Kiss Me in Carolina (Hunt Family Book 2)

by Brooke St. James

  "Screw September," he said with a smile in his tone. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that, but seriously, September means nothing. I'd wait seven Septembers like he had to do for the Rachel in the Bible. I'd wait forever if I had to."

  "Are you trying to woo me by comparing us to Bible characters?" I asked.

  He chuckled. "I'm trying to woo you any way I can."

  I laughed.

  "So, you comin'?" he asked.

  "I don't have a plane ticket or anything," I said. "I think it's kind of spur of the moment."

  "So?" he asked.

  "So I hadn't planned on picking up and flying across the country tomorrow."

  "You said yourself you didn't have anything else going on."

  "Yeaaah, I did."

  "Great," he said as if it was all decided.

  "Logan, I can't just go on vacation with you."

  "Sure you can," he said.

  I couldn’t stop a huge smile from spreading across my face at how matter of fact he was being.

  "Seriously?" I asked.

  "Yes. Just pack. I'll take care of everything else. I'll call you back in a little while with details, but it'll be early tomorrow. We lose four hours going over there."

  "Do I meet you at the airport or what?"

  "I'll tell you all that when I call you back," he said. "I'll probably send a driver. Text me your address when we hang up."

  "Okay," I said, feeling like everything was in slow motion.

  "Okay, so I'll see you in the morning, Peaches."

  "Peach cobbler?" I asked, remembering our conversation on the bench.

  "The peachiest," he said, smiling.

  "See you then," I said.

  I smiled as we hung up, but it fell into a look of fear even though no one else was in my apartment. What in heaven's name had I gotten myself into? Logan had told me a story about his family's beach house back East, so I sort of knew to expect a huge family gathering. That, however, was all I knew. All sorts of thoughts and doubts crossed my mind, including thoughts of London and the fact that she lived in Myrtle Beach.

  The reality of the situation had not sunk in yet, and I couldn't stop doubting that it was even true. One minute, I was eating sushi with some friends, and the next, I was packing my bags.

  I made a conscious decision not to worry. Logan asked me, and I agreed to go, and that was all there was to it. Once I pushed my doubts and fears aside, they were replaced with excitement. I put on some music and began taking clothes out of my drawers and putting them into my bag.

  "You excited?" he asked when I picked up my phone an hour later.

  "I am," I said.

  "Good. Your house isn't on our way to the airport, so I'm gonna send a driver for you, and you'll meet us there."

  "Will he have my ticket? Or is it just under my name?"

  "You don't need a ticket," he said. "Your driver will drop you off on the tarmac. You'll see where to go."

  "Am I getting on a private jet?" I asked.

  "Is that okay?"

  "I guess it'll do," I said, teasing him.

  "You probably got to ride in private planes all the time growing up."

  I laughed. "Yeah, but there were chickens running around in there with us. Does your plane have chickens?"

  "Maybe for lunch," he said.

  We paused.

  "I'm excited," I said. "Thank you for having me along. It's perfect timing. I'm trying to keep my toes in the sand for a few weeks to decompress from the last eight years of school."

  "Now your toes and my toes can be in the same sand," he said. "Right next to each other."

  I giggled. "My toes are wiggling around just thinking about it."

  "My toes are wondering what took your toes so long to call," he said, smiling.

  I let out another little laugh. "My toes thought your toes would forgot all about me by now," I said.

  "I didn't," he said, with no mention of his toes. "Did you forget about me?"

  "No."

  "Did you wait for me?" he asked.

  "What's that mean?"

  "Have you been with anybody since we met?"

  "Of course not," I said. "I told you where I stand on that."

  "I don't mean sex. I'm talking about dating. Have you been seeing anyone?"

  "No," I said, feeling nervous and jittery all over again. "Have you?"

  "No." He answered quickly, which made me smile. "I've been busy with work. Plus, I promised you I'd wait."

  "And you meant it?" I asked, although I phrased it like more of a statement.

  "I meant it," he said. "Rachel?"

  "Yeah?"

  "Would you have called in September? You know, if I hadn't run into you tonight?"

  "Yes," I answered. "Logan?"

  "Yeah?"

  "Would you have waited till September?"

  "I told you that already. I would have waited as long as it took." He paused. "Actually, I would have given you till September, and then I would have gotten impatient and looked you up."

  "Why didn't you already look me up?"

  "Because you're the one who needed the whole September thing, not me. I was trying to respect that."

  "Thanks," I said.

  "You can thank me in person in the morning."

  I smiled even though he couldn't see me.

  "Your driver will be there at seven-thirty."

  Chapter 10

  A sleek black car was parked in front of my apartment when I went out at 7:23 the next morning. The driver got out as soon as I headed toward him.

  "I'm sorry," I said. "I didn't know you were waiting."

  "I just got here," he said. "I was about to call you." He was a lofty, middle-aged man wearing a suit. I wondered if he was part of some kind of service or if he specifically worked for Logan. "I'll take your bag, ma'am," he said.

  His smile was so warm that I figured I'd ask him what was on my mind. "Do you work for Logan?"

  "Today I do," he said with a smile. "It's my car. I work for other people, too, but Mr. Ritchie uses me quite a bit."

  He opened the back door for me.

  "Do you mind if I sit in the front with you?" I asked. I tried to glance into the passenger's side but couldn’t see through the tinted windows.

  "It's nicer back here," he said.

  "Is it better for you?" I asked. "Is it part of your rules or something?"

  He let out a hardy laugh. "No ma'am there's no rule on where you ride. I guess I'd like the company in the front, if it's all the same to you."

  I smiled and nodded at him, and he reached out to open the front door instead. "Thank you… what's your name?"

  "I'm Mike."

  "Thank you Mike."

  He smiled. "You're very welcome, Ms. Stephens."

  Mike and I had a grand old time during the forty-minute commute to the airport. We talked about basketball, and Mexican food, and tons of other random things. He asked me how I knew Logan, and I told him a little about how we'd met. Mike had a lot of nice things to say about Logan, which made me feel proud.

  We had to stop so he could talk to two different guards, but we were finally allowed to go onto the tarmac. I was already nervous, but my heart really started racing once I saw the plane he was headed toward. It was a small jet with a set of stairs pulled down and resting on the ground. There were two men standing near the stairs, but neither of them were Logan.

  "That's the one?" I asked.

  "Yes ma'am," he said as he pulled to a stop. "Stay put and I'll open the door for you."

  "Logan was just going to call and see where you were," I heard one of the men say as Mike opened my door.

  Mike smiled at him. "We left early and made good time," he defended.

  I looked at the other man, who shrugged and smiled. "You know he gets in a hurry."

  Mike went around to the trunk to get my luggage, and I followed him. "You must be Rachel," the same man called.

  I gave him a little smile and wave but stayed back with
Mike. "Yes sir," I said.

  "And she's a little sweetheart, too, I'll tell you that right now," Mike said.

  "You better keep your dirty, old paws off my lady," Logan said.

  My heart stopped as I surveyed the scene, trying to find him. He was standing at the top of the stairs in the doorway of the plane, casually leaning on the handrails with a huge smile.

  "You better mind your manners with this one," Mike warned, still teasing Logan.

  Logan wore a huge, dazzling white smile as he put his hands up in surrender. "She won't tolerate anything but manners," he said.

  I glanced at Mike, who winked at me and said, "Atta girl."

  I smiled and popped up to kiss his cheek. "Thank you," I said. "I had fun." I handed him the twenty-dollar bill I had set aside for a tip, but he pushed it away without even looking to see what it was.

  "Mr. Ritchie takes real good care of me," he said. "I appreciate it, though." He winked at me again and I tucked the bill into the back pocket of my jeans.

  Logan had descended the stairs and was standing close to us by the time Mike and I had finished that exchange. "Why didn't you tell me you had me pickin' up a little doll this morning?" Mike asked Logan.

  I blushed at the compliment, and Logan put his arm protectively around my shoulders. He squeezed me from the side, and reached over to place a kiss on my head. Mike began rolling my bag toward the two men who were talking, and Logan pulled me in that same direction.

  "This is the pilot, Neil, and my dad, Robert," Logan said.

  They both waved at me. Mike handed my bag off to Neil while Logan's dad crossed over to us. "This is Rachel," Logan said.

  I stuck out my hand for Robert, but he went for the hug instead. "I pictured you blonde this whole time," he said, hugging me.

  "Why'd you picture her blonde?" Logan asked.

  His dad shrugged as he pulled back to stare at me. "I don't know, I guess because I have a blonde daughter, and you never said what color hair she has."

  "He said she had dark hair," a woman called from the doorway of the plane where Logan had been standing. We all looked up at her, and she smiled and waved. She had brown, shoulder length hair, nice but casual clothes, and a warm smile. I could see a lot of Logan in her face, and I knew without a doubt that she was his mother.

  "I'm Denise," she said, waving.

  "Hey Rachel!" Charlotte yelled, peeking her head out of the plane behind her mom's shoulder. I smiled and waved at them both before glancing at Logan.

  "What am I doing?" I whispered with a fearful smile.

  "You're coming with me," he said.

  "I guess I am," I said, sighing nervously.

  "They're just big goobers like me," he said.

  "How about everyone else?" I asked.

  "Who?"

  "You know, all your aunts and cousins and everyone."

  "All goobers," he said with a smile. "Every last one of us. Even my grandma."

  "Nothing to be afraid of, right?" I asked, psyching myself up.

  "Nothing at all. You'll see."

  ***

  There were only five passengers on the plane—Logan and I, along with his parents and sister. There was talk about his friend, Nico, coming along, but apparently, he wasn't able to at the last minute. It was a non-stop flight from L.A. to Myrtle Beach. We were in the air for about five hours. But we also lost four, so it was late in the afternoon by the time we arrived.

  Logan had rented a massive SUV that was waiting for us when we arrived. Someone must've moved our luggage for us, because all we did was get off the plane and into the car without worrying about transferring anything.

  "My oldest brother, David, and his family won't be there," Denise said as we drove to the house. "Their son and his wife just had their second baby a few days ago, so they're staying home this year."

  "Logan said his grandma doesn’t like it when you miss a year," I said.

  Denise laughed at that. Robert was driving, and she smiled knowingly at him before turning to face those of us in the backseat. I was sitting in the middle between Logan and Charlotte, so she instinctually made eye contact with me.

  "Mom's funny; you'll love her," she said. "She hates it when we have to miss, but she let Dave slide this year because of the baby."

  "Is Evan gonna be there?" Logan asked.

  "As far as I know," Denise said. She glanced at me. "Evan belongs to my brother, Dan," she explained. "He has three kids."

  "Cody, Evan, and Mia," I said.

  "You're good!" Denise said.

  "I taught her on the plane while you were taking a nap," Charlotte said.

  "And Logan had already told me a little about them when we first met," I added. "Hopefully, I can keep everyone halfway straight."

  "Don't worry if you don't," Robert interjected from the front seat. "Denise and I were dating for two years before I got everyone's names right."

  "It's not that hard," Denise assured me. "It'll be easy once you get there and meet everybody. Speaking of…" Denise said, trailing off as she looked at the side of Robert's face as he drove. "I haven't even thought about sleeping arrangements." She looked at me. "You might be on a couch," she said, reluctantly.

  I shrugged. "I'm fine with that."

  "She grew up in Kenya on a dirt floor," Logan said. I looked at him, and we shared a smile, both of us knowing good and well that I never slept on dirt floors.

  "There might be enough bedrooms with Dave and Andy not being there," Robert said.

  "Oh that's right," she said. "I'm sure there will be."

  "I'm really not worried about it," I said. "A couch is fine with me."

  "Yeah, I think she'd be fine upstairs on one of the couches," Logan said, with a sly smile that I knew meant he was trying to get me in his vicinity.

  I squinted at him, and his smile broadened. He reached out and put his hand on my leg right above my knee. He gave me a little squeeze, letting his hand linger for a few long seconds. Even through the fabric of my jeans, I could feel the warmth.

  "She can stay with Mia and I on the second floor," Charlotte said. "That's where all the cool kids stay."

  "You should just mind your own business," Logan said, leaning forward.

  Charlotte giggled. "Actually, the cool kids are upstairs," she said. "Maybe Mia and I will go up there and kick the boys downstairs."

  "Maybe we'll just keep it like it is," Logan said.

  We had several more minutes of this friendly banter before arriving at the house. I knew Logan had tons of money, so it shouldn't have surprised me, but the house was even better than I expected. It was a picturesque three-story place that was set up on piers. It was light green with white shutters and doors and was situated directly on the beach. I couldn’t see the shore from the front of the house where we parked, but I could both hear and smell it, so I knew we were close.

  "Logannnn! Charrrlotte!" a little girl yelled from the front porch as we got out. She was at the top of the stairs with the person I assumed was her mom.

  "That's Cody's little girl, Ryan," Robert said, pulling our suitcases out of the back of the SUV one by one. "Paige is the girl standing up there with her. She's Cody's new wife."

  "She's not the little girl's mom?" I asked, trying to get things straight.

  "No." Robert smiled and winked at me, "but don't tell her that."

  I smiled before glancing at the huge staircase that led to the front door. Logan was scaling the stairs in dramatic fashion, looking a bit slanky and janky like a long-armed ape.

  Ryan stomped her feet and squealed with delight as she watched him coming to get her. She continued squealing as he made it to the top and took her into his arms, burying his face into her neck and cracking her up. After he had sufficiently tickled her, he positioned her on his hip as he came down the stairs.

  Charlotte passed them on her way up, giving Ryan kisses on the cheek and making her crack up again. I watched them interact as I rolled my suitcase that way.

  "I want y
ou to meet my friend Rachel," Logan said, once he made it to the bottom of the stairs. I held out a hand to greet the little girl, but she lunged toward me with both arms extended as if wanting me to catch her. I dropped the handle of my luggage and set my purse next to my feet before reaching out to take her.

  I let out a groan as I put her on my hip. "You got bigger since the last time I saw you!" I said.

  She furrowed her eyebrows at me and scrunched up her nose.

  My face broke into a grin as I tickled under her arm. "I'm just kidding; I never saw you before," I said.

  "I knew I never did," she said, wagging her finger at me as if to say she was too smart for me to slip something past her.

  "Hey punkin," Robert said, pinching at Ryan's leg as he passed with their luggage.

  "Hi Uncle Rob," she said. "Did you meet Rachel before?"

  "I sure did," he said.

  "Did you bring her here?"

  "Yep, she rode with us, but I think Logan brought her mostly."

  Ryan stared at Logan, wondering if this was an accurate description of what happened.

  He laughed. "She came with me," he said.

  "Like your other friend?" she asked.

  He shot her a curious expression, but then smiled as if he thought she was just confused. "Yep," he answered rather than explaining he had no idea what she was talking about.

  She looked at me. "Did you meet my mom and dad?" she asked.

  "Not yet."

  "Did you meet my Memaw and Dee-dee?"

  "I don't think so," I said. "I just met everyone who was in the truck with me."

  "Did you get a haircut?" She asked Logan.

  "I did," he said. He reached up and ran his hand through his freshly cropped hair. He could wear any hairstyle, but the super-short cut made him look tough and somehow mysterious. "I had to wear a wig for this job I just finished," he said. "And it's more comfortable like this."

  "A wiiig?" she asked, laughing like it was a hilarious idea.

  "Yep. A long wig like Uncle Evan's hair."

  "Why didn't you let your real hair grow?"

  "Because I didn't have time. It takes a long time to let your hair grow, and I couldn’t do it before this job started."

  "Granddad said uncle Evan needs to go buy a razor."

  Logan laughed. "I'll bet he did."