I snorted. “Yeah, but we’ve already established that I’ve never been.”
“And if you had been, it would’ve been via private jet.”
“You’re making me feel bad about money I don’t even have.”
“Because it’s your parent’s.” His lips quirked.
“You know, you’re a real asshole. I should’ve let you stay mad.” I tried to pull my hand from his, but he laughed and tightened his grip, and I couldn’t help it, I laughed along with him. I felt so . . . free. In that moment, where it was just two college kids trying to finish up their last semesters. Not two adults trying to navigate the shit the universe kept slinging at them.
“I figured you’d been to Canada,” he said as we pulled into the gates of The Labyrinth. “I thought you were a world traveler. Your parents are always traveling for their charity.”
“You know about that?”
“It’s one of the only things I like about your father.” He glanced at me, eyes twinkling and full of mischief. “And the fact that he made you.”
“You’re a smooth talker, Logan Moriarty Fitzgerald.” I blushed. Honestly, there was no way anyone who hung out with him stood a chance.
“Glad to hear it. Normally, I don’t need smooth words to get women naked and in my bed.”
“Ah, this is where we’re headed again?”
“This is where we’ve always been headed. I just decided to take the scenic route with you.”
Once the car was parked, he let go of my hand. We got down and walked toward the house. In the darkness, you could barely see the house. There were no porch lights on, no lights inside that you could see with the windows covered. It was eerily quiet, the only sound was coming from the grasshoppers and the leaves shaking off the trees and onto the ground. Our shoes crunched on the gravel as we reached the door. I was exhausted from the day, the party, and the alcohol and I desperately needed a shower, but I had too many questions and knew I’d be getting little to no sleep in here.
“I don’t even know what the society does,” I said. “I mean, what do we do while we’re here? What do they really expect from me?”
“We have fundraisers happening every month. This month, all of the money raised by our donors will benefit injured veterans. Next month, it’ll fund electric and hydrogen power research.”
“So, fundraising?”
“Amongst other things. That’s what I’m in charge of, which is why I know what we fund.”
“So, you ask people for money?”
“People want to hand me money any chance they get.” Logan grinned over his shoulder as he unlocked the door. “Instead of accepting it for myself, I have them donate to these causes.”
“Oh.” I walked inside and watched him lock it behind us. “Why do they want to give you money?”
“You ever heard of boosters?”
“Yeah.” Lincoln had spoken to me about that. As had Travis, who had a couple of people giving him money for things on the down low. “Isn’t that illegal? Can’t you get kicked out of school for accepting money?”
“I don’t accept money. Not personally anyway.”
“Do you have any favorite charities?”
“Women & Children Global Fund.”
I blinked up at him. “My parent’s charity.”
“Yup.”
“Why is it your favorite?” I whispered as we walked down the hall, standing a little closer to him.
I couldn’t bear the thought of walking here by myself at night. We were illuminated by the glass sconces on the wall that held orange glowing candles. Each seemed to flicker as we passed. I held onto Logan’s arm.
“I like the idea of helping single mothers around the globe. They’ve funded a lot of small villages in third world countries, giving them opportunities they otherwise wouldn’t be afforded.”
“I used to travel with Mom to a lot of those villages and help out.”
“So you’ve seen the impact firsthand.”
“I have. It’s a cool organization.” I smiled, thinking about it. “I can see why they’d have you take on that task since people want to throw money at you and all that, but what about me? Nobody’s going to throw money at the daughter of one of the richest moguls in the world.”
“Humility becomes you.”
“Shut up. I wouldn’t be vying for $50,000 and working with a secret organization that I know close to nothing about if ultimately, I didn’t want to get out of their shadow.”
“They’ll probably have you writing about specific things in the paper. That’s what they usually do. Did you know the university awarded the first degree in journalism?”
“I did not know that.”
“Yet you came over here as an English major.”
“It’s a long story.” I shook my head.
“We have time.” He glanced over at me as he stopped walking, just as we got to the stairs. I stopped with him. “In fact, we have all night.”
I gave him the quick version of the story. When I was finished, I looked up at him to see if he was even listening. I’d talked nonstop and fast, and usually, people tuned me out when I did that.
“So, you are a daddy’s girl,” he said.
“That’s what you gathered from this entire thing?”
“Basically.” He laughed. “I can see why your douchebag ex-boyfriend was so clingy.”
“He’s not clingy.”
“Yeah, maybe clingy isn’t the right word.” He scowled. “Either way, I don’t like him.”
“I noticed.”
“I’m glad you left him.”
I laughed. “I don’t even know what to say to that.”
“I’m just pointing out that I think you dodged a bullet there,” he said. “You don’t have to say anything at all.”
“A bullet? What makes you say that?”
“I just know what kind of guy he is. He’s not worth your time.”
It was something that someone else would surely say about him, and maybe it was because I was no longer with Travis, but I understood what Logan meant.
“Do you think you’ll settle down?” I snuck a glance at him as we started up the stairs. “Like if you actually found the right person right now, do you think you’d give up your groupies and all of that?”
“Without a doubt.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really.” He laughed. “What’s that face you’re making? You don’t believe me?”
“It’s just . . . you said it without hesitation.”
“When you know, you know.” He shrugged a shoulder. “Why would I jeopardize a solid relationship for a fling?”
“I don’t know. Men do it all the time.” I thought about my father and felt my mood sour again.
“Not all men are the same, you know.”
His words made my heart beat a little quicker. The way he said them left no room for question. He was talking about me, about us. I looked up at him as we stopped in front of the bedroom that had been assigned to me. On this floor, the light was even more sparse. He was standing right in front of me, and I could barely make out his eyes. The candlelight he was blocking behind him gave him a glow around his head that made him look like a fallen angel.