“Yeah, I am,” Logan agrees matter-of-factly. “Because I’ve learned something in the last two years. Something important. Life comes at you pretty quickly, and a lot of shit happens.” He stops in his tracks, letting the others go ahead. “My ex-wife cheated on me.”
“I know that, man,” I say, sympathy pains spreading in my chest. His story isn’t the same as mine, but it’s on the same shelf in the bookstore, under the subgenre How to Be Fucked by Love. “I’m sure it must have sucked.”
“It did. It was awful, and I felt like shit about myself. Doesn’t matter that my ex and I were growing apart. Doesn’t matter that I didn’t feel a crazy intense connection for her. It hurt, right here,” he says, tapping his sternum. “Made me question everything. Made me angry. Made me pissed.”
My brow creases, my emotions latching on to those last words as I push back. “I’m not angry.”
“I know that, man,” he says with a friendly pat on my shoulder. “I do. You’re a chill, laid-back dude.”
“But . . .?”
What’s he getting at?
“But the thing is . . .” He pauses and takes a deep breath, fueling what he’s going to say next. “I want you to keep your mind open. I know your ex did a number on you, but that’s what exes do simply by being exes. At some point, we have to decide if we want to be defined by the hurts inflicted on us, or to move forward.”
I bristle at the notion that I’m holding on to something. And dammit, I realize that bristling proves he’s at least somewhere close to the mark. He’s poking too close to a sore spot.
“I’m happy, dude,” I say. It’s a reflex by now, like blocking a move on the ice. “I am.”
“But you’re happier when you’re with Teagan,” he says, his eyes zeroed in on me.
He’s not wrong, but should we all just do what makes us happy if it’s bad for us?
No. That’s why you need rules. Why they put a Surgeon General’s warning on bottles of whiskey.
“It’s too risky,” I say emphatically, then gesture to the stone walkway in front of us, the very one that’s taking us to our friends’ wedding. “Look around. We are all up in each other’s business. We hang out—you, me, Fitz, Oliver, Dean now. We’re all friends. And the women—they are too. Plus, you own the company where Teagan works. Bryn and Teagan are close friends, and if things ended badly between Teagan and me, your woman would logically side with Teagan and you’d be in a spot.”
Logan simply shrugs. “And I’ll handle it. But what if it leads to happiness for you, man? Is that such a terrible chance to take?”
I heave a sigh, scrubbing a hand across my jaw, trying to get him to feel the weight of the issue, how damn heavy it is. “This isn’t just about happiness. It’s about being smart. It’s about not putting yourself in a position where someone can break you. Not when you know better. Edie was my best friend from college. I crossed the friend-to-girlfriend line once, and look what happened. I was devastated when she ended it. She devastated me. I don’t want that again, so I’ve got a rule—don’t mess around with a woman who’s your friend.”
He fixes me with a serious stare. “And by that same logic, I should never get married again, right?”
I blink, parting my lips, stunned speechless by the utter wrongness of that remark. “No,” I insist. “You and Bryn are perfect for each other.”
“But shouldn’t I follow the same rule? Doesn’t it apply to me? Don’t do the thing that hurt us before, right? You won’t get involved with a friend, so maybe I shouldn’t ever get married again.”
He is goading me, and I hate that I don’t have a better reply than “C’mon. That’s not what I mean.”
“Kind of is though. And if you believe that, now would be a good time to tell me, since I’m asking Bryn to marry me next week.”
“Holy shit, man.” In spite of the heavy talk, a grin takes over my face, and I yank him in for a quick hug. “That is awesome. I’m so stoked for you.”
His smile is magic—he looks like the happiest guy around, and that’s saying something, since I’m surrounded by pleased-as-punch fellas. “Thanks. I wish I could speed up time so it was next week now, but I’m also going to enjoy the hell out of every moment with her. Every moment of Fitz and Dean’s day today.” He takes a beat, drawing a breath. “Do you see what I mean though?”
I look away, at the trees, at the paths winding through the park, at the crowds starting to gather for Fitz’s wedding. At the moments surrounding me. At all my friends, taking chances in their own way. At Fitz, who put his heart on the line for Dean so he could make a life here with the guy he loves. At Oliver, who risked seventeen years of friendship to tell Summer he loved her. And at Logan, a father and a once-married man who was burned, but who’s going for a second chance—a second chance at the altar.
