Never Let Me Go: The Complete Set (20 page)

I leaned in a kissed her neck. “This is my life, Kitten. It’s just how I roll.” I laughed against her skin.

“No one’s complaining.” She grinned. “I would love you even if you were poor.”

“I know you would. You don’t care about the money, never did.” It was one of the reasons I fell for her. She only wanted me, not the stuff that came along with me.

“The only thing I need in my life is you, everything else is negotiable.” She pushed my chin up and kissed me.

After changing into pajamas, we were cuddled up in bed talking, wrapped up in the soft sheets. She was tucked into the crook of my arm with her head on my shoulder.

“I really like her,” Grace said in a reverent tone. “I’m kind of in awe of her. She wrangled you and Smith for a lot of years singlehandedly.”

I laughed and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “I told you she was great. And really, I don’t know how much wrangling she did. Half the time she was more trouble than we ever were.”

“I don’t believe that for a second.” She shook her head.

“Ask her, she’ll tell you.” I smiled as I remembered all the crazy times we had shared.

“I’m really happy I came with you. To see you with both of them, it’s better than I imagined.” She tipped her lips up to meet mine.

“I’m more than happy you’re with me. This weekend is perfect because you’re with me. Shai loves you already; she kept giving me approving looks while she was here.”

“Tell me more about her. How did you all meet?” She settled back against me.

“It was in college. We all went to NYU. We met at a party, of course. Shai was this wild thing who had more life in her than anyone I had ever met. I knew in that second that she was someone special.” I ran my fingers along the smooth skin of her arm as I spoke.

“You said you guys dated?” Grace asked hesitantly, her fingers playing with the hem of her shirt.

“Yeah, on and off. Smith, too. I think we both wanted her, but neither of us was ever good enough for her, and we knew it. She deserved more, someone who could give her their heart. Neither of us was capable of that. She was cool with it. We had our fun, casual hook ups, whatever. She was wild and crazy and kept pace with us.” I stroked her hair as I took her on a walk down memory lane.

“She never wanted more from you?”

“I don’t know if I would say never. I think both of us wanted more at different times. She was never meant for me, to be anything more than my best friend.” I watched the shadows dance across the ceiling as the sun fully set.

“How do you know?” She sat up and looked me in the eye. Searching for an answer.

“I know because I hadn’t met you yet.” I kissed the tip of her nose, and she flopped back onto the pillow with a huge smile on her face. “You are the person I’m meant for. Like I said, we tried dating, but it never felt right. I love her, but not in the way I love you. I have never in my life felt like this for anyone. You know what I mean? Trying to make something work that just won’t?”

She nodded. “I had that with Scott, sort of. I wanted it to work, because he seemed like such a good guy. He had a great job, and he said he loved me. But even before all the cheating and putting me down, it felt off.” I joined her on the pillow and wrapped my arms around her. I wished so bad I could erase what he had done to her.

“It’s because we were destined to find each other.” I turned her lips toward me and crushed my mouth against hers. I needed her to feel what I had inside of me. To never doubt it.

She rolled to face me, her fingers twining themselves in my hair. “I don’t doubt it anymore. I know how you feel about me. I can see it every time you look at me. How could I ever doubt you, baby?” She brushed her lips against mine gently.

I pulled her shirt over her head and tossed it aside, my fingers sliding along her smooth skin. I followed the trail my fingers were on with my tongue. The little sounds she was making were going to drive me mad. She was so damn sexy.

“Logan,” she breathed when my fingers found her favorite spot.

“You like that?” I growled.

“Mmm.”

“Let go, Kitten. Just let me do all the work,” I said softly into her ear as I slid inside.

Perfect. Fucking perfect. I was a slave to her, a slave to my own demanding pleasure. I wanted her to feel it, to know what she did to me.

“I love you,” she sighed against my lips.

WEDDING TIME. FAITH AND I
were in my hotel room dressed in fluffy white robes with a team of women making us look gorgeous. Logan said he and Smith wanted to show us off. 

“Are you excited?” Faith asked as her hair was being piled on her head in an intricate up do. She had a glass of champagne in her hand. The boys had gone all out with the pampering.

“I am. I really like Shai, and I’m excited to meet some of Logan’s other friends. I’m also a little nervous, what if I’m not up to par?” I shifted in my seat and took a gulp of my champagne.

“Shut your mouth, Grace,” Faith scowled at me. “You’re a fucking knockout. Even if they don’t think so, why would you care? Have you seen the way Logan looks at you? I feel like a perv being in the same room with you two sometimes.” She laughed.

I knew what she meant. Sometimes Logan brought out the brazen side in me. I looked in the mirror at the unrecognizable woman who stared back at me. Smoky eyes and a braided up do gave me a very sophisticated sex bomb look.

After everyone left, Faith and I helped each other get dressed. Her gown was amazing, deep plum and a plunging neckline. It hugged her in all the right places.

“Smith is going to have a heart attack when he sees you in this.” I grinned at her as I smoothed down the fabric in the back.

“That’s the idea.” She winked.

I felt sexy as I slid the silky fabric of my dress up my body. The emerald green color was perfect for my skin tone and it brought out the mocha color of my eyes.

Faith whistled when after I put my heels on and did a little twirl. “Yowza. That’s a hot dress.”

“Logan has really good taste.” I grinned and ran my hand down the tight satin.

A moment later, the guys came in laughing. Faith and I turned to face them, and they stopped dead in their tracks all conversation ceased.

“Kitten,” Logan said in a hoarse voice. I could feel his eyes sweep from my feet to my face, and I shivered.

“You like?” I looked at him through my lashes.

“Very much.” He took my hand in his and brushed a kiss to my knuckles.

I looked over at Smith, and he seemed to be at a loss for words. Faith narrowed her eyes seductively, and I looked away.

“Ready?” I grabbed my clutch from the bed.

“If we have to. I’d really like to stay here and peel that dress off of you and see what goodies you have underneath for me.” He kissed my cheek. “You did me proud, Kitten,” he whispered in my ear as we left the room.

The wedding was being held at a friend’s house in the hills somewhere. I wasn’t super familiar with L.A. It was beautiful, though. Flowers everywhere. There were rows of chairs set up on the grass by the pool area and sheer white fabric was draped from the chairs along the aisle. Logan and Smith made sure we found our seats and then went off to find Shaileen.

“This is really something.” Faith looked around with wide eyes.

“They run with a different sort of crowd, don’t they?” I smiled. I tried to smother the anxiety that began to bubble to the surface. Memories of similar events with Scott flashed through my head. We had gone to a co-worker’s wedding, and he had barely spoken to me the entire time, only talking to me when he wanted to put me down. I shook my head to clear it. Logan wasn’t like him.

The music started a while later and the bridesmaids made their way down the flower covered aisle. They were beautiful, dressed in blush-colored flowery dresses and fishtail braids. They were stunning.

The music shifted to the wedding march, and we all stood up. My breath caught in my throat when I saw them for the first time. Shaileen was gorgeous, ethereal in a gauzy white dress that flowed around her and a wreath of flowers in her hair. The smile on her face was contagious. On either side of her was Logan and Smith, both of them looked so happy. I saw Logan whisper something to Shai, and she wiped at tears that began to fall.

He caught my eye and blew me a kiss as they walked past. I pressed a hand to my heart and smiled. I could clearly imagine what it would be like to be walking down an aisle toward Logan. It wasn’t far off in our future; I could feel it in my bones. I just didn’t know if I was really ready to make that leap yet.

“Who gives this woman to this man?” the pastor asked.

“We do,” Logan and Smith said in unison. My heart leapt into my throat as I saw the love they both felt for her. They were a family, in every sense of the word.

They both kissed her cheek and joined us in the audience. Logan held my hand through the whole service.

“Shaileen, do you promise to love Chris all the days of your life?” the pastor asked.

Tears streamed down her cheeks. “I do.”

Logan let go of my hand long enough to wrap an arm around my shoulder. He pressed a kiss to my cheek and whispered in my ear, “I love you, Kitten.”

I looked in his eyes, my heart full of emotion, dreams of the future swimming in my head. “I love you, too.” I kissed his lips softly.

The rest of the service was beautiful; Shai cried through the whole thing. Her new husband Chris had tears in his eyes as they walked back down the aisle as husband and wife.

“That was probably one of the most beautiful weddings I have seen. They love each other so much.” I sighed and hugged Logan before we got into the limo to head over to the reception after pictures were taken.

“It was really something.” Logan smiled down at me.

The reception was held at The W. It looked more like a nightclub than your typical wedding reception. The whole space was lit up in soft purples and blues. There was a huge white dance floor in the middle of the room and tables scattered around the room with huge floral centerpieces.

Logan introduced me to so many people that I couldn’t keep their names all straight. I smiled and shook hands and spoke when was appropriate. I didn’t want to embarrass him. Anxiety reared its ugly head again. I excused myself to the bathroom.

“You okay?” he whispered.

I forced a smile and nodded before hurrying off to find the bathroom. Just as I was rounding the corner, I heard a conversation I wished I hadn’t.

“Did you see the woman with Logan? What agency do you think she’s from? Dressed like that she, has to be a pro,” a deep voice spoke.

“He does have a type, doesn’t he? Always with the blondes. This one certainly looks trashy enough. I wonder how long he’ll keep her around before he gets tired of her,” a snotty woman’s voice answered.

My heart dropped to my feet. I wanted to walk away, but for some reason I was rooted to the spot I stood. I knew I had to move or I would be face to face with them soon. I sucked in a shaky breath and stepped out of the way as the couple walked back into the reception. I hadn’t even remembered meeting them, but they certainly had an opinion about me.

“Grace?” Logan’s voice made me jump.

“Give me a minute, okay?” I turned away from him. All of my old self-esteem issues were front and center. I didn’t want him to see this side of me. I tried to walk away, but he grabbed my hand.

“Hey, what’s going on?” He turned my chin so I would look at him.

The tears I had been holding back spilled down my cheeks. “I just need a minute, okay?” I tried to steady my voice, but it came out with a tremor.

He nodded and took my hand again and led me through a long hall to an empty room. “What happened?” He sat me down in a chair and pulled one across from it and sat down.

“Nothing.” I wiped my eyes. “Just overwhelmed,” I choked out. I knew he wasn’t going to buy it, but everything in me hoped he would let it drop. I didn’t think I could handle telling him what I had heard.

“I don’t believe you. Tell me.” He brushed a thumb across my cheek.

“I overheard something I shouldn’t have. Some of your friends talking about me. It wasn’t something I would have wanted to hear.” My voice shook, and I twisted the napkin in my hands. I didn’t want to go on. I tried to look away, but he turned my chin back to look in my eyes.

“What did they say?” His voice was calm, but I could see the tension below the surface.

“They..they wondered what agency you hired me from. Said you had a thing for blondes and I looked trashy enough for you to have a good time. They said dressed like I was, I looked like a pro.” More tears fell as I spoke. Just a few short hours ago, I had felt sexy and confident in this dress. Now, I felt like a whore. I wanted to leave, but I knew we couldn’t go just yet because we were here for Shaileen and Chris. “They also said it was only a matter of time before you got sick of me and moved on.” I choked on the words; they were the ones that brought up all my old fears. Scott had gotten sick of me, too.

“Do you remember who it was?” he asked carefully, his hands clenched into fists at his side.

“I hadn’t met them tonight.” I shook my head.

“Would you recognize them if you saw them?” He gripped the arm of the chair.

I nodded. I didn’t want to see them. I didn’t want to see any more of his friends if that was how they all felt about me.

“Look at me,” he commanded.

My eyes met his. I couldn’t stop the sobs.

“You know that’s not what you are to me, right?” His tone softened.

I didn’t answer. Couldn’t voice my fears. I wanted to believe it, so bad I wanted to believe in him, in us.

“Answer me, Kitten. You know that, right?” He held my cheeks in his hands.

“My brain knows that, yes,” I said in a shaky voice.

“I’ll never want anyone else but you. Never. Don’t let what they said make you question how amazing you are. You look incredible tonight, sexy and sophisticated. I’m damn proud to have you with me, to show you off to everyone. You’re amazing.” He leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss to my lips.

I was incapable of words, so I just nodded. I finally could see how he saw me; feel his love for me in each word he had spoken.

“I’m going to give you a few minutes to get yourself together and then we can go back in.”

There was a bathroom in the back of the room we were standing and I went in and locked the door behind me.

“Come on, Grace, pull it together,” I said aloud as I dabbed at my eyes with a tissue. I needed to find the woman I was when I got woke up this morning. I knew she was in there somewhere, buried beneath the pile of shit that just got thrown my way. I could hear Logan’s words echoing in my head, telling me how amazing I was. I needed to start believing it again. I gave myself a mental shake and started to fix my makeup so I could jump back into the fight.

After I was feeling better, we went back into the reception. Logan steered us through the crowd until I gripped his hand and motioned to the couple in front of us.

He looked down at me with questioning eyes, and I nodded that it was them.

“Andrew, Trista, I didn’t know you would be here.” His tone was cold. “Have you met my girlfriend, Grace?” He took Andrew’s hand and shook it.

I forced a smile.

“You’ll have to excuse her right now; she just overheard an awful conversation.” He squeezed Andrew’s hand as he spoke.

“Did she?” He looked nervous.

“She did. You can understand how that would make me feel right?” He squeezed tighter. “To hear someone say such awful things about the woman I love. You can imagine what that would make me want to do?”

Andrew nodded, and Trista went pale.

“If I ever hear something like this again, I’ll be canceling those contracts we spoke about last week. The ones you need so bad right now. I think you owe my lady an apology.” He let go of Andrew’s hand and put his arm around my waist, pulling me tight against him.

I watched all of it unfold and couldn’t believe what was happening. He was threatening to cut ties with Andrew because of how he spoke to me. I couldn’t wrap my head around it.

“We apologize, Grace. We meant no offense,” Trista said between clenched teeth.

“Oh, I think you did mean offense, you just didn’t think you would be caught,” I heard myself say, a sweet smile on my lips.

Her eyes went wide. “Please accept my apology.”

“Fine.” I smiled again

“We’re very sorry,” Andrew mumbled before Trista pulled him away.