Chapter 23

CHAPTER 23

LOGAN

A pretty young woman suddenly dropped down next to me, sliding her legs into the water and turning to face me. "Hi, I'm Anya. Mira's best friend."

I blinked a few times fast, but then I grinned once I caught up with what she was saying. "Come to vet me, have you?"

"Nah, but I am glad to get the chance to talk to you."

"Why?"

"I've been hearing a lot about you. It'll be nice to learn a bit more about the man behind the stories." She shrugged, inclining her head toward Slate and Mira standing at the other end of the pool. "Slate overheard me talking about you and misunderstood, so he told me to come over and hit on you. Pretend that's what I'm doing, okay?"

Jesus. She speaks fast .

Clearly friendly, she was also spirited and bubbly, with long blond hair pulled up into a messy bun on top of her head and the deepest brown eyes I'd ever seen. Less than a minute ago, I'd been alone, sipping on my beer and enjoying taking a minute to soak up the sun, and now, I felt a little like I'd been hit by a hurricane.

Anya didn't give me a gap to respond before she got going again. "I heard things went pretty bad on that last rig you guys went to. Thank you for standing up for her. She'd never have asked, but I'm grateful you had her back anyway and I know she is too."

I flashed her a smile, glancing back at the woman in question. Since I was wearing sunglasses, Slate wouldn't be able to see me staring at her. He'd probably just think I was looking into space while chatting to her friend. As long as I kept the smile on my face.

Frankly, even if he wound up suspecting I was checking her out, I'd have to take the punishment because there was just no way I could stop staring. Mira looked too damn hot, wearing a slinky one-piece bathing suit that hugged her curves and made a show of her cleavage. The transparent lacy dress she had on over it didn't do a thing to hide what she was wearing underneath, but it still gave her a soft, feminine look that made me want to do all the things to her.

Dark hair swept up in a high, smooth ponytail, she had sunglasses over her eyes but her head was angled toward us and I could practically feel her staring right back at me. The corners of my lips curved upward, and hers pursed in response, like she was rolling her eyes at me but also pleased to have caught me staring.

Anya groaned at my side. "You guys have got it so bad. I feel like I might get pregnant in the crossfire of an eye-fucking this intense."

I laughed, finally managing to yank my eyes away from the girl I definitely had the hots for and looking at her friend instead. "If you think that was an intense eye-fucking, you clearly don't know me very well. As for having Mira's back on the rig, you're welcome, but you seriously don't need to thank me for it. Those guys were out of line, as was the owner."

A slow smile spread on her lips. "You are a good guy." She said it like it was some kind of revelation, but before I could ask why, she was speaking again. "So tell me about yourself, Logan. Mira doesn't let just anyone into her life. What makes you special?"

Surprised laughter tore out of me as I stared back at her, realizing that Mira's best friend was clearly just a little bit crazy—but I genuinely liked that about her. "She hasn't let me into her life. On occasion, she's let me into her bed. There's a big difference, and there's nothing special about me. I'm just a guy, sitting in front of a girl, asking her to let him have a chance with her best friend."

"And he quotes romantic movies." She pretended to swoon, fanning herself with her hand as she chuckled. "Suddenly, I get it. You don't have to tell me what's special. I already know."

"You do?" I lifted both my eyebrows at her. "Mind telling me what it is, then?"

"Stop acting like you're all humble and modest. Guys who look like you never are."

"I have more money than god," I said teasingly. "Does that make me less humble and modest?"

She nodded enthusiastically. "Sure, there he is. The tantalizingly delicious billionaire playboy who doesn't have a modest bone in his body."

"I'm not a billionaire," I replied easily. "Not yet anyway. Thanks for calling me tantalizingly delicious, though. I appreciate it."

As I lifted my beer to toast with her, I realized she didn't have a drink yet. Anya seemed to realize the same thing at the same time, but as she did, she got a mischievous smile on her face and snagged my drink right out of my hand.

"Thanks for offering," she said in a sing-song voice. "Don't mind if I do."

She brought the bottle to her lips, but as she sipped, her nose wrinkled and she pretended to gag as she handed it back to me. "Urg, eww. It's hot. You could've warned me."

"Didn't have time. Can I go make you a cocktail?"

"Much obliged," she said, lifting her sunglasses to wink at me before she got up at the same time I did. "Okay, so we've covered the very basics, but what about the rest?"

"The rest?"

She shrugged as she followed me to the table Slate had set up in the garden to act as a bar. He'd positioned a beach umbrella over one side of it to keep the coolers filled with ice out of the direct sun, but it wasn't helping much.

I'll have to help him refill these soon .

"The rest," she said as if it was self-explanatory. "What are you like? What are your goals and dreams for the future? Do you ever see yourself getting married?"

"Oh, that rest." Wow. This girl really knows how to go for the jugular . "I, uh, I'm not sure what I'm like. I think you'd have to ask someone else that question if you want a balanced answer, but as far as I'm concerned, I'm not really like anything. I work hard, but when I can, I play harder. I trust my gut. Too often, I put myself in situations where I have to shoot from the hip and it doesn't bother me much. Very basically, I love my life and my primary goal is to have fun with it while I still can."

"Okay," she said slowly. "See, now I also know that you're honest, confident, and a lot more lighthearted than Mira."

I turned over one of the clean glasses sitting on the table and picked up a full, icy cocktail shaker with beads of condensation flowing down the outside walls. It didn't take much concentration to pour some of whatever mixture was in it into her glass and add a few more cubes of ice, but I took the time it bought me to think.

"Do you think I'm good for her, then?" I asked quietly as I handed over her drink. "Or would you have liked it if I was more serious?"

She took the glass with a nod of thanks, those eyes pinned on mine with the sunglasses sitting on top of her head now that we were under the umbrella. "I think you could be good for her. She needs some balance, but I just hope you're not the sort to bail when you get bored. Or threatened."

My stomach tilted. "I'm assuming you know about everything that has happened between us?"

"Of course, I do." She suddenly frowned. "You're not mad at her for talking to me about it, are you?"

"No. I guess I'm just surprised." I didn't really know why. Anya was her best friend, so it made sense she'd have told her about what had happened, but at the same time, I'd been pretty sure she just wanted to keep the whole thing a secret. "I thought I was her dirty little?—"

Anya cut me off with a dry laugh. "You are, but not from me."

"Good to know," I said as I motioned her into a pair of unoccupied lounge chairs next to the pool. As we sat down, my gaze drifted back to Mira. It was taking superhuman fucking strength not to be staring at her all the damn time, but when I saw her still standing with Slate, chatting to her brother while sneaking peeks at me, I sighed. "Why would I be threatened by her?"

I didn't want to touch the part of her statement about hoping I wasn't the sort to get bored. Because I was. I usually got bored very easily and real fast, but it wasn't like that with Mira. In fact, it was the total opposite.

The more I saw of her and got to know her, the more of her I wanted. The trouble was that if I admitted to her best friend that I was the type to bail when I got bored, Anya would warn her against me. Which Tess and Mickey had already done, but another friend telling her she was better off leaving me alone might just break the camel's back.

Anya's gaze followed my own, and she let out a soft, defeated exhale before she shook her head. "Don't get me wrong. I'm happy for her. And for you. It's just that a lot of guys can't handle the fact that Mira is a badass boss bitch with a good head on her shoulders and no tolerance for bullshit."

"Oh, right. You think I'd be intimidated by that?"

"Sure," she said easily. "Aren't you? She's not exactly the girly girl type who dreams of pretty dresses and cutting up orange slices for her kids."

"Is there something wrong with that type?" I asked, more out of curiosity than having a problem with it myself.

Anya chuckled. "No, there definitely isn't. I'm the girly girl type who dreams of pretty dresses and cutting up orange slices for my kids. The point is just that Mira isn't like that, and if you think she's going to change, then you're better off putting an end to all this now."

"I wouldn't want her to change." Not ever. I enjoyed spending time with her so much exactly because of who she was. "Obviously, I don't know her as well as you do, but I appreciate her for exactly who she is."

"Good." Anya grinned. "She's worked damn hard to get to where she's at, so she needs someone in her life who wants her for that, for exactly who she is and not what they want her to be. She's not going to change herself for anyone."

I frowned, processing those words before I responded. "Sounds like wise words from a friend who's seen her get hurt a time or two. I'm not in a position to hurt her, but I can assure you that if I ever am, I won't do it."

Anya gave me a satisfied nod. "You could say that I've seen her get hurt. It's not my place to tell those stories. I just wanted you to know what you're getting into with her. And to make sure you're with her for the right reasons."

"I'm not with her," I said evenly. "Well, not really."

She arched a knowing brow at me before she got a devilish look in her eyes. "Not really, huh? I just saw how you two look at each other, and I can guarantee that won't be your answer much longer, which begs the million dollar question."

"What's that?"

"What are you two going to do about Slate?"

My stomach sank. I'd been trying to riddle that out all week. Back on the chopper, I'd agreed with her decision that he didn't need to know anything about this, but with each passing day, I'd been growing more and more doubtful about that being the right way to approach this after all.

If there was a better idea, I hadn't had it yet, though. It was either keep it from him or be honest, and at this point, I didn't have a clue which of those was the right thing to do. All I knew for sure was that stopping it in its tracks definitely was not an option.

Not anymore.