“They’re gonna get bored,” Xavier, my stepbrother, says. He’s a professional football player and the person taking the most heat since the public cares more about him than any of us. It’s not that Xavier’s never had press about our family before, but they didn’t spin it in a negative way back when he started playing pro. “They’ll move on and no one will remember this. Trust me.” He squeezes my shoulder.
Logan takes my hand. “He’s right. Eventually they won’t find anything else they can try to spin and move on.”
“Still. You’re all under a microscope because of me.”
“Nik, this family has weathered worse storms than this.” My mom places small cucumber sandwiches on the table. All the boys reach in at once.
“I get it,” Presley says on the other side of me.
I smile at her. “Thanks.”
My family all seem to understand, and as a consensus, we’ve all decided to remain quiet and not to talk to anyone—a united front.
Everyone disperses from the table, leaving Logan and me with my mom and Hank.
“I think I should go back to Vegas early. They’ll follow me there and leave you guys alone.” Logan takes my hands. “You can come down closer to the fight. I have to be down there for promo soon anyway.”
“But—”
He shakes his head. “It only makes sense. They’re intruding here, and I imagine it will only get worse. I’ll leave and they’ll follow. I know it.”
“Are you suggesting we’re boring, Logan?” Hank asks, laughing.
“Not at all.”
Hank raises his hand. “I’m fully aware I live what some might think is a boring life and I’m proud of it. I have everything I’ll ever need.”
He looks at my mom with that expression he has since they got together. They have a love I’ve always been envious of, the same love I’m sometimes certain Logan and I hold for one another. Only we’re like a new bud that’s just blooming and they’re an entire rose garden.
Cade comes back into the kitchen to grab a drink from the fridge.
“What do you think?” Logan asks me.
“I don’t want you to go early.” I frown, knowing I’ll miss him.
“You shouldn’t have to change your life for them. I hate all these people who make a living off of poking their noses into other people’s affairs.” My mom grabs her iced tea, leans back in her chair, and sips it.
Cade was leaving the kitchen, but he stops and turns around when he hears what my mom says. “You mean like Nikki?”
I narrow my eyes on him. “I report the truth and you know it. And I don’t put a spin on things to suit me or make it sound juicier.”
He puts his hands up in front of him. “I’m just saying… it’s kind of like karma got you on this one, Nik. Do you realize how much it sucks now?”
“I can handle it. But this is about my mom and Hank, who have nothing to do with my marriage.”
He nods. “True enough.” Then he leaves the kitchen.
“He’s always hated my job,” I mumble to Logan before turning to look back at him. “Anyway, like I was saying, I don’t want you to go early.”
“I agree with you, but as of right now, we don’t have a choice. After the fight, they won’t care about me or my relationships.” Logan squeezes my hands. “I’ll head back to Vegas and they’ll leave you and your family alone.”
I sulk in the chair. The thought of us trying this long distance scares me down to my bones. All my insecurities creep back in, even though I’m certain I can trust Logan. He’s never shown me I can’t, but then again, we haven’t been together that long and he’s been living here, not the lifestyle he usually does.
But then there’s my family… I can’t put them through this. It’s tourist season, and bad rumors or outright lies could hurt all their businesses.
“Okay,” I say, and my heart immediately feels as if a bulldozer rolled over it.
“It won’t be long. Plus, you’re kind of a distraction.” He winks. I playfully shove him, and he boomerangs back, giving me a kiss on the temple. “Just kidding.”
I glance over and see my mom’s frown. Is she as scared as I am of what distance could do to our relationship?
Chapter Twenty-Eight
“Watch yourself, Vince.”
Logan
On the walk back home from Nikki’s parents, I debate in my head on whether or not to show her the half-finished podcast studio rather than waiting for it to be fully finished. But with me leaving town early, if I don’t show her I run the risk of someone slipping and ruining the secret.
“Hey,” I say, taking her hand. “I have something I want to show you before we head home.”
She glances over at me with suspicion and trepidation. “Okay.”
“Don’t worry, it’s a good thing.”
She chuckles. “I’ll admit you scared me a little there.”
“Like I was going to give you the ‘it’s me, not you’ speech?”
She says nothing and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t like the fact that she doesn’t want to break up, that she’s truly in this relationship with her whole heart.
“You can’t get rid of me that easily.” I squeeze her hand, waiting for her to look over at me. When she does, I smile and she matches my grin, laying her head on my shoulder for a moment while we walk.
I slow my steps as we near the shop.
“Are you going to show me your moves?” She stops in front of Pump It Up, assuming that’s where we’re going.
I tug on her hand. “I show you my moves every night.”
She laughs. “I particularly like the ‘against the wall’ move.”
“Me too.” I waggle my eyebrows, stepping up in front of the shop next door that still has brown paper covering the windows. Hank was adamant that in this town we needed to cover everything up if I didn’t want Nikki to find out.
“What’s this?” She tilts her head while I retrieve a key out of my pocket.
“Just wait. I wish I had a blindfold.”
“Hmm… a blindfold and a building with covered windows. Now I’m scared in a whole other way.”
I chuckle and use the key to open up the door. Holding it open, I flick on the light then wait for her to step into the space first. Following her, I lock the door behind us and watch her gaze scatter around the room. “What is this?”
“This will be where you record your podcast.” I point to the spot by the window. “I thought it would be cool for people to walk by and see you interviewing your guests.”
First she looks at me like I’m crazy but right after, her shoulders fall and her hands go to her mouth. “Logan,” she says my name like she’s in disbelief, which makes my chest swell with pride. And my ego a little too.
“You need a place to do your interviews.” I shove my hands in my pockets, unsure what to say. “It’s not quite done yet only because I have to leave town early, but I promise I’ll get it finished up right after I get back from the fight.”