Sweet Resolve (The Lucky #2)

by Jill Sanders

  “Yes.” It came out as a whisper.

  “Where?”

  “No, tell me what you’re doing first,” she teased.

  “It doesn’t sound as sexy as what you’re doing.”

  “To you maybe. Tell me,” she pleaded lightly.

  She heard him sigh. “I’m touching myself, thinking about you.”

  “Where? How?” She settled farther down into the water.

  He groaned. “You’re killing me.”

  “Do you want to know what you’re doing to me?” She closed her eyes and let her fingers run over her body. The washcloth had disappeared somewhere in the water. “I’m wishing it was your hands on me, running up and down my wet body.” She heard him moan softly. “That it was your fingers spreading me, gliding over me.”

  When he groaned this time, she couldn’t stop herself from imagining him touching himself. “Are you stroking yourself?”

  She heard him fumble with the phone and tried not to chuckle. “Are you thinking about my mouth on you?” she whispered. “Instead of your hands?”

  “Hell yeah.” He gasped. “Touch yourself. I want to hear you moan when your fingers slide inside.”

  She did as he asked and couldn’t stop the sound from escaping her lips.

  “Yeah, just like that. Imagine my mouth on you, my tongue inside you.” Her hips jolted, causing water to splash dangerously close to the edge of her tub. “Pumping in and out.” She heard his voice tremble a little. “In and out.”

  “Come with me,” she urged. “Please, Logan.”

  “I’m right there with you,” he said as she shouted his name.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Friday morning meetings always seemed to drag, especially when there wasn’t anything really exciting to report. Amy sat in the big meeting room, with over a dozen other employees, and tried not to fall asleep as she listened to Nathan, the account manager, drone on about how to properly fill out time sheets.

  Every now and then, she would glance at Logan, but her face would heat when their eyes met. Then she would spend the next few minutes trying to slow her rapid heartbeat back down.

  By the end of the meeting, she was all too aware of his eyes on her. The big conference room seemed overly stuffy. Especially with Logan watching her so intently. She knew she had a full day of meetings ahead of her and didn’t think she’d be able to maintain any sort of professional attitude if he went with her on any showings.

  She watched as his uncle approached him after the meeting and pulled him quickly out the doorway. She was grateful that all her listings were scheduled in the mountains for that day. She could use the twenty-minute drive up the hills to calm herself down.

  Less than thirty minutes later, she was climbing into her Jeep and heading out of the parking lot. She hadn’t seen Logan since the meeting. She supposed his uncle had kept him busy, since she knew he’d started taking clients of his own now.

  The drive up the mountain was peaceful enough and being alone in her car made her feel more centered. She’d never been a fly-by-the-seat-of-her-pants type of person, not like Kristen was at any rate.

  Amy had always enjoyed planning out every move she made, every adventure. So when Logan came along, Kristen and her plans to pay him back had seemed the best recourse. Now, however, that list was out. Period.

  She remembered what he’d told her that night as they sat along the river. How he’d felt about her all those years ago, not to mention how he’d acted since she’d first seen him walk into the conference room almost a month ago.

  Things were moving along with their relationship so fast. Of course, when she’d confessed everything to her best friend, Kristen had done nothing but smile and encourage her to enjoy herself. Amy thought it had more to do with Kristen’s own state of mind than anything. After all, why wouldn’t you want your best friend to be as happy as you are?

  She sighed and took the turn off the highway that led up to her first listing. She was meeting the Lufts and showing them a house that was better suited for a new family. She was thankful that Logan’s email had actually encouraged them to take a look at several different houses.

  The first one was a little out of their price range. She had mentioned to them that she could possibly talk the seller down. Especially since the house had been on the market for almost six months.

  When she drove up, the young couple was already walking around the house. She couldn’t help but smile when she saw them holding hands and laughing together.

  “Morning,” she called out and waved. She could tell by the looks on their faces that they were already in love with the house.

  The meeting went quite well and she was sure that this time they would be making an offer. As she drove away, she assured them that if this house wasn’t everything they’d dreamed of, she had even more homes to show them.

  It was just after lunchtime, and she hadn’t had an opportunity yet to grab anything to eat. She’d snacked on a bag of granola she’d shoved into her purse on the way out that morning, but still, her stomach was growling loudly as she drove up to her next appointment.

  Noticing there weren’t any cars in the driveway yet, she leaned her head back for just a moment. Her phone rang. It was the Lufts with an offer on the last house. She’d had two new offers that day alone. It had taken the Lufts less than fifteen minutes before they agreed to make an offer on the new place. The second offer had come from a single woman for a townhouse in downtown Genesee.

  Amy had really liked the townhouse and could have imagined herself living there as well. There was a little more room than she had now, not to mention a large fenced-in yard for the dogs. She started daydreaming about Daisy and her puppies running around a yard while Logan and she cooked out on a large deck.

  She was just dreaming up a few kids to run through the yard when she jumped at a knock on her window. A middle-aged man stood outside her car, smiling at her.

  “Sorry, looked like you were deep in thought,” he said through the glass.

  She tried to get her heart to settle before opening the door.

  “I’m sorry, I guess it’s been a long day.” She held out her hand for his. “I’m Amy . . .”

  “Yes, I know,” he interrupted. “Ray.” He held his hand out and she took it. “So, let’s have a look at the place.” He glanced at the building.

  “Yes, if you’ll give me a moment.” She turned back to her car to get her bag and phone and quickly punched a text to the office.

  Then she frowned when her phone came back as no signal. Glancing over her shoulder, she felt like kicking something. This had happened to her enough times in the mountains, she knew better than to panic. After all, she was carrying. Hoisting her bag closer to her, she walked with the man to the front door and waited until he went in. The place wasn’t empty, like the rest of her showings, but she knew that the owners were in Florida for three months.

  The house was pretty far up in the hills. Far enough that no other homes were in sight. As she showed the man the cabin, she kept her distance and watched him closely. He looked pretty harmless, but then again, she knew the same could be said about many psychopaths.

  Logan was having one of those days he’d rather forget. Not only had his uncle pulled him into yet another boring meeting, but then he had asked him to help him with an open house he was hosting the following day.

  He’d done plenty of open houses during his time with CCR, so he knew the drill. But still his uncle saw fit to walk him through everything. They spent two hours creating fliers, which wouldn’t have taken so long had his uncle not accidentally hit delete on the first draft. Then on his way back to Amy’s office, Logan’d been asked to help carry signs down to another Realtor’s car.

  By the time he finally made it back to his and Amy’s office, he was dying for some food and hoped she’d want to take a break with him. When he saw that her office was empty yet again, he made his way to Ana’s desk to see where Amy was.

  “Hey.” He s
topped just in front of the woman’s desk.

  Ana glanced up. “She’s in Genesee,” she chimed in just as her phone rang. Then she held up a finger to have him wait as she answered the call.

  “Rocky Mountain Realty, this is Ana.”

  He watched as Ana listened to the caller, then she frowned up at him.

  “No, I’m so sorry she wasn’t there to meet you.” She listened again and he felt his heart skip a beat. “Yes, of course. I’m sure tomorrow morning will work fine for her.” Another pause. “Yes, of course I’ll relay the message.”

  When Ana hung up, he watched her worried look deepen.

  “That was the Kimbles. Amy didn’t show up for their one o’clock showing.”

  “Where is she?” He reached for his cell phone and dialed her number, letting it ring as Ana punched away at her computer.

  “Her last listing was here.” She jotted down an address.

  “It’s going to voice mail.” He looked down at his phone.

  Ana picked up her phone and stared at the screen. “I just received this message two minutes ago.” She held up her screen so he could read it.

  SM showing ok

  “I tried to text her, but it bounced back to me. She’s probably out of the service area.”

  “Just in case, I’m heading up there,” he said over his shoulder as he rushed toward the stairs.

  When Amy and Ray walked back out onto the front porch, she turned to him and he said, “I’ll take it. That is, if we can close by the end of next month. I already have loan approval and can give you a deposit today.” He started to pull out a checkbook from his back pocket.

  “I’ll contact the sellers and work out all the details. Did you want to make an offer?”

  “The asking price seems fair enough,” he said as he scribbled on a check. “There, that should cover the deposit. Do you have something for me to sign?” He waited as she took out her standard contract and filled it out.

  Ten minutes later she watched his Hummer drive back down the road and smiled. Three offers in one day. It was a new personal record. Maybe her last appointment of the day would turn out to be the fourth one.

  She closed up the house and walked back to her Jeep just as the sky opened up and started raining. The weather in the mountains was so unpredictable. Instantly she felt a shiver run down her spine as the cold air hit her.

  Jumping into her Jeep, she twisted the key and frowned as nothing happened. Not even a sputter. Trying it again, she pumped the gas a few times. Her Jeep was a few years old, but had never given her problems before.

  “No, no,” she begged. “Don’t do this to me now.” She tapped the steering wheel a few times. “Please baby.” She tried it again. Nothing. Not even that clinking sound you get when your battery is dead.

  Picking up her phone, she felt like screaming when the screen told her she didn’t have a signal.

  “No!” she moaned. “This cannot be happening!” She rested her head on the wheel as a loud crash of thunder sounded just above her head.

  She didn’t even want to jump out of her car and race back into the house, since the rain was flooding the muddy driveway. So she sat there until the rain finally let up, which happened to be almost forty minutes later.

  Finally, when the skies had cleared, she ventured out. Immediately her shoes sank in the mud. She was thankful that she hadn’t chosen to wear heels at least. She’d shown enough houses in the mountains to know better than to wear anything too dressy.

  Just as she was opening the front door, she heard a car struggling to make its way up the muddy drive. Turning, she waved when she saw the police SUV. Instantly she knew Ana had called it in when she hadn’t shown up for her next appointment.

  “Afternoon,” the young officer said as he stepped out of his truck. “Are you Amy Walker?” She nodded and stepped off the front porch. “We got a call from your office.”

  “Yes, thank you. My car doesn’t seem to want to start.”

  She started walking toward him. Then they both turned when they heard another car approaching.

  She frowned when she noticed it was Logan’s new SUV spitting up mud as he barreled down the driveway.

  “Are you okay?” He jumped out of his car and rushed toward her.

  “Yes.” She took a step back so the mud he was throwing up as he ran to her didn’t splatter all over her slacks. “The Jeep won’t start.” She watched relief wash over him.

  “I was just about to look at it,” the officer broke in as he walked toward her Jeep.

  “I’ve got it. Thanks,” Logan said as his arm went over her shoulders, pulling her close to him.

  The officer glanced her way, then between her and Logan. “Will you be okay, miss?”

  “Yes, thank you. I’m sorry you made the trek all the way up here.” She reached out and shook his hand.

  “No problem at all. Sure is a nice place up here.” He glanced once more at Logan and walked back to his SUV.

  “You scared him off,” she joked as they watched the officer disappear down the road. Then she was being pulled into his arms and kissed thoroughly.

  “You scared me,” he hummed against her neck as he buried his face in her hair.

  “I’m sorry.” She didn’t really understand what he meant.

  “Ana got your message that you were up here with a single male client, then we didn’t hear from you . . .”

  She was beginning to understand. “Logan.” She leaned back and placed her hands on either side of his face. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare anyone. My Jeep has never acted up before, then it was pouring down rain and I didn’t want to get hit by lightning.” She glanced over at the Jeep, then turned back to him. “Besides, I was on a roll. Three offers today. I was hoping for my fourth.”

  “Three? I guess we’ll have to go out and celebrate.” She could see that he was relaxing more.

  He hugged her one more time. “Come on, I’ll take a look under the hood.”

  She rushed to keep in step with him. “Do you know anything about cars?”

  “Every man knows about cars.” He turned to her. “Or they should, anyway.” He flipped open her Jeep hood and looked in. “Guess we know why it’s not starting.” He held up the electric wires that she knew should have been attached to the battery. “Looks like they bounced loose on the drive up.” He glanced over to the muddy driveway and she remembered hitting a particularly deep rut on the way up. “Try it now,” he said after attaching the cables again.

  She walked over and jumped back into the seat, and this time when she turned the key, her Jeep instantly sprang to life.

  She smiled up at him as he shut and secured her hood. “I’ll want to tighten the nuts down when I have some tools. I’ll follow you back.”

  She leaned out her open window. “I still owe you drinks.” She watched his eyes light up. “For losing at pool.”

  “Yes, you do.”

  “How about we hit Main Street Pub and Grill?” She glanced down at his muddy feet, then her own. “After we change.”

  “It’s a date. I’ll swing by and pick you up.” He tapped her hood. “Just in case.”

  Logan was so different from the boy who had bullied her. Gone was the selfish kid who took and destroyed.

  He leaned in her window and kissed her until she felt her body melt.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Main Street Pub and Grill was crowded. Logan felt wonderful walking into the pub holding Amy’s hand. Then she started tugging on him until they stopped in front of the table with her friends Kristen Collins and Aiden Scott, head of Urban Development. He’d met Aiden on several occasions when he’d worked for CCR.

  “Hey.” Amy smiled down at the couple, who looked like they’d been about to order food. When Kristen looked up, the two friends giggled and hugged each other like they hadn’t seen each other in years instead of days.

  “Aiden.” He held out his hand. “Logan Miller.”

  Aiden nodded. “We’ve met.
I think you were working with Tiffany?”

  Logan groaned and rolled his eyes. “Right, I’m at Rocky Mountain Realty now.” He sat when Aiden motioned for them to join them. “Actually, my uncle owns RMR.”

  “I remember Kristen telling me you’d moved back to Golden.”

  He glanced at the two friends with their heads bent together. He leaned closer to Aiden. “Do you think they planned this?”

  “I was wondering why she wanted to have dinner in Golden tonight. We usually come up here to see her folks once a month, but their visit was last weekend.”

  They chuckled as the waitress walked up to the table.

  “Beer and the Reuben?” Logan asked Amy, who nodded in reply, then continued to talk with Kristen.

  Once their drinks were delivered, everyone started talking about Amy’s ordeal. He was pleased when Kristen showed just as much concern as he had about the entire situation.

  “I can’t stand that you’re out of range half the time.” Kristen met Logan’s eyes briefly. “Especially after what happened a few years back.”

  He watched Amy’s eyes roll. “We’re very careful at RMR. Besides, I think every Realtor has changed their tactics since then.”

  “Nothing will stop a psycho from killing.”

  “We’re not even safe in a movie theater, or for that matter, sitting in a pub on a Friday night.” Amy leaned forward and patted her friend’s hand. “I’m careful, you know me.” Kristen reached over and hugged her friend. “Besides, aren’t you the one who almost died in an elevator?” Amy winked at Aiden, then started laughing.

  An hour later, Logan had to admit that he was happy they’d run into the other couple. It was quite funny to see how different Kristen and Amy were. Even more, the differences between Aiden and Kristen were almost shocking. Especially seeing how well they made it work.

  It was actually Aiden and Amy who had a lot in common, at least of what Logan could see. They both were super organized and very meticulous about the way they ate. He tried to hold back a chuckle as the two of them actually helped clear the table by stacking their plates for the waitress once all the food was gone.