seeing the devious light in his eyes.
“I knew this painting was a winner,” she said happily. “What do you think of it, Logan?”
“Oh,” Logan said hoarsely. His eyes were fixed on the canvas. “It’s very, uh—”
I shoved back from the table. “How about I volunteer to do the dishes and in exchange, everyone agrees to wipe the painting from their memories.” I started noisily collecting silverware.
“I’ll help.” Logan rose quickly from his seat.
“How lovely.” Annie beamed at us from the head of the table. Her lips were every bit as berry stained as Zoey’s, which probably accounted for the dreamy look on her face. “It’s so nice when couples share responsibilities. That’s a sign of a healthy relationship.”
Claire raised her glass to me. “I agree with drunk Dr. Park. He’s a keeper, Alexis.”
Apparently even Logan Arthur had limits on public humiliation, because he ducked his head. “Better get these into the dishwasher as fast as possible. Excuse me, then.” He beelined in the direction of the kitchen, balancing a stack of plates.
“And he’s so cute,” Mac gushed. “Not to harp on the point, but does anyone else find him too handsome to be a real politician? I mean, they don’t usually look like that.”
“Rude,” Lee said. “I get plenty of emails from people propositioning me.”
Ben raised his eyebrows. “You do?”
“Yes. Foot fetishists, mostly. I have very alluring feet.”
Logan nearly broke into a run. While his back was turned, I took the opportunity to slice my finger across my throat and hiss, “Stop embarrassing me” at the entire table. The problem with hanging out with your older sister’s friends was that they inevitably appointed themselves your honorary big sisters, thereby granting themselves unlimited license to mortify you.
When we’d arrived back at the Airbnb to find two chefs working on an extravagant three-course dinner, I’d panicked about the fact that Logan didn’t know anyone, and if I was in his shoes, I’d be climbing the walls. But it turned out I had nothing to worry about. He was a natural at getting to know people. Dinner had gone very well—especially, to my surprise, between Logan and Lee. They’d bonded over their shared vegetarianism, the only two people to request grilled mushrooms instead of steaks. And if I wasn’t imagining things, I could’ve sworn Logan’s salty dissection of the attorney general’s recent brothel scandal had won my sister over despite herself. I could tell he was trying hard to impress Lee. It had done a pretty solid job of distracting me from thinking about whatever Logan wanted to say. But now that we were alone in the kitchen, I had to face the music.
He stood at the sink, scrubbing plates, a towel folded over his shoulder. He turned to me. “I wash, you dry?”
I nodded and slipped the towel from his shoulder, getting to work as he handed me wet dishes. “Sorry about them,” I said. “They’re a lot.”
Logan glanced down at me and grinned. “I love them.”
“Even Lee? Even Claire?”
He laughed while he scrubbed, sending soap bubbles flying. “All of them. They seem like good people. And I like how protective they are of you.”
“Well, none of them went toe-to-toe with Carter at the Fleur de Lis for me, so I’d say you still come in first place.”
He flicked soap bubbles and they landed on my nose. “Thank you for knowing winning’s important to me.”
I wiped my nose and splashed him back—and to my delight, the bubbles got caught in his stubble, giving him a bubble beard.
Instead of shaking them off, Logan stilled, his gaze intensifying. My heart raced at the sudden charge in the air. “Lex, that thing I wanted to talk to you about—”
Behind us, heavy knocking sounded at the door, making me jump. Lee flew to it, followed by Ben, who threw open the door.
It was Will. Standing in the entrance, wearing jeans and a Dell Medical T-shirt, his dark hair mussed and floating away from his face, a duffel bag over his shoulder.
“William!” my sister shouted. “You’re here.”
“You made good time, buddy.” Ben leaned over and gave his brother a brief hug, followed by a clap on the back. Side by side, their shared Laderman beauty was even more pronounced. “Welcome to the world outside the hospital.”
“Is this what it looks like?” Will joked. “Barely recognize it.” When he pulled back from Ben, Will’s eyes searched the house, stopping when they landed on me. He smiled a little shyly. “Hi, Alexis.”
It occurred to me that my mouth had dropped open. “Uh—hi. What are you doing here?”
“Surprise!” Lee threw out her arms. “Will had a rare weekend off, so we invited him. With Annie’s permission, of course.” She gave me a show smile, willing me to play along. “That was obviously before we knew the full guest list. But isn’t this great?”
Will moved into the kitchen and gave me a quick hug. “I hope this is okay,” he whispered.
“Of course,” I said, and gulped. Because Will was now looking at Logan, who stood by the sink, staring back. How had I gotten myself into this situation? The obvious answer was Lee, but I meant more existentially. Maybe Zoey was wrong about my good karma.
“You’re Logan Arthur,” Will said, lurching forward with his hand outstretched. “I recognize you from the news. I’m Will, Ben’s brother. It’s nice to meet you. I didn’t realize you’d be here.”
Logan shook his hand. “Cheers. It’s a couples thing and I’m Alexis’s boyfriend, so...you know.”
“Right.” Will dropped Logan’s hand and gave him a conspiratorial wink. “Boyfriend.”
Logan shot me a confused look. Oh, great lightning in the sky, strike me now.
“Come on, Will.” Lee waved him in the direction of the living room. “Throw your stuff in the corner. You came right in time for drinking games.”
“Uh-oh.” Will shook his head good-naturedly. “I drove here right after my shift, so I’m going to need to catch up with the rest of you.”
“I’ll pour you some wine,” Logan offered, dropping the dish towel. He was studying Will like he was a puzzle, one I very much didn’t want him to solve.
While Logan and Will headed for the wine on the dining table, I grabbed Lee and hissed, “What were you thinking?”
“I swear I didn’t realize Logan was coming. When you told us you were into Will, Ben and I got so excited, we thought you guys could have a weekend together out of the spotlight. And then Will was so happy to be invited I couldn’t bear the thought of uninviting him after Logan showed up. He would’ve been sitting around alone in Austin.”
“Ugh,” I groaned. I wanted to be angry at her, but her reasons were frustratingly charitable. I covered my face with my hands, watching from between my fingers as Logan showed Will a bottle of Bloody Good Wine. “What am I supposed to do now?”
Lee gave the two men a thoughtful look. “Remember that episode of Sabrina, the Teenage Witch when Sabrina accidentally brings two dates to the school dance?” I’d been obsessed with Sabrina when we were younger and used to make Lee watch it with me, obviously unaware she was gathering material for future evil plots. “It’ll be like that. Just keep them apart as much as possible. Easy.”
“Lee! Sabrina had magical powers and she still got caught.”
Lee rested her hands on my shoulders. “I think we should take a moment to appreciate the fact that a few months ago, you had zero boyfriends. And now, look!” She waved at the living room. “You have two. Honestly, you’re welcome.”
I took back everything I’d ever said about wanting to be part of a Lee Stone shenanigan. I was pretty sure I was going to kill her.
Nope. Forty-five minutes later, contorted like a pretzel between Will’s legs and Logan’s arms, barely holding on in the world’s highest-stakes game of drunk Twister, it turned out I wished death upon no one but myself. I’d tried to bow out when Zoey suggested the adult-themed version of the game—it was undoubtedly the opposite of the Sabrina, the Teenage Witch–approach to keeping one’s dates apart—but I was censored with loud boos from everyone. So I’d folded to peer pressure and here I was, dying slowly of handsome-man-proximity-overload. Logan, Will, and I were the last three contestants left on the mat: Will was the least drunk, Logan the most competitive, and I seemed to have been granted near superhuman strength through sheer adrenaline. The entire bachelorette party ringed us, watching as Will placed his right hand on a yellow dot underneath me, bringing his face closer. “Hey,” he whispered. “I think this might be my new favorite game.”
Logan was inches away in the other direction. I could actually feel the heat emanating from his skin. I glanced over and sure enough, he was watching Will and me intently, frowning. If only I could tell Will to stop being so obvious without being so...obvious.
“Alexis, right hand red,” called Ted, our referee. I searched the mat, hoping against hope to find a red circle far away from both Will and Logan. But no. Of course the only one I could feasibly touch had me shifting my weight away from Will to press my body against Logan’s. We were chest to chest now, his muscled arms on either side of me, flexing as he held himself still. Inch by inch, I let my gaze climb higher until I met his eyes. He was so close, his eyes dark and burning with unspoken questions. His gaze dropped to my lips and stayed there. Suddenly it didn’t matter that we were surrounded by people. A tremor ran through me that had nothing to do with the strain of holding myself up.
The corners of Logan’s mouth tugged up. “I think this might be my new favorite game,” he breathed, so quiet only I could hear. All I could do was stare at his mouth, wondering why he was echoing Will, what that ghost of a smile meant.
“Logan, left hand blue,” Ted said, cutting my torture short as Logan shifted away from me in search of a blue circle. With the next spin, Will apologetically placed his hand right under my butt.
“Logan, someone’s getting fresh with your girl,” Mac warned.
Will raised his eyebrows at me and smiled knowingly. It was the intimate look of two people sharing a secret. I cut my gaze over his shoulder, hoping Logan hadn’t seen—but sure enough, he was staring at Will, his eyebrows knitting together. And then I watched the truth hit. Comprehension dawned in Logan’s eyes and he slipped, falling to his elbows.
“Logan’s out!” Claire yelled. “Anyone want to put money on Alexis versus Will?”
Logan shoved himself off the mat and jumped to his feet, keeping his back to me. He slipped out of the circle and fled in the direction of the stairs.
“No need for a bet,” I said, dropping to my side. “I’m out, too.”
“Laderman dominance,” Ben crowed, pulling Will off the mat. “Never met a middle school party game we couldn’t crush.”
“No fair, Alexis threw the game,” Claire protested, but I ignored her and everyone else and hurried after Logan up the stairs. He knew. The second-floor hall was empty, which meant he was in “our” room. I cracked the door and found him pacing in front of the large windows, against the backdrop of a starry sky. He made it from one end of the rug to the other, then turned and started again, hands flexing like he was struggling to keep something inside. The sight of his suitcase lined up neatly next to mine in the corner of the room made my throat thick.
I slipped in and closed the door behind me. “Logan.”
He stopped moving, but didn’t meet my eyes. “How does Will know we’re not really dating?” His voice was low and contained. “Do they all know?”
“No.” I shook my head. “I promise.”
Logan’s chin lifted, and finally he looked at me, waiting for me to explain.
“I...” My mind scrambled for something, but of course I couldn’t lie. “I went on a date with Will. In secret,” I added quickly. “No one saw us. Trust me, our cover isn’t blown. But first he had to know that you and I—” I gestured weakly between Logan and me “—weren’t real.”
Logan was completely stone-faced, standing stock-still against the stars. I couldn’t read him beyond the tension in the way he clenched his jaw. Faced with his silence, I babbled. “It was Lee’s condition to endorse you. She wanted me to go on a date with Will to see if there was something there. I know it’s against our rules and if anyone had spotted us or taken a picture, it could’ve undermined your campaign, and I’m so sorry.” I was talking a mile a minute, desperate to change the hard lines on Logan’s face. “For some reason Lee got it into her head that Will and I would hit it off and he has this wedding coming up he needs a date for and I—I’m sorry for keeping it a secret and for ambushing you. I had no idea Will was coming this weekend.”
It sounded like the most pathetic excuse in the world—I’m sorry the secret I was keeping from you got so inconveniently blown. I flinched, waiting for Logan’s explosion, or maybe the barrage of barbed quips like I would’ve gotten from previous boyfriends. But Logan didn’t speak. He didn’t even move. His eyes were fixed on the large four-poster bed between us. I watched as a thousand emotions played over his face, each one flickering, then quashed, like he was wrestling them under control. He was working to keep himself in check, but I wished—I wished he would just open up. Yell if he wanted to. I needed to decode him.
“Please tell me what you’re thinking.” I moved around the bed to get closer. “I know I violated the terms of our agreement and you’re angry and Nora’s probably going to sue me—”
“Was your sister right?” His eyes were still fixed on the bed. His voice was quiet. While I couldn’t quite parse his emotions, he didn’t sound angry.
I froze at the unexpected question. “What?”
Each word sounded like it cost him. “Did you hit it off with Will? Is he someone you could see yourself with?”
There—I could read that. Logan was steeling himself. He wanted to know if I was going to make this relationship with Will an ongoing problem for him.
“Don’t worry,” I said. “I won’t see him anymore.”
“But do you want to?” He looked at me finally, his eyes searching, voice urgent. “Would you, if it wasn’t for me?”
I blinked, unable to track the permutations of his thoughts. “Well—yes. I guess if you and I didn’t have this...arrangement... I could see myself with him.”
Why did this feel so painful? Logan had grown into my friend, and besides, I’d been waiting all day for his hammer to drop, for him to tell me we should end our fake relationship. “What were you going to tell me?” I was desperate to segue. “That thing, in private. You were going to say our thing has gotten too complicated, right?”
Logan laughed—a curt sound that burst from him. He closed his eyes. “No, I...you know what, it doesn’t matter anymore.” When he opened his eyes, my breath caught at the torrent of feelings he couldn’t hide. “Can you excuse me?” he asked. “I just need a minute.”
I didn’t even get a chance to respond before he’d barreled past me out the door. It shut behind him and I stood alone in the empty room, blinking at where he’d stood, my surprise thick enough to hold off the disappointment, but I knew it was only a matter of time. Soon there would be tears in my eyes—I could never help it. I lowered myself gingerly on the corner of the bed, feeling a hot, pricking sensation in my face.
Then the door flew back open and Logan strode in, his hair sticking on end like he’d touched an electrical wire. I startled and gripped the comforter. He stopped in front of me. How he’d managed to come back after a minute looking like he’d aged a year was beyond me.
“That night at the Hideaway,” he said, voice thick. “You said you were looking for something real. That once we were done, you were going to try for it. Well, if you found it, I’m not going to be selfish and stand in your way.”
“What are you saying?” My throat felt like it was closing.
He held my eyes. “You should date him.”
“But what if—”
He shook his head. “If you get caught and our cover is blown, I’ll deal with the consequences. You deserve something real.” He smiled bitterly. “That’s what I was going to say to you tonight.”
Ice spread through my chest.
He swallowed. “I’m glad you have someone.” He twisted to the side, then paused, looking back at me. “I’ll sleep on the couch tonight so you and Will can...if you want...”
“No,” I said quickly. “We just started seeing each other. And—I still don’t want to blow our cover.”
Logan nodded. Then, as if he’d come to a decision, he took a deep breath. At his sides, his hands flexed against his jeans. “I want you to be happy,” he said. And before I could react, he swept out of the room.
I sat for a long time on the bed, still gripping the comforter, wondering why those kind words had me spinning.