Player (A Secret Baby Sports Romance)(168)

“I just mean with him running the new healthcare program at Archer and everything; he keeps me pretty busy over there!”

The Major’s brow raises with just the slightest hint of a smile on his face as he nods; “Logan’s a good man, you know.”

I laugh, maybe a bit too harshly and quickly than I mean to; “He’s, uh, he’s something alright.”

“He can be prickly”

I do hold back a snort this time, but Major Lawson chuckles; “You know, your father had a way of seeing things in people that others didn’t, including themselves.”

“Not everything is what it looks like on the outside, you know.”

So what is it that I see in Logan? What can I possibly -

No. I shake the thought from my head quickly. God, what am I thinking? I don’t see anything in Logan except a mistake I need to just put behind me and move on from. Except if that’s the case, why am I still dwelling on it? If Logan is such a cataclysmic and obvious bad decision, why am I having such a hard time getting him out of my damn head and just forgetting about the whole sordid thing?

I force myself to push the whole thing with Logan out of my head for the time being, and spend the next thirty minutes or so chatting with Major Lawson. But it’s right back there in my head the second I leave his office, it’s still floating around as I grab a coffee at a cafe down the street, and it’s still gnawing at me as I make my way over to the National Mall.

Ok, enough of this, I finally think, setting my jaw and staring across the reflecting pool. One mistake one night is not going to mess with my head this much, and I decide right then and there that it’s time to just cut this whole thing loose and just move on.

Simple.



“Been enjoying the view?”

I’m sitting on the steps near the top of the Lincoln Memorial when I turn to see Logan walking down towards me; “I was,” I say petulantly at him.

He smirks and nods his chin towards my chest; “Yeah, me too.”

I frown at his glance and look down to realize the top button of my shirt is open a bit more than it should be. I frown and try to shove the burning blush from my cheeks as I hastily button back up; “Do you always have to be the man-child?” I shake my head at him.

Logan shrugs, grinning at me; “Keep your shirt on and maybe I won’t stare so much.”

I roll my eyes; “Like it’s my fault my button came undone.”

“Like it’s my fault you’ve got great looking tits!”

The childish tete-a-tete comes to a screeching halt as we both glare at each other before turning away in silence.

Oh yeah, moving on is going swimmingly.

“So when’s our flight?” I say, hoping to change the subject; “I was wondering if I have time to get dinner here in D.C. before we head back.”

Logan shrugs; “I mean, it’s my plane.”

“Oh, is it?” I say with overly-dramatic mock surprise.

He grins; “I meant we can go whenever you want to.” He shrugs; “You know, we could also just stay the night; grab some dinner, a hotel room-”

“In your dreams, Logan.” I say, shaking my head, but also trying not to grin at just how damn shameless he is.

He laughs; “Hey, don’t flatter yourself, darlin; you get your own room.” He strokes his chin like he’s really pondering something; “Hmm, actually I wonder what Peyton is up to tonight.”

Just the thought of him doing something like that with her - heck, with anyone - has me seeing red, even though I know he’s just trying to get a rise out of me. I open and close my mouth a few times, before I just give up and shake my head at him. It’s infuriating how likable he is, even when he’s trying to get under my skin like this.

And deep down, I know that’s the problem here. On the surface, I’m basically spitting in his face every chance I get as if our little run-in from that night is entirely his fault. But I knew exactly what I was doing when I leaned into him that night, and I knew damn well where kissing a man that made me feel like that in the dead of night in his bed would lead. The wall I keep throwing up is more to save my own face than it is to keep him out, which is a moot point since all he has to do is grin at me before the whole thing comes crashing down anyways.

Logan laughs, and drapes his arm around my shoulders, and for the first time, I actually just let myself enjoy his company without worrying about trying to keep this tenuous wall up between us.

“You really are infuriating, you know that Logan?”

“Darlin, you have no idea.” He starts to lead us down the stairs; “Come on, let’s get some dinner somewhere and then my plane will chauffeur us home.”