by Lara Lacombe
Except for Juan Pablo. The young man was staring daggers at Logan, his dislike plain for all to see. “Who is he to you?” he asked in Spanish. “You are too good for him.”
Olivia shot him a quelling look. “You go too far. It is not your concern.”
Juan Pablo held up his hands in a conciliatory gesture. “I just worry about you,” he said, his tone soothing. He flicked a glance at Logan before turning back to Olivia. “I don’t want to see you get hurt.”
Nice try, Logan thought. He wanted so badly to tell this guy off, but he wasn’t about to compromise their mission over a jealous puppy of a man.
“You’re a good friend,” Olivia responded, putting a slight emphasis on the word friend. Logan almost smiled at the subtle reprimand, but kept his expression neutral.
Juan Pablo apparently decided not to press his point, but his pursed lips communicated his displeasure. Logan felt an immature spurt of satisfaction that he quickly tried to quash. He wasn’t here to antagonize the nursing staff or complicate Olivia’s friendships. Still, he couldn’t help but feel a little smug over the fact that he’d gotten the girl.
Even though it was all an act.
“Why don’t I take you to your apartment?” Daniela suggested, speaking English for Logan’s benefit. “I’m sure we can get something set up for Logan, as well.”
“That won’t be necessary,” he replied smoothly. “Olivia and I will share her apartment.” Take that, “friend.”
A shocked murmur rose from the group, and Juan Pablo sucked in an outraged breath. Daniela raised her eyebrows and looked at Olivia, silently asking if this was true.
Olivia’s grip tightened on his arm, but she gave no other outward sign that she was surprised by his statement. She offered a shy smile, ducking her head slightly. “It’s true,” she said. “I should have mentioned it before, but I got so busy I forgot to say anything.”
Daniela merely nodded. “Very well,” she said. “Come with me and I’ll show you both to the apartment.”
Olivia quickly said goodbye to her friends, and Logan smiled and nodded his way through the farewells. The women were nice enough, although he did hear a few giggles as they walked away. Juan Pablo merely nodded once, his eyes bright with anger as he looked at Logan. When Olivia turned to acknowledge him, his expression shifted to one of concern and he opened his mouth, clearly intending to say something. But she didn’t give him a chance, turning away before he could speak.
Logan linked hands with Olivia as they followed Daniela. What had he just done? His stomach churned as the implications sank in. He’d just made his job a hundred times harder, thanks to an impulsive declaration made in a fit of annoyance. Why had he let Juan Pablo’s behavior get under his skin like that?
More important, could he really keep a professional distance from Olivia if they were living together?
He caught a whiff of her scent as she moved in front of him to pass through a door. Strawberries and cream. His mouth watered, and he found himself wondering if her skin would taste as sweet as it smelled.
Too bad he wasn’t going to find out.
* * *
Olivia managed to keep smiling until the door closed behind Daniela. Then she whirled to face Logan.
“Are you crazy?” she hissed, careful to keep her voice down. The walls were thin, and she didn’t want Daniela or anyone else to hear her.
Logan held up a finger and dug into his backpack, withdrawing a small black device she recognized as an electronic bug detector. He turned it on and moved through the small apartment, returning to stand in front of her.
“No,” he said, turning off the detector and putting it back in his pack. “We’re supposed to be dating, remember?”
“Dating, yes,” she replied. “But this isn’t the US. Colombian couples generally don’t live together before they’re married—it’s considered scandalous.”
“Sorry about that,” he replied, his tone suggesting he was anything but apologetic. “But we need to stick together, and this seemed like the best way to ensure we weren’t separated at night.”
“I don’t think there’s any danger of that,” she remarked drily, casting a meaningful look at the small bed in the corner of the room. He followed the direction of her gaze, and the tips of his ears turned pink.
“Ah. Well, don’t worry. We don’t have to stay that close.”
She should have found his words reassuring, but a tiny spark of disappointment flared in her chest. “And where are you going to sleep?”
He glanced around the efficiency-size apartment, clearly looking for a sofa or recliner. When none appeared, he shrugged. “I’ll bunk on the floor.”
Olivia winced. “Not a good idea.”
“Why?”
“You’re close to the jungle. Bugs come out at night.” When he didn’t look impressed, she continued. “Big ones.”
“I’m sure I’ll be fine.”
She shook her head. “No. If you sleep on the floor you’ll be an all-you-can-eat buffet. It won’t go well for you.”
Logan cocked his head to the side and regarded her with a half smile. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you actually wanted me to share your bed.” He took a step closer, and something dangerous glinted in his eyes. “Am I wrong?”
No, whispered a traitorous voice in her head. She swallowed hard, pushing aside an image of the two of them in the small bed, limbs tangled and skin flushed. What would it feel like to have his tall, powerful frame pressed against her body? To feel the strength of his arms as he held her?
She met his gaze, determined to keep things on a professional level. That was why they were here after all. Fantasizing about things that weren’t going to happen was a waste of time. “All I’m saying is that it’s dangerous for you to sleep on the floor.”
He frowned slightly. “What do you suggest I do then? Can we have them bring in another bed?”
Olivia shook her head. “I don’t think that’s an option. There probably isn’t one, and even if there were, don’t you think it would look a little strange? After all, we’re dating, right?” She couldn’t resist teasing him just a little, especially since it was his rash announcement that had gotten them into this situation.
“I guess there’s no help for it then,” Logan said. “We’ll just have to share.”
Olivia glanced at the small bed and then at his broad shoulders. She bit her lip as a lesson from a long-ago physics class echoed in her mind: Two objects cannot occupy the same space at the same time...
Her skepticism must have shown on her face, because Logan grinned broadly. “Don’t worry, it won’t be so bad. I sleep on my side. You’ll have plenty of room.”
Olivia let out a sigh, accepting her fate. “I hope you don’t snore.”
He held up his right hand as if making a pledge. “You won’t even know I’m here.”
She choked back a laugh. Yeah, right. It had been a long time since she’d shared a bed with a man, especially for any length of time. And while she’d signed on to play the role of the doting girlfriend, she hadn’t thought it would be necessary to stay in character behind closed doors.
Maybe that was the crux of the problem. She had to act the part without reaping any of the benefits. Lying next to Logan every night, hearing him breathe and feeling the bed shift with his every movement—it was going to be pure torture.
There’s always sleeping pills. Perhaps a little help was in order to ensure she wasn’t spending the nights staring at the ceiling, trying to ignore the man next to her. But no, that wasn’t a good solution. The few times she’d taken a sleeping pill, she’d woken groggy and it had taken hours to clear the mental fog from her brain. She couldn’t afford to feel that way while she was here—too many people depended on her to help them, and she couldn’t do that if her head felt like it was stuffed with cotton balls.
She was just going to have to suck it up. They were both adults after all. Surely they could share a bed without any problems.
It was going to be a long month.
CHAPTER 9
Logan was such an idiot.
He’d known, on an intellectual level at least, that sharing a bed with Olivia Sandoval was going to be difficult. But he figured he’d be able to grit his teeth and bear it, with the knowledge that their living arrangement wasn’t going to last forever. In theory, it was a solid plan.
The problem was, the reality was so much harder than he’d anticipated.
No question about it, Olivia was a knockout. He’d been attracted to her from the start, when she’d moved in next door two years ago. Now that he was learning more about her, she was even more appealing. And given his lengthy dry spell, his body was quite interested in getting acquainted in a more personal way.
Unfortunately, their nocturnal proximity did not make things any easier on his wavering self-control.
The first week hadn’t been so bad. They’d both fallen into bed exhausted, wrung out from working long days getting everything set up and preparing for Olivia to see patients. They’d been too tired for any awkwardness to set in, and sleep had claimed them quickly.
Tonight was different.
He was lying on his side, staring at the wall of the apartment, listening to Olivia’s steady breaths. He could tell she was still awake, too. She always got a little hitch in her breathing right as she was dropping off to sleep. It was an intimate detail, the kind a lover would know. It felt a little strange, learning such a personal fact about her when their relationship was really more of a business interaction. But he was growing used to the odd dichotomy between them.
She sighed and shifted a bit, probably trying to find a more comfortable position. The mattress left a lot to be desired in terms of padding, but he’d seen the ones at the hospital and knew they were lucky. It was amazing how quickly his standards changed after being confronted with true poverty.
“Can’t sleep?” He kept his voice low, barely above a whisper. He didn’t want to disturb her if she was drifting off. But if they were both awake, they might as well pass the time together. His hormones proposed a few activities they could try to stave off boredom, but he ignored the predictable suggestions. Talking was a much safer choice.
She was quiet for a moment, making him wonder if she was going to respond. Then she sighed, the bed moving slightly as the breath left her body. “Yeah. Am I keeping you up?”
“Nope. I just don’t feel tired. You?”
“I can’t turn my brain off.”
“That happen often?”
Her voice was wry. “Often enough.”
Logan rolled to face the ceiling. It seemed rude somehow to carry on a conversation with his back to her, even though they couldn’t see each other in the darkness. “Penny for your thoughts?”
She let out a soft laugh and the mattress bounced as she moved. He felt the brush of her shoulder against his own as she settled onto her back. The heat of her touch was like a warm coal from a dying fire, pleasant and welcome.
“I don’t even know where to begin,” she said, her voice closer now that they had both moved.
“I generally like to start at the beginning,” he suggested. “But you do what you think is best.”
“That’s very helpful,” she grumbled. But he heard the smile in her voice and knew she wasn’t really upset.
He could guess what was bothering her, but it would be better if she told him herself. He didn’t want to put words in her mouth. And while he’d never admit it out loud, a big part of him was hoping she trusted him enough to lower her guard and let him inside.
“I just can’t stop thinking about my friends.”
He searched his brain for their names. “Avery and Meredith?”
“Mallory,” she corrected.
“Sorry.”
“It’s okay. You’ve never met them. You can’t really be expected to remember their names.”
“How long have you all been friends?” Female relationships fascinated and mystified him in equal measures. His sister, Amy, was only two years younger, so he’d had a front row seat to much of the drama of high school friendships. He’d never understood how women could go from best friends to mortal enemies in the space of a few hours, but what did he know?
“About ten years. We met in medical school and started studying together. We all got along so well we decided to move in together.”
“Are they surgeons like you?”
“No. Avery works for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She’s part of their illness tracking team. And Mallory is a doctor on a cruise ship.”
“Nice,” he commented. “I wonder if there’s a need for a resident DEA agent on a cruise ship.”
She laughed. “Tell me about it. Sometimes I look at her life and think I’ve made all the wrong choices.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that. You seem to be doing pretty well for yourself.”
“Thanks.” There was an odd note to her voice and he hoped he hadn’t made her more upset. He cleared his throat. “Can I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
“Why is the cartel threatening these women? You’re not geographically close to them, which means you can’t see them all that often. Why aren’t they going after your family?”
She took her time answering. “Because I don’t have any.”
Oh, man. His stomach dropped, and he could have kicked himself. Way to make her feel worse. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know.” He’d noticed that she had left the getting-to-know-you questions pertaining to her family blank, but he had thought it was due to a wish for privacy. Never in a million years would he have imagined it was because she was alone in the world.
She shrugged and their shoulders touched again. “No reason why you should. I don’t talk about it.”
He searched his mind for something to say, for a safer topic that wouldn’t cause her pain. But before he could come up with something, she spoke again.
“It was a car accident. Two years ago. They were airlifted to the hospital, but by the time I got there, they had both slipped into comas. My mother appeared to rally at one point, but it didn’t last. They were in intensive care for several weeks, but it wasn’t enough to save them.”
Logan’s heart broke for her. He couldn’t imagine the pain of losing a parent, never mind losing both at the same time. He reached in the darkness and took her hand, unable to come up with the words to convey his sympathy.
“The worst part was I didn’t really get to say goodbye. They never woke up.”
He found his voice. “I’m sure they heard you nonetheless.”
“That’s what all the medical staff said. But a part of me still wonders if it’s really true.”
“I have to believe it is,” he said, squeezing her hand gently. “I remember once when I was at college I woke up in the middle of the night with food poisoning. Ten minutes later my mom called me. Said she’d had a vivid dream that I was sick and needed to check on me. I think parents just know things, especially when it comes to their kids.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“I know they’d be proud of the work you’re doing here.”
She laughed softly, but there was no humor in it. “I was supposed to be doing this kind of thing full-time. I had planned to join Doctors Without Borders after I finished my residency. Travel the world, help those who need it most. Real idealistic stuff.”
“What changed?” he asked. She sounded bitter, which was unlike her. Even though he hadn’t known her very long, he could tell she wasn’t the kind of person to dwell on the negative parts of her past.
“I needed the money. My parents’ medical bills were through the roof, and I also had a lot of debt from school.�
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“Your parents didn’t have health insurance?”
He felt her shake her head. “Dad had lost his job a few weeks before the accident. They hadn’t told me. I don’t think they wanted me to worry.”
“That sounds like solid parental reasoning to me.”
“Yeah.” He heard the smile in her voice and was glad her mood seemed to be improving. He was learning so much about her, more than the questionnaire could ever hope to tell him, but he didn’t want to hear it if it caused her pain. “Anyway, when I got an offer to join a private practice, I took one look at the starting salary and couldn’t really say no.”
He stroked his finger across her knuckles, enjoying the rises and dips of her skin as he traced the bones. “You made a smart choice. You shouldn’t beat yourself up for it.”
“My practical side agrees with you. But there’s still a small, idealistic part of me that thinks I sold out.” She sighed softly. “But that’s just life. It never really turns out like you expect, does it?”
“No,” he said, his thoughts turning to Emma. His life would have been so different if he’d never found out about her cheating on him. They’d be married for sure, coming up on an anniversary, in fact. How long would it have taken him to discover her lies? He liked to think he was a good investigator, but he hadn’t used those skills in his own personal life. If he hadn’t walked in on her and Chris in bed together, would he have ever suspected anything? More important, would they have had children by now? His gut twisted at the thought. Not because he didn’t want kids, but because he didn’t want them with a woman who would treat her marriage vows as suggestions rather than words to live by.
After a few moments of silence, Olivia chuckled softly and shook her head.
“What’s so funny?” he asked, eager for the distraction. He shoved thoughts of Emma back into the box where they belonged and focused on the woman next to him.
