Page 55 of Structure of Love

“Oh god, closets soundamazing. Instead of those dumb wire shelves I bought. That’s in my budget?”

“A-yup.” Asher winked. “Because I do look out for you.”

“I appreciate you so much right now. I didn’t even think of the possibility.” He really was a pro.

We walked both rooms, me laying out how I wanted things to look, how everything should be organized. Asher sketched out what I said on his iPad, and it was great seeing my thoughts drawn out. It gave everything a bit more solidity.

“I’m going back to the office and mocking this all up while it’s fresh in my head,” Asher said. “If you think of something else you want, just text me.”

“I will.”

We headed back down, but Asher stopped at the top of the stairs and turned back. “Logan, I want to say something on a personal level. Thank you for how you’ve approached Gage. I’m not sure how much he’s said of his dating history?”

“CliffsNotes, mainly.”

“Okay, so you know it sucked royally. It never made sense to me, honestly, why he struggled so hard to find someone worthy to date. He’s gorgeous, insanely smart, and one of the most giving people I know. My occasional urges to strangle him aside,he’s one of my favorite people in the world. My heart broke for him, some days, as I knew he hated being single but couldn’t seem to find someone worth dating. Mixed in with all of that is his trust issues because of his family. Most guys took it personal when he didn’t immediately warm up to them. When really it had nothing to do with them.”

I nodded because I got that. It had nothing to do with me. It was bad history and relationship drama that made him wary. It was why I could be so patient with him.

Asher looked heartened at my ready agreement. “Oh good, you figured that out too. When he met you, I started praying that this time wouldn’t play out like in the past. It hasn’t, because you’ve proven you’ll wait for him. And that’s all he needed to know—that he’s worth waiting for.”

“Damn, Asher. You’ve got me all choked up.” I had to clear my throat and look away for a second, because my heart felt overwhelmed. It was easy to see how deeply Asher loved Gage and wanted the absolute best for him, as only a best friend could. I knew Gage was a pretty amazing man, but to inspire this level of love said volumes.

“I hope the two of you last. He’s so incredibly happy being with you. I’ve never seen him so excited. You complement him in the best of ways.”

“I hope we last too. I’ll never meet another man like him. Any tips to help me?”

Asher put a hand on my shoulder, a wicked gleam in his eye. “Why don’t you treat me to lunch and a beer, eh? Because this is going to be aconversation.”

I’d be a fool to pass up his offer. “Bet.”

18

Gage

Saturday dawned hot as hell, but that was fine by all of us, as Asher had wanted a pool party for his birthday. I hosted, owning said pool, and was happy. Everyone chipped in for different things. Zar got the cake, and Zar’s sister, Adah—whom I considered to be the elder sister I didn’t have—brought over sunflowers and birthday ribbons to decorate the place. Let’s face it, Asher wouldn’t consider it a proper party unless there were decorations. Everyone contributed food and alcohol, and I had the stuff for several drinking games, including beer pong.

I’d told Logan he didn’t need to bring anything. Of course, he didn’t listen and brought over an experimental craft beer he’d been brewing, which was fucking delicious.

I might have had a full beer before the party even started. Shhhh.

Every time I thought I knew all of Logan’s talents and interests, he surprised me with things like “Oh, by the way, I brew beer,” which was not an easy hobby. I’d tried my hand with brewing, and it had tricks.

He progressively grew more impressive, and I was already pretty damn impressed.

I loaded up a plate at the makeshift buffet, quite happy with the selection. Riggs had brought his famous ribs, and my god, he should open a restaurant for these alone. Not that I’d let him leave. The office would implode without him.

Now, let’s see, where to sit… I’d brought out two large folding tables so everyone had a place to sit, eat, and chat. There was no space over there—Zar’s siblings had basically taken over that table, including his work partner, Madison. All right, to my left there was a spot. Ooh, at the same table as Logan. Perfect. I beelined for it.

While I walked, though, I observed him. He was engaged in conversation with Cohen, both of them clearly enjoying the subject. Aside from DnD and me, I didn’t know these two had anything in common?

I took the seat across from him, ease dropping to catch up.

“—so I’m sitting there, listening to these four adults complain about how music these days was too full of sex and drugs, and how it was so inappropriate for children, and the music fromtheirday wasn’t like that, and I’m going…uh…should I tell them? Someone needs to tell them.” Logan shook his head, a half laugh echoing alongside his words. “Finally, they pause for a beat, and I’m like, ‘Guys, I hate to break this to you, but some of the most popular songs of the seventies were all about drugs.’ And then I start listing off the lyrics to ‘Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds,’ and ‘A Horse with No Name,’ and ‘Hotel California.’ And you could see their eyes widen with realization as they’re now listening to those lyrics with anadult’sears.”

Cohen snickered, head nodding as if he knew precisely what Logan meant. “But the kids don’t get it. They don’t have context for any of that yet, so it skips right over their heads. Hell, my son loved the song ‘Diggin’ Up Bones’ by Randy Travis when he wasseven. Which I thought was an odd choice until I asked him why he liked it so much. He said it was so cool to have a song about digging up dinosaurs.”

Logan busted out laughing. “Oh my god, he thought they were dinosaur bones?”