Quinn glanced in the direction Logan was pointing and almost groaned out loud. This was not happening! What was her mom even doing in town? She was supposed to be visiting Quinn’s grandparents today, and they lived at at least and hour away!
“Ummm, I... sorry about this. Just ignore everything she says and follow my lead.” Quinn unconsciously gripped Logan’s hand harder as she watched the woman make a beeline for them.
Too late to make a run for it, her mother was already crossing the street, coming dangerously close to getting knocked over by a car in her haste to get to Quinn and her good looking companion.
She sighed inwardly at the expression of delight on her mom’s face. Her parents loved her and they had a great relationship but Quinn knew the reason for the mad dash across the street was not just the joy of seeing her baby girl, but rather the joy of seeing her baby girl holding hands with a gorgeous hunk.
Logan looked amused and was staring at Quinn’s mom and back at Quinn with interest. The family resemblance was unmistakable and there was little doubt as to the identity of the approaching older woman.
Before she had a chance to say anything else, her mom swooped down on them and was hugging Quinn as if they hadn't seen each other in months.
“Hi Honey! I was just on my way to pop in and say hello, but I see you are on your way out.”
She beamed at Logan and held out her hand.
“Hi there, I'm Quinn’s mother Rita. I don't believe I've had the pleasure of meeting you as I'm sure I would have remembered.”
She had a twinkle in her eye and was looking Logan up and down unashamedly as she held out her hand.
Logan smiled warmly in return before taking her mom's hand.
“Logan McKenzie. It is a pleasure to meet you mam. I hope I am not interrupting any plans you made with Quinn.”
“Oh no not at all and please call me Rita! We don't have any plans for today. In fact I was meant to visit Quinn’s grandparents today but they had to reschedule so I thought I would come and surprise her instead."
"And I am so very happy that I did, otherwise I never would have met you Logan!”
Turning to Quinn and linking arms with her daughter she smiled and continued with a mock stern expression.
“Honey, you never mentioned you were seeing anyone. Why on earth have you not brought this charming young man round for dinner?”
If there was ever a perfect time for the earth to open up and swallow her whole, this would surely be it!
But of course, no such luck for her, she would have to brave it out until the very bitter end of this painfully uncomfortable conversation.
Although, apparently only painful to Quinn herself as the other two parties seemed to be rather enjoying themselves, she reflected morosely.
Looking from Logan’s amused grin to her mom’s excited expression, Quinn sighed and tried her best to do some quick damage control before her mom got the wrong idea and started planning Quinn and Logan’s wedding and naming their unborn children.
“Mom, Logan and I are just business partners. His company is helping me with Sexy Inc. That’s all.” She shot a meaningful look at Logan, silently willing him to back her story up.
Her mom looked at him expectantly and he smiled at her and shrugged his shoulders ruefully before replying.
“That is unfortunately true Rita. Sadly, your lovely daughter seems to be completely immune to my charms.”
He smiled disarmingly at her mom whilst giving Quinn a naughty wink.
Quinn groaned inwardly. Great! Now no matter what she said or did her mom would never believe that there was nothing going on. Not that there technically was but still, it was complicated and the last thing she needed was to have her mom on her back asking questions when Quinn herself was still so torn and confused by her feelings for this man she had just met yesterday.
She knew they were well meaning and had her best interests at heart but her mom and Sarah could be impossibly overbearing when it came to Quinn’s love life.
The best thing was to end this conversation fast and get Logan away from her mom as quickly as possible.
“Mom, it really was lovely to see you so unexpectedly but we have to run. I left Sarah by herself at the shop and I don’t want to leave her alone for too long.”
She opened her eyes wide and stared at Logan, who looked about ready to burst. He took pity on her and turned to Quinn’s mom.
“Unfortunately Rita, Quinn is right, we do have a meeting that we need to get to. But is was lovely meeting you, and I hope we can all have dinner soon.”
Quinn nearly had a stroke at his words, but smiled valiantly and hugged her mom goodbye.
“Lovely to meet you too Logan and I look forward to seeing you again soon as well. I know Quinn’s dad will be sorry that he missed meeting you today. Take care Honey and call me later!”
This last remark was aimed at Quinn, who waved goodbye dutifully to her mom, knowing full well that she would have to call her later or risk having her mom come over again to make sure that Quinn’s phone line was working.
This had happened before when she had refused to answer her mom’s calls. Quinn resigned herself to the inevitable million question conversation she would have to have later.
Quinn looked up at Logan and marvelled at the way that he had charmed her mother so effortlessly, and how he had taken the whole thing in his stride.
Many men would have been uncomfortable or irritated in a similar situation and Quinn had to admit that it was rather attractive and made him seem just that little bit hotter than he already was, if that was even possible.
Logan was still smiling when he looked back at Quinn and the expression in her beautiful amber eyes nearly took his breath away.
She was looking at him with such warm approval, it made him feel like he was about ten feet tall.
Looking around to make sure her mother was really gone, he grabbed her hand impulsively and pulled her into a nearby doorway, holding her close. Logan was not sure what he had done to deserve that look of admiration in her eyes, but he had an overwhelming urge to kiss her. He wanted her to keep looking at him like that forever.
Slowly lowering his head towards hers he placed a single kiss on her closed lips, carefully gauging her reaction, ready to back off at the slightest indication that she was uncomfortable.
To his utter relief and joy, Quinn simply sighed and kissed him back. Sliding her hand up his shoulders and running it through his hair.
He deepened the kiss, moving his hands slowly down to rest on her lower back and leaning against the door to pull her in even tighter to his body.
Onlookers be damned, he simply could not help himself. No other woman had ever had this effect on him. It was terrifying and sexy as hell at the same time.
Quinn moaned into his mouth and grabbed the lapels of his jacket for support. She could not believe this was happening! Her head was spinning, literally, and her knees were distinctly wobbly.
She knew if Logan had to let go right now she would fall flat on her backside. Luckily he seemed only interested in pulling her closer, his strong arms closing even tighter around her waist, stealing her breath away.
How long the two of them would have remained locked in that doorway, heaven only knows, but a discreet cough finally broke through the fog of attraction surrounding them like a thick blanket.
Logan pulled away from Quinn first. Blinking slowly and looking as utterly bowled over as she felt.
She blushed furiously, looking over her shoulder at the intruder, who turned out to be a tenant trying to enter the front door of the building complex Logan had pulled her into.
The man looked slightly embarrassed but smiled benignly and looked away courteously as they hurriedly moved away from each other.
Logan grabbed Quinn’s hand again and quickly pulled her back onto the street, a huge grin on his face.
He honestly did not plan for their first kiss to be on the street, in front of everybody and their un
cle, but he was not sorry it happened. That kiss was hot! And his instincts about Quinn had been right.
She was definitely attracted to him and had been as swept up by the moment as he had.
He felt like doing an air punch, but one glance at Quinn’s face told him that this would not be well received. She was still blushing and trying to look around inconspicuously to see if anyone else had seen them kissing.
She looked so adorable with her pouty lips still swollen from his kiss and a guilty, flustered expression in her eyes that made him want to grab her and kiss her again.
She was obviously not used to kissing men she barely knew in the middle of a busy street. It was very endearing to him but he would have to be cautious or he could risk spooking her.
Quinn was much more innocent and reserved than Logan and he suspected that she was fully capable of trying to avoid him completely if she became too overwhelmed, and that he would not allow.
Clearing his throat, Logan gently pulled her to the side of the street and turned her to face him before speaking.
She refused to meet his eyes and he softly took her chin in one hand and tilted her face up until he could see the worried expression reflected in her liquid amber gaze.
“Quinn, I apologize if I made you feel uncomfortable with that kiss, but I am not sorry it happened. It was amazing and I have wanted to kiss you since the first moment I saw you.
“I hope you can forgive me and I promise I would never try to hurt you on purpose.”
He looked genuinely sorry and Quinn’s heart melted. Logan was always so sure of himself and it was disarming to see him so concerned about her feelings.
She looked at him shyly before saying, “It's ok, really. I kissed you back remember.” A ghost of a smile touched his lips. “It’s all just very overwhelming, you know.”
Logan nodded and took her hand, glancing at his watch. “Look, I have to get back to the office. I am going away on business but I will be back by tomorrow night. Have dinner with me then? Please?”
Quinn smiled and squeezed his hand softly before replying. “Ok, that sounds nice.”
Rewarding her with a sexy smile that made her knees weak, he took her elbow, slowly guiding her back down the street towards the shop.
“Come on, I’ll walk you back. Wouldn’t want you to get sidetracked by any more charming men trying to steal a kiss.”
Waggling his eyebrows up and down comically, Quinn couldn’t help but laugh. He really could be incredibly charming when he wanted to be.
She found it difficult to associate this light, playful side with the serious, businessman exterior that she had only had glimpses of.
They quickly reached the shop as they really hadn’t even walked far before her mother’s ambush had unwittingly led them to that incredible kiss.
Logan leaned in and placed a kiss on her cheek before saying,
“Until tomorrow night. I’ll pick you up at eight.” Adding quickly before she could say anything, “Don’t argue, I’ll pick you up. Please?”
She nodded and he turned around, disappearing with a quick wave.
Luckily the shop was busy when Quinn walked back in and there was no time for Sarah to question her about lunch or why she was back so early.
She was grateful for this as she really did not feel like talking about it at the moment. With Logan away until tomorrow, she at least had a little breathing room to think things through.
Everything had happened so fast between the two of them, she felt like her world had turned completely upside down in the last forty eight hours. It was kind of terrifying and exhilarating at the same time.
Anyway, Quinn was determined to throw herself into work for the rest of the day and to not think about Logan McKenzie again until their date the following night… Or at least she would try not to. For her own sanity. Easier said than done right?
CHAPTER NINE
Quinn was looking around despondently at the entire contents of her wardrobe strewn over the carpet and hanging from almost every available surface.
Sarah was standing in the midst of all this chaos, a small frown marring her normally smooth forehead.
Too bad they didn’t have time to make something new for Quinn’s date. She had suggested a few outfits, but Quinn had dismissed all of them as being either too revealing or too flashy.
She picked up a beautiful turquoise, sequined dress that Quinn had also dismissed earlier as being over the top and held it up to the light again.
The dress had tight-fitting sleeves that came all the way down to your wrists with a plunging v neck design and short skirt that hugged Quinn’s curvy body in all the right places.
“I think you should reconsider the turquoise dress. The colour looks gorgeous on you and the cut is extremely flattering. I know you said it was over the top, but didn’t Logan text you and tell you to dress up?"
"That means he is taking you somewhere really nice! You are only young once you know and most girls would kill to have a body like yours.” She looked down at her own slim frame and sighed.
“I wish I had just half of your cleavage! You know I need to wear one of your really good push up bras just to have a hint of anything resembling a cleavage.”
Quinn smiled at Sarah and said, “And you know I envy your skinny figure. You can eat whatever you like and you never seem to gain any weight! If I so much as look at a slice of cake I can almost feel it creeping onto my hips.”
Sarah looked at Quinn and burst out laughing. “Seriously? You can FEEL it creeping onto your hips? Drama queen much?” Laughing at her friend, Quinn held up the turquoise dress again in the mirror, studying the effect before replying.
“I cannot believe you just called me a drama queen! That is deeply hurtful and insulting. And to think, I was going to call you later and tell you all about my date.
Now you will just have to wait until tomorrow to get all the gory details.”
Sarah met Quinn’s eyes in the mirror and said, “Well, I sure hope you will not be calling me later. I would like to think that you will have much better things to do than phone up your sad single friend on a Saturday night.” She looked at Quinn before picking up some clothes and hanging them back up in the cupboard.
“Sarah! That is the last thing I need right now. Jumping into bed with Logan is so not on the table. It would be very unprofessional for us to get involved physically.”
Sarah just smiled at her and said, “Keep your hair on woman! All I meant was that I hope you would be having a great time and that you would not have a chance to call me."
"And besides, don’t you think it’s a little too late to remain “professional” as you call it after what happened in the street between the two of you yesterday?
Kind of like shutting the barn door after the horse has already bolted if you ask me. Anyway, stop whining."
"You have a date with a gorgeous, hunky millionaire, who may even be a billionaire for all we know, and he appears to be totally obsessed with you.
That is not something to complain about in my book!”
Quinn smiled at her best friend in the mirror and turned to give her an impulsive hug. She was right of course.
Sarah motioned for Quinn to sit down so that she could do her hair and make up. “Ok ok, before we start holding hands and singing kumbaya, we need to get you dressed or you will not be ready by the time Logan gets here.”
Quinn laughed and sat down, dutifully allowing her friend to get to work on her hair and make-up.
CHAPTER TEN
Logan ran his hands through his still damp hair again and looked at his watch for what seemed like the hundredth time.
He was feeling nervous and it was freaking him out because he never got nervous on dates anymore.
It had been a long time since he felt the fluttering feeling of anticipation in his gut and it was throwing him for a complete loop.
It would have been fine if only he hadn’t kissed Quinn in the street yesterday. That kiss changed
everything for him and he was unsure of how to deal with the fallout of emotions it triggered.
Everything seemed more real all of a sudden, the novelty still riding him almost twenty four hours later, like it had just happened an hour ago.
His plan had been to sweep Quinn off her feet, with an elaborate date straight from the pages of a romance novel. It’s not like he hasn’t done it before, many times, but now it just felt wrong somehow.
Almost like it would be an insult to whatever it was that they had going on between them. Because it was special.
It felt different and he wanted to celebrate that, not treat it as if it were the same as every other time.
So he had decided not to take Quinn to the most expensive, over the top restaurant via a trip on his private jet like he would normally do to impress a woman.
Instead he had planned a small intimate dinner for two on the rooftop of his apartment building.
There was a garden with limited access, even for most of the tenants, but as a special favour to him they would have it all to themselves for the night.
He glanced at his watch again, he had to get going or he really would be late collecting Quinn.
Fifteen minutes later he arrived and parked in front of Quinn’s small cottage on the outskirts of town. Taking a deep breath, he walked up and rang the doorbell.
After about five - long - minutes Quinn opened the door, and all Logan could do was stare.
She completely took his breath away! Her gorgeous auburn hair was twisted into a soft elegant chignon, long tendrils of hair artfully escaping to brush her shoulders accentuating her incredible cleavage.
The short skirt of her shimmering turquoise dress showed off a set of fabulous legs that seemed to go on forever.
To complete the outfit, her small, beautifully shaped feet were encased in a pair of low heeled sandals, making her seem taller, although she still only managed to reach the top of his shoulder.
Logan could not remember ever noticing a woman's feet or what she wore on them before, but with Quinn it felt like even the smallest detail about her was important to him.
The Meet Cute Page 4
