Page 63 of Winter’s Fire

So here they were, like a couple of naughty schoolchildren who’d been sent to see the headmaster. At this precise moment, Lucy was curled up in her seat, looking every inch the petulant, moody brat. Logan had had no idea her many talents included putting on such a convincing performance.

And how the hell was he supposed to act all pissed off when all he felt was immense pride in the woman who meant the world to him?

“So, now that you’ve aired your grievances, where do you see your relationship going? Lisa?”

To give him his due, Dr. J had done a stellar job of getting to the bottom of their supposed breakdown in communication.

“I don’t know.”

Logan almost laughed at the sullen shrug she gave, like a teenager from hell on steroids. For effect, he gave an exasperated sigh. “You see what she’s like, Dr. J. I had hoped coming here would give us a new start. I thought it had, but then—”

“Then you started acting like a dictator instead of a Dom! What did you expect me to do? I’m not a slave!”

“I never thought you were!” he retaliated. “Jesus, give me strength!”

“Lucan, Lisa… please. You know that raising your voices to each other won’t solve this. Might I suggest a little time apart to cool off?”

Divide and conquer? Logan wondered if that was how they’d got to Diana and her man. Split them up, tell each of them that the other had gone their separate way, and then… what? Anything could have happened, and that was the part he really didn’t like. “I’m sure that won’t be necessary, Dr. J,” he replied smoothly.

“I wouldn’t be so sure!”

The brat was turning into a spitting wildcat. He might have been reluctant to have her as a partner on this mission to begin with, but right now, Logan doubted he’d ever have found a better one. “Fine, you want separate accommodation, you pay for it, sweets.”

“Bastard!”

“Please, both of you, try to remain calm, this isn’t helping. Lisa, we can find you some accommodation in the hotel for the remainder of your stay. Would you like me to arrange it for you?”

His girl elevated the sulk to an art form. “No, I’ll be okay, thank you, Dr. J.” Then she turned to Logan. “I’ll do your stupid demo, Sir.”

“Don’t put yourself out, darling.” Logan could do a sarcastic tone with the best of them.

“I’m not. I’m doing it for me, and because I don’t want to let anyone down.”

“Please yourself, you always do.” He feigned an air of boredom. “Are we done now, Doc? She’s staying with me, the demo’s going ahead, and much though I’m tempted, I’m not about to kill her any time soon.”

“We’re done—for now—but I’d like both of you to come back at the same time tomorrow.”

For the sake of appearances, Logan and Lucy maintained their mutually hostile attitude all the way back to their bungalow.

Once the door closed behind them, Lucy collapsed against the wall and slid all the way down to the floor. “Thank God that’s over. The things I said… I’m so sorry.”

“Come here.” Logan took her hands and lifted her to her feet again. He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her. “If I’ve never told you how proud I am of you, I’m telling you now. You’ve done an amazing job, princess. And while there’s no need to apologise for working your cover like a pro, if you want to get into that, I’m sorry, too. “

“Do you think it’ll work?”

“I don’t know, but we’ve done the best we can. If it is enough, we need to be on our guard now. You’re not leaving my sight.”

“You won’t get any argument from me. Have we done the right thing, Logan?”

He shrugged. “Right or wrong, it’s done. I need to let London know. Then we need to talk.”

“About what?”

“The demo, and whether we really do go through with it or not.”

Chapter 17

“Are you sure about this?”