An Extraordinary Match (The Match Series Book 3)

by Barbara Dunlop

  He’d been dreaming about their day together, her smile, her laughter, her kiss. In the dream, he could smell the fresh fragrance of her hair, feel the satin of her skin. He breathed deeply now, reveling in the scent, even as he realized his fingertips were brushing the bare skin of her stomach.

  This was so much better than the dream, and so agonizingly worse. He swore he’d never felt like this before. He was warm, content. His world felt ridiculously complete. The thought wafted through his mind that if he never moved from this spot, he’d stay a happy man.

  He couldn’t help himself, he feathered his fingers along her stomach, the sensation sending sparks of arousal along his spinal cord.

  Her quick breath of reaction told him she was also awake.

  “I’m pretending to be asleep.” He rumbled the confession in her ear.

  It was a moment before she answered, “Me, too.”

  “If I’m asleep,” he told her, “then I don’t have to move.”

  There was a catch in her voice. “I know.”

  He splayed his hand over her stomach, ordering himself not to move it a single inch. Her body was soft, molded against his, and there was no way she didn’t feel what she was doing to him.

  He let his lips skim the back of her neck. “I want you so bad, I can barely breathe.”

  “We can’t.”

  “We won’t.”

  “We might.”

  “I don’t think so.”

  She shifted, and he groaned at the intense sensation.

  “Sorry,” she said.

  “Not your fault.” He kissed the crook of her neck, moving along her bare shoulder.

  “Bad idea,” she told him, voice a feathery rasp.

  “Don’t turn around, and we’ll be fine.” He kissed her again, tasting the salt of her skin while his hand flexed around her waist. “Whatever you do, don’t turn around.”

  “On this, you trust me?”

  He couldn’t help but smile. “On this, I’m hoping like hell you’ll betray me.”

  “Oh, Logan.”

  “I know.”

  “This is bad.”

  “So bad.”

  “I’m turning around.”

  He clamped his forearm tight around her. “Oh, no, you don’t.”

  “Then I’m moving away.”

  “Don’t do that either.” He couldn’t stand the thought of letting her leave his arms. “I’ll behave. I promise.”

  “How are you going to do that?”

  Good question. His mind scrambled for a toehold on something else, anything beyond Jade’s delectable body and his raging hormones.

  “I was never in any danger,” he told her.

  “Huh?”

  “On the river. It’s wasn’t dangerous. I mean, it was hard, but it wasn’t that hard.”

  “Well, it’s that hard now.”

  “You didn’t just say that.”

  There was a thread of laughter in her voice. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t resist.”

  “Try.”

  “I will.” Her hand rested lightly on his forearm. “I would have liked to see you climb a rock face. I’d have even gone hiking.”

  Something fluttered in his stomach. “I don’t understand you.”

  “You don’t know me.”

  “I don’t know you at all.”

  She shifted onto her back, a dark outline in the moonlight. “I like you, Logan.”

  He opened his mouth, but she quickly pressed her fingers to his lips.

  “I know I’m never going to see you again. And I actually do understand that you don’t trust me. But I did like that man who took me flying yesterday. And I’m sorry it’s ending this way.”

  He was going to kiss her. He was absolutely going to kiss her, and then Lord help them both.

  A pounding sounded on the front door.

  Logan jerked back.

  “It’s them,” Jade rasped, her hands grasping his tight. “Please don’t let them in.”

  Chapter Six

  Heart pounding in her chest, Jade hovered at the top of the stairs while Logan descended to the front door. She didn’t know what she expected, Ewan and John to burst through the door with guns in their hands? Surely they wouldn’t overpower Logan and outright kidnap her. Then again, she wouldn’t have predicted any of the things that had happened already.

  “Logan?” a man’s voice called through the door.

  “Can I help you?” Logan responded.

  “It’s Sam Finnegan.”

  Logan stopped.

  “I know it’s early, but I need to talk to you.”

  “Sam?” Logan unlocked the door and threw it open.

  Jade inched back, fearing it could be a trick of some kind.

  “What are you going in Mirror Falls?”

  An older man walked into the entry hall.

  Jade took a couple of sideways paces toward the bedroom door, instinct urging her to get out of sight.

  “I heard there were some shenanigans at the Twin Peaks yesterday.”

  “How did you hear that?”

  The man named Sam obviously caught sight of Jade, because he looked up.

  “Forgive me,” he said to Logan. “I didn’t mean to interrupt—”

  “You’re not interrupting anything.” Logan paused, closing the door behind Sam. “Wow. Okay, this is a complicated story. But this is Jade Korrigan. Jade, Sam is my uncle.”

  “Ahhh,” said Sam, moving toward the stairs. “So this is the young lady in question.”

  Jade couldn’t shake the fear in the pit of her stomach. “Are you here to re-arrest me?”

  Sam gave a reassuring smile. “That’s a different uncle. Other side of the family. The Finnegan side is quite harmless.”

  “What are you doing in Mirror Falls?” Logan repeated.

  “She’s very beautiful,” said Sam, still gazing at Jade. He had intense, intelligent eyes, and she couldn’t shake the feeling that he was evaluating her.

  “What does that have to do with anything?” asked Logan.

  “Nothing.” Sam turned away, and Jade found herself breathing a sigh of relief at no longer being the subject of his scrutiny. “We need to talk.”

  “About?”

  Sam glanced up the stairs again. “You, too, Jade. This conversation involves you.”

  She pressed back against the wall. Sam might claim to be harmless, but she knew nothing about him.

  “What about me?” she asked warily.

  “I’m here to help you,” said Sam.

  She shook her head in denial. “That doesn’t make any sense.”

  “Maybe not. But can you come down anyway?”

  She reflexively glanced at Logan.

  “You might as well,” he told her. “This can’t get very much stranger.”

  She moved her bare feet along the plush carpet, making her way cautiously down the staircase. From there, they entered the living room. It was chilly in the big room, and Logan surprised her by producing a throw blanket, wrapping it around her shoulders as she sat down in an armchair.

  Sam took the opposite armchair, and Logan perched on the sofa. It was clear that he was as confused as she was.

  “I heard there was a computer break-in,” Sam opened, watching Jade as he spoke.

  “You heard right,” said Logan.

  “You say you didn’t do it?” Sam asked her.

  “I didn’t.”

  He didn’t dispute the assertion. “But there was a trail of breadcrumbs?”

  “I’m not that stupid,” she said.

  He scrutinized her expression for a long moment. “I believe you’re not.”

  His faith was completely unexpected.

  “Thank you,” she told him in surprise.

  Sam turned to Logan. “You think they have her dead to rights?”

  “That’s what they tell me. And I have no reason to believe anything else.”

  The hardness in Logan’s eyes made her stomach sink. Thank goodness she hadn�
��t given into temptation back there in his bed. What had she been thinking?

  Sam glanced from one to the other, settling on Logan. “I’m going to do a bit of sleuthing around.”

  “Do whatever you’d like,” said Logan.

  “I don’t think we know the whole story here.”

  “That’s what I keep telling him,” said Jade.

  Logan swung his gaze to her. “You have no credibility.”

  “Now, now,” said Sam.

  Logan drew back. “Don’t patronize me.”

  Sam’s expression tightened ever so slightly. “There’s nothing wrong with verifying the facts.”

  “Verify away.”

  “I want you to sit tight for a couple of days,” Sam said to Jade. “And try not to worry.”

  Jade was sure she must have misunderstood. “You don’t mean stay in Mirror Falls?”

  “I’m taking her to Denver.” Logan glanced at his watch. “We’ll be airborne in an hour.”

  “Better if she stays here,” said Sam.

  Jade appreciated the moral support, and she absolutely hoped Sam could find something to help her, but she couldn’t stay in Mirror Falls. “I can’t.”

  “It’s safer for you to stay.”

  Her mind tripped on the word safer. “Who are you?”

  “He used to work for NASA,” said Logan. “He was a software engineer.”

  “More important,” said Sam, “I still have connections.”

  Her mind flashed to Ewan and John’s threats, and trepidation filtered through her stomach. Sam hadn’t just dropped out of the sky with her welfare at heart. This was no coincidence.

  “Who do you work for now?” she asked.

  “I’m retired.”

  She watched his expression warily. “You don’t work for WNT?”

  There wasn’t a single sign of recognition on his face. “What’s WNT?”

  He was either being honest, or he was very, very good. Unfortunately, she had to believe everyone who worked for WNT was very, very good. She wished she dared to trust him. It would be nice to have someone on her side.

  “I want to go back to Denver,” she told Logan. “Right away. As soon as we can.”

  “That’s not a good idea,” Sam repeated.

  “Why?” asked Logan. “What are you circling around?”

  “I’m circling around the truth. If she’s innocent, don’t you want to know who’s guilty?”

  The question seemed to stop Logan for a moment.

  Jade straightened. “I am not staying in Mirror Falls. The whole town hates me. Nobody’s going to give me a hotel room. They probably won’t even sell me food.”

  She didn’t mention that she was also afraid of Ewan and John. She definitely wanted to get far away from both them and any reach WNT might have. She’d withdraw as much cash as possible at the airport, then she’d try to avoid leaving a trail. Maybe she’d buy a burner phone to call Virgil. She was confident she could stay under the radar, at least for a little while.

  Sam seemed to give the problem some thought. “Do you have somewhere quiet you can stash her?”

  “Excuse me?” asked Jade.

  “Bad choice of words,” said Sam. “Is there somewhere out of the way where she can lie low for a day or two? Close by, but maybe not right in town?”

  When Logan seemed too shocked to answer, Sam switched his attention to Jade. “You say you were framed?”

  “I was.”

  “I can find out who did it.”

  “I know who did it.”

  “Then I can find out why they did it.”

  Logan came back to life. “You believe her?”

  “I don’t know,” said Sam, his shrewd gaze still locked on Jade. “Your best bet is to trust me. Unless you know someone who’s in a better position to help.”

  There was something about Sam that both frightened her and gave her confidence. He said he still had contacts. She wasn’t exactly sure what that meant. But she was spooked. Virgil was was ignoring her, and she had a feeling this mess would be beyond the skills of a regular lawyer.

  Jade couldn’t afford to trust him. But she couldn’t afford not to trust him. She admitted to herself that this was beyond Virgil. And she sure didn’t want to drag her family into the fray. It seemed like her best hope was to take the chance on Sam.

  “Okay,” she told him.

  “Good.” He smiled. “Any ideas?” he asked Logan.

  “I don’t like this.”

  “Nobody expects you to like it. Can you take her somewhere?”

  Logan clamped his jaw for a long moment. “Elroy and I are going up to the cottage again today. She could tag along, stay overnight.”

  “That’ll work,” said Sam.

  Jade’s instincts told her to flee, to get as far away from Logan and his family as humanly possible. But she knew Ewan and John were her real problem. And if Logan would keep her away from those two men, she’d accept his help, no matter how reluctantly he gave it.

  *

  They’d placed the generator inside the shed yesterday. Now Logan and Elroy fitted a sheet of plywood across the front, building the final shed wall. They’d already set up a small propane heater that would keep the shed above freezing in the winter. They’d run the wires through underground plastic tubing, and the internal wiring was ready to go.

  “So, who told Sam?” Elroy asked as he used a cordless drill to twist a woodscrew into the plywood.

  “I’m guessing Aunt Bonnie called my dad on the cruise, and for some reason Mom decided to alert Sam. I’m not sure why he’d drop everything and fly up here. But you know what our family is like.”

  “Close-knit.”

  Logan anchored the first screw on his end of the plywood. “I was going to say gossip hounds.”

  “They’re mostly harmless.”

  “I know, I know,” said Logan.

  More often than not, it was an advantage to have such an involved family. But the downside was feeling like you were under a microscope. He could only imagine the questions he was going to get about bringing Jade out here.

  It would be that much worse if anyone other than Elroy figured out he was attracted to her, never mind that he’d kissed her. For a second there yesterday, he’d wondered if Amy suspected. That would be bad. He was going to have to be careful.

  “Now other families…” said Elroy.

  “Are refreshingly small?”

  “I was going to say disinterested.” Elroy worked his way down the stud.

  Logan could see the advantages of that. “It might be nice to kiss a girl, buy a bottle of whisky, or change your brand of shaving cream without it being dissected for hidden meaning.”

  “You changed your brand of shaving cream? How did I miss hearing about that?”

  Logan chuckled.

  The plywood set, Logan moved to the table saw to cut the final piece.

  Elroy measured the remaining space. “Twenty-two and three-quarters.”

  Logan used a measuring tape and pencil to mark the cut.

  “You got any theories about what’s going on with her?” Elroy asked.

  “I did at first,” said Logan. “I thought she was guilty as sin.”

  “And now?”

  “Now, I wonder why she went along with Sam’s plan. If she’s guilty, his investigation is likely to reinforce it.”

  Elroy lifted one end of the plywood sheet, bracing it to feed the saw. “If she’s innocent, it might clear her.”

  “Or, she knows we already have all the evidence, and there’s nothing more for Sam to find. So, it’s a wash.” Logan found himself glancing at the back of the two-story cottage. “In which case, she might as well play along and pretend she can be exonerated. It could make us question the truth.”

  “So, you still think she did it.”

  “I do.”

  “Why did you agree to bring her out here?”

  “Out of respect for Sam. It seemed important to him. I think he wants her to
stick around so he can ask her some questions.”

  It was also the path of least resistance on a couple of fronts. Logan didn’t want to admit he was conflicted about Jade. He knew his attraction to her was overruling common sense. Truth was, keeping her around gave him a few more hours to watch her and fantasize.

  They ripped through the new sheet of plywood, screwing it onto the shed frame. As they finished, Jade appeared on the back porch of the cottage.

  “Are you two getting hungry?”

  “And thirsty,” said Elroy.

  The sun had climbed high in the sky, and it was beating down on their heads.

  “I’ve made some lunch,” she told them.

  Elroy sent Logan an expression of surprise. “That was nice of you.”

  Somehow, the action didn’t surprise Logan. Jade seemed to just pick up and do whatever was in front of her.

  “I had to do something to keep busy,” she responded before turning back into the cottage.

  “Quite the domesticated little criminal,” Elroy noted.

  “I guess thieves have to eat, too.”

  “I assumed they’d do takeout. I mean, you don’t really hear about gourmet embezzlers or bank robbers.”

  “She probably made sandwiches,” said Logan, trying to keep himself from appreciating her efforts.

  “I’ll eat anything.”

  Logan would, too. He was trying to keep his emotions at a distance. But, privately, he had to admit it was nice of her to help out.

  He and Elroy took the short staircase to the mudroom. Inside, Logan pulled off his work boots and ran a hand through his sweaty hair. There was a small bathroom in the back of the house, and they both washed off the sweat and sawdust.

  When Logan entered the kitchen, he came to an abrupt halt. Something was wrong. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it. The air smelled different, like lemons. And there was a brightness to the room.

  “You cleaned,” said Elroy, brushing past him.

  Wow. That was definitely what had happened.

  “I couldn’t just sit here all morning. My tablet is being held as evidence. And you don’t have an Internet connection anyway. I had to do something.”

  Elroy grinned at Logan as he made his way to the table. “Aren’t you the industrious houseguest?”

  “I’m a workaholic,” said Jade, transferring a platter from the oven to the table.