Page 53 of The Secret Heir Next Door

” It means that you’re on an incredible high right now, as am I, and we shouldn’t be making critical decisions about anything now. I don’t trust that it’s your truth.”

” Don’t trust it’s my truth?” He chuckles. “So I’m telling you right now that I want to be with you, but you don’t believe it?”

” Correct.”

” Okay, well, I will make sure to show you that your blow job skills aren’t the reason I’m saying this,” he teases. “What’s really going on?”

” Logan, look around you. Look at your house. Look at…your closet, and…we live in two different worlds. I can barely afford to keep the lights on at my apartment and at my shop, and you’re wearing Armani suits on rotation.”

” That doesn’t matter to me.”

” You have looked down your nose at me since the first day we ran into each other.”

” Now that I’ve gotten to know you, I don’t.”

I let out a long sigh. “I just…I don’t know how this will ever work. I don’t know how to be a pretty face on your arm. I don’t know how to smile and nod or keep my mouth shut when someone is rude or wrong.”

” I’m not asking you to do that.”

” You’re not, you’re right. But…”

” Listen, I’ve never really been in a relationship before. My dating history consists of people my parents or family set me up with because they fit the debutante/pedigree profile, and that’s…never worked for me. I need someone who challenges me and holds me accountable. I want you.”

” Logan…”

Why am I arguing with him about this?

I want him too, but…why am I so scared and only focusing on the negatives?

” We don’t have to go fast. We’re still getting to know each other. I only want you, though, and I want to try to make this a relationship.”

I stare back at him as if he has four heads.

Is this real?

What’s wrong with me?

” Okay,” I murmur. “Can we just go to sleep right now and not think about anything else? I’d like to shut my brain off.”

” Absolutely,” he chuckles as he tugs me into him.

He kisses the top of my head as I put my head on his chest and snuggle in before closing my eyes.

The sun is shining,the sky is a perfect shade of blue, and the backyard is transformed into a magical land of unicorns and superheroes. My heart swells with pride as I take in the scene. It’s Abby’s birthday, and everything is just as I imagined it. Actually, no—it’s even better.

Colorful balloons float gently in the breeze, tied to every available surface. Streamers cascade from the gazebo, shimmering in the sunlight, and tables are draped with vibrant tablecloths, each adorned with a centerpiece that features a superhero unicorn wearing a tiny cape and mask.

The real unicorns—yes, real unicorns—are grazing peacefully in the corner, each decked out in their own superhero costume. Abby had insisted on this theme, a fusion of her two great loves, and I was determined to make her dreams come true.

“How did you get unicorns?” Dee giggles as she walks up next to me.

” Magic,” I wink.

” You’ve really outdone yourself with this. Abby will lose her mind with all of it. You captured her perfectly.”

” Where is she?”

” Uncle Logan insisted on her making a grand entrance to give you time to make sure it was all ready to go.”