by Jean Oram
She opened her clutch, wondering how she could casually hand out a few business cards, and whether anyone would actually order a dress online, sight unseen, since her shop was thousands of miles away.
She closed her clutch, knowing she had to dream bigger to widen her store’s reach. She needed something like an in-house designer. Maybe her old college roommate, Olivia Carrington, was looking to get out of public relations and back into designing.
"Where are you from?" Logan asked. He had one hand pressed lightly to her lower back as he guided her between clumps of partygoers, sweeping her aside when a waiter just about backed into her.
She could get used to that. His warmth. Having someone at her side looking out for her.
Okay, so she was lonely. Forgive her. She worked in a wedding store and was single. The whole “I’ll be happy for everyone else” really wasn’t working for her, no matter how hard she tried to convince herself otherwise.
But she was moving on. Flings, not relationships.
No more heartbreak. Her bad spell had started with Kurt, her high school sweetheart, and it hadn’t stopped, right on up to Matias from Argentina.
Her new motto: Be Flirty. Have Fun.
Don’t Fall in Love.
“I’m from Blueberry Springs, which is in the Rockies,” she said, answering Logan’s question, “I’m an Aquarius. And you?"
“I’m from Australia and I have no idea what my sign is. And before you ask, no, I don’t live near Uluru—Ayers Rock.”
"Totally a Leo. No, Taurus,” she amended. “When's your birthday?” She detected a bullheaded stubbornness within him. A commitment to ideas, which she quite liked.
He passed her a glass of chardonnay and smiled at someone behind her. She turned to look. Oh, dear. It was Ted Tremblay, a tall, scrawny fellow engaged to Nadia Forsee, who was not only gorgeous, but smart. A sweet couple from Arizona, they had been in a few wedding biz workshops with Ginger over the past two days. They owned a large chain of jewelry stores and were looking to expand their market.
Logan immediately pulled Ginger to his side, and she wished he’d give up the charade, because this was going to get sticky. Even if she did find herself wishing he’d snuggle closer.
"Logan, Ginger! I didn't know you two were engaged.” Ted was smiling at them as if he’d just discovered the secret to world peace.
“You know Ginger?” Logan asked. “She totally swept me away."
Logan gave her a wink that warmed her right down to the tips of her toes. Ah, yes. He was a little naughty something, wasn’t he?
She rested a hand against his chest, not wanting to deceive her new friends, but knowing they would find it amusing when she told them the lengths she’d gone to in order to sneak in and do some market research—assuming she ever got around to it. She glanced over her shoulder, thinking maybe she could discreetly whisper something to Nadia. But the bartender was watching them as if he suspected they were indeed gate-crashers and not legitimate guests.
“He actually ran me over like an unleashed dog,” she said, smiling at Nadia and Ted. “Nearly knocked me right off my high heels."
Logan laughed, the sound again making her think he didn’t do it very often. It made her want to make him laugh more. "I have that effect on women."
“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me!” Nadia’s gaze went straight to Ginger’s finger.
Ring? Absent. Yup. That was going to be a problem by the end of the night, wasn’t it?
“Oh,” Logan said, digging through his sports jacket’s inner pocket. He’d seen Nadia’s look and was up to something. When he pulled out a ring box Ginger knew their game had suddenly gone too far.
“I was getting it sized,” Logan said. “I’m a wholesaler, but I know a guy who does some gem setting and he did a quick resize for us this afternoon.” He smiled and opened the box.
Ginger felt her eyes drawn to the object shining on its bed of blue velvet. She’d never been offered an engagement ring before. Not even by Kurt, who had sworn he loved her to the ends of the earth—which apparently didn’t include a college located on the other side of the continent, seeing as he’d stayed in Blueberry Springs and married one of her distant cousins instead of coming with her.
Ginger found her hands moving toward the box of their own volition. The ring was perfect. A Celtic design with emeralds and diamonds, and intricate knots woven around them. She knew she should stop the lie, step back. Because what man carried an engagement ring in his pocket and pretended to be engaged to a stranger?
Well, he was in jewelry. It was likely a sample or something. But still. This felt…too much.
“Oh, look at your face,” Nadia said. “They’re so sweet, Ted.” The two cuddled, watching the fairy tale unfold.
Logan was angling closer, like he was ready to grab Ginger if she decided to start running.
She looked up at him and he brought his mouth close to her ear, acting as though he was whispering sweet nothings. “It’s just a sample I carry around, Ginge.”
He’d shortened her name. Given her a nickname. That hardly felt fair.
“If you don’t want to play along, just blink twice and I’ll get us out of here,” he said. “But if you want to have some fun with it, I’m your man, and you can borrow the ring for as long as you need. I know what it’s like, trying to get deals in this business when you’re single. People think you’re some kind of fraud.”
There was an honesty in his expression, a glint of sadness that she identified with. She knew what he was talking about. It was like she was a fake for selling wedding dreams to others when she was basically a few cats and a deck of cards away from being a card-carrying spinster. The jokes and ribbing never ceased; the silence was never anything but awkward when new brides asked her about what her own big day had been like.
Logan stepped back, and she found the warm box in her grasp. He handed the couple his business card, telling them if they needed anything to let him know, deflecting their attention, giving her a moment to decide.
How had Ginger’s father lied so successfully for all those years? Telling her and her mother that he loved them and couldn’t imagine life without them? Although maybe that part was true, and a big part of why he’d kept his other woman a secret. He knew Ginger’s mom would flip out and carve him from their lives once she found out—which she did. She had been completely fooled, and ultimately decimated. She’d believed she was part of a happy, solid couple who watched football on Friday nights, played bridge with their friends on Tuesdays. They practically kept the plastic on the couch, their lives and relationship were so perfect and clean.
And it had all been a big lie.
Just like Ginger’s last boyfriend, who’d stuck around mostly in hopes of her sharing her health plan with him. Her grandmother had thought he was The One, but Ginger realized now he’d just needed more time before he took off. And yet she’d still managed to convince herself that it was real, thinking he’d give her a ring like this one.
She was unlucky in love because she was a big, romantic, gullible sucker, and men could sense it.
She pushed the ring onto her finger. It fit perfectly. What did that mean? Was it some sort of good omen?
No, she was thinking about it all too much. It was simply a game. And what happened in Vegas stayed in Vegas, and because she lived so far away from the Carolinas, she figured the same applied here. It was her turn to have some harmless fun, her turn to use a man and get what she wanted.
And she wanted to have fun, wanted into these exclusive events, wanted to be taken seriously by the vendors she’d spoken to this week. She wanted to take her business to the next level, and this would help her.
Yes, it was lying to Ted and Nadia, but they’d understand when she told them in tomorrow morning’s workshop.
Logan noticed the ring and lifted her hand, a strange look on his face, as though he might be remembering something from the past. He met her eyes and gave a nod. “It suits you.”
>
“You have good taste.”
“I claimed you, didn’t I?”
Oh, she only wished that were true. “You say the best things, Logan.”
“It comes naturally when I’m around you.”
Ah, he had a romantic streak, it seemed. The kind she’d seen only in movies or read about in books, and it made her heart beat a little faster.
“Did you run some of your store activity ideas by all these brides-to-be?” Nadia asked. So far she’d been one of the best for brainstorming with.
“I haven’t had a chance,” Ginger replied.
“He’s been keeping you busy, I imagine,” the woman said, giving her a nudge in the ribs.
Ginger opened her mouth. What could she say?
“Ginger McGinty!” bellowed a voice, and there on stage was a tall man in a pale suit, smiling out at the crowd. “Ginger McGinty, you’ve won two tickets to the Southern hospitality dinner, which includes an evening of entertainment and more!”
Ginger placed a hand over her chest. “I won! I never win,” she breathed.
Could this be another big three? On her way to the workshops her first flight had been cancelled. Her rental car had had a flat tire before she’d even made it out of the lot, and her room in the economy motel hadn’t been ready upon her arrival.
That was three not-so-great things.
But then three definitely great things had happened. The airline had given her a free meal and set her up on the next available flight, which had been direct, getting her in half an hour earlier than the first one. The car company had upgraded her to a convertible, and the Indigo Bay motel had set her up in her own cottage along the ocean for no extra charge.
She was a strong believer in the power of three, and tonight things were coming up on the lucky side of it. First Logan getting her into the party. The yacht invitation. Now this.
She flung her arms around Logan and he lifted her off the ground. He felt strong and somehow familiar—a man she could get used to.
He released her and she turned back to the stage, uncertain if she was expected to go up there to claim her prize.
“Go! Before they give it away to the next person,” Nadia said, her hands on Ginger’s back as she pressed her forward. She stopped pushing Ginger and hauled on Logan’s arm. “Logan? Get up there!”
Ginger looked back to find Logan following, his eyes on the stage, his brow furrowed. Then his eyes met hers and his expression softened and she felt it. That special feeling between her and a man. The feeling she’d always been waiting for, curious whether it truly existed.
She gave herself a scolding. She was being ridiculous. It was just all the love and romance around her that was setting her heart and mind on fire.
Logan was leaving for Australia in a matter of days.
That’s all she had to remember. Tonight was about being playful and finding joy, pushing the envelope without any real consequences. She could say anything, do anything, and it didn’t matter.
Logan fitted himself beside her on stage as she accepted the prize and she whispered, “You seem to be my lucky charm, Logan.”
“And you mine.”
He smiled at her and the feeling of being connected blossomed in her stomach, spreading until it filled her. She felt complete, the epitome of life. “I guess in order to secure your ongoing luck…” she paused to bat her lashes at him “…you’ll just have to marry me, Logan Stone.”
Chapter 2
Under the bright lights of the stage, the ring on Ginger’s finger flashed, as bright as the woman’s eyes. Logan liked her, and he knew it wouldn’t be difficult to pretend he was a smitten, happily engaged man if he could convince her to continue along with their “relationship.”
The ring flashed again, taking him back in time to how he’d felt once before, when he’d brought his new wife, city born and bred, home to the family’s cattle station—a ranch—deep in the outback. Kristy had loved the idea of marrying a man who mustered cattle for a living right up until the moment she realized the truth: it wasn’t romantic. Neither was living with a stockman who had to ride out for days, checking on his stock. He’d seen the change in her perception right there, in the cracks in her expression. She’d felt deceived by her husband, who would come home exhausted and grimy after mending fences in the stockyard in the late summer heat, leaving a ring of dirt in the shower—which he’d clean out himself. It wasn’t what she’d signed up for.
He’d been selfish, telling her that since he’d gone to the effort of moving back, he was staying. He’d tried to coax her into loving the land, seeing the beauty of being away from a bustling city. But the fact was he’d been selfish, putting his wishes above hers, and she’d done the only thing she could to ensure her happiness—left.
By then his parents were gone, the homestead and surrounding land solely his, seeing as Kristy didn’t even want her half. After a long month alone in the sprawling house, he’d sold it all and joined the army, hoping a few tours of duty would work out some of his selfishness.
He still wasn’t sure if that had been successful or not. He thought it may have merely morphed his selfishness into ruthlessness.
Logan snapped to the present, to find Ginger McGinty teasing him about securing his luck through marrying her, those cheery green eyes sparkling. He mindlessly clapped as more winners were announced.
It was time to play international spy and hate himself later.
“I’d love to have you all to myself,” he whispered. He lowered his lips to hers, drawing out a slow kiss that was innocent, yet not. He’d used The Kiss on many, but none had made him feel the need to slide his arms around his target, pull her body flush with his and consume her with something deeper, much more…intimate and real.
Realizing he was losing control of the moment, he jerked away.
Don’t get involved while on a case.
Ginger tumbled into him, her hands splayed against his chest. “Do that again.” Her eyes were dreamy, her smile soft and trusting.
Against his inner wisdom, he did.
This woman was a dangerous distraction, but the only one who could help him get what he needed.
Ginger had never been kissed off her feet before, but she swore if there had been somewhere soft to land—like, say, a bed—she would have been sprawled across it from that heady kiss.
Wowzers.
“Who are you?” she murmured against Logan’s lips.
“I can’t remember,” he said. His eyes kept dancing from her lips to her eyes.
The emcee was still pulling more winning names for giveaways, and Ginger realized she should probably drop the bedroom act and behave, since she was still onstage, with gold-and-white balloon columns on either side of her and Logan.
“We were going to hold a vote for the most-in-love couple tonight,” the emcee said, “but I think we already found them. Dallas, will you join me for awarding the winners with their prize?”
The owner of the cottages, Dallas Harper, a man in his thirties, hurried onto the stage, all smiles. “Indigo Bay Cottages is pleased to announce that the winning couple of an upgraded honeymoon cottage—and all expenses paid for the week—are these two young lovebirds, Ginger and Logan! Congratulations.”
Ginger blinked and laughed. Dallas held out his arms to showcase her and Logan as the audience went wild, clapping and cheering.
Honeymoon cottage? Things had officially slipped from slightly crazy to insane.
She began shaking her head. “No, no. I’m sure…”
Talking her way into a party, accepting a yachting invitation and winning a free supper was one thing, but accepting a honeymoon suite…
And that was more than three. But maybe she was counting things incorrectly. It was now two surprise bonuses and two wins. Which meant the power of three didn’t apply today, or there was more in store. Possibly more than she could handle.
“There must be others who could use this prize,” Logan suggested.
“
Sure, there are many,” Dallas agreed. “But that kiss?” Beside him, the emcee shook his hand as if it had been burned, and Ginger had to bite her bottom lip to prevent herself from grinning like a fool. It had been a pretty amazing kiss.
“Can we hear it again for our winners?” the emcee called out to the guests. They responded, causing Ginger to laugh with embarrassment. Logan was definitely making her evening memorable.
“There seem to be a lot of perks to being with you,” he whispered in her ear.
“And you don’t even know the half of them.”
Confetti and balloons fell from the ceiling above and she laughed again, hands extended to catch the shiny, glittery squares.
This was amazing. She felt like she was a sweepstakes winner or in a reality TV show.
“We’ll have our staff move your belongings from your existing cottages into your new, one-bedroom honeymoon cottage, complete with our complimentary butler service,” Dallas said. “This also includes a free breakfast service courtesy of my mother’s cafe, Sweet Caroline’s.”
One-bedroom cottage.
Whoa. Wait. What? No-o-o. As hot as McHunky Hunk-Hunk was, staying in a one-bedroom cottage with him had danger written all over it. Sure, having free accommodation might mean she could actually afford to stay right up until the end of the workshops. And, yes, she might be ready to let loose and have a little fun, play a few games with McHottie. But playing house with him in a secluded cottage designed to encourage romance, she might be unable to resist the powers of his accent, and could wind up doing something stupid, like… Best not to think of that while up onstage, with people staring at her, in case she started drooling.
“Look at her! She’s stunned by Indigo Bay Cottages’ generosity.”
Ginger mindlessly started clapping, trying to cover her shock. How were they going to get out of this one? And why now, of all days, was she winning things—things for engaged couples?
Plus a honeymoon cottage brought to life the illicit whisper inside her that suggested maybe she could have what her grandmother, Wanda, had had—a marriage that had been set up by others, but turned out to be the strongest partnership Ginger had ever seen.
