"You're late," I say, opening the door in a whoosh.
"Coach called an emergency meeting, so this was the earliest I could escape."
"About what?" I skim over the way his tux looks custom made, just for him. In clothes or out of clothes, there is something about this man that makes me constantly—not just ready and willing—but almost silently begging for it. I don't know if he can sense my immediate response, but my body is humming.
"I was expecting hot pink or electric blue not dusty rose." He gestures to my dress. "You look gorgeous, obviously, and it's you...it's pretty."
"But?" I ask as he opens the car door for me.
"Feels like someone hit the mute button," he says with a little shrug.
"It's an old dress." Not that old, but putting it on made me uncomfortable for all kinds of reasons. 
"Younger Sawyer didn't want the attention?" He follows me into the car and shuts the door. 
 "Is everything okay with the team?" I ask.
"I think so?" He sighs and settles deeper into the seat. "King Alexander is stepping down as one of the key team liaisons, and Coach thought I should know. Someone else from the Advisory Council will be stepping in."
"Who?"
"Coach didn't know yet. You don't know anything?"
"Haven't heard." Which is annoying. Alex and my father are two of the reasons I even agreed to do this role with Logan. So far, that choice was a good one, but I'm pissed they've left me out of the loop. "My sister, Maren, will know."
"She's married to one of the princes, right?"
"I don't think Brice is technically a prince anymore. Or at very least he's really far down the line of succession now with the babies."
"My knowledge of the royal family is still at almost zero."
"Not feeling competitive about that information, huh?"
"If you took me to a quiz competition and I needed to know them to win, I'd learn everything I could better than anyone on this island. No question. Otherwise, knowing any of it is a waste of my time."
"Your competitive spirit is unmatched."
"If I can outwork them to outplay them, I'll do it every time for anything and everything."
I'm tempted to ask him who he had to work with to learn all the skills he's shown me, but I'm fairly certain that's information I'd rather not know. Professional athletes are never short of volunteers.
"Would you ever cheat to win?" 
"Cheating—in any way—is a loser's game. Not my style." He settles his hand on my thigh and gives me a little squeeze. 
Sometimes, it's like he can read my thoughts, which is both comforting and scary. 
The car pulls up to the palace where the biggest cocktail evenings always happen, and I take a deep breath when Logan's driver opens the door. Logan steps out first, and when he holds out a hand for me to follow, I hesitate. 
Might be a bad idea, but we're here now. I take his hand and step out. Cameras click, click, click, and I briefly wonder if I made the decision to attend with Logan in a misguided sex haze. I try not to analyze this choice too deeply, since it's done now. 
While Logan goes to one of the bars to get me a drink and a sparkling water for himself, Ava sidles up to me in the high ceiling, spacious ballroom, a smug smile on her face. 
"You're the reason he keeps saying no to me?"
"Or maybe he just wanted to say no?"
"Highly unlikely," she says, flicking her long dark brown hair over her shoulder. "Is the sex any good? Guys like him are either really good or really shitty. There's no in-between."
"There's zero chance I'm talking to you about that."
"I'll just assume I dodged a bullet. If it was good, you'd want to tell me."
Without a doubt, he dodged her attentions, but I'm not going to say a word. The absolute last thing I need is Ava doubling her efforts to get him at the end of the season because I said the wrong thing.
Living in the moment is my new mantra when it comes to this relationship with Logan. No looking ahead, and no peering behind. 
When I catch sight of Maren, I leave Ava to weave through the crowd, and I hope Logan will find me.
As soon as I approach, Maren narrows her eyes. "Ava's the one who makes bad decisions, not you."
Since I cannot win an argument with her over whether what I'm doing with Logan is wise, I get right to the point. "Why did Alex step away from the team?"
She releases a long breath and glances around, drawing me away from the crowd. "No one knows, but Rory is pregnant." She looks around again, taking me more into the corner of the ballroom. "The doctors are worried she might have to go on bedrest, so Alex is scaling back everything to be more present with her and Grace. He's shifting some responsibilities to Nick and Brice, others to Advisory Council members."
"Rory's okay?" Although we're not close, she has a phenomenal reputation in Bellerive as being the people's queen. Which is funny because she's Canadian and not at all "of the people."
"Freaked out, which is unusual for her, and hence Alex's, possible, overreaction. I wouldn't be surprised if he returns to the team sooner than expected, but he'll be out until Rory is stabilized. Or gives birth."
"Have you heard who's stepping in?" 
"No, that one I haven't heard yet. It's all really just happened in the last twenty-four hours. You're worried it'll be Dalton?"
"He hated the idea of the team. I can't see why he'd volunteer or anyone would suggest it."
"He's here somewhere," Maren says, rising on her toes to survey the ballroom. "Just so you're aware."
"We always knew we were going to run into each other. The breakup was amicable."
"That's bullshit, but I'll let you keep telling everyone else that. He's a weasel and you finally saw it."
The fact that she hasn't given me a harder time about Logan, and she hated Dalton from the minute she met him, puts my mind a little bit at ease. Maybe the only objections people in Bellerive will have will be minor too.
In my bag, my phone pings. "I should check this," I say to Maren.
"Yeah, I need to go mingle. Get people to open their wallets. Where's Logan? Maybe I'll ask him for money first, since he's practically family now."
"Oh, my god. Shut up. It's casual."
"You don't do casual, so good luck with that."
My phone pings again, and I take it out of my purse to see a message from Matilda. "I'll find you later," I say to Maren as she leaves, and I start typing a reply on my phone.
Matilda and I exchange a few texts about the exercises she's supposed to be doing for her shoulder, and I'm so deep into my phone that I don't notice anyone approaching.
"I would say he's a bit young for you," a familiar male voice says, "but I suspect that's the point."
Slowly, I slide my phone back into my purse, and I look up to see Dalton in front of me, two drinks in his hands. 
If you get a notification for this chapter, let me know! I'm wondering if they are broken again...
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