“Well, I know you’re not the most touchy-feely person in the world. You might not want to snuggle all evening.”
“I can manage.” There was a smile in his voice that made her smile too.
She sighed happily and focused on the movie again. It had been her turn to pick, so they were watching a British mystery.
She had a very good life. She loved her career, even when it tore at her painfully. She loved her little house, and she loved living in Asheville. Her father and sister and nieces were all in town too. So were most of her friends.
Plus she had Logan to cuddle up with on a Friday evening.
She was just fine without a boyfriend, without a husband who would one day betray her.
Logan would never betray her. She trusted him with her life.
A FEW HOURS LATER, Katie was snapping the lid to a container of leftovers for Logan to take with him.
It occurred to her that he hardly needed their leftovers. He could hire a full-time gourmet chef to cook every meal for him. But he always seemed willing to take them, and she knew he ended up eating them. A day or two later, he would always return the empty containers to her, cleaned and emptied.
Maybe he just took them to be nice. Maybe he just threw the leftovers away and ate expensive meals instead.
She’d never thought about that before, and the idea gnawed at her a little.
Since it was a warm, crisp night with an almost-full moon, she walked with Logan out to his car, still holding the container of food.
When they reached the door to his car, she handed him the leftovers.
“Thanks,” he said, giving her a little smile—fond and faintly amused—one that felt like it belonged to her alone.
“You do eat the leftovers, don’t you?” she asked before she realized what she was going to say.
His eyebrows went up. “Of course. I’ll have this for lunch tomorrow. Why wouldn’t I eat them?”
Feeling silly and strangely self-conscious, she dropped her eyes. “No reason. It was just a random thought. I know you hardly need our leftovers. I mean, you can afford a five-star meal for lunch if you want—”
“Hey,” he interrupted softly, using his finger to tilt up her chin. “I don’t want a five-star lunch. I want to eat this. What’s gotten into you?”
“I don’t know,” she admitted. “I was just, for some reason, thinking about...” She wasn’t sure how to finish that sentence, so she switched gears. “You really don’t act like a billionaire, you know.”
He still looked a little confused, but he laughed at this. “How are billionaires supposed to act?”
“I don’t even know.” She was feeling better now—he felt more like her dear, familiar friend—so she reached out to squeeze his arm.
“All I can be is me,” he said in a slightly different tone. He lowered his eyes and then raised them to hers again in an almost tentative expression that made her chest clench. “I’ve never been the kind of person who wants to be the center of attention.”
She knew this was true. It was another thing she loved about him. So many men she knew were always trying to act like top-dog, as if they needed to prove it to themselves as well as the rest of the world.
Logan had nothing to prove.
“You do have a nice car,” she said, stroking the shiny paint of his Mercedes.
He gave a huff of amusement. “Yes. I guess so. Do you think I should drive an old clunker instead, to go with my personality?”
“No. I like your car.” She studied his face. “And your personality isn’t an old clunker. It’s...”
“It’s what?”
She had no idea how to finish her statement, how to finish her sentence. All the words she might be tempted to say—amazing, brilliant, incredible, warm, deeply human—all felt too earnest and sentimental.
“It’s not a clunker,” she finally said. “There’s no one like you.”
His smile deepened, and he leaned forward. For just a moment she thought he was going to kiss her on the mouth, but he ended up just brushing his lips against her cheek. So lightly they gave her a shiver. “Good night, Katie,” he murmured.
She had no idea why her knees felt so weak. What was wrong with her anyway?
She watched him drive away and finally decided she was probably just tired.
She’d feel more like herself in the morning.
Two
A WEEK LATER, LOGAN glanced over to the passenger seat of his car to see if Katie was awake. She’d been quiet for almost thirty minutes now, and they still had just under an hour before they got to Wilmington.
Her green eyes were open, and she smiled at him groggily.
She wasn’t asleep, but she was close.
His heart clenched at the sight of her lovely, familiar face and sleepy expression. Her long dark hair was loose around her shoulders, and her lips were looking particularly lush.
Ripe.
Kissable.
He turned back to the road in front of him—they were past the bigger cities now, so there wasn’t much traffic—and he wondered briefly what she would do if he just leaned over and kissed her the way he wanted to.
He wasn’t deceived in this though.
She would be shocked, bewildered, deeply upset.
She didn’t want him to kiss her. It was a truth he’d been living with for the past two years, ever since he’d realized that there was no woman in the world he wanted as much as Katie.
“So do you want me to pretend to be your girlfriend?” she asked without segue.
He blinked in surprise. “What?”
“I’m going to the reunion as your date, so I’m wondering if you want me to pretend to be your girlfriend.”
“Not with my family. They know we’re just friends.”
“But with your chess friends? I’m happy to pretend to be your girlfriend with them. I can talk up what a stud you are.”
He laughed softly. “Don’t overdo it. They’d never believe it.”
Instead of giggling as he’d expected, she frowned. “You are kind of a stud, Logan. You know that, don’t you?”
Ridiculously, his heart gave a little leap of pleasure in his chest, but he managed to arch his eyebrows in a dry expression. “Now you are overdoing it.”
“I am not. Any girl would be thanking her lucky stars to even go on a date with you—and not just because of your money. You’re pretty hot, you know.”
He had to look away from her soft expression before he got carried away. He felt like he had last Friday evening when he’d nearly kissed her in the moonlight next to his car. It had been a close call, but he’d managed to salvage the gesture at the last moment, kissing her cheek instead.
Last week and right now, she was being nice, encouraging, the friend she’d always been.
She wasn’t expressing a secret desire for him.
Logan was realistic about himself. He’d done really well with his career and had earned more than a modest fortune. That alone would mean plenty of women were interested in him. They chased him all the time, sometimes so committedly that they annoyed him. And not all of them were only after his money. He wasn’t a bad catch—at all.
But Katie would never want him or any other man for his money, and there was obviously nothing else about him that would tempt her to change her mind about her avoidance of relationships.
He wouldn’t trade her friendship for anything, but he couldn’t help but want more.
“Did I embarrass you?” she asked.
He glanced back over at her, realizing she’d been waiting for a response to her last question. “No. Of course not. I’m smokin’ hot. Nothing embarrassing about that. It’s just a fact of my existence.”
She giggled then and reached over to squeeze his thigh. He was wearing jeans, so at least her hand didn’t connect with bare skin. The pressure was enough to trigger prickles of interest in the region of his groin however.
She was wearing shorts—a fact he was uncomfortably aware of. If he wasn’t caref
ul to keep his eyes on her face, then his entire mind would be filled with the enticing sight of a lot of long, slim, sexy legs.
“All right. So I’m your girlfriend with your chess club but not with your parents. I’m sure we can handle that. It doesn’t sound too complicated.”
“It’s not supposed to be complicated.”
“Will your brothers be in town this time?”
The last time she’d come to the beach with him, his whole family had been present. “No,” he said. “Just Sloan... and Maria, of course.”
“Things are going well with them? With the pregnancy, I mean?”
“Yes. It’s all seems to be going great.”
“And the rest of them are out of town?”
“Yes.” After a moment, he added, “Why? Were you wanting to see them?”
She giggled. “I wouldn’t mind, although there will probably be more breathing room without them. Greyson, at least, is kind of a flirt.”
That was something he definitely knew. His youngest brother, Alexander, had always been quieter and more studious, but his other three brothers were all outgoing. Good with women.
“It is kind of remarkable though.”
“What’s remarkable?” Logan asked. “Not Grey, I hope.”
“No. Not Grey.” She was smiling at him fondly. “I was just thinking that it’s remarkable that all five of you brothers managed to do so well in your careers. That’s kind of strange, I think.”
“Yeah. I guess so. Although Mom and Dad helped us out. They gave each of us money to start our businesses. I don’t think we would have been able to get so far if we hadn’t had that gift to begin with. I know I wouldn’t have.”
“Oh, I didn’t know that.” Katie looked sincerely interested. “That was really nice of them.”
“I thought so. I’m sure that’s part of why we were all able to do so well.”
“Although I’m sure you would have done well regardless, being as brilliant as you are.”
Katie’s phone rang before he could think of any way to respond to that comment, and she checked the screen. “It’s Marla,” she said. “My client. Do you mind if I get it?”
“Of course not. Go ahead.”
For most of the rest of the trip, he listened to the conversation.
Her client’s husband was really a piece of work—an asshole in every way.
If Katie was faced with those kinds of scenarios every day, it wasn’t surprising that she was turned off love and marriage.
At least if she didn’t want a relationship, he wouldn’t have to watch her fall in love with anyone else.
When they’d first met almost four years ago, he’d immediately thought she was pretty, but he’d been dating someone else, so he hadn’t considered her as anything but a possible friend.
Gradually his feelings had changed. He didn’t want her as just a friend anymore.
But unfortunately her feelings hadn’t.
And it wasn’t looking like they ever would.
LOGAN’S PARENTS HAD a big house on the Intracoastal Waterway in an exclusive country club neighborhood of Wilmington. They’d bought the house ten years ago, so he hadn’t been raised in it, but they’d been well-to-do all his life. His father had been an investment banker, and his mother was a computer programmer who’d run her own company that had done very well in gaming software. He’d inherited his tech savvy from his mother.
The Andersons also had a beach house on Wrightsville Beach, but they were in their main residence in Wilmington this weekend.
He pulled up the long driveway and glanced over to see that Katie was admiring the big house and well-maintained grounds. The other times she’d visited, they’d stayed in the beach house, so she hadn’t seen this house before.
“This is really nice,” she said with a smile, leaning over to grab the big leather tote she used as a purse. “Thanks for inviting me this weekend.”
“I’m glad you could come.”
Before she could say anything else, Logan’s mother came hurrying out of the house. She gave them both enthusiastic hugs as soon as they’d climbed out of the car.
“It’s so nice to see you again,” she said, pulling away from Katie. “I keep telling Logan he needs to bring you to visit more often.”
Katie could barely respond before his mother was hustling her into the house. Logan got their luggage and followed, hoping Katie wasn’t going to be overwhelmed by his mother.
She was amazing. He’d always thought so. But she was probably more excited about his bringing Katie with him this weekend than she should be.
Last year, she’d made a big announcement about how it was time her five sons settled down and got married. He suspected she believed this trip had something to do with his efforts in that department.
He wished it did, but he knew better. His mother was going to be disappointed when she realized he and Katie were still only friends.
“Now you just make yourself at home,” his mother said, still talking to Katie as they stood in the large, airy entryway. “Do you want something to drink? Or are you hungry? Or maybe you want to freshen up some and unpack first?”
“Unpacking would be great,” Katie said, still smiling.
The master bedroom was on the first floor, so they went upstairs to the other bedrooms. Since none of his brothers lived at home anymore, they were all used as guest rooms for visiting friends and family.
Logan and Katie were the only ones visiting this weekend.
“You all can stay in Logan’s normal room,” his mother said, pushing open the door of the room directly across from the stairs.
Katie’s eyes widened.
“Mom, we’re not staying in the same room,” he muttered, hoping Katie wasn’t embarrassed by the assumption.
“Okay. Sure. Just take any rooms you want.” Instead of looking taken aback, his mother looked amused, as if she didn’t believe them, as if they were just putting on a show for her benefit. “But no need to stand on ceremony for me.”
Katie’s eyes flew over to Logan’s face, and he knew she was waiting to take his direction on handling this situation.
After all, this was his mother who was assuming they were a couple.
A pulse was throbbing in his temple as he said, “We’re just friends, Mom.”
“Of course you are.” She obviously believed differently.
“It’s true.”
“Of course it is.” Her mouth was twitching visibly. “Logan, why don’t you stay in this room, and Katie, you can stay in the room right next door. It has its own bathroom and a great view.”
“It looks great. Thank you.” Katie was smiling at his mother, but she shot Logan a sympathetic glance.
Now she was feeling bad for Logan, as if she’d put him in an uncomfortable situation.
But it wasn’t Katie’s fault at all.
Maybe he shouldn’t have brought her with him after all. Maybe it was just going to make things more complicated.
“The weather is supposed to be great this weekend,” his mother said, still fluttering around, closing blinds and turning on lights. “So if you all want more privacy, you could always stay at the beach house. There’s no one else there right now, so you could have all the privacy you want.”
Logan smothered a groan.
It was going to be a long weekend.
Three
KATIE WOKE UP BEFORE dawn the following day.
One of her favorite things to do was walk on the beach at sunrise, and she did so whenever she could. She hadn’t mentioned it to Logan the night before because he wasn’t naturally an early riser like she was. She figured she could borrow one of the Andersons’ bicycles and ride out to the beach on her own.
No one else was up when she came downstairs. She was fully dressed in shorts, tank top, and light hoodie, with her hair pulled back in a ponytail. She was putting a K-cup into the coffee maker in the silent kitchen when a sound from behind her surprised her.
She turned a
round to see Logan approaching, looking rumpled and disturbingly sexy in a black T-shirt and beat-up gray shorts. He gave her a slow smile as he leaned against the counter next to where she was standing.
She experienced a shiver of excitement she didn’t understand.
“You didn’t have to get up,” she said, pleased when she sounded normal.
“I wanted to. Were you going to requisition my car to drive to the beach?”
She shook her head. “Borrow a bike.”
“It will be a lot easier for me to take you. I like seeing the sunrise too.”
This was ridiculous. There was absolutely no reason for her to feel so giddy right now.
No reason at all.
Logan was just being nice in coming with her. It didn’t mean anything special.
“Thanks,” she managed to say. “I’m glad.”
They filled travel mugs with coffee and drove the five minutes it took to cross the waterway and get to Wrightsville Beach. Logan parked his Mercedes in a mostly empty public parking lot, and they started walking down toward the ocean.
There was a brisk breeze, so Katie was glad she’d worn the hoodie, but she took off her sandals so she could feel the sand between her toes.
The sun was just starting to rise above the water with fuzzy streaks of gold, pink, and orange. They’d timed the walk perfectly since now they wouldn’t have to walk in the dark.
She smiled over at Logan and was surprised to discover his eyes were resting on her face.
Fighting a wave of self-consciousness at the strangely intense look in his eyes, she asked, “You don’t think I’m strange to get up so early just to watch the sunrise, do you?”
“Of course not. I can see how much you love it.”
She wasn’t sure what to say to that, so she didn’t say anything.
They walked for a few minutes, and when she glanced over at him again, she saw he was still looking at her. “What? Why are you staring at me that way?”
He blinked and gave himself a little shake, as if he hadn’t realized what he was doing. Then the corner of his mouth lifted in a familiar teasing expression. “You act like you’re all cynical and world-weary, but you’re really not.”
Just Friends: Two Friends-to-Lovers Stories Page 2