“She was pretty fantastic when Tate was in the hospital,” he said, stopping to look at the people laughing in his living room. “You were all pretty amazing.”

Cole reached over and clapped his shoulder. “That’s what family does, Logan. We come together in a crisis. Whether you want us there or not.”

Having never really been part of a family, the sense of belonging that welled up inside him was overwhelming. He swallowed the rest of his drink, and as he was about to make up some excuse to leave Cole’s prying eyes, he heard him say, “I’m really happy for you. You know that?”

Logan glanced over at him and tried to lighten the mood in his usual way—sarcasm. “I think Rachel’s hormones are rubbing off on you. You’ve become very emotional lately.”

Cole pushed off the wall and went over to put his glass on the kitchen counter. “I mean it, Logan. I had no idea if you’d ever, I don’t know, settle down—”

“Okay, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. There are no rings happening and no…” Ugh. Logan felt a shiver race up his spine. Children for God’s sake.

Just as he thought it, the little blonde sitting on Shelly’s lap started screaming at the top of her lungs. Cole started laughing, clearly at his expression, and Logan shook his head.

“Hell no. I am not settling down. I’m living with my amazing, sexy boyfriend—”

“Who you love very much and are in a monogamous relationship with.”

Logan didn’t balk, but instead nodded. “Yes. And your point is?”

“My point is, that is settling down. It doesn’t always have to be a ring or a baby.”

“Thank God for that. ’Cause I don’t think I’m ready for a diamond ring just yet.”

“You’re such a smartass,” Cole said. “All I’m saying is that settling down can be unique to whoever it’s applying to. And I think you two are pretty damn close to entwining your lives.”

Logan eyed Cole’s empty glass and gave a false smile. “I think you need another drink. And to go and talk to someone who has a baby and…oh, I don’t know, ovaries?”

Cole rolled his eyes and waved his hand at him. “I’m going, and no more to drink for me, thanks. I’m driving home.”

As Logan watched his brother walk over to sit opposite Josh and his wife, he thought about what he’d just said. About things being unique to certain couples.

The idea of settling down with Tate wasn’t one that scared him at all, but when he caught himself staring at the glass door that led out to the balcony, he wondered how they could make that unique to just them.

Tate stood beside Rachel as they looked down at the bustling street below. He was trying to decide the best way to start the conversation he wanted to have, and every opening line he ran through his mind felt wrong.

He wondered how, on the same day he’d lost a sister, he’d managed to gain someone who was just as important and helped to ease that void.

Rachel certainly had been a surprise in his life, and with the wind blowing the loose hair around her face, he finally opened his mouth and said the one thing that had been bothering him.

“I hate how you don’t talk to me anymore.”

Surprisingly, Rachel had tears in her eyes when she faced him. “When I first met Logan, I remember thinking how free he was. I also remember thinking he was an arrogant jackass, but mostly how accepting he was. Never judgmental…” she said.

Tate settled back against the railing and looked her in the eye.

“I married Cole pretty much a week after knowing him. Mason? He flipped his lid. I mean, he gave us such a hard time. And you know what Logan’s reaction was?”

Tate could only imagine.

“He caught us on top of Cole’s desk and casually wandered in, dropped a file on it, and told us to continue so Cole could get back to using it for its proper function.” Rachel laughed at the memory.

“That sounds like him.” Tate smirked.

She agreed, and then her lips pulled into a tight line. “He was always that guy. Totally carefree, someone different in his life all the time, and he never brought anyone to meet us—never spoke about anyone. Not until you.”

Tate reached over to the hands she was wringing in front of herself and slipped them between his own as she continued to talk.

“He’s my family, and I fully supported whatever he wanted to do with his life. Cole and I, we love him so much. And then you came along.” Rachel smiled at him then, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. She turned her hands over to hold his and gave them a gentle shake. “And you’re perfect for him, Tate. You’re perfect with him, and that day…”

She swallowed and tried to fight back a soft gasp of air. “I thought I lost you that day. He’d sent you to me, trusted me, and all I could think was how could I ever face him if I lost you. How could I tell him I failed. God, Tate,” she sobbed and brought a hand to her mouth. “I’d been so happy about everything, and then I watched you get on that bike, and before I could see the car or tell you…you…” Her rush of words came to a standstill as her body shook.

Tate pulled her forward to wrap her in his arms, and her small hands went around his waist, her belly bumping into him. He placed his lips to her head and kissed it.

“Aww, Rachel. It’s okay. I’m okay,” he whispered, rocking with her on the balcony. “It wasn’t your fault. There was nothing you could’ve done.”

“But—”

“No. There was nothing—do you hear me? You saved me that day. You got the plate number of the other car, got out of the cab, and came down and held my hand. You were extremely brave under the worst possible conditions—and you saved me for him.”

Tears rolled down her wind-chilled cheeks, and Tate put his finger under her chin and lifted it.

“You need to stop punishing yourself for something that was out of your control. I’m fine, see?” he said, releasing her to hold his hands out to his sides.

She swiped the tears from her face and pursed her lips. “If I answer that, Logan will be upset with me.”

Tate winked at her and looped an arm around her shoulder. “Well, we don’t have to tell him.” When they got to the door, he looked down at her and said, “And I heard that he used to call you Hot Cheetah Pants, so if anyone’s going to get upset...”

Rachel laughed, and this time, her entire face lit up. That’s when Tate felt the weight he’d been carrying around all night lift from his shoulders and disappear into the Chicago evening air.

A little after midnight, Logan crawled into bed and felt Tate shift and settle against his side. He’d just finished cleaning the kitchen after having sent Tate to rest, and when he’d locked up, walked into the bedroom, and seen him already asleep, Logan made sure to be extra quiet undressing and getting in beside him.

Everyone had left an hour or so ago, and the night, as far as he was concerned, had been a success. Rachel and Tate seemed to have worked out their differences, and Cole’s tense look from the past few weeks had disappeared with the reappearance of his happy wife.

Logan felt Tate’s hair against his side as he rolled over in the bed and his warm breath ghosted over his chest. He brought his arm down around him, and as they fit against one another, Logan closed his eyes and said softly into the room, “I love you.”

He wasn’t expecting a response, but as he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep, he was sure he heard Tate whisper, “Love you too.”

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Tate rubbed his hands together as he waited under the awning of his and Logan’s building. The wind was really howling this afternoon, and as he pulled the collar up on his coat, he spotted Logan’s silver Audi R8 making its way down the street toward him.