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Scarlet wanted very much for Violet to be right, but wasn’t sure she could make herself believe that she was.
“Thanks for listening to me,” Scarlett said, forcing herself to smile past the ache in her throat. “Now let me give you a piece of advice. Take JT one of these.” Scarlett lifted her glass and smirked at her sister over the rim. ?
??Unless, of course, you think he’s already hot enough.”
Violet scowled at her, but the burst of color was back in her cheeks. With a laugh, Scarlett finished her cocktail and bid her sister goodbye.
On her way back to Fontaine Richesse, Scarlett’s fingers itched to dial Logan’s number. She was desperate to find out if he’d heard from Madison, but decided to heed Violet’s advice to give him some space.
Scarlett returned to her office. Normally she would go down and make sure everything was running smoothly in the casino, but tonight she needed some uninterrupted time to sort through the day’s revelations.
The message light on her office phone made her heart leap. Maybe Madison had returned her call. But it was Logan who had left the message. He was heading to L.A. to find his niece. Why hadn’t he called her cell? The most obvious answer was he hadn’t wanted to talk to her.
She dropped into her desk chair with a frustrated exhale, her thoughts coming full circle. Maybe she’d been right to end things. Logan showed no sign that he’d stop treating her like a friendly enemy and start regarding her as his partner. On the other hand, the chemistry between them was explosive enough to make it worth their while to find some middle ground.
Of course, Logan’s steely determination wasn’t conducive to compromising any more than her stubborn streak made her easy to get along with. But she’d sacrificed a fabulous part in a television series in order to stay in Las Vegas and be with Logan. And he’d tracked her down at her suite to ask that she not leave town. Surely that spoke to change for both of them.
Scarlett couldn’t stop thinking that if she’d called Madison today the teenager might not have headed to L.A. Nor was she happy with the idea of sitting around and waiting for the situation to resolve itself. What she needed to do was head to L.A. and track Madison down. She’d convince the eighteen-year-old to give up acting and choose college. Logan would then see that she might make mistakes, but she could fix them, as well.
Decision made, Scarlett booked a plane ticket for the next morning and called Sandy to let her know she was going to L.A. Next, she called her second in command and put him in charge of the hotel with instructions to contact her if anything serious arose. She doubted he’d have any problems. The hotel had been running smoothly for months with only the occasional blip.
* * *
In a cab on the way to the airport, Scarlett debated calling Logan and letting him know she was coming. In the end, she decided not to give him the opportunity to say no to her help. On the other hand, he wasn’t a man who appreciated being surprised. If she found Madison and he didn’t know she was in L.A. looking, he would be angry. Her earlier reflection on their relationship determined her course of action. If she wanted Logan to consider her a partner, she needed to be open and up-front with him. Even if it went against her normal operating procedure to do so.
Not surprisingly, her call ended up in voice mail. Once she’d delivered the news that she was on her way to join him, she sat back and waited for the explosion. But when her phone rang it was Chase.
“Madison decided to take off and go to L.A.,” she explained. “I’m on my way there now. I hoped maybe you’d heard from her.”
“And here I was thinking you wanted to get together and relive old times.”
Scarlett forced her voice to relax. “I’m sure you have better things to do than that. Has Madison called you?”
“I gave her my number, but haven’t heard from her.”
“If she does call, would you let me know? We’re all worried about her.”
“Sure enough. And give me a call later if you want to get a drink.”
“Thanks for the offer, but I’ve got my hands full at the moment.”
“That Wolfe guy?”
“As a matter of fact, yes.”
“I figured the way he was mooning over you and glaring at me.” He sounded amused. “If he doesn’t treat you like you deserve, let me know. I’ll kick his ass.”
Scarlett grinned. “Thanks, Chase. You’re a pal.” She hung up just as the flight attendant announced that all electronic devices needed to be shut off and stowed. Logan hadn’t called. Anxiety stretched her nerves thin. It was going to be an agonizing hour or so until the plane landed in L.A.
Eleven
As he sat behind the wheel of his rental car glaring at the traffic clogging the 110 Freeway, Logan decided that coming to L.A. had been an impulsive, rash idea. Nothing that he’d accomplished today couldn’t have been done from the comfort of his air-conditioned office at Wolfe Security. Randolph had put him in touch with the private investigator they’d used the last time they’d tracked Madison down and he’d met with the guy an hour after touching down in L.A.
Now, he was heading back to LAX. Not to return to Las Vegas, but to meet Scarlett’s flight. When he’d left her a message last night, he’d half expected, half hoped she’d jump on a plane and come to L.A. He was damned glad she was on her way.
It was hard on a stubborn bachelor like him to realize that Scarlett’s absence hit him physically as well as psychologically. He had an ache in his gut that hadn’t subsided since she’d hung up on him yesterday afternoon. She’d only been trying to help and he’d criticized the choices she’d made in her youth. The same choices that had created the strong, sexy, sometimes vulnerable woman who gave herself to him completely in bed and kept him guessing the rest of the time.
In the past twelve hours he’d come to the realization that what had bloomed between them wasn’t just sexual. His heart ached with emotions too strong to contain and too new to voice. But he had to try.
