The Promise of Us (Sanctuary Sound #2)(71)

“No.”

“Really?” Her brows shot up. “He’ll sleep with you, but he won’t take you to his family’s fund-raiser?”

Claire turned to Steffi, crushed by her friend’s assumption. “He asked, but I said no.”

“Why?”

Claire could list several reasons, but the one Steffi would most understand came first. “I didn’t want to spend the whole night at a table with Peyton.”

Steffi nodded thoughtfully. “It sounds like you might regret that decision now.”

Perhaps a little.

“It’s not like I won’t see him there.” Claire shrugged. “I’ll be more relaxed eating with all of you.”

“Oh, Claire. Is a ‘relaxed’ time all you want? You’ve always had a thing for Logan, so why let Peyton or anyone else stand in the way?”

“Because we’re not in a relationship. Not a real one, anyway.” Although each night they spent together made that harder to remember.

“What’s that mean?” Steffi wrinkled her nose.

“You know that Logan’s only here temporarily. Once he leaves, I’ll be a blip in his rearview mirror.” She thrust her index finger at Steffi to cut off any sympathetic nonsense. She’d been proud of herself for attempting so-called fluidity. Although her heart and head were not fully aligned, she’d made her bed and would deal with the consequences. “But I can handle that, Steffi. I know what I’m doing. I chose a fling with Logan rather than having none at all. When he leaves, I’ll be okay. Better than okay because, at the very least, he got me to take a few risks again.”

Steffi stared ahead, but Claire could read her mind. Her friend worried that Claire’s taking a risk with her heart would end much like the risk she’d taken today with this drive—in tears.

When they pulled up to Steffi’s house, Claire said, “Thank you for wasting an hour of your day off to help me.”

“That’s what friends are for.” Steffi turned off the engine.

Maybe so, but not everyone went to such lengths.

“Just so you know, I bought some great things for Logan’s apartment,” Claire said, hoping that the productivity of her adventure helped make up for its disastrous end. “Can you get started on the trim and paint soon? And if so, how long will it take to finish that part? I need to schedule deliveries.”

“All you want is picture-frame trim on one wall and the whole apartment painted, right?” She tipped her head, looking upward while thinking. “With all the plate glass in that place, it shouldn’t take more than a week or so to do the work and painting. I can start in next week, right after the gala. I want to finish the demo and reframing of Mrs. Brewster’s bathroom, but Rick can take over tiling and stuff the next week while I run into the city to deal with Logan’s place.”

Old Mrs. Brewster’s master bathroom would be sweet when completed. Claire had been so preoccupied with Logan she hadn’t finished helping her pick the final touches.

“I’ll tell Logan to clear stuff out before then.”

Ryan pulled into the bungalow’s driveway, having first stopped to pick up Emmy from his mother’s. Those two got out of the car together, then Emmy ran to Claire’s car and pressed her nose to the window. “Can we make brownies?”

“Sure,” Steffi said, tapping at the spot where Emmy’s smashed nose was. “Give me a few minutes with Claire.”

Emmy flashed a quick smile at Claire and then ran to meet her dad at the front door. The domestic scene planted an ache in Claire’s heart. She’d wanted a happy family for so long, but apparently it was another thing that wasn’t meant to be for her.

Claire grabbed Steffi’s left hand and studied her engagement ring more closely. “It’s so pretty, Stef. I’m sorry I didn’t get to ooh and aah over it when you first showed it to me.”

Steffi raised a brow. “Well, I think we were all caught a little off guard that morning.”

“True.”

“But even more surprising was the call I got from Peyton this week telling me she got your blessing for her to be in the wedding party.”

A slight chill still swept through Claire whenever Peyton’s name came up. “I wouldn’t be a very good maid of honor if I made any part of your big day about me, would I?”

“But I know I’ve asked a lot of you, so thank you.” She leaned closer to Claire. “Of course, I half wonder if this change of heart is really for Logan. I couldn’t persuade you to give an inch with Peyton for eighteen months. Logan shows up and”—Steffi snapped her fingers—“you’re moving off center.”

Claire’s shoulders slumped. She hadn’t the energy to mount a defense of her feelings for Logan. Luckily, a new box of chocolate-covered pretzels awaited her at home. It’d last five minutes—ten, tops. “Did I drill you when you and Ryan were figuring things out?”

“Not exactly, but you did ask questions, and you did grill me about the whole police-report incident.” Steffi gestured a “just saying” kind of motion with her hands and a tilt of her head.

Claire frowned, remembering how much confusion and pain Steffi’d been in back then. “I was concerned about you. I wanted you to be well and happy.”