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Logan began to place a plate in front of each diner, his attention thoroughly on the task at hand and his brow wrinkling with concentration. Rachel couldn’t help but study his serious facial expression. The boy she remembered from her youth hardly ever wore anything but a goofy grin on his face. It was such a strange opposition to what stood in front of her now.
“What if you do your internship with Logan?” Michael suddenly asked, as if the conversation hadn’t lulled. He ran a hand over his chin, his forehead furrowed in thought. “He’s building a local business and it sounds like he could use the help. Might be the perfect spot for you.”
Rachel’s gaze darted between her brother and Logan. She couldn’t help but feel a twinge of excitement at her brother’s suggestion. It would be the perfect kind of job for her. She had lots of waitressing experience and might even be a real asset to Logan’s business. And anyway, it was worlds better than taking a pity job at her brother’s company where she might run into their father.
“With me?” Logan’s startled expression was almost comical. He stared at Michael for a long, hard second as the lobster salad in his hand slid off the plate and landed with a plop on the linen tablecloth in front of Rachel.
Immediately, she rushed forth to help in the clean-up effort. Logan angrily clenched his jaw and began to pick up the mess with his bare hands, tossing it back on the plate. He paused only when they both reached for the same piece of runaway lobster, their hands brushing and sending a tingle up Rachel’s arm. Yanking his arm away, he pushed the plate toward the waiter and grumbled his request for a new one.
“What do you say, old bud?” Michael asked, his eyebrow raised. He’d watched the whole scene with a thoughtful expression on his face. “Want to hire my little sister?”
LOGAN MADE IT THROUGH the rest of the meal without any major mishaps. All five courses had wowed his guests and they expressed nothing but compliments for his new restaurant. The sun had lowered on their evening, making for a darkened dining room lit by candlelight and the soft golden glow from the chandeliers hanging above.
They’d chatted for hours, not stopping even when Logan sent his crew home for the night. It reminded him of the good old days, when he wasn’t traveling for baseball or building his restaurant empire. Just friendship and simple conversation.
Of course, there was still the issue of Rachel’s internship. He’d let the matter hang, not committing himself to anything. The longer he sat beside Michael’s little sister at the table and talked with her, the more he could see what an asset she might be to him in the coming weeks. She had a good head on her shoulders and that infamous stubborn Knight quality that seemed to make them all inherently successful. There was really no reason for him to refuse Michael this favor. After all, he was practically family. And he could handle having Rachel Knight work for him for a few weeks.
Couldn’t he?
As they finally said their goodbyes and drifted toward the door, Michael
put his arm around Logan’s shoulder and held him back. He patted him on the lapel of his suit and gave him a tight-lipped smile.
“Say you’ll let Rachel do the internship with you,” he said, his dark eyes shining. It was a look Logan recognized from their childhood. The one that told him that Michael wasn’t going to stop until he got what he wanted. “I don’t want her working with any more creeps or guys who can’t keep their hands to themselves. She doesn’t need any distractions.”
“Michael, I...”
Logan worked his jaw, unsure why he was being so difficult. It was a simple favor. He’d never let a pretty face affect him so much before now. It was just Rachel. Michael’s baby sister. He needed to pull himself together.
“I trust you, Logan,” Michael interrupted, giving his shoulders another squeeze. “I know you’ll take care of her. Since she refuses to work for me, you’ll be my stand-in. Keep an eye on her for me. What do you say?”
Logan watched the ladies chatting near the front door. His gaze lingered on Rachel’s lithe form, his brain working through Michael’s request. He was being silly. Of course he would protect her. Michael was counting on him.
“Yes, she can definitely have the job,” Logan said, meeting Michael’s eyes. “She starts on Monday.”
“Great.” Michael clapped his hands loudly, catching the attention of the ladies.
“What are you two celebrating for?” Emily asked, draping her arm across Rachel’s back. She fixed them with a curious smile.
“You may be the love matchmaker, my dear,” Michael replied with a twinkle in his eye, “but I’m the business matchmaker. Rachel starts her internship with Logan on Monday morning. She’ll pass her class with flying colors.”
Rachel beamed at them both, causing Logan to feel a twinge of nervousness course through his body. He tried to hide it with a smile that came out more like a grimace.
“If you say so, darling,” Emily replied. Her gaze drifted towards Logan’s as he tried to pull himself together. She tilted her head to one side, her eyes lighting up with a devious, knowing expression. She shook her head and laughed before reaching for Michael’s hand. “We’ll just have to wait and see if your matches are as brilliant as mine.”
“Oh, they’ll be brilliant, all right,” Michael replied confidently, walking her out the door. “Just you wait.”
Logan found himself alone with Rachel, who smiled up at him as if he had saved her from the clutches of death. He clenched his jaw, willing himself to say something pleasant, but the words wouldn’t come. Instead, he stared at her and hoped she couldn’t hear the nervous pounding of his heart.
“We’re going to make a really great team,” she said, stepping toward him. “Thank you for taking a chance on me. I won’t be any bother, I promise. I’ll do my work and keep my head down. You’ll hardly know I’m here.”
She waved at him and followed her brother out the door, leaving Logan to exhale slowly. A cloud of doubt descended upon him the moment they climbed into their town car and he had the sudden desire to run after them and rescind the offer.
But that was crazy talk.
It had to be the stress of opening this new place. He had never let his emotions run away on him like this before. Michael was counting on him to keep an eye on Rachel and keep her focused on her work. If he could build his fortune out of nothing, he could certainly handle Rachel Knight.
Chapter Four
