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I just watched her fumble with the door, and when she finally got it open and stepped out, I allowed my gaze to freely roam down her body, settling on the swing of her hips and the luscious curve of her ass from behind as I watched her walk into the building.
Now, my erection ached. This woman was going to be the death of me without even realizing it.
CHAPTEREIGHT
Mia
I had no idea what I wanted when we were at the ring store the next day. I never expected to be in this situation, and yet, here I was, standing at a long, glass topped counter with nothing but rings in front of me of every shape, size, and color. It was completely overwhelming, and I couldn’t even decide if I wanted a silver or gold band.
Logan was at my side, completely unhelpful. Apparently, he didn’t have a clue either.
Finally, after walking along the counter slowly, letting my eyes scan the rings until one called out to me, I found it. It was perfect, exactly what I didn’t know I wanted. With a thin gold band that had two diamonds set into it on each side of a center, square-cut diamond, it was completely timeless and beautiful.
“Can I see this one?” I asked, not noticing the tiny price tag attached to it until the jeweler reached in to the case to pick it up.
I nearly choked at the ridiculous amount. It wasthousandsof dollars. For a single ring.
Afakeengagement ring.
“Wait, no,” I said quickly, deciding to keep looking for a less expensive ring. “I’ll pick something else.”
“What’s wrong?” Logan asked, frowning. I suspected that he was getting bored, but I appreciated that he wasn’t rushing me.
I gave him a tight, awkward smile. “I’m sure I can find something more reasonable…”
“Why?” he asked, his question genuine. “I could buy this whole store if I wanted.”
I nudged him in the ribs with my elbow. “Don’t be a showoff.”
“Didn’t your mom teach you that violence is never the answer?” he replied good-naturedly, rubbing his ribs and wincing dramatically.
I like this side of him, a lighter version of the grumpy, staid boss I’d known the past two years, and I felt privileged to see glimpses of it.
“Miss?” the jeweler interrupted, as if reminding us he was still waiting on a decision. “Would you like to see the ring, or not?”
“Yes,” Logan said, answering before I could. He moved in closer to my side and put an arm around my waist. “Anything she wants, no matter the cost, I’ll buy.”
I told myself that he was just practicing with these casual touches, just like with the kiss in the car last night. It was silly to get too used to it, to lose myself in the fantasy that we were a real couple and he couldn’t keep his hands off me.
But then the jeweler held out the ring not to me, but to Logan, who stared at it in confusion.
“Go ahead,” the other man said encouragingly. “Slip it on her finger and see how it feels.”
I thought about objecting and telling the jeweler it wasn’t necessary for Logan to put the ring on my finger, but why do that? We were pretending to be a happily engaged couple, and this was a part of the buying process.
Logan took the ring, and I held out my left hand. His eyes held mine as he slid the ring on, and it was a perfect fit. Emotion swelled inside of me, a wealth of affection and longing that I didn’t expect. This moment felt way too real, and my heart was reacting to it.
Or maybe it was just reacting tohim.
There’d always been something about Logan that attracted me, and it wasn’t just about his good looks. I always suspected that there was more to him beneath his gruff exterior.
I felt like I’d been given a glimpse of it last night at his grandpa’s house, but in the car on the ride back to my place, he was completely shut down. Trying to get him toreallyopen up to me was pointless.
Honestly, I didn’t know why I expected him to. We weren’t a real couple.
“So, what do you think?” Logan asked, his voice a bit husky.
I held out my hand to look at the ring and tried not to let the heavy emotions I was experiencing show through. This was quickly becoming more than just a ruse to me, and I knew that meant I should back out of before I ended up with a broken heart.
