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Dakota froze in her spot for a moment before she relaxed. “Sure. I’ll uh…see you later.”
She was gone before Logan could reply.
Great going, Montague. He watched her steady retreat. Way to scare her off. It had not been his intention to make her uncomfortable. He would have to catch up to her later and apologize. In the meantime, he had some work to do himself. He had a telephone conference in an hour. That gave him time to go for a run, and then shower and change.
With his decision made, he stepped out of the cabana and headed off down the beach. He thought of a few good uses for his excess energy, and Lord help him, every last one involved Dakota.
Chapter 8
My last few moments in paradise. Dakota stared out the window of the Montague jet. Soon they would be taking off, flying back to Chicago. Part of her was looking forward to settling in to her old routine. The other part, not so much. She would miss the breathtaking town on the coast, and Belle Cove. There was a relaxing, almost therapeutic nature to the resort. She had also experienced other emotions that had nothing to do with scenery, and everything to do with Logan.
He was not what she expected. He was calm, pleasant and helpful to her. If she was expecting a cocky, privileged and self-involved millionaire playboy, she was mistaken. Logan was none of those things. Sure, he was still a bit arrogant and sure of himself, but he was also kind, cared about his employees and went out of his way to be personable.
She had gone over it in her head last night and had arrived at a startling conclusion. She was actually starting to like Logan Montague.
“Holy cow,” she breathed.
“Hey.”
Dakota shrieked, and almost jumped out of her skin.
“Whoa, are you okay?” Logan asked, sitting across from her.
“Yes, sorry. I was just thinking about…work, and you startled me.”
“Oh. My apologies.” He fastened his seat belt. “To be honest, I was surprised to find you already here.”
“Tandie was headed home and offered to drop me.”
That wasn’t exactly true. She had asked for a ride, but Logan did not need to know that. When she woke up, her emotions were a jumble. The last thing she needed was the source of that confusion inches away from her in a car overloading her senses. The plane ride home would be taxing enough.
“Dakota, what’s wrong?”
“Hmm?”
“You’re frowning.”
“I’m not frowning.”
“No? Well you’re doing a very good impression. What’s the matter?”
“I’m fine. I may be concentrating, but there’s no frowning.”
“Sure there isn’t. So what are you concentrating on so hard that it looks like a frown?”
You. “Just work. I’m trying to plan out my schedule, that’s all.”
Logan’s eyebrows rose. “In your head. I thought that’s what your notebook was for?”
“It is, but I usually think over the preliminary stuff in my head first, and then transfer it to the book.”
“You know, I don’t remember you being this organized back in the day.”
She shrugged. “A lot has changed since then. I’m not the same person. I’ve had to make changes—and sacrifices. That naive girl has changed forever.”
“Forever? What was wrong with the person you were then?”
A shadow crossed her face. “That gullible teenager you remember is gone.”
“You were many things, Dakota, but you were never gullible,” he said quietly.
“Oh, please, what would you call it? Especially where you were concerned. There were how many maneuvers going on around me, Logan? I didn’t notice one thing out of place.”
“It wasn’t like that. I…I only interfered in your life once. I swear.”
“And that made it okay, right?”
“Of course it didn’t. I was out of line, Dakota. What I did to you was wrong, and I take full responsibility for my actions. I never meant to shake your faith in me, and I should’ve stayed out of your relationship with Michael.”
“Yeah, well, blind trust in others was one failing that I immediately rectified.”
“So now you don’t trust anyone at all?”
Angela walked into the cabin before Dakota could respond. Upset, she turned away and stared out her window. While their flight attendant was speaking to Logan, Dakota closed her eyes to keep from speaking to either one. She did not have faith that her voice would not shake, or sound like tears were barely held in check. The teenage version of herself had lived such a happy life, and now it was gone. In the blink of an eye, her world got turned upside down, and Dakota had been trying to right it ever since.
