Dating and Dragons (Dungeons and Drama, #2) (26)

I laugh in surprise. “That’s very loyal of you to say, given that you barely know me.”

“I know you. You like sugary foods and the color green and D&D.”

I push a box away (it’s just old sheets) and look at the next one. “You’ve summed me up.”

“And you love your grandmother. Enough to spend your afternoon going through her unmentionables with a guy you don’t particularly like because she asked you to.”

My eyes flick up to his.

“She clearly loves you too,” he continues, “which means you must be a pretty great person, because I don’t think she’s impressed with just anyone. So, yeah, if they couldn’t keep you as a friend, then that says more about them than it says about you.”

I turn away from the boxes and study him. Really study him, in a way I haven’t allowed myself to before. His expression is open, without a hint of sarcasm or snark. He pushes his hair away from his forehead and leans forward just slightly, easily meeting my gaze. There’s no challenge in his eyes, and it makes me want to tell him everything that happened with Caden, Paige, and the others. It would be nice to tell someone the story without worrying about their judgment. But there’s a lot more I need to understand about him before I’ll trust him with that information.

“Logan, why did you come here today?” I pull my knees to my chest and rest my chin on them. “And don’t bring up Grandma. Why did you really come here? Because I can’t figure you out. You were so nice when we first met and then I joined the game and you turned into a totally different person.”

“That’s because I didn’t want you to join.” His gaze turns so intense that it’s like a tractor beam, freezing me in place. He swallows and his Adam’s apple bobs. “I hoped you would change your mind, and when you didn’t, I decided the only way forward was to be as cold and distant to you as possible.”

“Why?” I whisper.

“Because our group has rules.”

My pulse skitters. “You don’t keep your distance from Kashvi, or anyone else in the group.”

“I don’t need to with them.” He takes a slow breath, and his gaze drops to my mouth. “But I need to keep my distance from you.”

His words burn through my thoughts and scatter them like ashes in a campfire. It takes me a moment to reply. “But you’re here now.”

“Yeah.” He shrugs. “I’m sorry for the way I acted. I know I shouldn’t be here, but it gets hard following the rules all the time. I wanted to see you. Alone.”

My breath catches in my throat. Prior experience tells me this can only end badly. The last time I went on a date with someone from my D&D group, it blew up in my face so terribly that I’m still picking up the pieces—and that group didn’t even have a rule against dating other players like this new one does. Nothing good can come from spending time alone with Logan…but that doesn’t stop me from wanting to crawl over these dusty floors and press my lips to his just to see how we’ll both react.

His face tilts slightly and a piece of hair falls in his eyes. Maybe I’m not the only one thinking that.

A crash reverberates below us, followed by a cry from Grandma. We both shake ourselves from the bubble we’ve been in and shoot to our feet.

“Grandma?” I yell as I rush to the ladder and climb down so fast I almost fall myself. “Are you okay?”

She doesn’t reply immediately. My body, already tense from that conversation with Logan, is now shaking. I race down the flight of stairs to the first floor, Logan at my heels, to find Grandma on her hands and knees in the kitchen.

I don’t see any blood and she’s clearly alert, but my stomach still spasms and I worry I might be sick. I force myself to breathe and gently put a hand on her shoulder. That’s when I see a plate smashed into shards on the floor.

“What happened?” Logan asks, and comes to her other side. We both take her by an elbow and help her sit in one of the chairs in the breakfast nook. She stands easily with our help, thank god.

“I tripped, but I’m fine,” she says quickly. “I didn’t hurt myself.”

“Do you know if you hit your head when you fell?” I crouch in front of her, looking for any signs that she’s seriously injured. I’m no medical expert, but she doesn’t seem dazed and she’s speaking, so that bodes well.

She shoos me away. “I’m not as fragile as that plate. I said I’m fine.” She shakes her head at the plate fragments. “What a shame. I bought that in Kyoto years ago. I was going to use it for the cake today.”

“Maybe we should drive you to urgent care just in case? Or I could call Dad?”

I glance up at Logan for validation, and he nods his agreement. But Grandma’s stern expression pierces me. “Don’t you dare. I don’t need anyone else fussing over me. What you can do is clean up that plate and then cut some slices of cake so we can eat.”

Logan’s eyebrows are furrowed in concern and possibly frustration, and I feel the exact same way. This is what my parents have been so concerned about—Grandma falling and then refusing to call for help. They’re going to freak when I tell them. It looks like we got lucky today, but fear of the future keeps my heart racing.

Logan’s hand on my shoulder pulls me from my thoughts. “I’ll get new plates and silverware,” he whispers.