Seven of Hearts

1. Logan

1

LOGAN

“ K ylie has always been more than a sister to me,” I said, holding a glass of overpriced champagne. “When we were younger, we tried to convince people we were twins since we were so close in age.”

Laughter erupted among the wedding guests across the ballroom as I flashed a cheeky smile at my sister and her new husband.

“She was my first friend. My oldest friend.” My vision blurred as memories of Ky and me as children floated through my mind. “And I couldn’t think of anyone better to put up with her for the rest of her life than Bryan.” Laughter rose up as I toasted the happy couple. “May your days be long, your problems few, and your home be happy. Cheers.”

Someone took the microphone from my hand as Kylie stood in her marshmallow of a dress and hugged me.

“Thank you, Lo.”

I chuckled. “You made me promise not to pull out any embarrassing stories.”

Kylie gingerly dabbed her eyes with a linen napkin. “You promised you wouldn’t make me cry.”

“Sorry. Life’s full of disappointments.”

She let out a blustering laugh, then turned to Leah, her maid of honor. “How many more speeches? I need to pee, and I’m gonna need help with the dress.”

I eyed my new brother-in-law warily. “Please don’t tell me you need help with your tux. I don’t think that’s a two-man job.”

Bryan raised his hands in surrender. “I’m good.”

“One more speech,” Leah said to the three of us. “Then it’s just dancing.”

I took my seat beside Leah and made a move for my fork so I had something to do with my hands. “Thank God."

Leah let out a light laugh, tipping her head back as her soft blonde hair spilled down her back in gentle waves. “Oh, come on. Being attached at the hip all day hasn’t been that bad.”

I had known Leah Holloway since we were kids. She and Kylie had always been thick as thieves. Leah had been one of the few friends to stick around after we went from median riches to trailer park rags.

Being attached at the hip all week was the furthest thing from ‘bad,’ but I couldn’t tell her that. She was my sister’s best friend, which meant she had always been off-limits.

Static from the microphone crackled over the speakers as Will—my brother-in-law—stood to his feet.

He looked a little older than he did eleven years ago when he started dating my oldest sister, Kristin. A little grayer—though that was probably from helping raise Kylie, Hunter, Zoey, and me.

Now, he wasn’t just my brother-in-law. He was my boss.

“Good evening, everyone,” Will said as he immediately traded his handwritten speech for a tissue. “My name is Will Solomon. A little over eleven years ago, I met the love of my life in this very hotel.” He looked at Kristin and smiled. “It took a lot of coaxing on my part, but Kristin finally agreed to let me meet her siblings. I was in foster care growing up and never had much family of my own. But the moment Kristin opened the door and introduced me to Kylie, Logan, Hunter, and Zoey, I knew I had found mine.”

“Shit,” I muttered under my breath as I reached for a napkin.

Leah beat me to it and offered a tissue from a packet she had stashed beside her bouquet. “I always get choked up at these things,” she said with a kind smile that softened the corners of her eyes.

Will composed himself and continued on with his speech. “The day that Kylie told me she wanted to follow in her brother Logan’s footsteps and change her last name to mine when she turned eighteen, was one of the highlights of my life. Being able to watch her grow and take on the world with unmatched tenacity has been an honor. And as sad as I am that she is changing her last name again, I couldn’t think of a better man for her than Bryan.” He lifted his glass. “To the new Mr. and Mrs. Lancaster. Love you, Kylie. Cheers.”

There wasn’t a dry eye in the ballroom.

Kylie and I didn’t change our last names to Solomon when we were eighteen because Will was rich and we wanted a piece of the pie. It was more than Kristin and Will getting married, and us wanting to have a united family name. We did it because he had raised us to be good people.

Maybe it was a little strange to think of my sister and brother-in-law as the heads of our family, but they were.They had done more to raise Kylie, Hunter, Zoey, and me than our parents had.

The only thing I could do to pay them back for everything they had done was to not fuck it up.

The goal I had set for myself at eighteen floated through my mind as I watched Kylie sway across the dance floor in the arms of her new husband.

Make it to thirty without messing up.

At eighteen, thirty-year-olds seemed to have it all together. At eighteen, thirty was ancient. Sure, it was a pretty arbitrary age to set as the end date of my singular goal of adulthood. But it represented something bigger.

I, Logan Solomon, had not fucked up.

With only three months to go until I hit the big 3-0, the end was in sight. It wasn’t like I would go bananas once the clock struck midnight and I turned a decade older. But I could breathe easy knowing that I had done my best to honor the sacrifices that Kristin and Will made to raise us four younger kids.

My world had been turned upside down the day my parents were arrested and sent to prison. I had been a kid—the oldest one still at home, but a kid nonetheless.

Kristin, the oldest out of the five of us siblings, had been away at college. In the blink of an eye, her world changed too. She went from being a college senior to being “mom” to us four younger ones. Zoey had been a baby. Not even a year old at the time.

But we had made it. All of us.

We made it through the years when we were rifling through the couch cushions to put together a grocery budget. Kristin had sacrificed everything for us. She went without so we didn’t have to. I owed her everything. I owed Will too.

Kristin kept us together. She guided us through the fear of the unknown when Will came into our lives, and helped us navigate all the changes that their partnership brought.

Slowly but surely, life got good again.

“I need a drink,” Leah said as she pushed away from the long tables where the bridal party had been seated for the reception.

The blonde hair that had been pulled into a complicated updo was now loosely curled and bouncing across her shoulders. A small gold pendant dangled against her collarbone.

I always knew Leah Holloway was a pretty girl, but I had stifled any lingering thoughts about her because she was Kylie’s best friend. At the time, I was just glad Kylie had a friend.

But Leah, as a grown woman? She was a fucking knockout. Full breasts and an ass that matched. Gentle curves and soft skin. Bubblegum-pink lips and doe eyes I could get lost in.

Her satin dress spilled down her body like flowing merlot. I never had much of a taste for wine, but I could have gotten drunk just looking at her.

I couldn’t help myself. I watched her ass swish and sway as she waltzed to the bar. Somewhere between the ceremony and reception, she had lost her high heels.

I scanned the room. Kylie and Bryan were dancing beside Kristin and Will. My younger brother, Hunter, was tucked away in the corner with his girlfriend. Zoey, my youngest sister, was dancing with the punk she had brought as her date.

But as quickly as I had clocked them all, my attention to my family disappeared, and I was drawn to her again.

Leah was resting her elbows on top of the slick bar top and had one ankle tucked behind the other.

What the hell? One drink couldn’t hurt.

I sidled up to her and caught the bartender’s eye. “Rum and Coke, please.”

Leah lifted an eyebrow. “I didn’t have you pegged as a pirate.”

The bartender slid her a glass. “Four Roses, neat, for the lady.”

“Thank you,” she said with a smile as she slipped a tip into the jar.

I lifted an eyebrow. “You’re a whiskey girl?”

“You don’t have to look so surprised,” she said as she brought the glass to her lips.

I watched curiously as a drop of golden liquid escaped the plump pillow of her lower lip. It fell, splashing between the V of her dress, right onto her creamy, decadent cleavage.

I couldn’t peel my eyes away. Before the bartender could grab the rum, I said, “On second thought, I’ll have what the lady’s having.”

Her mouth twitched at the corner. “So,” she said as she rolled one ankle, then the other, curling her toes as if to ease the ache from being on her feet all day. “Are you planning to stay in town for a while, or are you leaving when the wedding’s over?”

“I’ll be gone on Tuesday,” I said. “Kristin convinced me to take some time off and stick around for a couple of days.”

She laughed into her drink. “Must be pretty boring leaving Chicago and coming back to Beaufort.”

I couldn’t peel my eyes away from her. Not as her throat constricted and flexed as she swallowed the whiskey. I hadn’t even touched the glass that the bartender slid my way, and I felt intoxicated.

“I wouldn’t know. I don’t go out,” I said.

“So, you’re a workaholic too?” she said as she rested her back on the bar and surveyed the dance floor.

I cracked a smile and took a sip. The liquor burned like hell. It had been a while since I’d had more than a few sips of something strong. “It keeps me out of trouble.”

She let out a light laugh. “A little trouble is fun sometimes.”

“Really.” I flicked my gaze down to her nearly empty glass. “And here I thought you were a good girl.”

Her laugh was louder this time. “I have thirty-four more hours before I have to be a responsible adult again.”

Like she had conjured it, two little kids ran up to Leah, tackling her in a hug. I caught her glass before it fell.

Giovanni DeRossi and Eloise Lawson were hyped up on the buzz that only came from copious amounts of wedding cake and frosting.

Leah threw her arms around them in a group hug. “I’ve barely seen you two all day. Are you having fun?”

I had known Gio and Ellie since they were born. Their parents, the DeRossis and the Lawsons, were long-time friends of Kristin and Will. Leah was their shared nanny, bouncing from house to house with the ever-demanding schedules of billionaires and millionaires.

On cue, Luca DeRossi, Gio’s dad, hurried over. “Sorry, Leah. I told them you were off the clock.”

Her smile was kind. “That’s all right. I’ll never pass up hugs from my favorite kids.”

“See you Monday,” Luca said as he led Gio and Ellie away.

Leah brushed her hair away from her face and smoothed down her dress. “Sometimes I can’t believe they still want hugs after all this time. They’re growing up so fast. I remember when they were babies.”

“Must mean you’re a good nanny.”

Her cheeks turned crimson, matching the dress that clung to every supple curve. “Thanks.”

I glanced over my shoulder to see where my sister was.

From the looks of things, the wedding was winding down and the happy couple was getting ready for their send-off.

“You know,” Leah said as she got a fresh drink from the bartender. “I’ve been a bridesmaid in”—she let out a heavy breath as she mentally counted—“ten weddings? Fifteen weddings, maybe? The groomsmen are usually awful. It’s like herding cats.”

I chuckled as I took the bartender up on the offer of another drink and slipped him a tip. “I hope I wasn’t that bad. You’ve done a good job of putting up with me all week.”

“You’ve been great,” she said as she smoothed her hand down my arm.

Thirty-four hours . . .

What was I going to do in the next thirty-four hours other than wait for my flight back to Chicago on Tuesday?

Kristin and Will would probably sleep until Monday. Hunter had moved out of their house and was living with his girl. Zoey would probably be out with friends or the aforementioned punk...

“Sorry,” Leah said as she backed away slowly. “I was trying to say thank you for making my life easy this week. Didn’t mean to make things weird.”

I shook off the thought. “What? No, you didn’t make it weird. I was just lost in thought.”

Leah clinked her glass with mine. “Tell me about it.”

“No!” Leah laughed, tossing her head back. Liquor sloshed in her cup as she teetered toward me. “I swear, I had no idea!”

After lighting sparklers to send Kylie and Bryan off on their honeymoon, Leah and I moved outside to the hotel bar.

Thanks to our good friends, Jack and Jim, we had gone down the nostalgia rabbit hole, swapping throwback stories for the better part of an hour.

And miraculously, the more we tipped the bartender, the more the drinks kept flowing.

“You’re telling me that you had no idea that the big senior prank was that the juniors were the ones who put Principal Murdock’s car on the gym roof?” I knocked back my whiskey. “You were your class president! How did you not know?” I pointed a finger at her. “Kylie knew!”

A cute sound escaped Leah as she snorted. “I was the goody two shoes. How else do you think I became class president?”

“Your staggering intellect and terrifying beauty.”

Leah laughed, tipping back on the barstool. She shrieked, and I reached out to grab her arm. Leah jerked forward, her drink spilling down the front of her dress.

“Shit!” she squeaked.

My glass hit the bartop with a clatter. “Fuck. Hold on.” I pawed around for the stack of cocktail napkins, but they kept moving. Why was everything so swirly?

I had only had the one drink.

Then another drink.

And a shot.

And the fresh drink in my hand, of course.

How many was that? Fuck it. I hated math anyway. Will was the only reason I got good at it.

I found a napkin and started wiping her dress. Soft. I wanted to smash my face into her boobs. Ha. Boobs. Goddamn, Leah has a nice rack .

My head swirled as I tried to stop looking at her tits, but they kept moving.

“I don’t think a dress is gonna clean my napkin,” Leah giggled, then hiccuped. “I mean...” She sat in deep thought. “I don’t think a napkin is gonna clean my dress. ”

“You staying here at the hotel?”

She shook her head. “I need to order an Uber to get home.”

No way was I letting Leah get in a car with a stranger. Even in my own buzzed state, I knew that was a bad idea.

“There’s a hairdryer in my room,” I said, fumbling around for my room key. “You can dry your dress."

She hiccuped and looped her arm through mine. “Lead the way.”