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She raised her brows. “Bowling for Soup. Save Ferris…”
A giggle floated from the direction of the bedrooms, and Jodie’s playful expression vanished behind a scowl. She jerked her head toward the noise, before turning to stare at her coffee. Like that, the mood—as tentative as it was—shattered.
“Why do you do this to yourself?” Logan couldn’t keep the irritation from his question. He hated seeing her waste energy on someone like Noah.
Jodie turned her glare on him. “Do what?”
“You’re not right for him. The two of you won’t end up together.” He could have phrased things more nicely.
Jodie rolled her eyes. “Thanks for the news flash, Dan Rather. I got that far on my own.”
“Are you sure?”
“Why is it any of your business? What do you care who I hook up with? So what if it was Noah?”
Her with Noah? Worst. Idea. Ever.“It won’t be.”
“Because I’m not his type?” She made a noise that was half-growl, half-sigh.
Logan laughed. “Not even close.” He could deescalate this in an instant if he tried. An apology, a few words to clear up his meaning… Jodie was reasonable—she’d get it. He didn’t want that, though. This was one of his easiest tricks for keeping her at arm’s length. “The two of you would be a terrible match.”
She clenched her jaw, hurt and fury shining in her eyes and fracturing the crystal blue.I’m sorryhovered on the tip of his tongue. He hated hurting her.
“Noah. Company.” Her yell threatened Logan’s eardrums. She pushed back from the table. “I have class. Catch you later. Or not.”
Logan let her leave. He hated pissing her off, but it was better this way. It wasn’t like he could make a move for his stepsister.
Noah stumbled from his room a moment later and paused in the kitchen doorway. “Did you piss off the shrieking banshee?”
Logan clenched his fist at the insult. “Maybe she didn’t get enough sleep.”
“I tried to keep it down.” Noah shrugged.
A redhead emerged, smoothing a black, fitted dress over her hips. She stopped next to Noah. “I need to get going,” she said.
“All right. I’ll call you.” He wrapped an arm around her waist long enough to kiss her on the cheek. When she was gone, he turned back to Logan. “Give me ten minutes to get ready, and we can go.”
Logan sank a few inches in his seat and let the silence drift in around him.
As far as he was concerned, spring break couldn’t get here fast enough. Even if it was a week in a condo with Jodie and their parents, he wouldn’t be expected to hang out with them, aside from the occasional meal. He’d put some distance between himself and school, and find someone sexy and temporary to clear his mind.
Chapter Three
Jodie snagged a cinnamon roll and an empty table in the student commons. She wanted a large coffee as well, but even the one she had at home was pushing her luck. If she kept her breakfast simple, she could ignore the morning sickness most days, and this was one day when she needed it more than ever.
She could still do some last-minute cramming for her next test. Her grades needed to stay up, for her to keep her scholarship, and she did a fair job there. This exam was more, though.
Her career goal was transplants, but in a specialized field. External bits—ears, toes, genitalia. There was a research firm locally, one of the best specialists in the country. Competition for the internships was tight, and she didn’t stand a chance without a solid recommendation. Professor Gabriel Benjamin could give her that, but she’d have to impress the hell out of him in his classes, to get there.
She turned her attention to her book, flipped to where she left off last night, and skimmed it for her notes and highlighted passages. She knew all of this, but needed it fresh in her mind. Especially with the tiredness gnawing at her senses.
The argument with Logan charged to the forefront of her thoughts, scraping along her nerves. She preferred Noah not be involved in her life, post-fling. Not with the child or in any other capacity. But damn it, if Logan didn’t rub her nose her early crush on Noah every chance he got.
Thinking of Logan summoned her fantasy from last night. Heat raced over her skin, and his faint scent—soap and spice—tantalized her memory.
She shook it all aside and turned back to her studying. The letters swam in front of her eyes, not making any sense.
She was fourteen when she met Logan for the first time. She’d known who he was—student body officer, on the soccer team, one of the cutest guys in school. Her friends were so jealous she was going to be sharing a house with him, and she gloated for all she was worth. Then she figured out what a jackass he was. For the two years they lived as a family before he left for college, he ran in one of two directions—teasing her relentlessly when his friends were around or ignoring her to the point she might as well have been invisible.
