Her Soldier Protector by Soraya Lane

You telling me you want more than that, or are you just pissed that you can’t have her in your bed for a few more nights?”
    “Don’t talk about her like that. It has nothing to do with me just wanting her in bed.” Logan knew he sounded angry, and he was.
    “Whoa,” Brett said, putting his beer down and holding up both hands. “I was just trying to make a point. You don’t have to bite my head off.”
    “Well, don’t,” Logan grumbled, even though he knew it was him who’d been in the wrong.
    “You remember when I was first with Jamie, and I tried to tell you how I felt about her?”
    “Was that before or after I gave you the black eye?”
    Brett punched him in the arm, but he was still grinning. “The point is, I felt differently about Jamie than I’d ever felt about another woman. I could have lost you as a friend just for telling you, for trying to explain, but she was worth it. She’s still worth it. ” He shrugged. “Your past is never going to go away, so you’re just going to have to deal with it.”
    Logan watched as Brett glanced across to where the girls were seated, and he angled his body so he could see them, too. They were sitting together, heads bent as they discussed something that made them both burst out laughing. Jamie was one of his closest friends, and he’d been right to think that she’d be perfect for Candace to spend time with. And everything Brett was saying was right, even if it was blunt.
    “Don’t be so much of a hard head that you lose someone you feel that way about, that’s all I’m saying,” Brett said, picking up his beer bottle and another mocktail for Jamie. “Jamie was worth fighting for, and that would have been the truth no matter how high the stakes. You just have to decide if Candace is worth the fight, whatever that fight turns out to be.”
    Logan collected his drinks and walked beside his friend, knowing he was right. He often kept everything bottled up inside and refused to talk, but telling Brett what he was thinking had been the right thing to do.
    “It’s about time I told you I’m sorry for being a jerk when you tried to talk to me about Jamie,” he admitted. “I should never have been so harsh on you, and every time I see the two of you together I know what an idiot I was. I hope you know that.”
    Brett just shrugged. “You were looking out for her, I get it. And you’ve said sorry enough times for me to believe you, so how about we just move on, huh?”
    “Yeah, but until now, maybe I didn’t know how you really felt. I meant it when I apologized back then, but all of a sudden I actually get it,” Logan mumbled, eyes locked on Candace as he headed toward her. “As much as I want to forget about her, to ignore the way I feel...”
    “You just can’t,” Brett finished for him. “Trust me, I get it.”
    “So what do I do?” he asked just before they reached the table. “What am I supposed to do?”
    “Stop overthinking it,” Brett said in a low voice. “If it feels right, just go with it. For once in your life switch that part of your brain off and just enjoy the moment.”
    “Hey,” Candace said with a smile as Logan sat down beside her on the leather seat.
    The table was tucked away, a low-hanging light casting warm shadows around them in contrast to the darkness of the bar.
    “Try this and see what you think,” Logan told her, sliding the drink across to her.
    Candace grinned and leaned forward, at the same time resting her hand on his thigh. Logan stiffened, couldn’t help how rigid his body went, like it was on high alert, but if she noticed she never said anything. What Brett had said had been right, trouble was that the last time he’d just lived in the moment, he’d had his heart ripped out and stomped all over. Add to that his fear of losing anyone he actually cared about again, and he was one screwed up individual, he knew.
    “So what were you two busy talking about?” Brett asked, kissing Jamie when she