Trudy had tried for years, ever since his fiancée abandoned him, to set him up with a nice, loving woman. Yes, she readily admitted to having made some mistakes. Pearl, her hairdresser being one. Granted, Pearl was a little older than Logan but she was kind and loved to cook and owned several salons in Southern Indiana. She would keep Logan’s hair neatly trimmed and his belly full. Trudy shifted on her chair and grumped. Okay, she majorly faux pa-ed that one but Logan rebuked all her choices. She'd been getting desperate.
Her other chief mistake had been Charlotte, the granddaughter of one of her canasta buddies. On paper, Charlotte seemed perfect. She was adorable, outgoing and sweet. But the moment she saw Logan, stars glittered in her eyes and she fell in love, attaching herself like Velcro to his side. Logan being Logan, he'd been instantly wary. With Trudy’s coercion, he invited her to a hotel grand opening and although Trudy wasn’t positive, she was pretty sure they slept together. Logan being Logan, he declined a second date, which Charlotte refused to accept. She became borderline obsessive.
Trudy wheedled Logan into the mess, she felt responsible to get him out. Voila! Enter Jade LaRossa, aka movie star Juliet LaRue. Her nephews had no idea she was friends with the screen siren. Trudy met Jade when she was a college student and Trudy was on the board of directors of the local auditorium. Trudy had been impressed with Jade’s performance, knew she was destined for great things. They struck up a conversation and a deep and lasting friendship ensued. Trudy became Jade’s benefactor, funding her education and financing her trip to Hollywood. Jade’s parents were wonderful people, but didn’t have the means to provide the opportunities Jade needed to achieve success.
From the moment Trudy watched Jade on stage, she knew she would be perfect for Logan but over the years, something always got in the way. First Logan’s SEAL career, then Jade’s Hollywood one, then Logan’s fiancée and Jade’s marriage. Oh, how Trudy had been disappointed to learn of Jade’s nuptials with Hollywood bad boy Kyle Ashton. Trudy had all but given up any hope of getting the two together.
Then Jade called and asked if Trudy could find her a place to stay for the summer. Her marriage was over and she needed to get away. It just so happened, the family who lived next to Logan had left on a two year overseas sojourn and were looking to rent the house. Good ol' fate.
But Fate obviously didn’t take kindly to scheming aunts. When Trudy’s plans were finally coming to fruition, she'd been taken out of the game. Madge, her dear friend, had been diagnosed with a fatal disease and only had a few months to live. They had always planned on taking a cruise to Alaska and Trudy couldn’t disappoint her oldest and dearest friend. That’s how she found herself on a boat bound for the Arctic.
Maybe it was for the better. This would give Logan time to fall in love with Jade before she returned home. If he learned of her matchmaking, he would be furious and possibly ignore the love of his life out of spite.
Trudy took another sip of her Mai Tai. She would look at dresses when they arrived at the next port. She could practically smell a fall wedding.
Chapter Seven
Jade latched onto another hunk of stubborn weeds from the flower bed beside the house and tugged when she heard happy squealing followed by excited barking. She turned and smiled when Isabella raced into the yard with her dog dancing around her heels.
She'd given a lot of thought on what to name the cute puppy the last couple of days and hoped Isabella might like the name Snowball. She stood and brushed dirt from her shorts, intending to suggest the name. A female voice rang out, warning the little girl to make sure she grabbed water wings from the pool house. Isabella disappeared into the building and reemerged with a pair of orange floats.
Jade turned her head as a blonde in a red bikini strolled across the lawn to unlock the gate surrounding the pool. Although the woman looked a bit young for Logan, she was stunningly beautiful.
Jade crouched down, not wanting to be seen. She frowned at the sudden stab of jealousy. Of course a man as sexy and virile as Logan Bradley would have a girlfriend.
Jade laughed at herself and wiped a gloved hand across her forehead, leaving a streak of dirt. She didn’t even know Logan, had met him only once. Men were absolutely not on her agenda. She was on a personal quest to rediscover herself and what made her happy. For so long, her life had been dictated by others: her agent, producers, studio honchos and her husband. Somewhere along the way, the real Jade LaRossa became lost in the shuffle.
She already discovered that she loved gardening, suspense novels and Oreo ice cream, maybe not the best thing to learn, she thought with a laugh. It didn’t stop her from buying an extra gallon anyway.
She'd always loved to swim, too. She spent hours at the community pool growing up and although her spacious house in the Hollywood hills boasted an Olympic sized one, she rarely used it. Her gaze strayed again to Isabella and the blonde. They were laughing and tossing a beach ball, Snowball scampering around the grass inside the enclosed pool fence. She wondered if Logan would mind if she took a dip when he or Isabella or his girlfriend weren’t around. She made a mental note to ask him the next time she saw him.
Jade jumped when her cell phone buzzed. She still hadn’t been able to turn the thing off completely, not that she was actually expecting MegaPics to bombard her with offers to star in their next movie. Still, she held out hope as she checked the number. Vanessa, again. She rolled her eyes skyward.
“What’s up, V?”
“Jules, sugah, why aren’t you back yet? I need to talk to you.”
“I’m still on vacation.”
“But dahling, you're my best friend and I have so much to tell you. Guess what?” She didn’t give Jade time to respond. “I got a part in the new Tarrenvessi movie.”
“That’s awesome, V.”
“And I just got back from the GlamGirls shoot. The editor said he would make room for you, Jules. He said we could even share the cover. What do you think?”
Knock, knock, anyone home? “I won’t be able to make it, V. Give the editor my regrets.”
“Fine, Jules, but one day, when that gorgeous bod of yours starts sagging, you'll wish you had visual proof of how magnificent you were.”
“I’ll get a Polaroid.”
“You are such a wit, Jules. Anyhoo, I wanted to go out for drinks at the new place on Wilshire. I just broke up with my BF and need someone to commiserate with.”
“I didn’t know you had a boyfriend Vanessa. Who was he this time?”
“I told you about him, didn’t I? Mike.”
“The stuntman you dumped before because he wouldn’t sleep with you?”
“You don’t have to be so harsh, Jules. Yes, I dumped him, but he came begging on his hands and knees, so I took him back. And before you ask, no, we didn’t sleep together, not that I didn’t try, mind you. Then I caught the strange man snooping through my things. It’s one thing to allow a man to go through my drawers, another for him to do it on his own, if you catch my meaning.”
Hard not to, V.
Jade wiped her arm across her forehead. She wanted to get Vanessa off the phone without sounding rude. “There are other fish in the sea,” she said absently as she tackled a tough weed.
“Don’t I know it,” Vanessa agreed. She proceeded to drone on about this guy, that guy and another one. Jade finally managed to cut her off and hang up, vowing not to answer another call from Vanessa Van Gogh.
She lost track of time as she yanked weeds and plucked dead blooms off the bounty of flowers. She heard Isabella and the blonde getting out of the pool.
“Come on Fiji,” Isabella called. The little puppy raced to catch up.
“Fiji,” Jade repeated softly. She smiled. What a great name. She bet Logan had suggested it. He picked a name that was exotic and still managed to be close to the one Isabella wanted. It was the perfect choice.
Standing, Jade winced as she stretched sore muscles, overworked from an afternoon of bending and tending the garden. Although she wor
ked with a trainer five days a week, she must have activated muscles that she normally didn’t work.
She felt more alive than she had in a long, long time.
Chapter Eight
A week passed before Jade saw Logan again. The grass surrounding her rental house was close to knee high and she needed to either cut it or call Indiana Jones to locate the front door. In such a short amount of time, it nearly overtook everything. The Hunts used a lawn service but Jade cancelled the contract for the duration of her stay. She had plenty of free time, she wanted to do it herself.
She was fumbling with the lawn mower when she looked up to see Logan emerge from his house, followed closely by Isabella and her puppy. Logan opened a table and placed it on his deck. He said something to Isabella and laughed at her response. Jade’s heart flipped at the sound. It seemed everything this man did affected her.
She was just about to ask him for help getting the stupid mower started when a woman emerged carrying an overflowing box stuffed with cups and plates and paper products. Isabella squealed and the woman set the box down and whisked her into her arms, spinning in a circle. Then she walked over and gave Logan a kiss.
How many women did he have? This one was also blonde and beautiful but she looked older than the other one—and extremely pregnant!
Jade watched as Logan placed his hands on her belly and the woman adjusted them until she was satisfied. He must be feeling the baby kick. His baby? The woman looked up and caught her staring before Jade could turn away. She said something to Logan and his head swiveled in her direction. Jade quickly ducked, slamming her hand down on her floppy straw hat to keep it from tumbling off. She resumed her inept fumbling with the mower.
A dark shadow fell over her and she lifted her head to see Logan standing on his side of the fence. “Do you need a hand with that?”
Jade pursed her lips, torn between refusal and relief. She glanced past Logan to the blonde, who gave her an assessing look as she carried strands of lights to the pool. Jade opened her mouth to send him away when another woman skipped outside. Logan turned at the lilting voice and Jade recognized her as the blonde who took Isabella swimming the other day. Her mouth gaped when another stunningly beautiful woman appeared, this one with long, black hair flowing down her back.
What the heck kind of thing was this man into? The woman waved at Logan, stopped to gather her hair into a ponytail and then hurried over to where Isabella and both blondes were hanging festive lights.
Logan spun back around and lifted his brows at Jade. Her eyes widened with disgust. Did he want her to join his ever-growing harem?
“Miz LaRossa?”
“What?” she all but shrieked.
“The mower?”
“Huh?”
“I asked if you needed help with that.” He pointed to the object of her frustration.
Realization of his question finally sunk into her warped brain and she felt color flood her face at her wayward thoughts.
“Sorry. Yes, if you don’t mind. I can’t get it started.”
In one quick move, Logan gripped the top of the four foot iron fence and effortlessly leaped over. He wore a gray t-shirt that read “SEALs” and blue and white board shorts. Her mouth watered.
As he tinkered with the mower he glanced up and caught her watching the women flutter around his yard. He cleared his throat and she jerked her eyes away guiltily. “I’m having a few friends over this afternoon. You are welcome to come over and join us.”
“Oh, I don’t think so.”
He looked taken aback by her rude tone and she felt instantly contrite.
“Okay then. I hope we don’t get too loud tonight. I’ll try to keep it down. We usually don’t have to worry being this far away from other houses and this one vacant.”
“Excuse me?” Jade demanded appallingly. Was he warning her that his orgy would be carrying on all night long? With his daughter around?
“The noise. We'll try to keep it down.”
“I should hope so,” she said haughtily. “What about Isabella?”
“Oh, she'll love it. Of course, I'll have the fight of the century on my hands when I have to put her to bed. I’m sure she'll call me an ogre and feel as if she is missing all the fun.” He smiled.
Jade stared at the man with her mouth gaping. She couldn’t believe he was standing here talking about this as if it were no big deal. She didn’t think it was a coincidence that he used the term “ogre” which was strikingly similar to “orgy.”
His smile slowly faded to a confused frown. “Ms. LaRossa? Is something wrong?”
Before she could answer, one of the women called out, “Logan, where do you keep the tiki torches?”
“Pool house,” he answered and then turned back to face her.
“Tiki torches?”
“Yeah,” he grinned sheepishly. “It keeps the mosquitoes away and adds a festive atmosphere to the party.”
“Party?”
He looked at her as if she'd just asked a question in Latin. “Didn’t I just explain that we would try to keep the noise down from the barbeque?”
Barbeque? Jade closed her eyes and groaned. He wasn’t planning an orgy. Jade felt like fifteen kinds of a fool. Good grief, she'd definitely been jaded by Hollywood.
Just because Kyle’s parties always turned into orgies didn’t mean everyone’s did.
“What did you think I was talking about?” he asked cautiously.
“I don’t know what I was thinking,” Jade lied. She deftly changed the subject. “So you think you can get this thing started for me?”
He looked as if he wanted to press his question but focused on the mower instead. “I’ll see what I can do. You can borrow mine if I can’t. It’s a riding mower.” As he fiddled with the machine, he casually said, “The invitation still stands if you want to join us. Nothing fancy and you wouldn’t need to bring anything. We’ve got a little of everything: burgers, dogs, chips, an assortment of salads, beer.”
“Thanks, but I really can’t.” She felt too foolish. Then, feeling guilty from taking him from his party preparations she said, “Listen, don’t worry about this now. I won’t cut the grass and interfere with your barbeque.” She made a show of glancing at her watch. “I need to be someplace anyway.” He looked at her skeptically but didn’t say anything. “If you’re sure you don’t mind, I’ll just borrow yours tomorrow or in the next few days.”
“You're more than welcome to, but I think I’ve figured out what's wrong with this one.”
“Really? What?”
“It needs gas.”
“Gas?”
“Yeah, you know, the stuff you feed it that makes it run.”
Jade blushed fiercely. She didn’t even realize it took gas. She'd never mowed the lawn before, but thought how hard could it be? She assumed she would have no problem but obviously, she had a big one if she couldn’t even figure out that it needed gasoline to run. Stupid, stupid, stupid.
“Well then, I’ll be off since you need to leave.”
“Huh?”
He looked at her as if she really were a fruitcake. “Didn’t you just say there was someplace you needed to be?”
Jade’s head snapped up. “Oh, right.” She moved jerkily, pushing the mower back into the shed. “Thanks for the help.”
He grunted and she sensed him standing behind her watching her. When she refused to turn around, she heard a deep sigh and spun in time to watch him cross the fence the same way he entered her yard.
“Logan?”
He stopped and faced her. “Yeah?”
“Fiji is a great name.”
A slow grin spread across his face. “Thanks. It is, isn’t it? See you around.”
With that, he was gone.
Chapter Nine
The party was in full swing. All COBRA employees not currently on assignment were in attendance. Luke and his sister Kaitlyn were among the party-goers, as was the entire Dianetti family: Matt, Jac, Lauren, plus Matt’s folks
. Logan’s brother Dan was unusually solo. At twenty-five, that was a natural disaster for him. A couple of the people from the neighborhood were there, including Mrs. Harper, the still-sprite-at-eighty-three-year-old woman who lived down the street. She treated Isabella like a granddaughter and Isabella soaked up the attention like a dry sponge. Matt’s parents were the same, showering her with gifts and affection.
He glanced over at Jade LaRossa’s house. No lights glowed from the windows that he could see, but he thought he spotted a shadow pass by one earlier. There was just enough space in the grove of trees that separated the houses for him to view her back patio. Rumor had it that old Mrs. Tinsley, the woman who used to own the house, was extremely nosey and a serial gossip. The people he'd bought his home from liked to have parties and Mrs. Tinsley couldn’t stand not knowing what was happening next door. After one really rambunctious shindig, she called a tree trimming company the next day and had them remove a section of trees that blocked her view. “Dutch Elm Disease,” she'd explained to the other family, never mind the fact that the trees were Pine.
He thought back to his encounter with Jade earlier in the afternoon. She was clearly intrigued with the preparations for his party but when he invited her to join in, she looked at him like he was a cannibal offering her a plate of food.
He shook his head. Women. Who understood ‘em?
“Hey buddy, why the dopey look?”
Logan flashed his middle finger and snatched the bottle of Sam Adams Luke offered. Luke chuckled and swung his leg over the adjoining lounge chair.
“Do I give off some kind of weird serial killer vibe or something?”
Luke choked on his beer and shot forward, sputtering, “What the hell kind of question is that?” He wiped the back of his hand across his mouth. "Do you think I'd hang around you if you did?”
Logan pursed his lips in contemplation and nodded. “Good point.”
“Do you think Bella would have latched on to you so soon if she feared for her life? For better or worse, that girl thinks you hung the moon.”
The Fan Page 5