Wild(78)

            “He’s not like you think,” I blurted, glaring at Reece, my voice angrier than I intended.

            Reece arched an eyebrow at me. “No? And what do I think?”

            “He’s not some irresponsible kid jumping from girl to girl. He’s had the world on his shoulders forever and he’s been handling it all on his own and he’s just . . . lonely.” And then it dawned on me.

            Maybe that’s what all the girls had been about for Logan. His way of searching for intimacy. Connection. Feeling something, filling in the void. “I think he’s been lonely for a long time.” And I’d just failed him. I hated myself a little right then . . . until I told myself that I wasn’t the girl for him. He deserved someone who didn’t have obligations holding her down. The expectations and pressure of her family strangling her. That was me.

            The creases bracketing Reece’s mouth tightened. “I know he’s not irresponsible. He’s had to carry more on his shoulders than he should have and I blame myself for a lot of that. I should have been there for him.”

            Pepper rubbed his arm, consoling him. “You were young . . .”

            “So was Logan. Younger than me.” Reece glanced at her before looking back at me and continuing. “As for Logan jumping from girl to girl . . .” His voice faded and he looked me up and down meaningfully, the implication clear. I was just one in a long line.

            He did think his brother was a man-whore.

            I shut my eyes in a tight blink and batted away the idea that I had somehow changed him. Even if he was looking for a relationship with me, he wasn’t the kind of guy I could bring home to my parents. They would never accept him, and that wouldn’t be fair to him.

            Reece continued, “I don’t know how far this thing between you two has gone.”

            My face burned and Reece’s lips tightened, obviously inferring that it had gone far.

            “Logan has never been into monogamy, Georgia.” His voice gentled, his eyes full of concern. “I hate to see you get hurt.”

            “I’ve never seen him like he was just now over any other girl,” Pepper interjected. “Maybe it’s different this time—” She stopped when Reece sent her a look.

            “You willing to bank on that?” He inclined his head to me, still using that kind voice. “Georgia is our friend,” he reminded her.

            “And Logan is your brother,” she returned.

            “I’m going up to bed,” I inserted, over and done listening to them talk about me like I wasn’t even standing in front of them.

            “Sure.” Pepper nodded, moving to take a step upstairs. “Want some company for a little while?”

            “No, I’m tired.”

            She continued to bob her head in that eager manner, watching me like I might fall and break a hip. She had been looking at me that way a lot. Ever since Harris dumped me. Things had finally been starting to get back to normal, with less pitying looks, and now this. She’d probably be watching me warily from the corner of her eye for another five months. Awesome.

            “See you next weekend, right? At Emerson’s gallery showing?”

            “Oh, yeah.” I’d almost forgotten Emerson had been offered an opportunity to show some of her pieces at a gallery in Boston.

            “We can ride together if you want. Suzanne is coming, too. She actually got off work.”

            I nodded. “Great. I’ll text you.”

            Once inside my loft, I stood alone and stared blindly into space. I quickly thought about my last glimpse of Logan’s face before he walked away. So hard and impassive. As though he felt nothing when I rejected him in front of his brother and Pepper. I’d handled that badly, although I’m not sure, if it happened all over again, it could go down any differently. Some things just weren’t meant to be.