With growing reluctance, she perched beside him, careful to keep a few protective inches of space between them. Her bubbling emotions made her vulnerable. She knew better than to assume a man’s kindness meant he had romantic feelings. Yet with Logan, she was struggling to remember that fact.
“Relax. I’m not going to ask you about the accident.”
“That’s good.” She picked at her chipped fingernail polish, wishing she’d thought to order some.
“You’ll have plenty of time to go to a nail salon in the morning,” he said, evidently reading her mind. “If we decide we should still go to the wedding.”
“You’re just trying to get out of paying me the twenty thousand,” she accused, only half joking.
“I’ve already sent the money to your account.” He surprised Ellery with this tidbit. “But I’m having second thoughts about the wedding for a lot of reasons.”
“Then let’s discuss the pros and cons, and we’ll make a decision.” She seized on the idea of being rational, rather than emotional. “First, give me all the reasons you should go.”
“Okay. Let me think for a second.” He leaned against the back cushion, stretching his arms over his head.
“I can give you the first one. You should go because it’s the polite thing to do. You’ve already said you’re coming, and they’ve paid for you and a date to be there.”
He rolled his eyes. “The gift I sent more than compensates for our seats at the reception, but I suppose it would be rude to bow out at the last second.”
“That’s bad for your reputation. If these people’s opinions are important to you, I don’t think you should skip it.”
“And if I skip it, it’s like admitting defeat. I just want to hold my head high and prove that I’m happy.”
“Are you happy?”
“Not really.” He pressed his fingers against his temples. “It’s hopeless, isn’t it?”
“Not hopeless. But it doesn’t sound like this wedding is going to be much fun.” She wished she could smooth the worry lines from his forehead. “Too bad you don’t have nicer friends.”
“They won’t all be terrible. Cole Miller and his wife are coming, though I doubt we’ll get to sit with them. We’ll be at the outcasts’ table.”
“Tell me the truth, Logan. Won’t you be more of an outcast for bringing someone like me to the wedding?” She paused, bracing herself for his answer. “I’m not just talking about the scars. I don’t have money. I don’t have a name. I’m twenty-six years old and still an undergrad student.”
“The truth is they’ll judge me no matter what. Especially since…” He leaned forward, resting his elbows across his knees, his head drooping. “I didn’t want to tell you this, but I guess you deserve to know. You need to be prepared.”
“Prepared for what?”
“My stepdad will be there. He divorced Mom when I was fifteen.”
“I take it you don’t get along.”
“In my mind, he’s the epitome of evil.”
“Yet another reason we should take your mother to see a movie instead of going to the wedding.”
“Mom’s forgiven him.” Logan stiffened, lifting his chin. “Not that he deserves it. He married my mother, stole her inheritance, left us destitute. He’s always treated me like I was nothing.’”
“Okay. I get it. Spawn of Satan.”
“Exactly.”
He unfastened the top button on his shirt, which had the unfortunate effect of drawing Ellery’s attention to that chiseled chest. Allegra was an idiot to let this guy get away. Ellery wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, just in case she was drooling.
“Tell me again why you want to go to this wedding?” she asked.
“If I don’t go, Mom’s going by herself.”
“Gotcha.” That was a good enough reason for Ellery. Nancy was too nice of a person to have to deal with a malicious ex-husband by herself. But some parts of his story didn’t quite jive.
“I thought it was all about impressing your old girlfriend, who hasn’t done anything to deserve the effort, in my opinion.” She clapped her hand over her mouth, mumbling, “Sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.”
“It’s okay.” A crooked grin fought its way onto his face. “I guess I haven’t painted a flattering enough picture of Allegra. She was the only person of our group who stayed friends with me, even when Mom and I had to move to a cheap apartment.”
Okay, maybe Allegra wasn’t a bad person. But she was still stupid. Or maybe she was just shallow. Or patronizing. Why wouldn’t she have seen what a great guy Logan was? “So you’re saying Allegra was a genuine friend?”
“Exactly. But even I was surprised when she showed up in Austin when I was in grad school and said she wanted to date me. We were serious in no time. Then someone turned her against me. I think it was my stepdad.” Hatred sizzled in his eyes, and his voice went flat. “One day, out of the blue, he called me. He told me I’d never be good enough for Allegra. It was the week before I proposed to her.”
“And then she turned you down,” Ellery finished for Logan, feeling a real disdain for this man she’d never met. She didn’t care for Allegra, either, but she kept that opinion to herself. “I get it, Logan. You want to show up at the wedding and let everyone see how successful you are, especially your stepfather.”
His lips flattened. “You think it’s petty, don’t you?”
“I don’t know what I would do if I were in your shoes. You were hurt.”
“You probably wouldn’t have let yourself get hurt.”
“Ha! More like the opposite. I get hurt easily.” She used her counseling phrases. “I’m supposed to learn to be vulnerable. But it’s easier to shut my feelings off—hold them inside.”
“I don’t recommend it.” He stared straight ahead, his eyes unfocused, as if he could see through the wall. “I tried to shut mine off and look where it got me. Now I have to face these people again, and all those old hurts are still there…waiting for me…”
