by Cara Marsi
Logan leaned forward. “Because Candi is having an affair with Bryce James. I thought he was stealing the bids to buy her things, but now I think it’s much more dangerous than that. Especially after what happened Friday night.”
Shock chased across Dan’s features. “Candi and Bryce? She’s the other woman?” He pounded a fist on the table. “Bryce may have a mistress but he sure as hell didn’t rough up my night watchman. He might be capable of stealing the bids, but physically hurting someone? Never.”
Logan pushed some papers in front of Dan. “I’m with you about Bryce not harming anyone. I don’t think he would. But he has no scruples about carrying on an illicit affair.” He nodded his head toward the papers.
Dan skimmed the report. When he lifted his gaze, sadness shadowed his eyes. He shook his head. “Stupid bastard. To jeopardize his family for a tramp like Candi.”
“Candi’s had a rough life,” Logan said. “Don’t judge her too harshly.”
Dan scrubbed a hand over his eyes. “You mentioned Friday night. What happened?”
“Someone tried to break into Doriana’s house. We’re almost certain it was her caller. She was alone at the time.”
“What?” Dan jumped up. “Damn, it, man, I pay you to protect her. If anything happens to my daughter or grandson, Tanner, I hold you personally responsible.”
“I don’t intend to let anything happen to Josh or Doriana.” Logan made a wry face. “I had someone watching the house, but he was useless.”
“Where the hell were you?” Dan asked.
“Candi wanted to meet me. She told me she knew something about the problems at the company. I think she lured me out of the house so Doriana could be alone.”
Dan’s face reddened and a muscle throbbed in his neck. Logan feared for the older man’s health.
“I’ll fire Candi,” Dan said. “I’ll have her thrown in jail.”
“Take it easy,” Logan said. “I’m not sure yet just how involved Candi is in all of this. And we need her where we can watch her.”
The energy drained from Callahan’s face and he suddenly looked years older. He sat slowly down. “I didn’t mean to come on so strong, Tanner. I worry about Doriana. But I’m glad you’re there with her.”
“You have my word that I’ll protect her and Josh.”
Callahan nodded and studied him. “You’re a strong man, Tanner. Doriana needs someone like you. She’s been alone too long.”
Logan struggled to keep his expression blank. Callahan had warned him to keep his relationship with Doriana strictly professional. Did he play matchmaker now? Logan wanted to confess to Dan about Josh. But the truth had to come from Doriana. When would she tell her family that he was Josh’s father? Maybe she was still ashamed of him.
Old insecurities tightened around him like a noose, constricting his chest. He’d come too far and worked too hard to let the old fears taunt him. The web of lies and deceit around this assignment had caused him too many restless nights. He wanted to come clean with Doriana too, wanted to know if her attitude toward him would change if she knew the truth. No. He wanted her to accept him for the man he was, not for the success he’d become. But he hated the masquerade he played. Most of all, he didn’t want to hurt her.
He looked at Dan. “Maybe we should bring Doriana into this. Tell her why I’m here.”
Callahan shook his head. “Not yet. We’ve kept our secret pretty good. Let’s not jeopardize things.”
“You’re the boss,” Logan said, but he couldn’t shake his guilt.
“Do you think the bastard threatening my daughter and my company are the same person?”
Logan nodded. “I suspect it is.”
“What about our plan to give Bryce the false bid? I’ve worked hard on this and it’s ready.”
“Let’s go with it,” Logan said. “You never know what we might flush out.” He picked up his pen and the report. “Let’s go over some details. I’ve got my people working on a few leads. Candi’s boyfriend, if we can find him, might be the key we need.”
* * * *
“Is Doriana in her office?”
Doriana jerked her head up at the sound of her mother’s voice. This could not be happening. Her mother here. Seeing Logan.
The past six days since the attempted break-in had been calm. Josh sulked, but he didn’t give them any more trouble. Now the dam was about to break. Doriana braced herself for the storm known as Lena Callahan.
Lena, petite and stylish in a couture pantsuit, swept into Doriana’s office. Slamming the door shut behind her, she turned to Doriana with fire sparking in her brown eyes.
Doriana gripped the pencil she held. “Mother, what a nice surprise.”
Lena threw her coat and bag on the nearest chair and stalked toward Doriana. Tension tightened the lines of her slim body. “How could you not tell me? Your own mother.” Arms folded, Lena stood in front of Doriana’s desk. Tears shimmered in her eyes despite the anger in her voice.
Doriana swallowed. “What, Mom?”
Lena flared her nostrils. “You’re going to continue the lie? Even now?”
They stared at each other. Hurt softened Lena’s eyes. Doriana sagged against her chair and dropped the pencil. It pinged onto the wooden desk, the only sound in the unnaturally quiet room.
“You saw Logan,” Doriana said. “You know.”
“I wasn’t completely sure until I saw the look on your face.” A tear slid down Lena’s smooth cheek and she sank into the chair by Doriana’s desk.
“Mom, I’m sorry,” Doriana whispered.
Lena jutted her chin out. “You’re sorry? How do you think I feel? Coming face-to-face with my grandson’s father. And with no warning.”
Doriana gripped the edge of her desk and fought tears. “I didn’t mean for it to be this way.”
Her mother leaned closer. “How did you mean it to be? Josh’s father is here, working for you, and you kept him a secret.”
Tears blurred Doriana’s eyes. “Daddy hired Logan to take Lisa’s place. I don’t know where Logan’s been for the past sixteen years. Please believe me.”
Lena put a hand over her heart. “Your father knows and no one told me? I was in the delivery room with you.”
“Mom, please settle down.” Doriana pushed up from her desk and walked to the small side table. She poured a glass of water from the pitcher on the desk.
“Drink this,” she said, handing the glass to her mother. Lena gulped water quickly and slammed the glass on the desk. The half-full glass teetered for a minute before righting itself.
Doriana sat on the edge of the desk and faced Lena. “Daddy doesn’t know Logan is Josh’s father.” She drew a deep breath. “I wanted to tell you both, but I couldn’t. Not yet.”
“Josh,” Lena breathed. “Does he know?”
Doriana nodded.
“Madone,” Lena said. “My baby.”
Doriana knelt in front of Lena and took her mother’s hands between hers. “Josh is handling it. You know kids. And having Logan living with us helps.”
As soon as the words were out, Doriana wanted to bite them back.
Lena widened her eyes and pulled her hands free. “Logan’s living with you?” She jumped up, almost knocking Doriana over.
Doriana stood and faced Lena. She felt eight-years-old again. She took a calming breath. She wasn’t a child anymore. “It’s not what you think, Mom. And Daddy knows.”
“Your father approves of your living with a man outside of marriage?” Lena’s voice raised a few notches.
Doriana looked toward the closed office door. “Please keep your voice down. Logan and I aren’t living together like that. It’s complicated.”
“Maybe I should call Logan in here,” Lena said. “Maybe he’ll tell me what’s going on.”
Panic shot up Doriana’s spine. “No, we can’t do that. I’ll work it out. I promise.”
“Like you worked it out all these years?” Lena said, narrowing her eyes.
&nbs
p; Doriana cupped her mother’s shoulders. “Logan’s showing up after all these years blindsided me too. Have some faith in me. I know what I’m doing.” But she didn’t know what she was doing. Not by a long shot.
“This will kill your grandmother,” Lena said.
“Nonna’s stronger than you think. Nonna handled my pregnancy better than anyone. Dad wanted to kill someone and you took to your bed for three days.”
Lena tensed. “Your father and I took it hard at first, but we supported you.”
“I know, Mom. And I love you for it.”
Lena pulled Doriana to her and hugged her in a fierce grip. Doriana inhaled the faint gardenia of Lena’s perfume, the same perfume she’d worn since Doriana could remember. She was a little girl again, comforted in her mother’s arms.
“Things will work out, Mom,” Doriana whispered.
Lena pushed back to look at her. “You need to tell your father. After thirty-five years of marriage he and I keep no secrets. If you don’t tell him I will.”
Doriana stroked her mother’s cheek. “Give me time.”
* * * *
“We need to talk,” Logan said. He and Doriana were in her kitchen, cleaning up the remnants of their usual Friday night pizza. A sullen Josh had escaped to his room. He’d barely spoken to either of them since his grounding a week ago.
Avoiding Logan’s gaze, Doriana sprayed the countertop with antiseptic and wiped. She wished she could wipe her problems away as easily. The pine scent of the cleaner mingled with the smell of pepperoni and sausage, making her eyes water.
“Talk about what?” she asked, not looking at him. Tension had hovered over them since her mother’s visit to the office yesterday.
Logan shut the dishwasher door with a loud clunk. “You know what I mean.”
She dropped her paper towel in the sink and turned slowly to face him. Damn him for looking so sexy dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt and holding a dirty plate.
He set the plate on the counter and folded his arms across his chest. The heavy ceramic dish thudding on the granite counter competed with the thudding of Doriana’s heart.
“I saw the expression on your mother’s face when she looked at me yesterday,” Logan said. “She knew right away. To her credit, she tried to cover up her shock.” Anger darkened his eyes. “Too bad you had to put her through that.”
Doriana backed up to the counter, leaning against it for support. “I’ve already had a tongue-lashing from my mother.”
Logan stiffened. Hurt chased across his features. “Not too happy to find a transient fathered her grandson?”
“Oh, no, Logan. That’s not it. She was upset I didn’t tell her or my dad about you. That was all.”
Logan studied her. His features were harsh in the bright overhead light. He moved closer. She pressed against the counter edge.
“Did you ever intend to tell your parents or were you hoping I’d disappear again?”
The bitterness in his voice made her wince. “I planned to tell them. I was waiting for the right time.”
Logan took her chin between his fingers. “You had sixteen years to figure out the right time. I think you didn’t want to tell them for the same reason you never told your family or friends about us before.”
“What reason?” she whispered.
“You were ashamed of me then and I think you still are. I never fit into your privileged life.”
“Not true,” she said in a shaky voice. But a small nugget of doubt opened in her mind. Maybe on some level it was true. She shook her head, dislodging the doubt. “You’ve got it wrong. I was never ashamed of you.”
He gripped her shoulders. His touch burned. She tried to pull away, but he held her tighter. “Why didn’t you tell them about us when we were kids? Why didn’t you tell them that first day I walked into your office?”
Anger and hurt reflected in the gold-green of his eyes. And something else. Something that made her tremble. Love? It couldn’t be.
“I was only sixteen. And I was afraid my father would hurt you.”
His grip on her tightened. “What about now? You’re not sixteen anymore.”
Tears threatened and she blinked them back. “I didn’t know how to tell them.” She notched her chin. “And maybe I am a coward just as you think. You plan to leave again anyway. I didn’t want them to know you’d walked out on me a second time.”
“Doriana,” he said in a tortured voice. “I never meant to hurt you all those years ago.” He pulled her to him.
She tensed, fighting her need for him. He’d walked out on her once and left her to raise a child alone. Could she forgive him? Could he forgive himself?
“I want to be angry with you,” he rasped. “But when I look at you...Do you have any idea of what you do to me?”
Feminine power surged through her. “Tell me.”
He drew a ragged breath. “I’ll show you.” He took her hands and kissed each palm, running his tongue over her sensitized skin.
She trembled and lifted her face for his kiss. Tonight she would pretend he still loved her. Tonight would belong to them.
Logan took her lips in a crushing kiss. He tasted of pizza and beer and male. She met his hunger and passion with an answering wildness. The demands of his lips peeled away the years. They were young and in love again. But she didn’t want the past. She wanted Logan now.
With a small groan, she molded her body against his and opened her mouth, giving herself to him, body and soul. Twining her arms around his neck, she reveled in Logan’s heat. His hard arousal pressed against her. Moaning, he softened his kiss and tangled his hands in her hair. Heat raced in her veins and pooled in her most private parts. She shuddered with her need for him.
“Doriana,” he whispered against her lips. He trailed searing kisses along her neck.
She drew away to cup his beautiful face between her hands and skim fingers over his high cheekbones, remembering the feel of him, the wildness and the tenderness. She looked deeply into his passion-filled eyes, the eyes of the man she’d never stopped loving.
“Logan,” she whispered.
Heavy footsteps running down the stairs cut through the sensual fog of her brain. Doriana froze. “Josh,” she said, pushing away from Logan.
Josh’s footsteps grew closer. Logan put her gently aside and moved quickly to stare out the kitchen window, his back to the doorway. Doriana knew he needed time to compose himself.
She ran a shaky hand over her hair, mussed from Logan’s touch.
When Josh entered the room he gave her a puzzled stare, then switched his gaze to Logan by the window. “What’s wrong?”
Tension draped the room. Doriana smoothed her hands down the sides of her jeans, trying for calmness. “We’re just cleaning the kitchen,” she said, hoping Josh didn’t notice the false brightness of her voice.
“Your mother and I were discussing Christmas trees,” Logan said, half turning from the window.
“Christmas trees?” Doriana choked the word out. Logan gave her a warning look.
She nodded. “Yes, Christmas trees.”
“What about Christmas trees?” Josh asked. The sullen look was back on his face.
“It’s ten days until Christmas,” Logan said with a smile. “We need to get a tree.”
Josh’s expression hardened. “We have a tree. In the attic.”
“A fake tree?” Logan said. “Nothing fake for this family. We get a real tree this year.”
Doriana stared at Logan. Family? Her pulse raced.
She slid a glance at Josh. His attention was on Logan. Defiance hardened the planes of his face again.
“We don’t need a real tree.” Josh looked at Doriana with narrowed eyes. “He’s never been here for Christmas before. Why should we listen to him?”
“Josh!” Doriana said.
“Josh, that’s enough,” Logan said in a quiet voice. He moved toward Josh and put a hand on the teen’s shoulder. “You and I will finish cleaning the kitchen while yo
ur mother gets herself ready to go tree shopping.”
The two men stared at each other like gunslingers facing off.
Josh’s shoulders sagged and he shrugged away from Logan. Doriana caught Josh’s gaze. Fear and uncertainty had replaced the defiance. She and Josh had been alone for so long. Now that Logan was back in their lives, what would happen to them, to their relationship?
She gave Josh a quick hug. “It will be okay. Everything will be okay. A real tree will be nice.”
Doriana glanced at Logan. He watched her and Josh with hunger in his eyes. They were just shopping for a Christmas tree but the yearning in Logan’s eyes told her he wanted more. Happiness tugged at her heart, and smiling, she left the room.
~~~~
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Doriana hugged herself against the cold and inhaled the fresh, pungent scent of pine. The large Christmas tree lot was filled with clusters of people engaged in spirited discussions on the merits of various trees. Maybe she and Josh had missed out on something all these years.
She slid a glance at Logan standing next to her. Maybe she and Josh missed out on much more than Christmas trees. The cold air rustling through the pine needles seemed to whisper to her of all the lonely Christmases. She shivered.
“Cold?” Logan asked. He put an arm around her shoulders and drew her against him. His heat warmed her through the thickness of her coat.
Josh scowled at them. He wasn’t used to seeing another man touch his mother like this. She hadn’t dated much since he was born, and she was always careful to shield him from her private life.
She met Josh’s gaze but didn’t move from Logan’s embrace. Logan might walk out of their lives soon, but for a while she’d indulge in the fantasy that they were a real family. Maybe it wasn’t a fantasy. Like the hundreds of trees scattered throughout the large lot, too many thoughts crowded her mind. She’d think about it later.
“Where do we begin?” she asked, looking up a Logan. “It’s easier to put the same fake tree up every year.”
Logan’s laugh rang out in the crystal air. Several people smiled at them. Doriana smiled back. Being with Logan made her feel free and happy. He’d always done that to her.
