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I had just finished playing a round of Candy Crush—my guilty pleasure I still used to relax when things were bothering me. Today, things were bothering me. Not only was I missing home, but I had spent my morning panicking about my appointment tonight. I took a sip of my tea and a mouthful of my soup when I saw a text message come in. I minimized my game and slowly read the words on my screen.
LOGAN: YOU REALLY SHOULD KEEP YOUR HAIR TIED IN A PONYTAIL, THAT WAY IT WON’T FALL IN YOUR SOUP.
I let out a laugh. Logan had been sending me these ridiculous random texts for almost a month. Some made me roll my eyes, others made me laugh out loud like I had just done, and others made me miss him more than I cared to explain. I shook my head and put my phone down and picked up my tea when a realization came over me. My hair was down, and I was eating soup. He was here, and he was watching me.
I swallowed hard, looked around the restaurant and saw him standing across the room. He wore dark blue jeans and a blue sweater that set his eyes off. He leaned up against the hostess desk, a sexy smile on his face, looking straight at me. I gave him a little wave, not sure if I should smile or not.
He said something to the lady standing there, pointed and walked toward me. My pulse quickened as I watched him weave his way through the dining room. I was beginning to feel faint when he finally stopped at my table. “What are you doing here, Leah?”
“Having lunch, what are you doing here?” I meant the remark to come out bitchy, but the shake in my voice totally gave me away and he smiled.
“Same. But what I meant was what are you doing in Boston?”
“I moved here four months ago. I didn’t want you to know because I didn’t want you to think I was coming after you. That’s why I kept it quiet.”
A waitress came to the table and took Logan’s order. I studied him as he ordered; he looked better than he had when I last laid eyes on him. I kept getting gentle whiffs of his cologne and wished I could be back in his arms, resting my head against his chest, but I had already laid all the rules on the table. I had grown used to the fact that it wasn’t ever going to happen again. I would not let it.
“Everything okay for you here, miss?” she asked me.
“Could I get another tea, please?” I asked. She nodded and stepped away from the table.
“So, are you working?”
How was I going to answer that?Yes, I am working, I have an appointment with you in three hours that I tried to cancel, you bonehead.Instead, I gently nodded. “I’m with a small interior design firm, nothing special.” I wasn’t about to let on who I worked for. He’d know soon enough.
“What part of the city are you living in?”
“I’m in a small apartment down by the water,” I answered. “How are things with you? Did you get your house finished?”
“Things are good, really good. I got it finished, yes. I have an appointment with a designer tonight, they are featuring my house in Dream Home Magazine.”
“Wow, that is amazing, Logan. You should be so proud.”
He shied away for a moment and then quietly spoke, “Truth is, I wanted you to design it. I tried to find out where you were. I even called my mom to see if she would give me your number, but she refused.”
“Well, we can’t always have what we want, now can we,” I bit back. They were his words not mine, and I would make him swallow them.
Things went well once we were done with our usual bickering. Logan insisted on paying for my lunch, so I let him. We walked together to the lot where I had parked my car. I pressed the button for the remote start as we continued across the lot. I turned to him when I got to my car. “This is me,” I said. “Thank you for lunch.”
“You are welcome. It was my pleasure.”
Our eyes caught and I could see something unreadable in his. I wanted so badly to kiss him, but I needed to be strong, I wasn’t getting involved with him again. He studied my face, a faint smile coming to his lips.
“Before I go, are you doing anything this weekend? Perhaps you would like to see a movie?”
I thought for a moment and swallowed hard. If he thought anything had changed, he was wrong. I had laid everything out on the line and told him what I wanted and either he agreed, or he didn’t. Just because we now lived in the same city, I wasn’t about to be his toy when he was lonely.
I didn’t want to lead him on but, at the same time, a movie would be great. I had barely gotten anytime to know this city. I however didn’t trust myself in a dark theatre with him. “How about coffee and dessert tomorrow night instead?”
A sexy smile came over his face, but I stopped him before he could say anything. “Nothing has changed, Logan. I meant what I said before, it’s all or nothing.” I leaned into him and gave him a hug and a small kiss on the cheek, “See you tomorrow. Text me the address.” I got into my car and headed back to the office.
TWENTY-TWO
Leah
I sat in my office doodling on a piece of paper and staring at the clock. I had to be all business in less than forty-five minutes, and since lunch, I had been anything but all business. I was a blubbering idiot by the time I got back to the office. I called Jenna and cried to her for over an hour after I had returned, instead of working on a few projects that were due for Monday.
After seeing him at lunch, I had been thrown into a whirlwind of memories. The want for him so high I had become a basket case. Jenna tried her best to talk me down and come up with a way to get out of this appointment with him, but I couldn’t do it. How unprofessional would it look to my boss? I had no choice but to suck it up and stay professional because there was no room for weakness.If I was going to go I had to leave now,I thought to myself. I packed up my bag, wrapped my coat around me and headed to the front door.
