by Kristi Gold
* * *
At fifteen minutes until eight, Logan began to believe Hannah Armstrong’s plans had changed. But from his position at the corner table, he glanced up from checking his watch to see her standing in the restaurant’s doorway.
He had to admit, he’d found her pretty damned attractive when he’d met her, from the top of her auburn ponytail to the bottom of her bare feet. She’d possessed a fresh-faced beauty that she hadn’t concealed with a mask of makeup, and she had the greenest eyes he’d ever seen in his thirty-eight years.
But now...
She did have on a little makeup, yet it only enhanced her features. Her hair hung straight to her shoulders and she wore a sleeveless, above-the-knee black dress that molded to her curves. Man-slaying curves that reminded Logan of a modern version of those starlets from days gone by, before too-thin became all the rage.
When they made eye contact, Hannah started forward, giving Logan a good glimpse of her long legs. He considered her to be above average in height for a woman, but right then she seemed pretty damn tall. Maybe it was just the high heels, although they couldn’t be more than two inches. Maybe it was the air of confidence she gave off as she crossed the room. Or maybe he should keep his eyes off her finer attributes; otherwise he could land himself in big trouble if he ignored the boundary between business and pleasure. Not that he had any reason to believe she’d be willing to take that step.
Logan came to his feet and rounded the table to pull out the chair across from his as soon as Hannah arrived. “Thanks,” she said after she claimed her seat.
Once he settled in, Logan handed her a menu. “I thought for a minute there you were going to stand me up.”
“My apologies for my tardiness,” she said. “My daughter, Cassie, had to change clothes three times before I took her to my friend’s house for a sleepover.”
He smiled over the sudden bittersweet memories. “How old is she?”
“Gina is thirty. Same as me.”
Logan bit back a laugh. “I meant your daughter.”
A slight blush spread across Hannah’s cheeks, making her look even prettier. “Of course you did. I admit I’m a little nervous about this whole inheritance thing.”
So was Logan, for entirely different reasons. Every time she flashed those green eyes at him, he felt his pulse accelerate. “No need to be nervous. But I wouldn’t blame you if you’re curious.”
“Not so curious that I can’t wait for the details until after dinner, since I’m starving.” She opened the menu and began scanning it while Logan did the same. “I’d forgotten how many choices they offer.”
He’d almost forgotten how it felt to be seated at a dinner table across from a gorgeous woman. The past few years had included a few casual flings for the sake of convenience with a couple of women who didn’t care to be wined and dined. Sex for the sake of sex. And that had suited him fine. “Yeah. It’s hard to make a decision. By the way, did you get your plumbing fixed?”
She continued to scan the menu. “Unfortunately, no. They called and said it would be tomorrow afternoon. Apparently pipes are breaking all over Boulder.”
With the way she looked tonight, she could break hearts all over Boulder. “Do you have any recommendations on the menu?”
“Have you had bison?” she asked as she looked up from the menu.
“No. I’m more of a beef-and-potatoes kind of guy.”
“Your Texas roots are showing.”
She’d apparently taken his advice. “Did you check me out on the internet?”
“I did. Does that bother you?”
Only if she’d discovered the part of his past he’d concealed from everyone in Wyoming. Almost everyone. “Hey, I don’t blame you. In this day and time, it’s advisable to determine if someone is legitimate before you agree to meet with them.”
“I’m glad you understand, and you have quite the résumé.”
He shrugged. “Just the usual credentials.”
“They certainly impressed me.”
She undeniably impressed him. “Have you eaten bison before?”
“Yes, I have, and I highly recommend it. Much leaner and healthier than beef.”
“I think I’ll just stick with what I know.”
Her smile almost knocked his boots off. “Perhaps you should expand your horizons.”
Perhaps he should quit sending covert looks at her cleavage. “Maybe I will at some point in time.” Just not tonight.
A lanky college-aged waiter sauntered over to the table and aimed his smile on Hannah. “Hi. My name’s Chuck. Can I get you folks something to drink? Maybe a cocktail before dinner?”
Bourbon, straight up, immediately came to Logan’s mind before he realized booze and a beautiful woman wouldn’t be a good mix in this case. “I’ll have coffee. Black.”
Hannah leveled her pretty smile on Chuck. “I’d like a glass of water.”
The waiter responded with an adolescent grin. “Have you folks decided on your meal?”
She took another glance at the menu before closing it. “I’ll take the petite bison filet, medium, with a side of sautéed mushrooms and the asparagus.”
Logan cleared his throat to gain the jerk’s attention. “Give me the New York strip, medium rare with a baked potato, everything on it.”
Chuckie Boy jotted down the order but couldn’t seem to stop staring at Hannah as he gathered the menus. “How about an appetizer? I highly recommend the Rocky Mountain oysters.”
That nearly made Logan wince. “I believe I’ll pass on that one, Chuck.”
“I second that,” Hannah said. “A salad with vinaigrette would be good.”
Chuck finally tore his gaze away from Hannah and centered it on Logan. “Can I bring you a salad, too, sir?”
No, but you can get the hell out of Dodge. “Just the coffee and a glass of water.”
The waiter backed away from the table, then said, “I’ll have that right out.”
“What an idiot,” Logan muttered after the guy disappeared into the kitchen.
Hannah frowned. “I thought he was very accommodating.”
“He definitely wanted to accommodate you and it didn’t have a damn thing to do with dinner.” Hell, he sounded like a jealous lover.
Hannah looked understandably confused. “Excuse me?”
“You didn’t notice the way he was looking at you?”
“He was just being friendly.”
She apparently didn’t realize her appeal when it came to the opposite sex, and he personally found that intriguing. “Look, I don’t blame the guy. You’re an extremely attractive woman, but for all he knows, we’re a couple. The fact that he kept eyeing you wasn’t appropriate in my book.”
Her gaze momentarily wandered away and the color returned to her cheeks. “But we’re not a couple, and he wasn’t eyeing me.”
“Believe me, he was.” And he sure couldn’t blame the guy when it came right down to it.
She picked up the cloth napkin near her right hand, unfolded it and laid it in her lap. “If he was, I didn’t notice. Then again, I haven’t been out much in the past few years.”
“Since your...” If he kept going, he’d be treading on shaky ground. The kind that covered a major loss from the past. He knew that concept all too well.
She raised a brow. “Since my husband’s death? It’s okay. I’ve been able to talk about it without falling apart for the past four years.”
He definitely admired her for that. Even after nine years, he hadn’t been able to discuss his loss without flying into a rage. “I admire your resiliency,” he said, all the while thinking he wished he had half of her tenacity.
Chuck picked that moment to bring the drinks and Hannah’s salad. “Here you go, folks. Dinner will be right out.”
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As bad as Logan hated to admit it, he was actually glad to see the jerk, if only to grab the opportunity to turn to a lighter topic. “Thank you kindly, Chuck.”
“You’re welcome, sir.”
After the waiter left the area, Logan returned his attention to Hannah. “So it’s my understanding you recently obtained your degree.”
She took a quick sip of water and sent him a proud smile. “Yes, I did, and apparently you’ve done your homework on me, too.”
“I had to in order to locate you.” Thanks to J. D. Lassiter not providing much information when they discovered the annuity’s existence.
She picked up a fork and began moving lettuce around on the plate. “That old internet is a great resource for checking people out.”
He only wished she would thoroughly check him out, and not on the computer. And where in the hell had that come from?
He cleared his throat and shifted slightly in his seat. “I take it you’re satisfied I’m not some reprobate posing as an attorney.”
“Yes, but frankly, I’m curious as to why you relocated from Dallas to Cheyenne, Wyoming. That must have been quite a culture shock.”
He didn’t want to delve into his reasons for leaving his former life behind. “Not that much of a shock. You find cowboys in both places.”
“Were you a cowboy in another life, or just trying to blend in now?”
“I’ve ridden my share of horses, if that’s what you mean.”
She smiled again. “Let me guess. You were born into an affluent ranching family.”
“Nope. A not-quite-poor farming family. Three generations, as a matter of fact. My parents ran a peach orchard in East Texas and raised a few cattle. They’re semiretired now and disappointed I didn’t stick around to take over the business.”
“What made you decide to be a lawyer?”
He grinned. “When I wore overalls, people kept mistaking me for a plumber, and since clogged drains aren’t my thing, studying the law made sense.”
Her soft laughter traveled all the way to her striking green eyes. “Something tells me you’re not going to let me live that one down.”
Something told him he could wind up in hot water if he didn’t stop viewing her as a desirable woman. “I’ll let you off the hook, seeing as how we just met.”
“And I will let you off the hook for not giving me fair warning before you showed up on my doorstep.”
He still had those great images of her branded in his brain. “You know, I’m really glad I didn’t decide to handle this over the phone. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have met you, and something tells me I would have regretted that.”
Hannah set down the fork, braced her elbow on the edge of the table and rested her cheek in her palm. “And I would have missed the opportunity to get all dressed up for a change and have a free meal.”
She looked prettier than a painted picture come to life. Yep. Trouble with a capital T if he didn’t get his mind back on business. “After you learn the details of your share of the Lassiter fortune, you’ll be able to buy me dinner next time.” Next time? Man, he was getting way ahead of himself, and that was totally out of character for his normally cautious self.
Hannah looked about as surprised as he felt over the comment. “That all depends on if I actually agree to accept my share, and that’s doubtful.”
He couldn’t fathom anyone in their right mind turning down that much money. But before he had a chance to toss out an opinion, or the amount of the annuity held in her name, Chuck showed up with their entrées.
Logan ate his food with the gusto of a field hand, while Hannah basically picked at hers, the same way she had with the salad. By the time they were finished, and the plates were cleared, he had half a mind to invite her into the nearby bar to discuss business. But dark and cozy wouldn’t help rein in his libido.
Hannah tossed her napkin aside and folded her hands before her. “Okay, we’ve put this off long enough. Tell me the details.”
Logan took a drink of water in an attempt to rid the dryness in his throat. “The funds are currently in an annuity. You have the option to leave it as is and take payments. Or you can claim the lump sum. Your choice.”
“How much?” she said after a few moments.
He noticed she looked a little flushed and decided retiring to the bar might not be a bad idea after all. “Maybe we should go into the lounge so you can have a drink before I continue.”
Frustration showed in her expression. “I don’t need a drink.”
He’d begun to think he might. “Just a glass of wine to take the edge off.”
She leaned forward and nailed him with a glare. “How much?”
“Five million dollars.”
“I believe I will have that drink now.”
Two
She’d never been much of a drinker, but at the moment Hannah sat on a sofa in the corner of a dimly lit bar, a vodka and tonic tightly gripped in her hand. “Five million dollars? Are you insane?”
Logan leaned back in the club chair and leveled his dark gaze on hers. “Hey, it’s not my money. I’m only the messenger.”
She set the glass down on the small table separating them, slid her fingers through the sides of her hair and resisted pulling it out by the roots. “You’re saying that I can just sign some papers and you’re going to hand me a fortune.”
“It’s a little more complicated than that.”
After having the five-million-dollar bombshell dropped on her head, nothing seemed easy, including deciding to refuse it. “Would I have to go before some probate court?”
“No, but there are some stipulations.”
She dropped her hands into her lap and sat back on the cushions. “Such as?”
“You have to sign a nondisclosure waiver in order to claim the inheritance.”
“Nondisclosure?”
“That means if you take the money, by law you can’t disclose your connection to the Lassiters to anyone.”
She barked out a cynical laugh. “I refuse to do that. Not after living my entire life in the shadow of shame, thanks to my biological father’s refusal to acknowledge me.”
“Then you have reason to believe J. D. Lassiter is your father?”
Good reason. “Yes, there is a chance, but I don’t know for certain because I have no real proof. Regardless, I do know I won’t take a penny of his hush money.”
Logan downed the last of his coffee, sat back on the opposing sofa and remained quiet a few moments. “What does your future hold in terms of your career?”
A little hardship, but nothing she couldn’t handle. “I’m going to teach high-school human physiology and probably health classes as well.”
He released a rough sigh. “It takes a lot of guts to stand in front of a room full of teenage boys and talk about the facts of life, especially looking the way you do.”
Hannah appreciated his skill at doling out the compliments, even if she didn’t understand it or quite believe it. “I assure you I can handle whatever teenage boys want to throw at me.”
“I don’t doubt that,” he said. “But it’s not going to be easy. I know because I was one once.”
She imagined a very cute one at that. “Most men still retain some of those prepubescent qualities, don’t you agree?”
He grinned, giving her another premiere dimple show. “Probably so. Do you have a job lined up?”
That caused her to glance away. “Not yet, but I’ve had my degree for less than two weeks, and that’s when I immediately started the search. I expect to find something any day now.”
“And if you don’t?”
She’d harbored those same concerns due to the lack of prospects. “I’ll manage fine, just as I’ve been managing since my husband died.”
&nb
sp; He sent her a sympathetic look. “That must have been a struggle, raising a child and going to school.”
She’d been lucky enough to have help. Begrudging help. “My mother looked after my daughter when necessary until Cassie turned two. I lived off the settlement from my husband’s work accident and that, coupled with Social Security benefits, allowed me to pay for day care and the bills while studying full-time. I obtained grants and student loans to finance my tuition.”
“If you don’t mind me asking, do you have any of the settlement left?”
She didn’t exactly mind, but she felt certain she knew where he was heading—back into inheritance land. “Actually, the payments will end in October, so I still have six months.”
He streaked a hand over the back of his neck. “You do realize that if you accept this money, you’ll be set for life. No worries financially for you or your daughter.”
If Cassie’s future played a role, she might reconsider taking the inheritance. “My daughter will be well provided for when she turns eighteen, thanks to my in-laws, who’ve established a million-dollar-plus trust fund in her name. Of course, I’m sure that will come with conditions, as those with fortunes exceeding the national debt are prone to do.”
“Guess that explains your aversion to wealthy people.”
Her aversion was limited to only the entitled wealthy, including Theresa and Marvin Armstrong. “Daniel’s parents didn’t exactly approve of my marriage to their son. Actually, they didn’t approve of me. It was that whole illegitimate thing. They had no way of knowing if I had the appropriate breeding to contribute to the stellar Armstrong gene pool. Of course, when I became pregnant with Cassie, they had no say in the matter.”
He seemed unaffected by her cynicism. “Are they involved in your daughter’s life at all?”
“Theresa sends Cassie money on her birthday and collector dolls at Christmas that carry instructions not to remove them from the box so they’ll retain their value. What good is a doll you can’t play with?”
“Have they ever seen her?”
“Only once.” And once had been quite enough. “When Cassie was two, they flew us out to North Carolina for a visit. It didn’t take long to realize that my mother-in-law and active toddlers don’t mix. After Theresa accused me of raising a wild animal, I told her I’d find a good kennel where I could board Cassie next time. Fortunately, there wasn’t a next time.”
