At the second door on the right, Logan stopped and took out his keys and opened the door. He reached in and flipped a light switch before stepping back and motioning for her to go in ahead of him.
Piper went all of three steps before stopping and gasping.
The ceiling was impossibly tall with exposed ductwork and joists. She’d never seen a wood ceiling and yet…it worked. The hardwood floors were stained the same color as the ceiling. She stepped farther down the short entryway and stopped again to stare in awe at the wide-open space. It was like something out of an architectural design magazine.
Exposed brick walls, floor to ceiling windows, reclaimed wood as a feature wall, a fireplace…it was literally one massive open space and yet each area was clearly defined. There were large leather sofas facing the fireplace and the biggest flat-screen TV she had ever seen in a home. The kitchen wasn’t large, but it looked like all the appliances were top-of-the-line. There were granite countertops, a breakfast nook, and a small coffee bar.
A man after her own heart.
Then, in the far corner of the room, was Logan’s bedroom.
And yeah, her eyes lingered on the bed a little longer than was necessary.
She felt his hand on her back as he guided her toward the kitchen where he placed their food down on the counter and began pulling containers out. “What can I get you to drink? I’ve got beer, wine, soda, water…”
It took a moment for Piper to stop looking at everything and face him. “Why do you have this place?”
The question seemed to take him by surprise. “What do you mean?”
“It’s not like you live here for any real extended period of time and the estate has more than enough room for you, so…why bother with a place like this?”
“You don’t like it?”
“On the contrary, it’s amazing, I just don’t understand why you need it.”
Luckily, he didn’t take offense to the question. He pulled a couple of plates down from the cabinets and set them on the counter next to the food and then grabbed some silverware and placed it there as well. “Help yourself,” he said, turning to get a couple of bottles of water from the refrigerator. It didn’t seem like he was going to answer her question.
But then he did.
“I spent most of the summer coming and going from King Harbor and my father, brothers and cousins were all doing the same,” he explained. “I love them all, but…sometimes I just need some space to myself.”
“What about your mom? Wasn’t she there?”
His expression turned a little sad, but he seemed to catch himself and his smile was right back in place. “There was an…incident, shall we say, at her birthday party back in May.” He paused. “It escalated quickly and she’s been gone ever since.”
“Oh, my goodness! What could have happened to make her leave? Do you know where she is?”
Nodding, Logan grabbed one of the sandwiches and put it on his plate next to a small bag of chips. “She’s in Paris and doesn’t seem to be in any rush to come home. Or talk to any of us.” He sighed. “Other than some texts, she’s just asking us to respect her need for time and privacy.”
Helping herself to the food, her plate resembled Logan’s and she accepted the bottle of water he handed her. “What in the world could have happened for her to take off like that?” Then she realized how brazen it was of her to ask. “Sorry. That was rude.” Looking over her shoulder toward the TV, she said, “Come on. Let’s go pick a game.”
“Piper, it’s okay. Pretty much everyone in King Harbor knows about it. I can’t believe your father didn’t mention it.”
“Please, Dad is the least gossipy person alive. He doesn’t listen to gossip and he certainly doesn’t spread any. You know he’s a man of few words.” She laughed softly. “Clearly I talk enough for the both of us.”
They walked over to the living room area and placed their food on the coffee table while Logan set up the Xbox and pointed out where he kept the games. She had to admit, the selection was small and rather than opting to play an intense shooter game, she went for a racing game. It was so late and the day had been so long that she couldn’t even think of playing anything that required real skill.
Within minutes they were sitting next to each other while the title sequence played out on the big screen.
“Racing, huh? I thought we were going hardcore,” he teased before taking a bite of his sandwich.
“No one said hardcore,” she corrected. “My brain isn’t quite at its peak at this hour. Besides, I thought with racing it would be more fun and allow us to talk. We won’t have to be so focused on skill and strategy. You know, just have fun.”
With a shrug, he took another bite of his meal before placing the sandwich down. It was nice–the quiet–and Piper felt herself relaxing a bit. She kicked off her shoes and still wished she had a pair of yoga pants and a T-shirt to change into, but…she’d live.
“My mother wanted her birthday party to just be about family,” he said, interrupting her thoughts. She looked over at him and saw he was looking down at the floor, his head hanging a little low. “It wasn’t a new request–she’s always after my father to leave the business at the office so we can enjoy our time as a family.”
“I take it he didn’t honor her request.”
Logan shook his head. “He invited several business associates and the party had barely started before she was walking out.” Another head shake. “And in the midst of it all, she drops this cryptic bombshell and it’s all anyone has been able to talk about ever since.”
Twisting in her seat, she faced him. “What kind of bombshell?”
“She blurts out ‘I’ve kept your secret…’ in a room full of people and no one knows what she was referring to.”
“Holy crap!”
Turning his head, he looked at her and chuckled softly. “Exactly.”
“And seriously, no one knows what this secret is?”
“Oh, there are dozens of theories–bootlegging whisky from back in the day, the possibility of the Blackthornes stealing the recipe for the whisky, illegal business practices, affairs, secret criminal records…you name it, people have suggested it.”
“Obviously none of those theories are true, right?”
“Not that we know of.”
So many questions raced through her mind, but before she could voice them, Logan grabbed one of the controllers and said, “Okay, care to make this interesting?”
That was his obvious attempt at changing the subject and she was more than okay with it. “Maybe…”
“If I win,” he paused and contemplated his next words. “You agree to have dinner with me.”
“Isn’t that what we’re doing right now?” She knew it wasn’t what he meant, but figured she’d play around with him a bit because it was so much fun to do.
“Not quite what I had in mind,” he replied. “I’m talking a proper meal, not sandwiches at two in the morning. More like a five-star restaurant and I pick you up at your house and we eat and maybe go dancing or to an art exhibit.”
She had to wonder if that was his usual kind of date–she knew she obviously wasn’t the kind of woman he usually took out, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t fit into the role for a night.
The real question was, did she want to?
Rather than think too hard about it, she countered with, “And what if I win?”
“Whatever it is you want.”
And that was a loaded statement if she ever heard one.
“Hmm…okay, if I win…” And she was pretty confident she would… “You’ll handle maintaining the grounds of the estate for a day so I can spend it with my dad.”
He didn’t miss a beat. “Deal.”
Two hours later, Logan had to admit defeat.
And it just about killed him.
Not because it meant he had to take care of the grounds for her father, but because she had beaten him on every single race.
All two dozen of th
em.
There were so many things he excelled at in business and sports, and yet he got his ass handed to him in video game racing.
His only consolation was that he knew she did this for a living.
Tossing his controller down, he watched as Piper stretched and yawned. It was late and he knew they were both exhausted, but he really hated for the night to end.
Even though it was almost morning.
Standing, Piper looked over at him and smiled. “I just want you to know, I don’t expect you to work for my dad for the next month. Just one day will do.”
Forcing himself to stand, he walked over to her. “Are you sure? Because…it would serve me right.” Laughing softly, he shook his head. “I’m normally a much better player than this. Ask any of my friends. I can usually hold my own nicely.” He yawned. “Probably too tired and it slowed down my reflexes.”
She made a non-committal sound. “Well, let’s be honest. I had a bit of an unfair advantage. I pretty much play games for a living, sooo…”
“So technically then, I should have won,” he teased.
“No one said that, Logan.” And she laughed with him. “Not even close.”
He stepped in closer. “Are you sure? Because I kind of think that’s what you meant. I feel a little taken advantage of.”
That just had Piper laughing harder. “Poor baby. I think you’ll survive.”
Another step. “I don’t know…you did essentially admit to cheating…”
She rolled her eyes. “That’s not what I said and I did not cheat.” Then her gaze narrowed at him. “Oh my God…are you trying to get out of working on the grounds?”
“What?” he cried. “No! That’s not…” He groaned and figured he might as well lay it out there for her. Boldly, he put his hands on her hips and felt a sense of satisfaction at Piper’s soft gasp. “I’m just saying some of those games were close and with your unfair advantage, there’s a real possibility I could have won at least one of those games.”
Her beautiful brown eyes scanned his face but she didn’t say a word.
“Go out with me,” he said, his voice sounding gruff even to his own ears.
“Logan…”
Reaching up, he placed a finger over her lips. “One date, that’s all I’m asking. There’s still so much I want to know about you.” He moved his hand away and placed it back on her hip.
“We’ve been talking all night…”
He shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. I think you’re fascinating. I enjoyed listening to you talk about gaming and how they’re designed and I love hearing about your life.” He paused, studying her face. “And I have a feeling we haven’t even scratched the surface.”
She was quiet for so long that he thought she was going to turn him down so he did the only thing he could to hopefully convince her–slowly, he lowered his head and touched his lips to hers. He waited to see if she would pull back or stop him, but her hand came up to rest on his chest and he’d never been more relieved in his life.
It was a gentle exploration and part of Logan knew it was because they were both a little sleepy, but that didn’t make it any less enjoyable.
Soft lips and even softer sighs–those were the first things he noticed as Piper slowly melted against him. His hand moved from her hips and skimmed around to her back as his arms wrapped around her. All night he’d thought about doing this–about kissing her–but he didn’t want to move too fast. They’d known each other for too long for him to make things awkward between them. But a man could only hold out for so long when he wanted something so bad.
And he wanted Piper.
From the moment she walked up to the bar last night, he wanted her.
Granted, at the time he had no idea who she was, but realizing she was Connor Stewart’s daughter and someone he’d practically grown up knowing did little to dampen the desire he felt for her. If anything, it made him feel like it was okay that he was maybe moving a little fast.
Tilting his head slightly, he deepened the kiss–his tongue gently teasing at hers–and she pressed even closer.
And then he was lost.
She smelled like strawberries and tasted like sin. Had he known it was going to be like this, he would have skipped the damn video games and kissed her as soon as he closed the front door.
Her hands began to skim upward–over his chest and shoulders, along his neck, and then up into his hair and damn if that didn’t feel amazing.
He kissed her deeper still and yet she gave as good as she was getting. When they finally pulled back, breathless and dazed, it was all he could do from diving in for another taste. Unfortunately, Piper’s eyes went from slumberous and dazed to wide with shock right before she pulled out of his arms.
“Oh my God,” she whispered as she turned her back to him and began to frantically collect her things.
With no other choice, he followed her around while trying to get her to look at him. When she was practically to the front door, he stepped in front of her before she could leave. “Piper, wait!” he said, a little breathless still. “Can we just talk about this?”
And damn, she still wouldn’t look at him.
“It’s late, Logan, and I need to go.” He heard the slight tremble of her voice and it gutted him.
“Piper, I…I’m sorry. I honestly didn’t mean to upset you. I didn’t think…I mean…I thought we were both on the same page there.”
Now she did look at him–those big, brown eyes showed her distress. “Look, I thought…or rather, I wasn’t thinking. This never should have happened, okay?” She went to move around him again but he stopped her, gently grasping her shoulders.
“I don't want you leaving like this. We need to talk about this. I know it's late but I don't want you driving home upset.”
“I’m not upset, Logan. I’m just…this isn’t what I came here for. I really just wanted to hang out with you and I felt bad about the way things went down this afternoon. The last thing I want is for things to be awkward between us, but if I stay right now, they’re going to be.”
His first reaction was to be offended. Was she seriously saying this was some kind of pity kiss? Like she hadn’t been into it at all? Because if that was the case, he would have to call her a liar right to her face because for as much as he was kissing her, she was kissing him right back and there was no way she was just doing it because she felt bad.
No one’s that good of an actress.
On the flip side, she was right about things possibly being awkward. But that didn't make it any better. They not only had a history together, but he genuinely liked her and both liked and respected her father.
“Piper,” he began.
“Please, Logan. I really need to go.”
He stepped aside and reached to open the door. “Are you going to be okay to drive?” he asked.
Now she looked pissed. “Don’t flatter yourself, Ace. I’m not that upset.”
It took him a minute to understand what she was saying. “What…no, that’s not what I meant!” He raked a hand through his hair, beyond frustrated. “I meant I know it’s late and you’re tired. I was simply asking if you were okay to drive for that reason alone. Jeez, Piper. What the hell do you even think of me?”
As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he wanted to take them back because he knew that Piper wouldn’t sugarcoat her response.
“It doesn’t matter, Logan. Really. I just need to go.”
There was so much more he wanted to say, but instead he opened the door and followed her out. When she went to protest, he held up a hand to stop her. “You don’t have to speak to me, but I’m sure as hell going to walk you to your car so…deal with it.”
They rode the elevator down in silence and stayed that way all the way out to her car. Once she had it unlocked and the driver’s side door open, she turned and faced him. “So, um…I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.” Then she paused and shook her head with a low laugh. “Or rather, later tonight. You’re working
at the Vault again, right?”
Honestly, it was the last thing he wanted to do, but he knew it was just his mood right now. After a decent night’s sleep he’d probably feel a lot better–and a lot less hurt–about the way the night crashed and burned here at the end.
“Yeah,” he forced himself to say. “I’ll be in tonight.” Stepping back, he watched as Piper climbed into her little sedan and closed the door. He stepped back even farther so she could pull out of the parking spot and gave a half-hearted wave as she drove away.
Damn.
Once her car turned the corner and was out of sight, he walked back into the building and rode the elevator up. Locking his door behind him, he leaned against it and let out a long breath.
“What the hell was I thinking?”
Normally, he had way more finesse than he’d shown tonight. They’d had a good time–eating, laughing, playing the game, and talking. He couldn’t remember the last time he had simply enjoyed sitting and talking with someone–especially a woman.
Come to think of it, he couldn’t remember ever spending a night with a woman doing the things he and Piper had done tonight.
And not just the video game.
When he went out with a woman, they usually went out to eat or to a gallery, a museum, a charity event…never anything casual like sitting around in his apartment eating sandwiches at two in the morning while they talked about their lives.
It was a little crazy how much he enjoyed it and wanted to do it again.
“This never should have happened, okay?”
He was having a hard time moving past that one statement. Never was a strong word and for the life of him, he couldn’t imagine why Piper would think like that. There wasn’t anything wrong with them being attracted to each other; they were both adults and there shouldn’t be a problem with acting on their attraction.
Except…she clearly had a problem with it and it bothered the hell out of him that she wouldn’t stay and talk about it. Was he supposed to just pretend tonight didn’t happen? Was he supposed to see her tomorrow and act as if nothing had changed? Like she hadn’t blown his mind with one kiss?
Logan (7 Brides for 7 Blackthornes Book 6) Page 6