by Robin Kaye
“My lips are sealed.”
“I can’t live without the stuff. It’s bad enough I’m not allowed to even drink a freakin’ beer.” He went behind the bar and grabbed the coffeepot.
Simon shook his head.
Pete turned to Simon and scowled. “Say a word to Logan and you’re fired. You hear me?”
“Hey, I’m not your keeper, Pete. That’s Logan’s job.” Simon caught her eye. “What would you like, Skye?”
“I’ll take a Coke if you don’t mind, please, Simon.”
Simon shot her a smile and all she could think of was the chocolate cake and whipped cream mess she and Logan had left for him to clean up. She stood right in front of the barstool she’d occupied on that disastrous night. Her face burned at the thought that he and Pete were surely remembering one of her most humiliating life experiences. Simon filled a glass with ice and started pouring. “Are you feeling okay? Nothing personal, but you look a little under the weather.”
“I’m fine, thanks.” She took the soda and thought she’d feel a lot better if she still had a job after she spoke to Pete. She followed him back to the office and was surprised that Logan wasn’t there. She hadn’t seen him since he left the kitchen that morning.
Pete closed the door, which did nothing to alleviate her nerves. “Have a seat.” He set his coffee on the desk, sat, and put his feet up, looking her over. “You’ve been busy this afternoon. The lunch crowd has really picked up since you’ve taken over the kitchen.”
“The numbers look good and Harrison is doing a great job stepping up his game. He’s a fast learner.”
“That’s good to know.”
Maybe she should have kept her mouth shut about Harrison, but really, he deserved all the credit in the world. He was a fast learner and didn’t need a babysitter—she appreciated that.
“I’ll just get right down to it. I’m worried about you, Skye. You ran away from your home, your job, and your family, and it doesn’t look as if you’re any closer to dealing with the root of the problem than you were when you first walked in here. You need to stop hiding.”
The breath she’d been holding flew from her lungs and heat seared her face. “Logan told you?”
“Logan didn’t tell me anything I didn’t already know, but I’m glad you told him. It was about time.”
She didn’t know what to say. The last thing she wanted to do was think about dealing with her family. The way Pete looked at her made her wonder if she’d have much of a choice.
“I think you’re good for him. Hell, I think you’re good for each other, but you both have things to finish before you get too serious.”
Too serious? She was already in too deep to get out unscathed.
“Skye, how can you start something with Logan when you haven’t closed the books on your past?”
“I did too close the books. I quit. That’s as closed as it’s gonna get, Pete.”
“I know you quit. I heard all about it.”
“You did?”
Pete nodded and tilted his head. “Skye, if you were any other employee, quitting would be sufficient. The fact is, you’re not any other employee, and you and I both know that when you work with family, you’re a hell of a lot more—and not always in a good way. You owe your parents a call at the very least.”
She wondered if it would sound too immature and unprofessional if she said she’d waited to call her mother because she wanted Patrick to get in trouble first. For the kid who was voted most likely to remain a prick, Patrick was great at keeping his black light under a bushel.
Pete laughed out loud and then slapped his knee. “You’re just giving that brother of yours enough rope to hang himself, aren’t you?”
She shrugged and couldn’t help but smile. “My best friend’s been keeping an eye on things. Patrick has been calling her every day—something he didn’t do when she made the mistake of dating him a while ago. If my mom gets really worried, she knows to call Kelly.”
“Have you told Kelly about Logan?”
“Of course, she’s my best friend.” She rolled her eyes. “Kelly’s already googled him. Why?”
“Just curious.” Pete dropped his feet to the floor and held his coffee cup in both hands. “Skye, if you love Logan, you really need to get your life in order. Talk to your family. He has to close the books on his past too.”
“But he lost his job. He was fired.”
“Was he?”
“Payton said—”
Pete held up his hand like a traffic cop. “Payton wasn’t his boss.”
“Logan talked to someone this morning. Didn’t he tell you? He’s leaving for California Thursday for a meeting on Friday. Then he’s going to a wine competition in Portland. He’ll take the red-eye back on Sunday night. He’s the one who requested the Friday meeting.”
“With who?”
“I don’t know.”
“You didn’t ask?”
“It’s none of my business.” She shrugged as if it didn’t matter. From the look on Pete’s face, he wasn’t buying it either.
“Really? Would you say that if the meeting was with Payton?”
“I’m not stupid, Pete. He’s going to the vineyard; chances are he’s going to see Payton. I might not know her well, but I don’t need to be her therapist to know that she can’t be happy about canceling the wedding. She obviously wanted Logan to be her Mr. Billingsly and Payton has never been one to bow out of anything gracefully.”
“Which might explain why no news of their breakup made the society pages.”
“It hasn’t?”
“Not that I’ve seen. I have each of my boys on Google Alert—I like to know what’s going on in their lives. If I didn’t know my son, if I hadn’t watched him fall head over beer taps in love with you, I’d swear he was pulling the wool over all our eyes.”
She shook her head. “Logan wouldn’t do that.”
“You’re right, but still, I’m amazed you haven’t checked it out.”
“It never occurred to me. I’ve never been one to read the tabloids or the society pages. I’ve spent my life avoiding those people. Why would I want to read about them?”
“Because you’re in love with Logan, and he’s one of those people—at least he played one on TV. Besides, you know Payton better than I do, and even I know she’s not the warm fuzzy type.”
“No, she isn’t.” But she was definitely the sneaky type.
“So you’re just going to let him go?”
“Let him?” As if she had any say in the matter. “He’s a grown man—he doesn’t need my permission to do anything.”
“Maybe not, but before he leaves, it would probably help if he knew how you felt. If you haven’t figured it out yet, Skye, you better be quick about it.”
“Okay, Dr. Phil.”
Pete let out a laugh and stood. “You’re doing a great job. I just thought I’d tell you in case you still thought I was going to fire you—I’m not, but I don’t think you’re going to be here forever either. The Crow’s Nest is just a stepping-stone for you, and that’s fine. Rex’s mother died last week.”
“Oh no. God, I’m so sorry. How’s he doing?”
“He’s hanging in. It’s difficult, but she’s in a better place and he’s relieved that she’s no longer suffering. He’s still down there taking care of finalizing her estate, but he’s already called to tell me he’s going to come home eventually.”
“And he’ll want his apartment and his dog back.” She would miss them both.
“The job is still yours if you want it, but I thought you should know that we’ll be okay if you don’t.”
“Rex wants his job back?”
Pete nodded. “The job is yours if it’s what you want, Skye. I’m just not sure it is. This would be a good time for you to think about what you want your future to look like, and whether or not you want that future to include Logan.”
“I will.” She stood and found herself enveloped in a hug. “I promise.”
* * *
Skye unlocked the door to her apartment and answered her phone at the same time. “Kelly, what’s up?”
“Paddy is freaking out and your mom’s starting to ask questions. Are you ever coming home?”
“Not if I can help it.” She stepped inside and dropped her bag. When she looked up, she noticed two boxes on the couch. Pepperoni ran over and jumped on her legs. She turned and found Logan in her kitchen cleaning up the mess he’d made at breakfast. “Look, I can’t talk right now. I’ll call you later.”
“Why?”
“Because there’s a strange man doing dishes in my kitchen.”
“Strange because he’s doing dishes, or strange as in a man you don’t know?”
“The first one. Love you. Bye.” She ended the call, shook her head, and took off her hoodie. “Logan, how did you get in here?”
“I used my key. How was your day, dear?”
“Does everyone have a key to my place?”
“Just me and Patrice as far as I know. I’m sure Rex still has his, but he’s still in Florida. Why, is there a problem?”
“Yes, I’d like to be able to walk into my apartment and know no one else is here.”
“Oh.” He wiped his hands and closed the dishwasher. “Rough day, I take it?”
“No. Yes. Hell, I don’t know. What are those boxes doing on my couch?”
“Waiting for you to open them.”
He stepped out of the kitchen and drugged her with one of his kisses—one that lasted a while and had her tugging his shirt out of his pants. He pulled away and smiled. “Later. Open your presents first.”
“I don’t want to, because it’ll just start a fight and I really don’t feel like fighting right now.”
“So don’t fight me on this. They’re presents—all you have to do is open them and say thank you.”
“Why can’t you just be nice and respect my wishes?”
“Because you’re wrong and I’m leaving in a couple days. I need to know you’ll be taken care of while I’m away and not catching your death of cold.”
“So that makes it okay to disregard my wishes and become my personal shopper?” She walked over to the couch and lifted the top off the first box. It was a gorgeous wool coat. It felt like cashmere—but it was a brilliant dark blue—not a navy, but not a cobalt either. It was something in between and she loved it. She pulled it out of the box and held it close to her.
“I knew it—it matches your eyes exactly. Try it on.”
He held it open for her and she stepped into it. It fit as if it were made for her. “How’d you know what size I wore?”
“I cheated—I checked your size before I left this morning. Then I talked to one of the women at the store. She said you’d need a petite. Do you like it?”
It was just the right length for her height. “That depends. How much do I owe you?”
“Nothing—it’s a gift. You don’t pay for gifts.”
She took off the coat and set it on top of the box, not sure exactly how to handle it. On one hand she was pissed he totally disregarded what she’d told him, and on the other hand she had to admit he picked out the perfect coat for her. She pulled the top off the second box and blinked at the white fur. “You bought me a fur coat?”
“Fake fur, but it feels really great.”
It was so soft, she couldn’t stop petting it. She lifted it out of the box and pulled it on. It was short and had a full hood. “Does it make me look like a big marshmallow?”
“No. You look gorgeous in both.” He slid his hands inside the coat and pulled her against his hard chest before nuzzling her neck. “This is where you tell me you love them and thank me for thinking of you.” He nipped at her ear, making it really hard to think.
“I do love them, and I thank you for thinking of me, even though I told you I wanted to buy my own coat, so I still want to pay you back.”
“Which kills the whole gift thing, so no.” He kissed the side of her neck.
She tilted her head to give him more room.
“Besides, you’re doing me a huge favor babysitting Nicki, Pop, and D.O.G. You can think of it as a trade if it makes you feel better. That way we avoid the fight we don’t want to have, and we can get back to where we were just a few minutes ago.”
“Where was that?”
“On the way to bed. I’ve missed you.”
“It’s only been a few hours.”
“I know. Being away from you for a long weekend is not going to be fun. We’d better take advantage of the time we have left.”
“Good thing Harrison is scheduled to deal with dinner. I’m off for the rest of the day.”
“Thank God.” He lifted her off her feet and carried her to the bedroom.
“Hold on, let me take the coat off.”
“No. I’ve spent the better part of three hours thinking about you wearing that coat and nothing else.”
“You have a sick mind.”
“Only when it comes to you.”
She pulled off the coat and threw it on her bed while he unbuttoned her chef’s whites.
He sucked in a breath when he found her wearing nothing but a red bra beneath them. He dropped to his knees and kissed her stomach as he pulled her pants down and caught the edge of her red panties in his teeth. “Maybe I’ll let you leave these on too.”
She laughed and ran her hands through his hair. “You’re a nut.”
He looked up at her. “But you love me.”
“I do love you, which is probably why I let you get away with the whole coat thing.” She screamed when she found herself lifted and unceremoniously tossed on the bed on top of the coat, which, she had to admit, felt incredible beneath her back.
Logan came down on her, kissing the breath that she had left right out of her. God she loved the way he kissed her—like he’d rather kiss her than do anything else, like his sole purpose in life was to please her with his mouth. His tongue dipped in and did a leisurely slide against hers in direct opposition to the urgency he displayed when he ripped away the scrap of satin that used to be her underwear.
Every muscle beneath her hands tensed, and without ever removing his mouth from hers, he entered her in one swift thrust of his hips.
She wrapped her legs around his waist and held on as he lifted her hips and hit that perfect spot, shooting her into an orgasm so strong, she swore she saw stars.
His mouth loved her in time with his body. His hands were everywhere—always touching just the right spots, sending her higher and higher, harder and faster than he had before. She spun out of control—her mind racing, her body reacting to his every move.
He ripped his mouth from hers and stared into her eyes. The fierce possession she read in his expression scared her more than anything else she’d ever seen, and still, it sent her flying.
She took him with her, dragging him kicking and screaming over some cliff they hadn’t scaled before.
He came with a curse and collapsed on her while her body still rolled through storms of sensation he’d sent swirling through every cell.
Logan knew he was probably crushing Skye, but he was unable to move. Hell, he couldn’t even swallow. He’d kind of lost it when she told him she loved him. He knew he should say something, and he planned to say a hell of a lot if he was ever able to speak again—which might happen faster if she’d stop spasming around him. With every contraction of her muscles, incredibly, he got harder. He’d always thought he had a quick recovery time, but that was ridiculous.
He tried to put his weight on his forearms, which moved him deeper within her, and she tilted her hips, driving him even deeper still, and shot sparks that had him groaning.
He gathered the last of his energy and rolled them over, grabbing her hips. He arched his back, and sent her flying. Watching Skye come apart on top of him was the most incredible thing he’d ever seen. “You’re so beautiful, and you’re all mine.” He kissed her and pulled her to him, holding her tight, not w
anting to let her go, not wanting to ever leave.
* * *
Skye lay curled against a snoozing Logan, wishing she could think of anything other than him leaving. When Pepperoni whined to go out, she didn’t bother waking him, and slid out of bed so she could have a little time by herself to get her head together without his shoving his gorgeous nose into her thoughts the way he always did.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
She pulled on a fresh pair of underwear and the clothes she’d picked up. “Go back to sleep, I’m just going to take Pepperoni out.”
“Not alone, you’re not. Besides, I need to walk D.O.G. anyway. What do you say to picking up a pizza for dinner? Maybe we can get a veggie pizza for Pop, or just order something from the Crow’s Nest for him.”
She didn’t know how to say no to him. Besides, if things were going to fall apart when he went back to California, at least she could enjoy him while he was still here. “Sounds good, but hurry up. Pepperoni hasn’t been out for a while.”
They killed two birds with one stone by walking the dogs to Logan’s favorite pizza place. Logan walked D.O.G. and carried the pizzas, taking a shorter route back. They turned a corner and Logan stopped in his tracks. “It’s for sale.”
“What?”
He pointed across the street to an ancient three-story brick warehouse with arched windows and doors. It was gorgeous.
“I saw them putting the sign up a few days ago.” She tugged on Pepperoni’s leash and stopped when Logan didn’t move. Drawing the hood of her new jacket up, she turned her back to the wind coming off the bay and shivered.
“It’s perfect.” He stared at the building and Skye could practically see his mind racing down some complicated track on warp speed.
“Perfect for what?”
“A microbrewery and restaurant. I was thinking about what I wanted to do when Storm and Bree come home. I need a job, so I started looking into opening my own microbrewery.” He took her hand and pulled it into his pocket, warming it. “This place would be big enough for a microbrewery and a restaurant.” He slid his arm around her and kissed her—his eyes sparkled and he had a weird smile on his face. “What do you say, Skye? Do you want to go into business with me? You can have a kitchen of your own and I can have my microbrewery. It’ll be amazing.”