Chapter 1

Aniya :

“You know I love you. Don’t you?” Logan slurred his words as I supported his drunk ass into the elevator.

“I know you do, but why are you this drunk?” I pushed the elevator button and waited for it to reach the fiftieth floor, the penthouse floor.

“I love you.” He leaned on me like a teenager who was drunk for the first time and not like my best friend that I had known for more than two decades.

I held him tighter when the elevator opened, revealing the foyer.

The lights turned on as we took steady steps, the next steps almost had us falling on each other.

Logan stumbled and I watched him hit the floor with a loud thud.

“Jeez, Logan. Get the fuck up.” I hated to curse but sometimes you just had to curse at a grown-up man who didn’t know his own alcohol limit. Why did I have to be the responsible best friend?

“Get up!” I commanded.

All thanks to my athletic years in high school, I was able to get him into his room and onto his bed

I sat beside him, my hand unfastening his buttons so I could take his clothes off and help him out of this despicable state.

Logan lay on the bed, holding my hand as I tried to help him. His blonde hair ruffled, as he flashed me a tired and drunk smile.

“Let me help you out of this shirt.” I sat him straight and pulled the shirt down as I sat in front of him, our chests almost colliding as I gently took it off.

Logan was shirtless and I was a few inches away from him and the realization had me spiraling and sending shivers down my spine.

He looked at me as I threw the dirty—alcohol stained shirt onto the floor.

“Now go to bed,” I said but he held me tight, pulling me until I was sitting on his lap and staring at his face.

My heart rammed against my chest, and his gentle hand that wrapped around my waist somehow felt tight, every movement, every touch on my body felt like a huge explosion.

His jaw tightened.

“You don’t know how much I have wanted you,” Logan tucked a strand of my hair at the back of my ear. His breath was heavy. The heat between us was growing.

He kissed me. My breath sank as I felt the warmth of his lips on mine. Wet, warm, and everything I ever imagined it would be.

Logan tasted like expensive wine and tequila and I wanted more. My hands dug into his soft hair and I slowly ran my hands over his chest, feeling him.

My hip moved of its own accord, grinding on him as I felt him growing underneath me.

“More, more..” his voice was crooked and when he pulled away, he looked at me like if he didn’t say what he had to say now he would probably die.

But he was drunk and I needed him to know what step we were taking.

“I have always wanted you…” I kissed him softly and gently, just to shut him up.

“You’re drunk, go to bed and we can talk tomorrow.” I didn’t wait. I pushed him to the bed and took a huge leap away from him.

I wanted him to tell me this when he was fully awake. To tell me how long he’s always been in love with me. Because it was the same way I felt.

I shut his door and ran into the elevator, my heart drumming. This was it.

I could tell him how I felt. Tell Logan that I’ve always loved him since sixth grade when he took the fall for me.

I had gotten home a little around 2 am and by the next morning, my assistant Maya was filling me in on my schedule for the day.

“You have a meeting with Josie Ryan by 9 am. A Zoom call with Miss Harper about her ongoing saga by 11:30 and a lunch meeting with Logan Sterling…” At the mention of Logan’s name, my heart skipped and I felt anxiety crawl through my skin.

This was it, finally.

“Miss Carter,” Maya called my attention back to what we were talking about..

“I’m sorry, Maya. What did you say?”

“Your last meeting for the day is by 3pm and I was asking what response to give to Mr Lawson.”

“About what ?”

“Are we accepting Donovan Sterling as our newest client?” Another chill. The Sterling brothers seemed to throw me off the edge with anxiety.

“Let me handle that, Maya. Thank you.”

“Okay.” I watched her walk out of my office gracefully as always while I threw myself into meetings.

By 12:59 my door swung open and I knew who it was without taking my eyes up.

She walked like she owned the place, her sweet vanilla scent wafted into my nostrils without permission.

“That would be all for today, Miss Harper.” I ended the meeting and shut my laptop, finally taking my eyes up to meet her.

Hair sleeked in a perfect ponytail. The black capri pants she wore matched the tiny top and her little heels. Her green eyes were shining bright and she had some shopping bags in her hands

It was a Monday afternoon, only Janelle wore capris on a beautiful Monday afternoon.

“You didn’t say you were coming, Janelle.”

“Do I have to?” She slumped on the chair.

“I got ice cream.”

“I have a lunch meeting, I’ll have it later.”

“Why are you here?” I knew my cousin. She wouldn’t leave her house if it wasn’t for gossip or work and she was on the third annual break for the year.

“You know why, Aniya.”

“Janelle.”

“Are you accepting Donovan Sterling as a client?” She asked and I knew I made a mistake telling her about it.

I waited for a moment before speaking.

“No.”

“You’re refusing Donovan Sterling? That’s a bold move from a fast-rising PR firm.” Janelle put a spoonful of ice cream in her mouth while her gaze called me stupid in many languages.

“I want to accept it, it is a good opportunity but Logan would kill me if he found out I was accepting Donovan as a client.”

“Why?”

“You know why,”

“Look, Little Miss people pleaser, you’ve worked hard for the past five years to build Lumiere, and one contract with Donovan Sterling wouldn’t kill Logan, besides you guys have been friends for what? Two decades? He definitely will understand you and it's business.”

No he wouldn’t, Logan would not understand that I picked business over his feud with his elder brother and I hated to think that I would do that to my best friend.

“Let me explain to you what you’re missing out on by saying no; visibility, growth, connection, and the right to brag that a twenty-six-year-old publicist could pull off New York’s biggest Hockey player.”

“But Logan.”

“Logan will adjust. You don’t always have to adjust for him.”

“I have a meeting, Janelle.”

“With who?

“Logan..”

“So you’d tell him?” She asked.

“No.” My reply was sharp.

“So why are you meeting with him?”

“It’s none of your business.” I grabbed my bag and packed my things in it while I tried to avoid eye contact with her.

“You’re blushing. Something happened.”

“No.”

“Tell me, or else I won’t let you leave.”

“Janelle, I have to leave now.”

“Please..” She was now on her feet and was finding her way around my table to meet me.

“We kind of kissed yesterday, and he has something to tell me too. So I think working with Donovan would be bad and you know why.”

“So you’ll be telling him how you feel about him?”

“Yes. I mean we’re both single now so yes.”

“This is it, Aniya. To think you’ve loved him for over a decade. If he breaks your heart I’m going to kill him.”

“I have to go, Janelle. Have my assistant keep my ice cream. I’ll see you soon.” I was out before she could say another word.

The drive to the restaurant was fast, Logan sat checking out the menu as I walked in. I didn't know how to feel about yesterday. Scared, worried, happy.

“Niya,” His voice was calm, like he had not kissed me Sunday into Monday morning.

“Hi.” I sat quietly and felt my heart drum louder than it ever had.

“How are you?” I asked. This was Logan, why did it feel awkward talking to him?

“Don’t know, tired?” He replied, still smiling.

“After the stunt you pulled yesterday why wouldn’t you be tired?”

“What stunt?” The voice came from behind me and I could not mistake the voice.

She walked further and sat down right beside Logan, sinking into his arms.

“I wanted to tell you something, Niya.” I couldn’t think. All I saw was Nicole, Logan’s ex-girlfriend, for the fourth time kissing him and nuzzling into his neck like they couldn’t get a room.

“What is that?” I swallowed. Nicole pulled her left hand up and showed me the flashy diamond ring that sat between her middle finger and her pinky finger.

“We're engaged.” They were smiling but all I felt at the moment was numbness as I tried to understand what the hell was happening.

I looked at Logan so he could tell me that he was joking but he seemed to not want to get off the joke or this was his reality.

No this was my reality. He had kissed me last night and today he was engaged to her.

He said he had always wanted me. He had something to tell me.

I swallowed hard, he was back to the woman that had hurt him a million times. The woman who made me a therapist when I was a publicist.

They were engaged, and me?