Several seconds pass, and right when I think he gave up, another knock sounds. Maybe it’s best to just get this over with now, although I feel like I’ve said all I needed to say. Pushing up from the couch, I open the door and come face-to-face with… “Logan.”
“Hey.” She waves awkwardly. “Can I come in for a second?”
“Sure.” Stepping aside, I open the door wide. She walks in and follows me to the living room. Her eyes drift around my duplex. My gaze follows hers, and I realize that she must think it’s odd that the place is completely bare.
“I just moved in.” Scratching the top of my head, I try to come up with something to say, something to fill this awkward silence. I’ve got nothing.
“I know.” Logan brings her gaze back to me. “Connor told me.”
My skin prickles at the mention of his name. “Right. Connor.” Sucking my bottom lip in between my teeth, I nod.
“Connor’s crazy about you.”
Hold up. What did she say? I expected her to come over here and yell at me, maybe try and start some sort of catfight, but I didn’t expect her to say that. Something on my face must clue her in to my confusion because she chuckles.
“It’s true.” I stare at her, trying to figure out how to respond. “Mind if I sit?” she asks.
“Please, have a seat.”
She sits on the couch, scooting toward the edge, but I stay standing. Logan’s shoulders droop. Her eyes fall to something in front of her, and for a brief second it’s as though she’s reliving some sort of memory. When she looks back up, her eyes are full of understanding. “I heard what you said to Logan. Eavesdropping isn’t typically my thing, but what can I say?” she says, shrugging. “I’m a woman.”
A bubble of laughter crawls up my throat and she visibly relaxes at the sound. “It’s okay. I have a sister. A nosy-ass sister. I understand.”
“I’m sorry that happened to you,” she says, once again catching me off guard. “I can’t imagine how difficult that must’ve been. I won’t pretend to understand what it felt like, because I’ve never been in love. But I do know what it’s like to come second to someone else.”
She’s offering me an olive branch. I’m not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, so I take it. “You do?”
“Unfortunately.” Logan wraps a strand of hair around her fingers, twirling it. “My dad chose his girlfriend over me. It’s not something I like to think about, but I want you to know that I understand and I wouldn’t wish it upon anyone,” she says, looking up at me. “Did Connor tell you how we met?” she asks.
“Foster care.”
“Yup. My dad neglected me and I was eventually taken away from him. I bounced around several horrible foster homes, but the day of my last move was the luckiest day of my life.”
“It was?” I ask, curious. Why on earth would moving into a new foster home be the best day of someone’s life?
“It was. Because that’s the day I met my brother.” I didn’t miss that Logan emphasized the word brother. “Connor and I might not share the same blood, but he is my family in every sense of the word. Do I love Connor? Yes, but not the way you’re afraid of. And trust me, I understand why you’d be afraid.”
“You do?”
“Yes. I don’t necessarily agree with it—which is why I’m here—but I understand. Putting yourself out there like that, in the same situation you were in before? That would be terrifying. I’m not sure I could do it, so I wouldn’t expect you to.”
“But you just said you don’t agree with me,” I say, my brows dipping low.
“Yeah, well, that’s the other thing I wanted to tell you. Coming in second sucks. I don’t want to go through something like that again, just like you don’t want to. But I’d gladly come in second to you.”
“What?” I drop down onto the couch.
“I love Connor,” she states firmly. “Nothing and no one is ever going to change that—not even you. But I’m not in love with him. Never have been, never will be. And the thing is, I realize Connor isn’t my dad. He may put you first, which he should, but he wouldn’t forget about me. He won’t treat me the way my dad did. And he wouldn’t treat you the way Tyson did.”
My lips press together in a frown. “I don’t know, Logan.” Bringing my hand to my mouth, I pull at my lip, my mind digesting everything she just said.
“Do you want to know why I’d gladly take second place to you?” she asks hopefully. I nod. “Because you make him happy. You’re so different than any girl he’s been with, and trust me, I’ve been there for all of them. He smiles every time he says your name, even after you left him.”
My eyes burn, tears pushing against the confines of my lashes. Logan didn’t have to come over here and tell me all of this, but she did because she wants her best friend to be happy. And apparently, she realizes the person who makes him happy is me. The old Brit would’ve likely found a way to discredit everything she’s saying, but the new Brit wants desperately to believe it. Because the new Brit can’t say Connor’s name without smiling, too.
A small grin tugs at the corner of my mouth. Maybe my heart was right to take a chance on Connor. Maybe it learned its lesson the first time and recognizes Connor for who he is—the type of man to love me the way I deserve to be loved.
“I hope that smile means something good,” Logan says, her eyes bright with hope.