Page 17

SEVENTEEN

LOGAN

By 8:00 a.m., I was rolling down the long driveway to the King estate and buzzing with energy. MJ had refused my offer of support to go with her to meet her father’s other children.

I knew she didn’t need me there. MJ was strong, capable, and perfectly fine handling this on her own. But damn if it didn’t sit right in my gut. Something about the idea of her facing that family alone made me itch to be there—for her, if nothing else. And maybe for me, too, just to make sure she came out of it unscathed.

But MJ couldn’t argue with the simple logic that we were both driving to the same place around the same time.

The day before a match was reserved for the Captain’s Run—an hour-long practice run by the team captain instead of the coaches. I could do it in my sleep—a twenty-minute team meeting where I try to inspire my teammates, followed by a field workout. The team would do a warm-up, defense skill drills, plan attacks, passing and kicking, and lineouts. All in all, we were on the field for only about an hour ... just long enough to get our heads in the game but not long enough to get tired or injured.

The remainder of the day would be for rest, which I could happily spend tangled up in her.

When my truck came to a stop, MJ walked out of the front door with two to-go cups and a white bakery bag piled on a drink carrier. A small overnight bag hung from her shoulder.

She was bundled in a light olive-colored jacket and had on a knit hat. Her brown hair flowed in waves out of the bottom and tumbled across her shoulders. I could see her cream sweater peeking out from her coat, and the jeans and boots made her look casually chic, yet sophisticated.

I absently rubbed a tight spot in my chest.

Behind MJ, her aunt stood in the doorway, holding a white box and staring down at me.

I offered a wave, and the older woman only raised a stern, assessing eyebrow. The woman didn’t even bother with the polite smile most people offered strangers. Her raised eyebrow and cool stare felt like a challenge.

Fine by me.

Winning over MJ’s family wasn’t going to be any harder than winning her over—both were proving to be the more satisfying fights of my life.

MJ waved back as she approached me with a smile.

I reached for the drink carrier. “Good morning, Julep.”

I leaned forward slightly, going in for a casual kiss, but when MJ stiffened, I stopped myself. My eyes flicked over her shoulder to where her aunt was still watching us.

I slipped the duffel bag from her shoulder. “Ready to go?” I asked, opening the passenger-side door.

“One second.” MJ turned and climbed back up the front steps. She accepted the box from her aunt. They exchanged a few words, and MJ wrapped her arms around her aunt. The woman softened and touched MJ’s cheek as she spoke. She may come across as a hard-ass, but it was clear that she had a major soft spot for her niece.

I put the coffees and paper sack in the center console of my truck before holding the door for MJ.

“Need a hand?” I asked, gesturing toward the box.

She looked at the car, seemingly unsure of what to do. She lifted the box. “Logan, meet my dad. Dad, this is Logan.”

Her awkward laugh made me grin like a fool. She could make hauling around an urn feel like a goddamn meet and greet.

I bent slightly at the waist. “Nice to meet you, Mr. King. Shall we?” I gestured toward the back seat of the cab, pulling open the rear door.

MJ looked at me with a soft smile.

I leaned in to whisper. “A ride in the truck bed seems a little rude, don’t you think?”

“Thank you.” She smiled again, and I felt like I’d won another gold medal.

“Of course.” I nodded and carefully took the box from her, placing it in the back seat along with her duffel bag. The box was awkwardly placed on the seat, and I didn’t want it just rolling around, so I pulled the seat belt across the urn and made sure it was secure.

MJ looked at me with her pretty, wide eyes. I gestured toward the front seat. “Hop in. Let’s get you on the road.”

Her shy smile bloomed, and I rounded the hood of the car, feeling like I’d done something to make her feel good, and I liked that. It wasn’t just the way she smiled—it was the way she tried to hide it, like letting me see her happy was a risk. The more time I spent with MJ, the more I realized she was a walking contradiction: confident but cautious, sweet but guarded.

And all of it made me want her more.

I got behind the wheel and turned around in the wide driveway.

MJ picked up a coffee and took a sip. “Thanks for driving.”

I nodded and eyeballed the paper coffee cup. She was being weird. “You know, we could have swung into town before we headed out.”

Her eyes stayed focused on the road. “Oh, yeah ... I don’t know, I was up already so ...” A nervous chuckle escaped her. “We’re keeping things casual, right?”

I stifled a small laugh. “Are you hiding me , Julep?”

“What? No. I—” Splotchy pink marks flushed her cheeks, giving her away. “I thought we agreed that we’d be friends and?—”

“Julep.” My voice was low and stern as I leaned toward her. “I can’t stop thinking about how pretty you looked with a mouthful of my cock. I know how you taste. If that’s how you define friendship, I need to seriously reevaluate the friends in my life.”

I counted the beats while her shock morphed into a sly smile as she crossed her arms. “You know what I meant.”

“Mm-hmm,” I teased, liking the playful banter between us. I shook my head. “Wow. I feel so ... used .”

MJ laughed. “ Fine . My sister works at the Sugar Bowl, and I wasn’t ready for all the questions yet. My aunt Bug already knows something is up, but at least she isn’t a gossip. The rest of Outtatowner? Woof. Being a hot topic of conversation is the last thing I need right now.”

As I came to a stop sign, I leaned closer to whisper. “Can I let you in on a little secret?”

She turned her face toward me, only inches away. My eyes moved from hers, down to her lips, and back up again.

“It’s not gossip if it’s the truth.” I popped a quick kiss on her surprised mouth and sat back with a satisfied smile. MJ blinked as she stared out the front window. I pointed toward the radio. “Okay, as Passenger Princess, you’re in charge of the music selection.”

Beside me, she grinned. “I think I can handle that.”

A few hours simply wasn’t long enough. We cruised down the highway, making our way toward Chicago. MJ fiddled with the radio, and I learned she liked a mix of pop music, country, and eighties power ballads. We hit a bit of traffic crossing the border from Indiana to Illinois, but I leaned into the extra time it gave us.

My hand found its place on her thigh, and when she didn’t move away, I let it creep just a little higher. “So tell me about your siblings—the ones you grew up with, I mean.”

MJ exhaled. “Well ... there’s not much to tell, I guess. Abel is the oldest. He owns the brewery, mostly keeps to himself. He’s married to Sloane, and she’s got two kids, but Abel loves them like his own. Then there’s Royal.” She chuckled to herself. “He’s always having a good time. Veda keeps him in line, mostly. Whip is a firefighter, and he’s with Emily, our local librarian. I swear, they are the cutest couple ever.” A wistful sigh escaped her lips, and my hand rubbed her thigh. “Sylvie married Duke Sullivan—you met him.”

I nodded, remembering the protective stance he’d taken at the farmers’ market. “He’s definitely got older-brother energy.”

MJ laughed. “He does. He’s a lot like Abel in that way. But he brought Sylvie back to life. He loves her and the family they’ve made with everything he’s got. JP is after her and probably who I am closest with, outside of Syl. He’s always been a little misunderstood. Dad put a lot of pressure on him to carry on the family business. He met Hazel, and it was like a light was turned on inside him.”

Her words settled over me. “I like that—a light. It’s nice,” I replied.

The way she talked about them made it clear they were her anchor. Every sibling, every story—it all painted a picture of a family who had weathered storms together and come out stronger. She didn’t just love them, she admired them.

MJ smiled. “So that’s them, I guess.”

Something in the way she mentioned her father stuck with me. She had said before that her father wasn’t a good person. There was more to that story, and I was curious to know what it was. “Sounds like your dad was kind of intense.”

Her eyes flicked to the back seat as if he could overhear our conversation. “It’s extremely complicated.”

I nodded. “Most families are.”

“We aren’t most families.” She gently shook her head and looked out the passenger window. “I should hate him—he was dismissive and cruel and he ki—” She stopped whatever she was about to say and cleared her throat. “I’ve learned he was not at all the man he pretended to be but ... he was still my dad, you know?”

I swallowed hard. Her voice wavered, and I could tell she was holding something back. Whatever it was, it ran deep, like a wound that hadn’t fully healed. I wanted to ask, to take that weight off her shoulders, but I didn’t. MJ would tell me when she was ready—or maybe she wouldn’t.

On some level, I knew what she was talking about. My mother was a saint, but my father? The only memories I had of him were random weekends with random women. I saw the hurt in my mother’s eyes every time there was someone new he wanted me to call Mom .

I still carried the shame that I’d done it, simply because I was a child who wanted his approval. It pissed me off, and I had spent my entire adult life secretly trying to make it up to her.

“What about you?” I asked, shifting the focus back to her. “Where do you fit in with all those personalities?”

“Ahh ...” She chuckled and pointed to herself. “Resident baby sister. Part-time comic relief.”

“ Really? Huh.” I watched her bristle out of the corner of my eye and tried to suppress a smile.

“What?” I could feel her stare boring into the side of my face.

“I don’t know ...” I lifted a shoulder and tried not to laugh. “It’s nothing.”

MJ turned in her seat, leaning against the door to look at me and crossing her arms. “Well, what is it?”

I did my best not to smile. “I guess you’re just not all that funny.”

A shrill, shocked sound erupted from her throat, and I finally cracked, laughing a hearty chuckle.

“I am hilarious , I’ll have you know.” Her pout was pretty fucking cute. “In fact, if it wasn’t for me, Royal wouldn’t even be all that funny. Nine times out of ten, he just overhears me say something funny and then repeats it louder ... and everyone laughs and laughs at how he’s the funny one.”

It was me who was laughing now. “Maybe your delivery just isn’t that great.”

“Ugh, you’re the worst .” She tried to act angry, but she was fighting a smile.

My thoughts wandered to the day she had ahead of her and my grip tightened on the steering wheel. MJ was going out of her way to carry out one last act of kindness by delivering her father’s ashes to a family who might very well hate her. I still couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that MJ and her siblings were a secret part of his double life. It was becoming clearer how a forgotten girl had survived by being the funny, loyal little sister who did what she was told.

I leaned over, still watching the road, but wanting a kiss. “Hey, come here.”

MJ’s eyes narrowed into little slits before she gave in and moved closer. The kiss was quick, and I yearned for more. I had been honest with MJ that we could take things as slowly as she needed, but I wouldn’t have minded if she needed my mouth between her legs a few more times before our trip was over.

“So let’s go over the plan,” I suggested. “We will stop at the field first to drop me off, and you can have the truck. Take as long as you need. When practice ends, I’ll catch a ride from one of my teammates. Tonight we can meet up at the hotel and maybe get dinner? The night before a game I don’t usually go out, but we can walk along the lakeshore if that’s something you’d like to do. Then we can just chill in the room.”

I could tell MJ was nervous about the day ahead, because she would alternate twisting her fingers and sitting on her hands. It hit me that maybe she wasn’t as nervous about meeting her dad’s family as she was about sharing a hotel room with me again.

Things between us had shifted since the last hotel, that was for damn sure.

I cleared my throat. “I made arrangements with the hotel for two rooms. There’s no pressure to stay together if that’s not something you want to do.” Her eyes went big and round as I continued: “I would love for you to stay with me, but even if you do, there are no expectations. I want you to know that.”

MJ’s hand snaked around my neck, and her fingertips tangled in my hairline. “Thank you.”

When she rubbed the base of my skull, I nearly groaned.

Her hazel eyes were warm in the morning sunlight as she smiled. “If it’s not too late to cancel the extra room, I think I’d like to stay together.”

“Yes, ma’am.” I squeezed her thigh and focused on not driving off the road as my heart hammered against my ribs.

When we finally reached the stadium, I was more amped to play than I’d felt in years . There really was a lucky energy when it came to MJ King. We both climbed out of the car, and I grabbed my bag from the back seat, then slung it across my shoulders.

MJ stood in front of me, and I put my hands on her shoulders. “Remember, no matter what happens today, you’re doing the right thing.”

She swallowed and nodded.

I stepped closer, sliding my hand up her neck and into her hair. My other hand pulled her closer so our bodies could finally touch. Her head tipped back to look up at me.

“You’re compassionate.” I kissed her. “Kindhearted.” Another kiss. “And even a little bit funny.” I grinned and deepened the last kiss, moving my mouth over hers until her tiny moan filled my mouth. I eased her back against the car, pushing my hips into her.

Her hands fisted on my jacket, pulling me closer. My tongue slid over hers. I’d missed her taste and the warmth of her lips.

When the kiss ended, I only wanted more. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were dazed. I went in for another taste. My cock thickened against her as she squirmed beneath me. If she’d have let me, I would have pinned her against the car and shown her exactly how a woman deserved to be treated.

From behind us, one of my teammates approached, and an obnoxious barking interrupted us.

I growled, shielding her with my body as I shot Jack a deadly look over my shoulder. “Fuck off.”

Jack grinned. “Come on, Cap. You’re going to be late for your own practice.”

I looked down at MJ. “He’s right.” She patted my chest. “Have a good practice. I’ll keep you posted on what I’m up to.”

I swallowed hard. A major part of me wished I could just go with her. What she was about to do couldn’t be easy, and I hated that she was going alone. Up ahead, Jack whistled at me again.

“Hey.” I kissed the tip of her nose. “They’re going to love you, Julep.”

Her pretty smile carried me all the way through practice.