by Noelle Adams
“What does that mean? I’m plenty cynical. Anyone would be with my job.”
“No, you’re not. No one can bask in the sunrise the way you do if they were really cynical. You can’t fight the romantic in you.”
“I’m not romantic!”
“If you say so.”
She tried to maintain her indignation with him, but she couldn’t really. He knew her well. He was right about her. Walking on the beach at sunrise wasn’t an aberration for her. It spoke to the heart of who she was. One of the reasons she’d gotten so turned off on romance was because the broken relationships she witnessed had crushed sappy daydreams of love, beauty, and commitment she’d entertained most of her life.
She’d always wanted a man who would stand beside her all her life. It hurt when it felt like that wasn’t a realistic possibility.
Logan reached out with one arm to pull her into a half hug—maybe so she knew he was just teasing her—but he kept his arm there as they walked.
She liked the feel of it.
She liked the way they didn’t need to speak, the way they understood each other perfectly.
She liked that he felt so warm and strong and real beside her.
She didn’t know why she was having all these feelings this morning, but they were deeply unsettling. Logan had always been her friend. She didn’t want him to be anything else.
It made absolutely no sense for him to be transforming from friend to man in her mind this way, without any reason at all.
In an effort to get her thinking back on track, she said, “So when we get to your reunion this afternoon, do we need to decide on a backstory for our fake relationship?”
He blinked a couple of times, as if she’d broken him out of some sort of trance. He cleared his throat. “I guess, so we’re on the same page if people ask. But we should keep it simple.”
“Yes. As close to the truth as possible so we don’t get confused. We met through Sarah and Chad, were friends first for a long time. Then we gradually just fell in love. That’s easy enough, I guess. It sounds like it...” She trailed off as she realized what she was saying.
“It sounds like it what?”
“It sounds like it could be true.” There was nothing revealing or unusual about that comment. She didn’t know why the words caused her cheeks to burn with heat.
“Yes,” Logan agreed, staring out at the warm light of the sun, reflecting on the water with sparkles and bursts of light. “It sounds true.”
She was glad he wasn’t looking at her while she recovered herself. She wanted to feel normal again and didn’t know how to do it. She needed to bring up a new topic of conversation.
Something different.
Something easy.
Something that wouldn’t make her blush in this ridiculous way.
She was so flustered that the topic she brought up wasn’t at all what she’d intended—or what she’d needed it to be. “So why don’t you have a girlfriend for real?”
Logan gave a little jerk, and his eyes shot back to her face. “What?”
“You heard me. Why don’t you have a girlfriend for real?” Now that she’d brought the subject up, she needed to commit to it or else he would wonder what was wrong with her.
She was in this conversation now, whether she wanted to be or not.
He gave a half shrug. “I don’t know. What kind of question is that?”
“I know your career takes up most of your time, but that doesn’t rule out relationships. Don’t you want to be married and have a family?”
For some reason she was holding her breath as she waited for him to answer.
It took him a minute before he finally said, “Yes. I’d like to be married and have a family.”
“So why don’t you get one?”
She suddenly hated the thought of him getting a girlfriend, a wife, having kids with another woman. She hated the thought so much she almost shook with it. The feeling was completely irrational and totally unfair, but she couldn’t fight the resentment at some other woman claiming Logan as hers.
She could see it all so clearly just then. She could picture it happening in her mind. Logan would meet a sweet, beautiful woman—small and soft and blond and clingy—and he would fall for her hard. Completely. He’d pour himself into love completely, and he would do anything for that woman. All his time and effort and devotion and big heart would be focused entirely on her. All his body too. He’d marry her. They’d have babies. He’d be blissfully happy.
And Katie would lose him completely.
She had to force the extended visual into a dark corner of her mind because it started to nauseate her.
“It’s not as easy as just wanting one,” Logan said before she’d fully recovered herself.
She forced down her unworthy response and made herself think about what was best for Logan. “True. But you’re never going to get a wife if you don’t step up.”
“Step up?”
“Yes. Step up. And take what you want.”
He chuckled, and there was an ironic edge to the laughter that she couldn’t quite understand. “Got it. Step up and take what I want. I’ll work on it.”
She wondered if he was serious.
She wondered what she’d do if he started to step up and go after other women.
She liked to think she was generous and altruistic, but she suspected maybe she wasn’t.
She wanted to keep Logan for herself.
Before she could mull too deeply on those reflections, she was surprised out of them by Logan muttering, “Shit.”
“What?”
He gestured toward another couple on the beach, throwing a ball to a dog who was running out toward the waves. “I know him. He was in the chess club.”
“Well, that’s okay,” she said, peering at the man in front of them. “We’ll just need to pretend to be a couple right now.”
She reached out to take Logan’s hand, telling herself it was only sensible since she was supposed to act like his girlfriend.
But her pulse sped up ridiculously as soon as Logan’s hand tightened around hers.
Logan called out a greeting, and it took a minute for them to reach the other couple and their golden retriever.
“You’re up early, Anderson,” the man said. He was shorter than Katie and thin, with dark hair and glasses.
“Katie wanted to see the sunrise.” Logan was smiling as he reached out to shake the other man’s hand. “This is Katie Ross.” He turned to look at Katie. “Mike Holman and his wife. I’m sorry, I’ve forgotten your name.”
“Lisa,” the woman said. She wasn’t very attractive, but she looked nice and friendly.
After the introductions, Mike gave Katie a long look, like he was sizing her up. Then he glanced back at Logan. “So you got a girlfriend at last.”
The tone was teasing, but the words caused Katie to stiffen her shoulders with a bristling of resentment. She put on an intentionally sappy smile and put an arm around Logan’s waist. “He had girls hanging all over him for the longest time. I was lucky enough to get him.”
Mike and Lisa laughed as if they appreciated this display of affection. They talked for a few minutes about the get-together that afternoon, and then Logan said, “Enjoy your morning. We’ll see you later.”
He took Katie’s hand and started to walk away.
Katie didn’t say anything until they were out of earshot of the other couple. Then she gave Logan a questioning look.
He sighed and rolled his eyes. “We were always in competition in chess tournaments and with grades. We pretended to be friends, but we never really were.”
“I guess feelings like that never really go away.” She glanced over her shoulder and saw that Mike was still watching them.
She waited a few seconds, and then she turned Logan around to face her.
He looked surprised. And absolutely irresistible in the golden light of the morning.
“He’s still watching,” she murmured by way o
f explanation.
Logan nodded. Then his expression changed and he took her face in both his hands. He leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers.
Shivers of pleasure and excitement radiated out from the touch of his lips, filling her entire body. She made a little sound in her throat because the kiss felt so incredibly good.
Logan’s mouth withdrew after just a minute, and then with an audible intake of breath, he kissed her again, this time more deeply. His tongue played against her lips, and one of his hands gripped the base of her ponytail.
Her body was throbbing and boneless when she finally found the will to pull away.
Logan was flushed slightly, and his eyes were clouded, like he was unsettled by the kiss too.
She had to say something to break the tension.
She had to.
Otherwise she was going to say or do something she could never take back.
Finally she managed, “That should be convincing.”
Logan blinked. Then cleared his throat and started to walk again. “Yes. Thanks for helping me out.”
Four
LOGAN WAS AFRAID IF he didn’t pull himself together he was going to completely ruin his friendship with Katie.
Kissing her on the beach had been a big mistake.
He’d almost lost control completely, and then she would have seen how crazy about her he was. And as soon as that happened, she was going to withdraw from him.
He knew it was true.
She didn’t want a relationship—with him or anyone else. If she believed he was wanting more out of their friendship, she would make sure not to let it get any worse. Which meant not being close to him the way she was.
He couldn’t let that happen.
He tried to act normal as they returned to his parents’ house. His older brother, Sloan, with his wife, Maria, had stopped by, and they all had a big breakfast together. The conversation was friendly and chaotic as they caught up and shared laughter over eggs, bacon, waffles, and mixed fruit. That was good. That was a needed distraction.
They helped his parents clean up afterward, and by then it was nearly time to get ready to go to the reunion, which was a late lunch at a beach restaurant. The whole morning had passed without any return to the tension of their walk on the beach.
He tried to tell himself it was a good thing as he showered and changed clothes.
Katie was acting perfectly normal as she came downstairs before they left.
She wore a blue sundress and a dressy pair of sandals. She looked fresh and pretty and smiling and clever and everything he’d ever wanted.
He had to be very careful not to kiss her again.
He’d put on a decent shirt and trousers since the restaurant they were going to was a nice one. For a moment he could almost imagine she was his girlfriend for real, especially when she gave him a special smile and took his arm in a friendly gesture.
“You make such a lovely couple,” his mother said, coming in from the kitchen to see them on their way out the door.
“Mom,” he muttered, giving her a narrow-eyed look.
“I know, I know.” His mother laughed and patted his shoulder. “You’re just friends. That doesn’t mean you don’t make a lovely couple.”
Logan checked Katie’s expression and saw she looked a little uncomfortable behind her smile.
Damn it. This was going downhill fast.
There was nothing he could do to change his mother, so he just said good-bye as he and Katie left the house.
They were silent as he drove them over to the beach, and he really wished he knew what she was thinking.
“Sorry about my mom,” he said at last, as he pulled into a parking place at the restaurant. “You know how parents are.”
“Yes. I know. Don’t worry about it. She’s really great. Your whole family is.”
He knew it was true, and he couldn’t help but be pleased that Katie genuinely meant it. He could never have had any sort of relationship with someone who didn’t appreciate his family. “You’re still all right with coming to this thing with me?”
Her eyes widened. “Of course! Why wouldn’t I be?”
He wasn’t sure how to answer the question, so he just smiled and said, “Then let’s do this.”
THE REUNION WASN’T too tense or awkward or uncomfortable.
In fact, it was a little bit boring.
The lunch lasted about two hours, and he was able to chat with each of the twelve other guys on the chess team. Most of them were married now, and all of them had brought a wife or a date. He was really glad he had Katie with him and not just because it meant he wasn’t alone.
She went out of her way to be charming and to talk up Logan’s accomplishments with everyone she met. At first Logan appreciated it, but eventually he started to feel strange about it.
Not that she was going overboard. She was playing it exactly right, acting like a loving girlfriend.
He just didn’t want to be the kind of guy who needed a friend to help him out in a situation like this.
So he was glad when the group finally began to disperse and he could suggest to Katie that they leave.
She held his arm as they walked back to the car, and she waved a friendly farewell to another couple who were leaving at the same time.
He sighed in relief when they closed their car doors, effectively marking an end to the reunion.
Katie’s smile transformed into a warm, searching look. “That seemed to go well. Didn’t you think so?”
“Yes. Yes, it was fine. You were great.”
She relaxed against the seat and toed off her sandals. “I guess I’m good at being an adoring girlfriend. Who knew?”
Logan knew.
No one would be a better girlfriend than Katie.
She closed her eyes, and Logan’s heart ached in his chest at the sight of her dark eyelashes against her smooth skin, the full curve of her lips slightly parted, the graceful line of her shoulders, her breasts.
Her eyes opened so suddenly he wasn’t sure he’d effectively masked his expression.
She blinked at him. “You thought it went well, didn’t you?”
“Sure.”
“What’s the matter?”
“Nothing. It’s really nothing. Everything went well, and I greatly appreciate your help. I just wish...” He trailed off.
“You wish what?”
“I don’t know. I guess I just feel kind of stupid about the whole thing. I’m not sure what I was even thinking in asking you to do this for me.”
Her questioning expression softened into something soft, tender, heart-stopping. “You were thinking that you’re still second best somehow, that you still can’t measure up.”
He started to give an immediate denial, but the words never came out. She was right. Of course she was right. He’d always compared himself to other guys—his brothers, his friends at school—and he’d never felt like he could compare.
No matter how successful he’d become since high school, those feelings never really went away.
“You’re not second best, Logan,” Katie said, reaching out to touch his cheek very gently. “You’re the most amazing man I’ve ever met, and that’s never going to change. And I’m not the only one to see that.”
He couldn’t look away from the fond sincerity in her eyes. He couldn’t pull his face away from her hand, even though he knew he should.
His blood was pounding deliciously in his veins, all through his body. And he couldn’t possibly resist the need to touch her, claim her, sink into her.
He reached out and pulled her face toward him, claiming her lips with his.
She sucked in a breath of surprise, but she didn’t pull away. Her hand moved to the back of his neck, and she softened against him.
His mind roared with pleasure at her eager response, and his tongue slid into her mouth, tangling with her tongue, tasting her exactly the way he wanted.
She’d adjusted in her seat, and now she was wra
pping both arms around him. She wanted to kiss him. Wanted to. He could feel it so clearly, and it released the coiled desire he’d been reining in for her for so long.
She was his.
She was his.
And he wanted to make her his all the way.
She was making throaty sounds of pleasure as his hands started to move down her body, touching her soft skin, her perfect curves. His groin was rock hard now, uncomfortable in the confines of his trousers. And he wasn’t sure how he was going to hold himself back.
Then Katie suddenly pulled away, gasping loudly in the quiet car.
“What... what.... what?” Her cheeks were flushed bright red, and her hair was mussed slightly. She looked like she’d just been kissed well and deeply, and he couldn’t help but like the fact that he was the one who’d made her look that way.
He cleared his throat, trying to make his brain work when all he was conscious of was his body and heart roaring in need and satisfaction.
She looked around at the parking lot, hugging her arms to her chest. “Was someone... watching?”
And that was like a kick in the gut. She thought he was still faking. She thought that incredible kiss couldn’t be real.
He stared at her, unable to speak.
Incapable of doing anything except barely holding himself back.
“I need...” She was looking frantically between him and the parking lot. “I need some air.”
He needed a lot more than air.
She added, “I’m sorry. I’ll be back in a minute.”
Before he could reply, she was getting out of the car and walking across the parking lot toward the beach.
He was so aroused and dazed that he couldn’t move immediately, but he did notice—in one of those random observations in the midst of intense feelings—that she had run away barefoot.
Her sandals were still on the floor of his car.
Five
KATIE’S BARE FEET DIDN’T appreciate either the hot pavement of the parking lot or the bare wood of the walkway that led down to the beach.
She was too upset to even register the discomfort though.