by SJ McCoy
When she came out of the bathroom, he was coming back down the stairs. He came to her and closed his arms around her. “Are you okay?”
She reached up and landed a peck on his lips. “More than okay. Sorry I ran to hide in the bathroom like that.”
His smile was so gentle. It was a side to him she hadn’t seen before. He was being encouraging, supportive, and she liked it. “It’s okay. I get it. As long as it was only for a minute and you’re over it now?”
“I am. It just felt weird.” She laughed. “Don’t look like that. It felt great while we were doing it, but now we’ve crossed that line, and I didn’t know how to be.”
“Do you need to be any different than you were before?”
“No. I figured that out while I was in the bathroom.”
“Good. I don’t want you to be weirded out. I don’t want things to change between us. Well, that’s not true. I do want things to change, to get better. What I don’t want is for you to pull away from me.”
“I won’t. I’m going to trust you and see where this goes. So, don’t let me down.”
He shook his head solemnly. “I won’t. I promise. I might get some things wrong, but it won’t be on purpose, and I’ll fix them as soon as I can.”
She smiled. “It’s not all pressure on you, you know. I don’t see this as you having to prove something to me. I see it as us trying to work it out together.”
He smiled back at her. “Like a team? I like that idea.”
“Me too, but before we can become a team, we each need to figure out how the other works, then we can work together.”
“Yep. You’re right. What do you say, do you want to stay the night?”
Her heart raced in her chest. She hadn’t been expecting that. She shook her head slowly. “I don’t think so. I’m at work in the morning. So are you. I don’t want …” She didn’t know what she wanted to say, all she knew was that she wasn’t ready to spend the night with him.
He gave her a rueful smile. “So, you’re going to screw my brains out and then leave me to sleep alone?”
“Yeah, I guess I am.”
“Maybe next weekend?”
“Maybe.”
“But it’s not time for you to go yet anyway. Come on, let’s hang out for a while longer.”
She followed him back into the living room. She didn’t want to leave yet, that wouldn’t feel right either.
~ ~ ~
It was just after ten when Logan pulled his truck up outside her house. “Thanks for today, Rox.”
“Thank you. I had a good time.”
“When can I see you again?”
She shrugged. “When do you want to?”
“Tomorrow.” He grinned. He didn’t see any point in beating about the bush. He wanted to see her tomorrow and the next night and the next.
“Okay. I won’t be home from work till about seven-thirty, though.”
“Do you want to come to my place when you’re done? I can make us dinner.”
She raised an eyebrow at him. “You cook?”
He grinned. “I’m a man of many talents. I cook, I clean, I keep house pretty well if I do say so myself.”
She laughed. “You do it all yourself? I have to tell you, your place is so nice I assumed you had a cleaner.”
He laughed. “I told you that you should never assume. I like housework, it keeps my hands busy while my brain shuts down.”
“Well, if ever you need any more downtime for your brain, my house could use some help.”
He smirked. “If you’re serious, I’d be happy to help.” He winked. “I didn’t like to say anything.”
She slapped his arm. “Are you saying my house needs cleaning?”
He pressed his lips together and shook his head. “Na-ah. No way would I say such a thing.”
She laughed. “You just think it. And you’re right, of course. I’d never dream of asking you to do it, though. But you’ve pricked my conscience enough that I’ll get onto it on my next day off.”
“If you let me be your cleaner, then you could spend your days off doing more fun things with me.”
He loved the way her eyes sparkled. “Hmm, you might be able to persuade me with that.”
They both looked up as a car turned into the street, and headlights illuminated the cab of the truck.
“I should go in.”
“Yeah. I’ll see you tomorrow. Just come over to my place whenever you get done at work.”
“Okay, but I’ll text when I’m on the way.”
He leaned across the console and cupped her cheek in his hand. “Goodnight, Rox.” He brushed his lips over hers, wishing that he was going inside with her, or that she’d stayed at his place. He wanted to know how it felt to sleep beside her, to wake up next to her.
When she eventually broke the kiss, she gave him a look he didn’t understand. “Goodnight.”
He watched her walk up the path to her front door and then turn and wave. He waited until she was safely inside before he pulled away.
It was only a short drive back to his place. Normally, he would have walked her home, but it was so cold. He thought for a minute about turning the truck toward town and going to see if anyone was at the Boathouse, but he decided against it. If he saw any of the guys, they’d want to know how he’d spent the day, and as much as he might want to brag, there was no way he’d tell anyone what he and Roxy had been up to her. It’d be up to her to share that, if and when she chose to.
He pulled back into his driveway a few minutes later and pulled his phone out of his pocket when it beeped with a text. He was hoping it’d be Roxy saying goodnight. He blew out a sigh when he saw the message. It was a girl who lived in San Francisco and came up here a couple of times a year—wanting to know if he’d be around next weekend. He planned to make sure that he wasn’t!
Chapter Twelve
“Well?” asked Angel the minute Roxy walked into the office on Monday morning.
Roxy grinned. “Well, what? And by the way, good morning, and I hope you had a good weekend.”
Angel made a face. “Don’t give me that. I want to know what happened after you left on Saturday night.”
“Logan walked me home.”
“And?”
Roxy tried to hide her smile, but she couldn’t manage it.
“See! That smile says it all. Except it doesn’t say enough. Did he spend the night?”
“No! You know I like him, but you also know what I think about one-night stands. There’s no way I would have done that.” She wasn’t about to admit how close she’d been to inviting Logan to come in with her on Saturday night—or Friday night, for that matter.
“Sorry.” Angel looked put out. “I just thought something was finally going to happen between the two of you. I mean, he made no secret of the fact that he wanted it to.”
“Something is happening. I just didn’t want to start out by becoming yet another notch on his bedpost.”
“Grr. So, tell me what is happening. I want to be excited for you.”
“Sorry.” Roxy grinned. “We spent the day together yesterday, and he asked me to be his girlfriend.”
“Oh, wow! His girlfriend?”
“Yeah. It took me by surprise, too. But I like it. I said, yes.”
“Oh, Roxy, that’s awesome. Although …”
“It’s okay. I know you’re probably as concerned as I am. He’s not exactly boyfriend material, is he?”
“He hasn’t been. Up to this point. But that doesn’t mean he can’t be going forward. Even guys who like to play the field meet a girl who’s worth giving it all up for at some point. They change. Maybe you’re that girl for Logan.”
“Maybe.” Roxy didn’t know what to say to that because she didn’t know what to think. Of course, she’d wondered if things might turn out that way for Logan and her, but she didn’t want to set herself up for a big disappointment—and she didn’t want him to feel that she was trying to tie him down. “All I need to know f
or now is that we’re seeing each other, and it’s good.”
Angel raised an eyebrow at her. “And at some point soon, you’ll get to find out how good being with Logan really is.”
Roxy felt her cheeks flush but didn’t answer.
“Oh, my God! You already know, don’t you?! I thought you said he didn’t stay over on Saturday night?”
“He didn’t.”
“But you spent the day in bed with him yesterday?”
“No. We watched the game, and we went for a walk on the beach … and we may have spent part of the evening on the sofa.”
Angel grinned. “Good for you! Well, was it … good for you?”
Roxy nodded happily. “I’d always had this idea that he must be pretty great. I mean—he’s had enough practice, but Angel …” She was embarrassed, but she didn’t mind telling her friend just how great it had been. “He’s amazing!”
Angel clapped her hands together. “That’s awesome, Roxy. Oh, I hope this works out. It’d be so nice if the two of you get together for real.”
Roxy nodded. She didn’t want to let herself think too much about that possibility. “It’s way too early to think about that just yet.”
Angel gave her a knowing smile. “If you say so.”
They both looked up at the sound of a tap on the office door. “Good morning, ladies.” Ben, who owned the Lodge, came in and smiled at them. Are we ready for the Monday morning meeting, or do we need coffee first?”
Roxy grinned at him. “I need coffee. Do you want me to get you one? Angel’s no doubt had three cups already.”
“Please, Roxy,” said Ben.
Angel shrugged. “You know me too well. We’ll meet you in the conference room.”
When Roxy got to the conference room, the way the two of them smiled at her made her suspicious.
“What’s going on?” she asked as she set Ben’s coffee down in front of him.
“We’re scheming,” he replied with a smile. “I know your talents are under-utilized in your current role, and I was wondering if you’d like to take on more responsibility.”
Roxy looked at him and then at Angel and back again. “What kind of responsibility?”
“Don’t worry,” said Angel. “You won’t be treading on my toes if that’s what you’re thinking.”
It was exactly what Roxy had been thinking, and she didn’t like the idea.
“No,” said Ben. “This is a new project. Jack and Pete, who own the development at Four Mile, want to trial a program that brings people up here on mini vacations; people will stay here at the Lodge for a couple of days and tour the model homes. It will give them a better idea of what it’s like here and hopefully encourage them to buy vacation or second homes at the development.”
Roxy nodded. She could see the logic in that. One of the hotels she’d worked at before had done something similar, but they’d sold timeshares. “It sounds like a good idea, but where do I come in?”
Ben grinned. “I need someone to coordinate the vacation promotion. I know you’ve done that kind of thing before. And … we need a point of contact with the team on-site over there, to keep up with which properties are available to tour and the schedule of which will be available for sale and when.”
She nodded and looked at Angel, who was grinning at her.
Ben raised an eyebrow. “Are you in?”
“I might be if you want to tell me why you’re both grinning like idiots.”
“You’re a bit slow sometimes, Roxy,” said Angel.
“About what?”
“You haven’t asked who you’d be working with on-site.”
“Oh!” It made sense. Logan was the one in charge of the build schedule. He would be the one who said which properties could be toured and which ones would be available for sale next. She shot an evil look at Angel. She might have expected such meddling from her. But Ben? How did he even know about her and Logan?
To his credit, he hung his head. “Sorry. I don’t mean to interfere. And it’s not a setup—not really. Jack and Pete have been kicking this idea around for a while, and I’ve kept saying I’d get on it. Now just seems like the ideal time. Are you interested?”
“Sure.” She liked the idea of having a project all of her own to work on. She loved Angel but didn’t love always being in her shadow at work. She didn’t think working with Logan would be a problem. In fact, it would be a good way to get to know him better—outside of the bedroom.
“Great,” said Ben. “I’ll email you everything I’ve pulled together so far, and we can talk about it when I’m over here on Wednesday, then we can set up a meeting with Logan early next week.”
“Great.”
The meeting moved on to all the usual Monday morning business, but Roxy’s mind kept straying back to this new project. She hoped Logan would like the idea of them working together—and that they’d get along well.
~ ~ ~
Logan stopped and looked around when he heard someone calling his name in the grocery store. He hoped whoever it was didn’t want to keep him for long. He’d only come to get some flowers for Roxy. He stepped away from them when he saw Ivan hurrying toward him.
“Hey. How’s it going?”
“I’m doing great. How about you? Are you all settled in?”
“I am. It’s weird being here pretty much full time, but I like it.”
“It’s a good place. Are you finding your feet okay?” Logan felt a little guilty. Ivan hadn’t lived here for long, and the two of them had hung out a few times when he first arrived. Logan had said he’d been around for him if he needed anything but hadn’t made the effort to check in with him lately.
Ivan grinned. “I’m fine. I’m perfectly capable of doing for myself. I don’t need help; I wouldn’t mind some company, though. It seems like most folks here are coupled up. Do you want to go for a beer at the weekend?”
Logan’s heart sank. He’d offered to do just that, any time Ivan wanted to. At the time, he’d rather have done that than spend an evening in the company of yet another woman. Now, things were different. He wanted to spend his time with Roxy—and he didn’t like the idea of telling her that he couldn’t see her because he was going out with his buddy.
Ivan raised an eyebrow. “That face says you already have other plans.”
Logan nodded. “I just started seeing someone. I don’t know what we’re doing yet, but I hope we’re doing something.”
“That’s okay. I wouldn’t want to impose. I just thought you were in the same boat I am.”
“I always have been, up until now. I feel bad.”
“Don’t. I’d trade places with you. I’d rather go out with a girl than with you. It’s just not an option for me.”
“Of course, it is. I’ll bet there are plenty of girls who’d love to go out with you.”
Ivan laughed. “Yeah, there probably are. I didn’t mean poor sad me. I just meant I don’t know anyone yet, and I’m not like you. I couldn’t just walk up to a woman I don’t know and end up going home with her at the end of the night.”
Logan made a face. That was exactly how he’d been for as long as he could remember, but it didn’t sound too good when he heard someone else describe him that way. “Then you should get to know everyone. The gang usually all goes out together at least one night over the weekend. How about I give you a call when I know what’s happening. You should come, get to know everyone better—the girls and the guys. Then you’ll have more options for dates and for buddies.”
“Thanks. I’d like that.” Ivan eyed the flowers. “Are you buying some?”
Logan nodded guiltily.
“Don’t look guilty about it. I think it’s great. Who is she? I’m thinking she has to be someone special if she’s got you turned around so quickly. What was it, love at first sight or something?”
Logan grinned. “Not exactly. I’ve known her for a few years. I’ve always liked her, but I only thought of her as a friend, not as a woman.” He blew out a sigh. �
�That sounds stupid now, even to me. It’s just that I only thought of women one way. And I would never have dared think about Roxy like that. She was always telling me I was a pig the way I treated women.”
“Roxy? Damn! I can see why you like her. She’s a good-looking woman. But I’m surprised at you. I thought you’d have gone for someone a little more …”
“What?” Logan wondered what he was about to say.
“I don’t know, someone meeker, more amenable if that’s the right word. Roxy strikes me as someone you just don’t mess with. She’s strong, smart.” Ivan grinned. “I like her.”
“Yeah, she’s all of that and more. That’s why I like her. And I might be taking on more than I can handle. I feel like I have a lot to live up to if I’m going to be …worthy of her.” He looked at Ivan. “That’s a weird thing to say, isn’t it?”
“Nope. I think it’s an awesome thing to say. And it makes it sound like you’re ready to step up. The Logan I thought I knew wouldn’t have given a crap about being worthy of a woman.”
“You’re right. That’s who I’ve been, but apparently, I’m changing.” He grinned. “And I like it.” He checked his watch. “In fact, she’s on her way to my place after work, so I’m going to get these and get my ass home. I’ll call you about coming out at the weekend. And I’ll introduce you to the guys from work, too. Most of them are still single and are up for going out for a beer pretty much any time you might want to.”
“Thanks,” said Ivan. “I appreciate it.”
“Sure thing.”
Logan grinned to himself as he took a bunch of red roses to the self-checkout. As he’d watched Luke and Zack meet Angel and Maria and fall in love with them, he’d thought that they were crazy for taking themselves off the market so quickly. As he’d seen their relationships develop, he could admit that a tiny part of him had envied them. Now, he realized, he was eager to follow in their footsteps, and he was hoping that he and Roxy might be able to turn their friendship into something more.
~ ~ ~
On Wednesday evening, Roxy pulled her car to a stop in Logan’s driveway, just as she’d done every night this week. She was enjoying the way things were working out between them.
