Three Simple Rules (Blindfold Club 1)

A text message came from him a few minutes later, telling me pictures had run long, but they were in the limo and on their way. I was composing a response to warn him about April, when an elderly couple approached. Logan’s cute grandparents wanted to meet his new girlfriend. Knowing what I did now, his earlier comments made more sense. Was I really only his second girlfriend? I pocketed my phone out of courtesy and beamed a smile to them.

Was his family as confused as I was about Logan choosing me as a girlfriend? I don’t think April and I could be more different if I tried. Two minutes into the conversation, I felt a warm hand on my hip and Logan appeared on the other side.

“Hi,” he said. “Evie, do you mind?” He pointed at the water bottle in my hand. I passed it to him and watched him finish it. He chatted with his grandparents for another minute, and then the staff was asking for the wedding party to line up for announcements.

“I’ll see you inside,” he said, giving me a squeeze and following the rest of the bridal party toward the entrance.

I wanted to tell him, but really, what good would that do right now? I followed the herd of people moving into the elaborate banquet room, picking up my seating card. Thank god Nick and Hilary had opted for a sweetheart table so I could sit beside Logan.

The bridal party’s announcement was thankfully short and our table filled, first with his mother and stepfather, then Garrett, and finally Logan. The maid-of-honor didn’t sit, she went straight to the microphone and began her toast, which meant Logan would be up right after.

“Are you nervous?” I asked him. I had forgotten about this duty, and hadn’t seen him practice. He didn’t reach into his jacket to pull out notes.

“I’m fine,” he whispered back, cool as a cucumber.

The maid-of-honor gave a toast that was more of a roast of her sister, throwing out comments about how thrilled their parents were to have Hilary off the payroll. Hilary was a good sport about it, and Nick seemed to think it was hilarious. The sister ended it on a sweet note, and we were clinking glasses. Logan kept hold of his champagne and stood, moving to take the offered microphone from her.

“Some of you might not know the real story on how Hilary and Nick met, and if you two don’t mind, I’d like to share it now.”

Nick and Hilary exchanged a nervous smile with each other.

“The story that they tell is while they were in college, Hilary and her friend Katie were walking home from the library late at night, and discovered Nick. He’d lost his wallet outside just a few minutes before, and asked them to help him look. While doing this, Hilary stepped off the curb and twisted her ankle, and Nick had to carry her back to the dorm. They didn’t find his wallet, but they found each other instead.”

A smile twisted on his lips, and I took a deep breath. Seeing him stand up there, all eyes on him yet so comfortable, was intoxicating.

“It’s a nice story, but they leave out some critical details.” His smile grew into a grin, while the nervous one on Nick’s lips started to fade. “Nick didn’t lose his wallet. He’d seen Katie and Hilary getting ready to leave and devised the ‘lost wallet’ story because he wanted to get her number. Not Hilary’s, but Katie’s.”

You could hear all of the heads turn to face Hilary, to see if this was a revelation. Her smile said it wasn’t.

“Hilary wasn’t about to let that happen. She’d had her eye on my brother from the moment he got to the library, and so she made a story of her own, a not-really-twisted ankle. That allowed her to hang on my brother for the next twenty minutes, and I think after the first ten he was in love with her.”

Adorable.

“So, I want to toast to the new Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas Stone. To finding each o

ther,” he said. Then, his eyes zeroed in on mine, as if speaking directly to me. “To doing whatever you have to, to get what you want.”

It was like he’d just poured lava on me.

“Oh, I almost forgot.” His eyes turned playful. “They were both fall-down drunk. The Library is the name of a bar on campus.”

I think people chuckled. Maybe Hilary scoffed at this being revealed. All I could think about was the meaning in his words. Susan leaned over and clinked her glass of champagne against mine when I held it up.

Logan didn’t sit down. He pulled the glass from my hand and set both of ours on the table, took my hand, and tugged me from my seat. I followed him out the door, down a long hallway.

“Where are we going?”

He didn’t answer because I didn’t think he knew. We wandered through an empty bar and then into a darkened office that looked like it wasn’t in use. He shut the door and pressed my back against it, his face an inch from mine.

“I’m over your rule.” Before I could respond, he set his mouth on mine.

Yes. Oh my god, yes. His kiss was filled with so much longing I gasped against it. His soft lips teased, his tongue slipped into my mouth to stroke mine, and it eased a moan from me. Then, he began to use his hands. One slipped behind my neck to hold me into his kiss while the other closed on my waist so the rest of our bodies could touch.

“Logan,” I tried to get out more between kisses, but the week spent without had made us both hungry to make up for lost time.

“Hmm?” he mumbled. Lips returned to mine, greedy and insistent. Demanding my participation, which I was all too ready to give. My hands clung to him. I wanted to sink inside his skin, to rip his jacket off. To ball my fists in his dress shirt, wrinkle it, and pull it up so I could slide my hands beneath.

He wouldn’t like wrinkles in his shirt. That was the thought that made me go cold. “I have to tell you something,” I said. “April Kelley is here.”