Insider (Exodus End #1)(45)
Author: Olivia Cunning

She couldn’t believe he seemed so interested in her family. “Mom didn’t know what to do with Birdie. Actually, I don’t think she even wanted Birdie at first. Birdie was born with Down syndrome, and Mom seemed to think she was being punished. First losing her husband and then her baby being imperfect in her eyes.”

“That’s really sad,” he said. “For your sister.”

Toni’s lips trembled as she forced a smile. “Birdie never knew how Mom felt about her in the beginning.” And she never would. But Toni knew and it still broke her heart. “So I switched from public school to home school in tenth grade and stayed home to take care of the baby.”

His eyes widened. “You did? That’s a pretty selfless thing for a teenager to do.”

She shook her head. “I didn’t miss high school at all. I was my little sister’s universe for the first five years of her life, and I didn’t have to put up with mean boys anymore.”

She pressed her lips together. She hadn’t meant to let that last part slip out. Logan was just so easy to talk to. He listened. He seemed to care. She said things to him only her journal knew about.

“Boys were mean to you?” He chuckled. “They probably just liked you and didn’t know how to express it.”

She rolled her eyes and shook her head at him. “I think I know the difference between flirting and bullying, Logan.”

“Did that sound like I was undermining your pain and suffering? Because, you know, I like you and I’m not sure how to express it.” He poked the back of her hand repeatedly. “So poking you and pinching you and shoving you into walls won’t get my point across?”

She flushed with pleasure and laughed. “No, keep doing what you’re doing.”

“Okay, so then what? You went away to college, and your mother figured out how to raise her own kid.”

Toni shook her head. “No. I completed most of my degree online and continued to raise Birdie. I did my classwork while she was at school and we had the afternoons and evenings together.”

“And then after college you got a job . . .”

She knew he was trying to lead her somewhere, but couldn’t figure out where. “I did freelance work for my mother’s company.”

“Following bands around the country?”

She laughed. “Uh, no. This is the first assignment I haven’t been able to do from home. Until now, I’ve done almost all of my work remotely. Online.”

“Oh,” Logan said, slapping his hands on the table and making Toni jump. “Now I get it!”

Toni covered her racing heart with one hand and scowled at him. “You get what?”

“I couldn’t figure out how a beautiful, intelligent, funny, loving, sweet, sexy woman like you hadn’t already been snatched up by some lucky bastard.”

Her breath caught. She wasn’t used to anyone—much less gorgeous men—saying such wonderful things about her. Logan almost made her feel that they were true.

“Their loss is my gain,” he said.

“My gain,” she corrected. She wasn’t sure if he’d still be interested in her if she hadn’t been a virgin their first time together; he seemed really wrapped up in knowing he’d been her first. Her only. “So where did you grow up? Where do you live now?” She already knew his answers. She’d researched it all before she’d met him. But it would be far more interesting hearing it from his delectable lips.

“Born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona.”

“Is that why you’re so hot?”

He grinned at her compliment. “It must be. My parents divorced when I was still in elementary school. I lived with my dad. My brother with my mom.”

He didn’t look at her when he said it. She wasn’t sure if he was hiding his emotions from her or if it hadn’t been that big a deal to him.

“I moved to Los Angeles right after high school. I heard that’s where all the ladies who were willing to have sex with mediocre bass players lived.” His gaze lifted to hers.

“Did you find what you were looking for there?”

He winked. “In abundance.”

“How did you get into motocross?” She’d been dying to ask him about it during the radio interview, but somewhere in the hectic activities of the day, the topic had slipped her overstimulated mind.

“Racing or freestyle?” he asked.

“I’m not really familiar with the sport. What’s the difference?” She picked at her chicken, not hungry any longer, but she wanted to extend her alone time with Logan for as long as possible, so she pretended to still be interested in her meal.

“Racing is just going as fast as possible without crashing into anyone or anything.”

She held his gaze. “Have you ever crashed?”

“Plenty of times.”

Her heart rate kicked up a notch, the way it did when her sister stood behind a horse or stumbled on the stairs. “Were you hurt?”

He shrugged. “I lived. But I’d say freestyle is the more dangerous of the two. I started freestyle when racing became too boring.”

“Boring?”

“I’m a bit of an adrenaline junkie.”

If that were true, she’d never be able to keep his attention. She was the epitome of boring. The very definition of predictable.

“Want to see something cool?” he asked, pulling out his cellphone.

“Um.” She had no idea what to expect. “I guess so.”

He slid around the table and scooted in close beside her. She was so conscious of the feel of his body and his attention-shattering scent that she forgot she was supposed to be looking at something on his phone.

She looked down. The view of a wide green river caught her attention. “I’m ready,” his recorded voice said from off-screen.

“It’s a lovely view,” Toni said.

“It’s about to get real,” he said.

“No fear,” the recorded Logan yelled.

She heard a soft grunt from his footage and then suddenly the river was getting closer at a dizzying rate. She heard him yell in exuberance, but she didn’t see him hit the water. She slapped her hands over her eyes so she didn’t have to watch. She knew he’d survived the ordeal—he was sitting right beside her. But that didn’t stop her from cringing when she heard the splash, the sound of a cord recoiling, and then more excited shouts from the man she barely knew.