by Elle Aycart
Sky smiled nervously. “Yes. The GPS works and the roads are clear. I can drive to Paris without a problem.”
“Good.”
Things had been a bit awkward since they climbed out of the trapdoor. She wasn’t sure if it had to do with the fact that they’d had sex, or that she was leaving. In retrospect, being cooped up in a truck cab with two other people who knew what they’d been up to hadn’t helped. Whatever it was, Logan was being tight-lipped. Standoffish, even.
Or maybe she was just imagining stuff. Sex always changed things. Especially kinky sex. Remembering all that wasn’t making this goodbye any less awkward—the other way around.
“Well, I guess this is it,” she said, shuffling her feet. Her feet clad in stilettos. No more fashion fiascos for her, thank you very much. She was heading for civilization. Which reminded her. “Will you please return the rubber boots to Shayna? This was so sudden, I didn’t have the time to—”
“No problem. I’ll take care of it.”
“I’m not sure if I’ll be able to come back for the makeup crash course. I don’t know what kind of schedule I’ll have—”
“Of course.”
Sky looked into his multicolored eyes. They weren’t playful anymore. They were… distant. Blank. “Thank you for everything. It was very kind of you to take me in. Us, actually,” she added, nodding toward Arnie already sitting in the car.
“You should get going now, before dark. Sorry I can’t come with you.”
“It’s okay. We’d have to take two cars, and that’s a waste of your homemade biodiesel,” she said, attempting to lighten the atmosphere. “And I know you don’t like anyplace with more than one traffic light.”
God, she was blathering in the worst way.
His smile was fleeting. He didn’t say anything, just looked intensely at her, his arms crossed over his bulging chest.
What the heck was she waiting for? An invitation to stay? Would she accept it even if he offered it?
The best outcome in the current scenario was a polite, friendly goodbye. Somehow, she couldn’t bring herself to do it. Thank God Arnie came to her rescue with a bark.
“Cerberus should be sitting in the back,” Logan observed. “It’s the law.”
That ticked her off. “I’d like to see the brave police officer who tries to move him out of his rightful shotgun position.”
Another half smile from the socially challenged Alchemist.
“I’ll head out now,” she finally said, managing to unlock her legs.
“Have a safe trip.” He gave her a curt nod and walked toward his porch.
“Logan,” she called, not sure why.
He turned around. “Yes?”
She considered the million and one things she could do in that moment. Yell? Scream? Curse his lack of response? Or maybe thank him for making this so easy?
But she just shook her head. “Nothing. Take care.”
Chapter 11
“You brought me here for this?” Logan muttered, looking at the big screen in the community center’s AV room, where a cheerful Sky was putting some shit on her face.
Apparently she was too busy and having too much fun in Paris to come visit in person, so the makeup crash course had become a YouTube tutorial she’d filmed two days ago, according to the date stamp on the video. Why that pissed him off to kingdom come, Logan didn’t know.
Well, he knew. He just didn’t want to dig into it.
Ty, however, had other plans. “I hoped this would get you out of your funk. You’ve been a bit sullen these past few weeks. Working nonstop. I’m afraid the diaper fumes have finally liquefied your brains.”
Naturally. And of course watching Sky in all but 3D was going to improve his disposition. Damn, she looked pretty. The city suited her. No oversize shirts or camo boxers or kitsch rubber boots. She was wearing a cute top with a deep neckline, her hair pulled back into a high ponytail. A cup of coffee from one of those franchise chains was at the corner of the table. He couldn’t see, but he was sure she had stilettos on her feet.
He so preferred her in his clothes, her hair snarled, no makeup, his cuffs hanging from her wrist. Too bad that wasn’t who she wanted to be.
“It’s been, what, two weeks since she left? Why hasn’t she come to visit?” Ty asked with a frown. “Paris isn’t so far away.”
“Don’t know.” And it had been three weeks, not two. He should know, because it had felt like a fucking eternity.
“Did you invite her to come?”
“Why would I?” Logan retorted, trying very hard to keep his gaze away from the screen. And failing miserably.
“Boy, are you dumb. Do you know where she’s staying in Paris?”
Logan shook his head.
“What? You didn’t drive her?”
“We would’ve had to take both cars,” Logan said, ticked off at Ty’s disapproving tone. “Waste of fuel. And I’d rather stay away from the city.”
Now it was Ty who was shaking his head. “You are really dumb.”
“Can you fucking stop repeating that?”
“I don’t know—can you stop being dumb? You had sex with her, didn’t you?”
“What makes you think that?” Logan asked, glowering. Sadly, it didn’t intimidate Ty in the least.
“Because this level of dumbness only appears when sex has totally turned one’s brain to mush.”
“I thought it was dirty diapers that did that.”
Ty just gave him the “boy, are you dumb” look again, so Logan caved in. “Yes, we had sex.”
And yes, it had utterly scrambled his brain: not only because she could get him so hard he could barely breathe, but because just a smile from her made his chest ache. When she told him she was leaving, his heart had tumbled, which had been a surprise. He’d known all along that she would leave.
He’d brushed the feeling aside. It had been easy, locked alone in the storage bunker with a big stash of condoms at their disposal, perfect for distracting himself. Until they’d gotten dressed and reality intruded.
“I’ve been through this with Vivienne, who was very similar. You know it didn’t work.”
Ty tipped his head at the YouTube tutorial, which showed Sky chopping aloe vera leaves. She laughed and pushed Arnie away as he popped into the frame, trying to lick the goo from her face. “Similar to Sky? Are you sure? Because I met Vivienne, and they don’t seem anything alike to me.”
“Sky was only here in passing.” A fluke of fate. A blip. If her sister had been wearing glasses when she filled out the internship application, Sky would never have come to Minnesota, and Logan would never have crossed paths with her.
“Maybe you should take a day off and drive to Paris. Just for a change of scenery,” Ty suggested, ignoring Logan’s caveat. “See how she’s doing. Make sure she’s settled in.”
He stole another furtive glance at the screen. What he wouldn’t give to be Cerberus right now. Perched on her lap. Feeling her arms around him, her laugh against his skin. He shook those thoughts away and concentrated on the pain-in-the-ass busybody by his side.
“You are aware that it’s the same distance from Paris to here as it is the other way around, right? She knows where to find me. I don’t have a clue where she’s staying.” The crash course would have been the perfect excuse to stop by if she’d wanted to. Obviously, she hadn’t wanted to. “When something is over, it’s over.”
“Okay, so let me get this straight. You fucked her, and when she informed you she had to leave, you walked her to the door and said, ‘See ya, sucker.’”
“Of course not. I never called her a sucker.”
Ty was wrong. Sky wasn’t shy or gullible. She’d straddled him and asked him to service her. She’d waited for him with no pants on in the bunker, for crying out loud. She’d been in it for the sex as much as he had. Sex required physical proximity, which they’d had while living together. They didn’t have proximity anymore. And she hadn’t seemed sad to see it end. On the contra
ry, she’d been thrilled to get to a city—even one as small as Paris.
Still. The fact that she hadn’t bothered to come back bugged the shit out of him. He’d been so looking forward meeting her again. Dying for it, actually. Watching her on the big screen, listening to her sweet voice, added fuel to the fire. She was so damn beautiful, even with her face full of goo and a monster of a dog all over her.
Paris wasn’t that big a place. He could probably find her if he— No, no, he wasn’t going to make a fool of himself. But… maybe if he just hung around the faculty mailboxes the next time he visited campus, he might catch sight of her. Or he could ask his interns. God knew they wouldn’t stop talking about her.
No. “When it’s over, it’s over,” he repeated under his breath.
Ty’s voice was exasperated. “Boy, for all your PhDs, you are mega dumb.”
“Who’s mega dumb?” Shayna asked, coming up alongside Logan.
Ty motioned to Logan, who crossed his arms. “I wasn’t the one who got shot in the ass during survival training last week.”
“She did it on purpose,” Ty said, giving Shayna a fulminating look. “I wasn’t ready for friendly fire.”
“Please, it was just a graze from an air rifle. You’re lucky I didn’t have my bow and arrows with me. Call me fat again and see how well you fare in the next drill. Ever heard of collateral damage?” She turned to Logan. “For the record, your friend here is a dick, true, but so are you.”
“Vindictive little thing,” Ty murmured when Shayna left. “And I never fucked her or dumped her at the curb. I only implied she could stand to lose a few pounds. Don’t know what’s wrong with her.”
Logan shook his head in dismay. “And I’m the dumb one here?”
Arnie pushed at her arm and barked, waking Sky up. The morning sun was streaming through the drapes, blinding her. Squinting, she checked her watch: eleven o’clock. Scratch morning, it was more like afternoon sun. She’d overslept. Good thing it was Saturday and she had a long weekend ahead.
She threw the blanket over her head and rolled over.
There were several more barks. When she didn’t react to them, something moist and cold began poking at her.
“Arnie, stop.” Sky said, trying to block him. No use. Her dog wouldn’t be denied and continued bothering her.
“Fine, fine,” she said, uncovering her face and glaring at Mr. Sleep Police. “I’m getting up now. Stop guilt-tripping me. Jesus Christ. Would it kill you to let me sleep a bit longer?”
Arnie barked again.
Apparently.
She dragged herself out of bed and made her way to the bathroom, Arnie trailing her. Spring would be kicking in soon, and she never did well in the spring. It depleted her energy. Not that she’d ever been a morning person, at least not naturally. But routine helped: getting dressed, putting on makeup, doing her hair. Going out for coffee and a walk. She just had to ride it out.
Today was no exception. By the time she walked downstairs to the street, got her coffee, and took a stroll with Arnie, she was feeling better. Now for some retail therapy and voilà, good as new. Of course, it would be more effective if she were heading for Saks Fifth Avenue or Macy’s, a thick Christmas bonus under her belt, instead of Tractor Supply, but a girl had to do what a girl had to do. Paris, Minnesota, wasn’t New York, but it wasn’t prepper land either. Besides, her chances of getting to France were slimmer than slim. She could find creative ways to spend some money and treat herself.
Prepper land. She shook that thought away. It led to Logan. Not a good turn. Why she missed that ass, she couldn’t fathom, but she did.
Thankfully, the beeping of her cell distracted her. It was a text from Lola.
“Yo, sis. How you doing at the North Pole? Has the thaw started yet?”
“Not really, but I’ve got an uninterrupted cell connection,” she wrote back. “So I’m happy to be back in civilization.”
She looked around. If Lola could see what Sky saw, she would strongly disagree.
“Not missing that town where you got stranded?”
“No,” she typed right away.
Too right away.
A row of thumbs-up came from her sister.
“Going shopping to lift my spirits.”
“Break a leg” was Lola’s response.
Most probably. She was wearing heels. After all, Google Maps was always watching. Except in NoName, of course, where those crazy preppers had surely found a way to block it.
Admonishing herself for slipping again, she vanquished that thought and put her cell away.
Sky resumed walking. She felt pressure on Arnie’s chain, so she stopped. The rascal was stalling.
“Come on, Arnie. I promise I’ll buy you some new treats. And for every single thing I get for me, we’ll walk for ten minutes afterward. I know you’re not keen on being tied up outside the store. I’d love to put you in a purse, but there aren’t any big enough. The last time I passed you off as a service dog was a bust, remember? Having to carry you upstairs was damn difficult to explain. Going shopping isn’t so bad.”
Arnie huffed. Such a classic male. If he were able to roll his eyes, he so would have.
“Hey, you could have stayed home.”
Sky could have sworn he snorted.
Several hours and coffees later, she and an extremely aggravated-looking dog walked back to their street, both her hands full of bags.
She precariously reached into her pocket and handed Arnie a treat. “Now, baby, I’m going to need you to cooperate. I can’t make it to the second floor carrying you and the bags.”
He blew a gust of hot air and gave her a long stare. It was damn clear who he thought was more important. The bags would have to wait their turn.
Sky shook her head and fed him another treat. “You are so lucky I love you.”
“And he knows it. That’s why he abuses it.”
That husky rumble. She lifted her gaze to find Logan leaning on his truck, parked in front of her place. A mere six feet from her.
Her insides somersaulted. God, he looked so handsome, even with that beard—overgrown again—and the mountain-man clothes. She squelched the smile tugging at her lips. She should be ashamed of herself. No word from him for almost a month and a half, and here she was, her stomach full of butterflies at the sight of him. Pathetic.
Arnie recognized him, because he approached, sniffing, and didn’t bark.
“You should pay more attention to where you’re going, Butterfly. Very sloppy for a New Yorker. Anyone could jump you.”
“Really?” she said flippantly. “Do you think there’s a chance someone would come at me with any intentions, malicious or otherwise, without Arnie noticing?”
“Point. You’re a difficult woman to find,” Logan added, not moving a muscle, his arms crossed over his chest.
Sure, because the ass hadn’t known she was in Paris, teaching at the same college his lab was affiliated with.
She composed herself and went for nonchalant. “Indeed. This place has more than one traffic light. A total maze by your standards. I’ve been shopping.” She raised the bags. “If you followed me on Instagram, you would have known where to find me.”
“Not big on social media.” He peeked in the bags. “Toiletry kits? Five of them?”
“One can never have too many toiletry kits. I like having cute things around. I’m a collector.”
His look was annoyingly smug. “You mean a packrat.”
She was so not going to touch that. He was the one with a diaper hoard. “What are you doing here? Or did you decide to drop by just to call me names?”
He offered her a half smile. “Being called a packrat isn’t an insult, not in my town. It’s called being prepared.”
“True.”
She didn’t elaborate further, and he seemed a bit uncomfortable. “I had to take care of some business in Paris.”
He was such a lousy liar.
“I see. Did the school give you my ad
dress? Very unprofessional. You could be a crazy stalker I’d gotten a restraining order against. The Unabomber beard should have alerted them, if nothing else.”
“Didn’t have to. I went to the first coffee shop I saw and asked about a redhead with the ugliest dog alive. Eventually someone pointed me in the right direction.”
Damn Agnes. Sky was going to have a talk with her the next time she picked up her regular.
“Well, now that you’re here, you could make yourself useful and hold my bags while I carry Arnie upstairs.” She handed the bags to Logan, but he didn’t take them.
Instead he let out a deep breath and lifted Arnie. “Lead the way.”
Sky froze, half expecting Arnie to chew a chunk out of Logan’s arm. Her baby didn’t like people taking liberties, but aside from looking stiff and offended, Arnie didn’t react.
“Right. Follow me,” she said tartly, climbing the side stairs. After rummaging in her purse for the keys, she opened the door and motioned for him to enter. “Here it is, my semiprivate unit above Mrs. Rantala’s garage.”
Logan put the dog down and looked around. “Nice.”
“Wait for it.”
Three, two, one. There it was, like clockwork. The door that connected the unit to the rest of the house, the one that was supposed to always be closed, opened.
“Hello, Mrs. Rantala. Just got home.”
The woman smiled and gave Logan a once-over. “Let’s leave the door open, shall we?”
Sky rolled her eyes when the old lady left. “As you can see, I’m back to being fifteen.” Come to think of it, he knew a thing or two about weird, invasive neighbors.
“I’m surprised the hardened New Yorker in you hasn’t slammed her with a restraining order for harassment,” he said, not even attempting to disguise his amusement.
“Chastity is making a comeback.” And her quirky landlord was willing to put up with Arnie. That trumped everything else.
“So, how have you been liking it here?” he asked, obviously scrambling for something to talk about.
