Surrounded (Unsettled Series Book 2) (6 page)

“I did. It was very thoughtful. But there was something I wanted to ask you about that.”

“Shoot” I said.

“Why’d you give him to me?” She played with a candy wrapper in her hand, waiting for me to answer.

“Why?” I repeated. I knew why I’d really given Herman to her, but for some reason I was nervous to tell her. I took a deep breath and then answered her question.

“Do you remember what the sign next to Herman’s tank said?” I asked.

“A little, not all of it though.”

“It said that Starfish have an inexplicable ability to regenerate. If they’re cut in half, two grow.… And that they represent infinite and divine love.” I rushed through the last sentence, not wanting to scare her off.

“Yeah?” She said breathlessly.

“Well I can’t tell you that I love you at this moment, but in some ways I think we’re both starfish. We’ve been cut by people
and different experiences. Somehow though, we’re still here. For whatever reason, we’ve survived and we’re still here. I don’t know about you, but I feel like what we have could...regenerate. Both of us. But even if we don’t work Brooklyn, I want you to hold onto Herman and know that even if it isn’t me, you deserve a divine and infinite love like no other.” I hoped she could see how honest I was being. Everything I said was the complete truth, even if I felt a little weird saying it.

Silence fell between us as we looked at one another on screen. Brooklyn took a deep breath, “I seriously think you just turned my heart to mush” she said with a small laugh. “I want that too, Logan. I want it to be you, too. I want you to be that person that I don’t get used to, that keeps me on my toes, but most importantly, I want you to be the person that keeps a smile on my face and…and keeps my heart open. Because that’s what’s the hardest for me to do.”

We sat quietly for another moment, things getting a bit more intense than I was comfortable with. “Alright, well I should go. I have to get things together for my meeting tomorrow. Good night, Starburst.”

“Starburst?”

I smiled and pointed at the empty wrappers strewn on the comforter next to her. “Yeah, Starburst.” Her eyes met mine and then she graced me with the softest of smiles. I think she liked her new nickname. And I couldn’t argue that it wasn’t appropriate.

Everything seemed to be going perfectly.

I was surprised to find the penthouse dimly lit when I pushed back the door.
It had been a long five hour flight back to DC, and I was just glad to be off the plane.

“Brooklyn?”
I called from the front door, pulling my key out of the lock.

“In the kitchen!” she hollered back. I followed the delicious aroma from the doorway into the kitchen.

“Hey,” I breathed. The sight of my girl perched on the kitchen counter in purple lingerie had me damn near speechless. I walked over to where she was propped on the counter.

“I see you’ve been busy. Smells good.” I placed my hands on each of her thighs, caressing her skin softly.

“Yeah I thought I’d whip something up” she breathed. Now it was her turn to be breathless. She’d definitely caught me off guard with her secret seduction. The closer I was to her, I could tell that was the more she needed me.

I took her into my arms, kissing her deeply. I kissed her as if we hadn’t seen eachother in months, not days. This was the moment I’d been
fantasizing about for the last seventy two hours—when I’d get to have her back in my arms.

Brooklyn wrapped her legs tightly around me and I let out a low growl. Just feeling her near me did insane things to me. Brooklyn was fucking sexy in so many more ways than one. I lifted her off the counter and headed towards the living room.

“No dinner?” she mumbled against my lips.

“The only thing I want at this moment is you. Only you.”

“Glad you aren’t mad at me anymore” I said, sliding open the shower glass door. We’d headed out to my place in McLean earlier in the day and tonight I’d finally get to see just how beautiful Brooklyn would look in the dress Alex picked for her.

Just an hour earlier
, I thought the night would be derailed after my dad showed up unexpectedly wanting to talk business. After he left, I was a little too short with Brooklyn when she asked about me and my dad’s relationship. Honestly, I should’ve known that would happen. My dad was nothing if he wasn’t charismatic. Everybody loved him. He certainly had the gift of gab. But I guess that was the problem. Everyone knew him for his charm and wit as a business man…not for the mistakes he made as a father. But as soon as Brooklyn stomped out the front door to get some air, I knew I’d screwed up.

What she didn’t understand was that
I didn’t want to cry over spilled milk. I just wanted to make my actions mean something. I’d be damned if I ever gave my dad the satisfaction of knowing that he’d scarred me with his words the night he blamed me for the car accident that took my grandparents away. In my mind, talking about all that shit amounted to nothing but more shit that I didn’t want to deal with. Keeping our differences at bay was something I’d gotten relatively good at. I guess that’s why I snapped on Brooklyn—I never wanted to appear weak in front of her, or anyone else.

I let
Brooklyn blow off some steam before going after her. By the time I found her she had reeled in her temper and things were back on track. 

Brooklyn turned towards me, “You make that kind of hard to do…you know, with all your charm and wit…and all your nakedness” she joked.

“Need a hand?”

“Hmm…I don’t know? Let me think…” she said, offering a sultry smile.

“You know you don’t really get a say, right?” I laughed, stepping into the shower and sliding the glass doors closed behind me.

“Figured as much.” Brooklyn stepped further into the steamy water. I slid my hand around her waist, drawing tiny circles in the soap with my finger. “I missed you, ya know.”

“Really? I couldn’t tell…” she purred as my fingers made their way up her side and around her front.

“Yep, every second of every minute.”

“Well maybe it’s time you show me just how much…again” she said, leaning into my chest. Brooklyn had been a sight for sore eyes when I got back to the penthouse from the airport last night. She’d even went the extra mile and surprised me with dinner and some sleek lingerie that made my blood boil.

“Sounds like a good plan to me.”

Logan

“Living Life After Prosthesis is truly a worthy cause that I believe in one hundred percent, and we’re very excited that so many others support our cause and efforts as well.” I said, spouting off the usual verbiage for Seth Crandon, the CEO of Crandon, Inc. I didn’t know how long this Saturday night would go on for. My attention wasn’t really focused on our conversation, though. I was much more concerned with how many more minutes of the next three hours would be spent rehashing the same tired lines to the various attendees of the L.L.A.P charity function. Within the next hour I wanted to be sliding out of a side door with Brooklyn in tow, hopefully ending my evening on a much more pleasant note. We’d had a quick shower session before we got dressed to come to the event, and I was thinking more about that than these charity conversations.

“Well we’re certainly glad to be a part of a worthy cause. We’re hoping Crandon and Colton Capital can work together on some future ventures very soon
,” Seth said.

I leaned onto the bar counter. “Just one second, Seth.” I turned my attention to the tuxedo vested bartender on the other side.
“Walker Blue, neat.” Every year at the L.L.A.P. event, I made it a habit of stocking my grandfather’s favorite Scotch and silently toasting him. I hoped he was proud of how I tried to keep his memory alive. As I took a sip of Scotch, his favorite quote ran through my mind—
to whom much is given, much is expected.
Reciting those words in my head reminded me why I was here for the evening.

I turned around and saw Jay making his way over to me. He weaved through the ballroom tables. “Do you have a second?” he asked awkwardly when he reached me, a look of confusion on his face.

“I’m sorry, please excuse me, Seth.” Jay and I stepped out of ear shot. “What’s going on?” I glanced around the room trying to spot Brooklyn, but I only found Alex, at our table, gathering their belongings. What the hell?

“I don’t know,” he said shaking his head.  “I don’t have a clue what happened from the time they went to the bathroom and now, but dude, Brooklyn is going AWOL. Maybe you should talk to her.”

“I’m sorry, I have to take care of something” I said, turning back to Seth and offering an apology for leaving our conversation altogether. I left Seth nursing his Bourbon and weaved through the ballroom tables, heading for the exit. Jay and I reached the door at the same time as Alex.

“What happened?” I tossed a questioning look in Alex’s direction.

“I don’t know” she said, shaking her head. “She went into the bathroom all smiles and came out looking like someone just stole her puppy. She won’t tell me what’s going on, and I’m not telepathic. Just as clueless as you right now” she said, hoisting one of the slipping jackets into her arms. Alex stepped in front of me and Jay and pushed through the ballroom door.

I immediately looked to my right. Brooklyn was slouched against the wall with her arms crossed over her chest. As soon as she saw me, she pushed herself away from the wall. When she looked at me, her deep brown eyes betrayed her. I could see the hurt in her eyes, but I couldn’t even begin to guess why.

I walked straight towards her, “What’s wrong, baby?” I asked, in a hushed tone. She didn’t respond. It was like I wasn’t even standing there. A few strands of her hair were covering her eye. Out of habit, I tried to push them away to see her face better, but she leaned out of my reach. Her reaction slapped me in the face. This wasn’t the same girl I’d came to the event with. The one I watched eat Starburst and talk about a potential future together. In that moment, I knew she wasn’t there. She was leaving. She was running. It was almost as if I could see her closing her heart, and that hurt more than anything. 

“Brooklyn, talk to me. What’s the matter?” I asked.

“Excuse me.” She wasn’t requesting I move, she was demanding it.

“Brooklyn, talk to me, please. What happened?” I asked again. This was getting me nowhere. When she finally spoke, she surprised me.

“You lied to me” she said, flatly. I could see fire in her eyes. She was angry, that much I knew. But there was something else that I couldn’t quite put my finger on.

“Lied to you? Lied to you about what?” My heart sped up. I wasn’t sure if it was for fear of what I thought might come out of Brooklyn’s mouth next, or the fact that I’d just downed some of the strongest Scotch on the market. I didn’t have a fucking clue what she was talking about. I couldn’t even pretend to know.

“Goodbye, Logan,” she said, sliding between me and Jay.

“What? What is going on?” I wanted to yell at her, shake her—
make
her tell me what the fuck was going on. But I wasn’t going to make a complete fool of myself in front of lurking eyes. That was the stuff that landed on the internet. Not what I needed.

“Where are you parked?” she barked at Jay as she walked towards the exit.

“Valet” Jay responded. He looked just as confused as I did, but he didn’t say anything. Alex and Jay were mum, while Brooklyn stormed down the corridor. She was on a mission until her dress caught on her heel. I reached out and grabbed her arm so she wouldn’t fall flat on her face. Again, she let me know she wanted nothing to do with me by yanking her arm from my grasp bolting toward the valet area.

“Brooklyn—wh-“

“We have nothing to discuss” she spat out, cutting me off. “Thank you for tonight. It was eye opening. I will send the clothes back to you. Please go, there is no need to make a spectacle.” All I could do was watch her in utter disbelief. She was really doing this…with no explanation. I hated that things between us were coming to a halt like this, but it seemed like nothing I said or did was going to stop her from making her choice. Total bullshit. I looked directly into Brooklyn’s espresso brown eyes and said the one word that I knew she wanted to hear at that moment.

“Fine.”

As much as it bothered me to leave her standing there, I wasn’t doing myself any favors by continuing to ask the same question she didn’t want to answer. I wasn’t going to make a scene. I wasn’t going to do anything. If she wanted to walk away, I would let her. For now.

Present

I walked back down the corridor to the event, adjusting my suit jacket. Brooklyn owed me an explanation; that was for damn sure. I hated the way she looked so heartbroken when she looked at me. All she had to do was open her mouth and talk. That’s all I wanted, but she wouldn’t do it. Even though I knew she just wanted me to let her walk away, I wasn’t ready to let this whole thing drop altogether. Maybe when she cooled down—when we
both
cooled down—we could work this mess out.

I stopped in front of the ballroom door and adjusted my suit coat before stepping back into the room. I needed to regroup before being forced to put on a professional, happy show again. As soon as I made my way through the double doors, I high tailed it to one of the wet bars stationed in the corner of the room. I didn’t even wait for the bartender to ask what I wanted, “Walker, blue, neat” I barked out, taking a seat. As the Scotch slid down my throat, I hoped it helped numb me to my surroundings. Numbed me to the expression on Brooklyn’s face when she left.

“Still drinking the old man’s stuff I see” I knew that voice anywhere. It was hard to forget the voice of the person who blamed me for the most tragic accident I had ever witnessed. It was even harder knowing that I was named after him. Whether I invited him or not, my dad always showed up to any event that was associated with L.L.A.P. thanks to Scott’s open invitations. Plus, it was a good networking opportunity for him no doubt. My relationship with my dad was…different. We weren’t chummy…but we weren’t enemies either. When it came to him I just took a less is more approach—keeping things short and sweet.

I inhaled sharply and turned around to greet my father. “Yep, Dad, still drinking his favorite Scotch.” It was out of pure respect that I remained calling Logan Sr. Dad. I knew he wouldn’t stand for anything less from his son, and I guess on some level I hoped that one day he’d find it in his heart to forgive me for what I’d done.

“Enjoying the party?” he asked, as he turned to place an order with the bar tender. “Scotch, neat, please” he said, yanking a bill out of his wallet. My dad was the epitome of taste and class. In some ways I looked like him, in others I didn’t, but we both had the same piercing green eyes.

“Seems to be going well. We’ll get the numbers in a few days and then hopefully we can make a decision on how to proceed with L.L.A.P.” I said,
taking a longer than necessary gulp of my drink, letting the ice shock my teeth.

“Hopefully you’ll rake in enough for those new bionics Scott was telling me about. You’ll have to have Jen organize one of these shindigs for me, for my new venture in a couple months.” And we were back to that. Not even eight hours had passed since he’d hit me up about Cenexa, a business venture that would supposedly revolutionize the way that accountants handled their bookkeeping. He wanted me to invest—
that
I knew for sure—but I didn’t want to talk about that tonight. I had more than enough going on without thinking about his need to double his assets.

While my father was very smart in his own rite, sometimes he lacked financial tact. On paper Colton & Pearson wasn’t doing horribly. C&P still had a strong grip on many of Virginia’s state and local pockets and were ranked in the top 100 accountancy firms on the east coast. Behind closed doors though, C&P was experiencing cash shortages and a decline in financial ratios. Of course this is all information that Scott shared with me. My father would never be forthcoming with me about why he’d want me to invest in a new venture that could save his company.

“Where’s Brooklyn?” he asked casually. We were both leaning against the bar counter now. “Seems like you got yourself a nice young woman. Are you going to bring her to dinner tomorrow?”

“Don’t know. She might have plans,” I lied. My mom had practically blown up my phone persuading me to come to the family dinner she had planned for Sunday. We didn’t get together too often so I knew she was expecting me to come. But, I had absolutely no reason to believe that she’d show up at my parents’ house to break bread when I didn’t have a clue where she was at the moment. Or what the hell had made her run off.

“I’m going to make my last rounds of the night and head out of here” I said, polishing off my drink. L.L.A.P. was a good cause, but my mind—or heart—wasn’t in it right now.

“Alright, Logan. I’ll see you later then. Let’s chat tomorrow. I think you’ll like what you see regarding Cenexa.”

Ugh. Way to go Dad.
He’d just given me more than enough reasons not to show up for dinner tomorrow. Watching baseball at home, alone, beat eating lamb shank and talking business any day.

I placed the empty glass on the bar and headed towards the door. I began to loosen my tie as I made my way down the corridor to the valet.
Tonight definitely hadn’t shaped up the way I’d planned. Not in the slightest.

I looked at my watch to check the time. My grandfather’s shiny yellow gold and steel Cartier watch announced it was only minutes after nine. It was still way too early to call it a night. 

Another voice behind me said, “Logan, how are you?! It’s so nice to see you again.”

Damn.
Why did people always show up at the most inconvenient time? I turned to see Samantha and Morgan Steinfeld, daughters of a wealthy benefactor, standing behind me in their full glory. They were just the two I wasn’t in the mood to mingle with. I really didn’t know why they were even here when Elizabeth wasn’t, although I knew they’d probably made the list of invites because they were related to two of Virginia’s most affluent families. Rather than show my annoyance at what had just happened, or the irritation I felt when Samantha spoke, I slid into CEO mode and played nice.

“Ladies, how are you? Enjoying yourselves I hope?” I asked. On cue the batting eyelashes and slippery smiles appeared. This was genuinely one of the side-effects of being wealthy I really hated. The flapping mouths that said nothing or the smiles that turned to grime as soon as my back was turned. I knew so many of the people gathered here tonight were there to honor my grandparents’ memory, or Scott’s fortitude. But the two in front of me were there to network, transpire, and grow. And I was in the middle—honoring, yet still participating in the game in order to help L.L.A.P. to keep doing it’s charitable works. L.L.A.P. needed generous donations if we wanted to offer better bionic prosthetics. Even all my money alone wasn’t enough to keep the research and outreach going. Scientific ventures weren’t cheap. For that reason—for a good cause, I could put up with the likes of Samantha and Morgan for a couple of hours.