Logan (Carolina Reapers 4)

“Delaney Collins,” I said, immediately bringing the drink to my lips. The slightly sweet liquid burned down my throat in the best way. “This is amazing,” I said, taking another drink. “Thank you.” I glanced up to Echo and her eyes had shifted to sympathetic.

“The librarian?” she asked, her voice softer.

A jolt of panic sliced down my center. “Yes?”

Echo tapped her black painted nails against the bar, nodding to herself. “It’s nice to meet you, finally,” she said. “I’ve heard a ton about you.”

My lips parted in surprise.

“I have to check on something in the back,” she said and hurried off before I could question just what she’d heard about me.

I shook my head, content to wait while I sipped my drink, the chatter of the crowded bar drowning out the betraying, pathetic thoughts in my mind.

“Ugh,” a woman groaned as she clicked up to the seat next to me, smacking her phone on the bar. “Why is the bartender never here?” Her tone bordered on whiney, but I spared her a glance. Tall, trim, draped in a tiny dress that probably cost more than my car. She eyed my drink. “Where did the bartender go?”

I raised my brows at her tone but shrugged. “In the back. I’m sure she’ll be right back.”

The girl took a seat, huffing. “Good. Because I am in need of a drink. Or five.”

I raised my glass to hers, understanding.

“I’m just so heartbroken,” she continued like I’d offered to hear her woes, and I did a double-take.

“That…sucks,” I said, not one to offer up my personal history to a complete stranger. Sure, I’d told Echo my mood, but she didn’t know the details. Or, maybe she did, since she recognized my name.

“My ex,” the girl said. “He totally crushed my heart. And worse than that, his leaving me took away thirty-percent of my followers.”

“Followers?” I couldn’t help but ask, certain I heard that wrong.

“Yes,” she said, sighing and tapping the screen of her phone. “When we were together my pages were booming. Tons of advertising deals, a wealth of easily generated income. And the breakup did not swing things in my favor.” She pursed her lips like she’d sucked a lemon. “He doesn’t care. He never cared. I need to find someone who does.”

I furrowed my brow, something itching the back of my mind.

“But,” she said, straightening and pushing her breasts out just a tad. “He’s going to see what he left tonight. He’ll care when I move on to someone else. And he’ll come crawling back to me. And once he does, so will my followers, and everything will work out.”

I took another generous gulp of my drink. And maybe it was the small buzz humming in my head, but I dared to ask, “Is that the only reason you want to get back with him?”

She laughed, flashing me an oh, honey look. “Well, yes,” she said. “I mean, he’s hot as hell, so that doesn’t hurt. But he needs to see that we’re more powerful together. Our brands are off the charts as a couple—”

“What about love?” I cut her off.

She rolled her eyes. “Love is for little girls who believe in fairy tales.” She flipped her long hair over her shoulder. “I believe in modern innovation. Income. Fame.”

I gaped at her. Normally, I wasn’t one to judge another woman, but there was something about this one that rubbed me the wrong way.

She didn’t notice my shocked expression, instead she kept scanning the bar like she was looking for someone.

And then some faraway thought clicked in my brain, and my blood boiled.

This was Logan’s ex.

The one who had used him for social status and fame. The one who tried to pressure him to use his looks for deals, who had used him for everything and never, not once, saw him for who he was.

It had to be.

“Blaire,” her name rushed from my lips, and she jolted.

“Omigod, do you follow me?” she asked, beaming.

I finished off the rest of my drink and then snorted. “Hell no,” I said, the alcohol adding to the sizzle in my blood. “Not that I’m on social media, but I would never follow trash.”

Her perfectly glossed lips popped into the shape of an O. “Excuse me—”

“Yes, excuse you,” I cut her off, my rage storming. It didn’t matter that my heart was still broken, it bled for Logan. Wept for him that he’d ever been blinded and shackled to this woman. “You are a complete piece of garbage. You know that?”

She gasped.

“You use people. You used him.”

Her eyes narrowed. “How do you know Logan?” She eyed me up and down, taking in my leggings and sweater combo with an unrestrained amount of disgust.

“That’s the question, isn’t it, Blaire?” I said her name like a curse word. “Did you ever know him? Did you ever bother to get to know him?” She parted her lips but I cut her off. “No. You only saw the fame, the income. You saw the fanbase. But you missed out…you missed out on so much.”