Page 98 of Unwrapping Love

“Rowan should have told you,” Logan said.

“Yep, he should have. I’m sure you know why he didn’t. Because he doesn’t like to upset people, right?”

It’s not that she hadn’t seen that trait already.

Hadn’t he almost buttered her up today and then dished out the bad news?

Since he’d found out about his brothers coming this morning and the dress had been bought with the purse prior, she knewit wasn’t planned, but he damn well piled them together to help ease the news.

It wasn’t bad news though that his family was here and she didn’t understand why he thought she’d be so upset over it. Nervous, sure, but that was normal meeting anyone new. She wanted his family to like her.

If there was one thing she hated in life, it was that anyone thought she wasn’t strong enough to handle something.

“That’s just in his nature. There was more to it though,” Logan said. “Ava was on the circuit and she was young. Rowan was building the company and she wanted him to keep leaving and flying to Hawaii with her to surf.”

“I’d think he’d enjoy that.”

“He did, once in a while. But he had an obligation and a focus here and she wanted to have fun.”

“Did you two not get along?” she asked.

“What, the tension in the air wasn’t just felt by me?” Logan asked.

“Nope.”

“It’s what she said. He was with me more than her and she didn’t like it. Don’t think more of their relationship. They should have only been friends and they are now. Nothing more than that. Then business came first and it was more important to say they were only friends.”

“You don’t need to make excuses for him.”

“I’m not,” Logan said. “He should have told you before and he’ll have to deal with that. But one thing about Rowan, he doesn’t have a mean bone in his body.”

She nodded. “Not that I’ve seen, but not purposely being mean doesn’t mean it doesn’t still happen.”

28

THE REAL REASON

“Iappreciate you not letting on how angry you are with me at the expo,” Rowan said when they got home hours later.

The air on the drive back to his place was tighter than a nun’s disapproving lips with her students in tiny shorts and barely there tank tops.

“I wouldn’t do that to you,” she said. “I’m assuming Logan filled you in on what happened?”

“He did.” Not that he couldn’t see some of what was going on when he was talking to his brothers and saw Ava with Saylor.

He should have listened to everyone and told her before, but he’d been a coward and didn’t want to upset Saylor.

Didn’t want to cause a fight. More importantly, didn’t want to make her feel insecure about herself.

She hardly ever voiced it to him, but he saw it. The way she tugged her shirt sleeve down to cover her CGM on her arm around his friends. Or changed into longer shorts so her pump wasn’t visible on her thigh.

It wasn’t often and not lately, but around new people where they’d be staring her down and assessing her every move, she tried not to have that be thefirstthing they saw.

With those who knew her now, she was free and open with her devices and it warmed his heart considerably that she wasn’t afraid to let it be known. Not even that it was seen today on stage in the dress he gave her to wear. She never thought twice about it either.

Maybe he should have remembered that about her instead of trying to protect her from something.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were in a relationship with Ava?” she asked.