Chapter Thirteen
“Why does this day have to end?” Laurie asked as they pulled up in front of her house.
“Well, because the earth takes twenty-four hours to rotate, and every rotation is the start of a new day.” Logan cut the engine and hit the buckle on his seatbelt. “But if you like, I’ll ask the earth to stop turning.”
“You’d do that for me?”
“I would.” He reached over and stroked her cheek with his finger, just one quick touch, and then he hopped out of the car and came around to open her door.
“I’ll call you tomorrow after work,” he said as they went up the sidewalk. “I won’t be able to get away again for a couple more days, but I could head up on Wednesday.”
“I’d like that. I’d like that a lot.”
They paused on the doorstep. Laurie didn’t turn to go inside, and Logan didn’t turn to go back to the car. They just stood there, grinning at each other like idiots. Finally Laurie broke the silence.
“We both have work tomorrow.”
“Yes, we do. Aren’t we lucky to have employment?”
“We are. Being unemployed stinks. I didn’t like it very much the couple of times I tried it.”
Logan tugged gently on one of the locks of hair that lay on her shoulder. “Good night, Laurie. I’ll call you tomorrow.”
“Good night.” She expected a good-night kiss, but instead, he gave her hair one last tug and then opened her door for her. She was just a little bit disappointed, but then remembered how wonderfully delightful their first kiss had been up on the mountain. Surprise kisses beat expected kisses hands down.
* * *
Laurie was undeniably cheerful at work the next day. She had a really cranky customer right off the bat, a middle-aged bride who couldn’t and wouldn’t be pleased with anything in the entire store and didn’t mind telling Laurie so in some very creative language, but Laurie just sloughed it off. When she wasn’t thinking about kissing Logan, she was thinking about that feather-light touch on her cheek, which had possibly been the most romantic thing she’d ever experienced. Nothing could bring her down today.
Millie noticed something was up, as evidenced by the fact that she called Laurie in to her office in the middle of the day.
“All right, what’s up with you? You’re so happy.”
“Is there something wrong with being happy?”
“No, not at all. But you do realize, I’m an old woman, and I live vicariously through others. Now spill it.”
“I just . . . I think I’m falling for this guy.”
“Brennan?”
“No, Logan.”
“Logan? The guy who wanted to take us to court over a dress?”
“That’s the one.”
“Are you going to make it a habit to fall in love with everyone who wants to sue us?”
“Why? Are there more?” Laurie pretended to look around.
Millie laughed. “Smart aleck. But you really like this guy, huh?”
“I really do. And I have no idea why. I mean, I know why—but why, you know?”
“I guess. I don’t know. That was kind of a confusing question.” Millie winked at her. “Just be careful, all right?”
“I will be. I promise.”
When Laurie got home that night, she was surprised and ecstatic to see Logan sitting on the porch, waiting for her. She called out as soon as she opened her car door. “Hey, you.”
“Hey.”
She climbed the porch steps and flopped down beside him. “I thought you couldn’t get away until Wednesday. I was looking forward to your call.”
“If you want, I can leave and call you on my cell from a few blocks over.”
“No, it’s all right to talk to me face-to-face. I’m sure I’ll get over the disappointment. So what brings you here tonight?”
“I just . . . There are some conversations that should be held in person.”
Laurie really looked at him this time and saw that his eyes were filled with stress. “What’s the matter?”
“Why didn’t you tell me you and Chad had been engaged?”
Oh, no. No. When she’d told Chad off the other night, everything was over, as far as she was concerned, but she’d forgotten that Logan and Chad still worked together and chances were, they’d be running into each other a lot. Why hadn’t she realized that—why hadn’t she told Logan everything?
“I wasn’t trying to hide anything from you. I was just trying to put it behind me. Anything you want to know, just ask, and I’ll tell you.” She paused as a realization hit her. “So Chad told you about us, then.”
“He did.”
“And what did he say?” She didn’t want to know. But she had to know.
“I’d rather not repeat what he said. I’d like to hear it from you.”
She winced. “It was that bad, huh?”
Logan reached out and took her hand, and then rubbed her knuckles with his thumb. “Just tell me your side of the story.”
She repeated what she’d told him before about Chad stealing her class notes, this time adding in that he’d proposed halfway through the semester and that she’d been planning a beautiful wedding up at the lodge with a dress from Millicent’s Bridal. He shook his head when she said that, but remained silent. Then she got to the part where she and Chad were both called in to discuss the duplicate paper, and explained that Chad had accused her of conning him into marrying her so she could keep stealing his work. “He told the dean that I’d claimed to be pregnant to force him into marrying me,” she said, her voice flat. “That was crazy because we hadn’t taken our relationship that far, but he insisted it was true. He was desperate to cover his tracks by that point, ready to do or say whatever it took to keep from getting thrown out of school. The way things ended up was just perfect for him, and just awful for me.”
Logan let go of her hand, and she was afraid he was going to stand up and leave. But instead, he snaked his arm around her shoulders and held her close. “I’m really, really sorry,” he said into her hair. “But now I feel better about what I did.”
“What you did? What do you mean?” She pulled back just enough to look into his eyes.
“Remember when I told you that Mr. Clements wouldn’t fire me as long as I was bringing money in to the firm?”
“Yes?” A sick knot of dread formed in her stomach. What was he about to say?
“Well, turns out that he’ll fire people for punching other employees.”
“Oh, no. What happened?” She was afraid she already knew.
“Chad was shooting his mouth off at work today. Someone had seen you pour the drink on his head and asked him what happened, and he told them a crazy story—I won’t even dignify it by repeating it to you. And so I punched him, and Mr. Clements fired me, and that was the end of it.”
Laurie felt sick. “But you can’t lose your job because of me! How can we make this right and get your job back?”
“I don’t want a job that won’t let me stand up for what I believe in. This was just the last straw for me, Laurie. I’m starting to feel more and more like you do all the time—cutting throats and cutting bargains just isn’t who I am.”
“And so what are you going to do now?”
“I think I might start over again in a smaller town. Establish a private practice where I’m able to choose cases I believe in and punch whoever I want. Within reason, of course.”
“Did . . .” She hesitated to ask.
“Did what?”
“Did Chad’s head go flipping back when you punched him?”
“It not only went flipping back, but he stumbled and ran right into the copy machine.”
Laurie grinned. “And was it embarrassing?”
“Horribly.”
“How’s your hand?”
Logan looked down at his fingers and flexed them a couple of times. “It’s a little sore, but nothing I can’t deal with. I did some boxing a few years back. I know how to throw a punch.”
“Are you kidding me?” Logan turned to face her completely and cradled her cheeks in his hands. “No one who looks at me with those eyes could possibly be lying to me. I can see your soul in your eyes, Laurie, and it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”
A tear rolled down her cheek and he caught it with his thumb, and then he bent down and kissed her. It was brief, but it was perfect, and when he pulled away, Logan’s eyes were glistening too. “Come on. I’m taking you out to dinner, and we’re going to forget all about what’s-his-name for a while.”
“Are you sure you don’t want me to buy? You are unemployed now, remember?” Laurie teased.
“I haven’t told you my deep, dark secret,” he said, pulling her to her feet and then tugging her closer to whisper in her ear. “My family’s loaded.”
“I sort of figured that out,” she whispered back. “Something about your mother spending ten thousand dollars on a wedding dress for your sister.”
“Oh. Well, so much for that big reveal.”
“Sorry. Didn’t mean to ruin it for you.” She opened the door to her apartment. “I just need to change, okay? I was dusting the last part of the day, and I feel grimy. You can come inside and wait—I’m sure one of my roommates is here to keep you company.”
“Cara’s home—I think it was Cara. But I’m good to wait out here. I like your porch.”
“Okay. If you’re sure.” Laurie went inside and closed just the screen, leaving the heavy door open just in case he changed his mind. He’d gotten fired for her. The very idea made her heart explode into a million tiny fireworks.
She fixed her makeup and then changed, taking a clue from the way he was dressed that they weren’t going anywhere super fancy, which was more than fine with her. A sudden burst of inspiration had her grinning, and she pulled an envelope out of the box on her desk.
“Hey, Cara.” She knocked on her roommate’s bedroom door and then stuck her head in. “I’m going out to dinner.”
Cara looked up from her guitar. “With that amazing-looking guy out there on the porch?”
“Yep, that’s the one.”
Cara grinned. “Okay. I’ll expect a full report when you get in.”
* * *
Laurie slid into the booth across from Logan, and Sloane handed them both menus. “I already know I’m getting the bacon cheeseburger,” Logan said. “You might have gotten me addicted, Sloane.”
She winked. “It’s what I do best. Just wait until you try our cherry pie.”
As soon as Sloane walked off toward the kitchen, Laurie folded her arms on the table and leaned on them. “I have a present for you,” she said, bouncing up and down a little on the bench.
Logan grinned. “And what might it be?”
She reached into her purse, pulled out the envelope, and handed it to him. “I’m sorry it’s not wrapped better, but hey, it was kind of a spur-of-the-moment thing.”
He opened the envelope, curiosity written all over his face, and pulled out the business card she’d put inside. “Melvin Brady, Attorney at Law,” he read aloud. “What’s this?”
“This is just a suggestion, a little idea I had, and if you hate it, my feelings won’t be hurt,” Laurie told him. “Melvin is Millie’s lawyer here in town, and he told me the other day that he’s really eager to find another lawyer to come work with him, someone he can trust. He was even ready to wait for me to finish law school, if you can believe that.”
“I can believe it. Who wouldn’t want to work with you?”
“Well, only someone insane, obviously. But that’s not the point. He’s a small-town lawyer, and you’re looking for a small-town setup. I know you said you wanted to work under your own shingle, but maybe he could help you make connections here in town or something.” Laurie suddenly wondered if she’d overstepped her bounds to ridiculous extremes. “Or maybe not. Never mind. It was probably just a silly idea.” She reached out to take the card back, but Logan snatched it out of her reach.
“I’m going to call Melvin first thing in the morning,” he said. “I believe in destiny, Laurie. I don’t think it was an accident that I met you that day in the bridal shop, and I don’t think it’s an accident that your friend needs some help just as I’ve become available.”
“‘Become available?’ Is that Denver talk for getting fired?”
“Absolutely. I’ve got to look at it positively, right?”
Sloane brought their plates to the table, and the chicken pot pie made Laurie’s mouth water, like it always did.
“You just let me know when you’re ready for dessert and I’ll bring you two slices of cherry pie on the house,” Sloane said. “We don’t use that canned filling garbage. We’re talking, made from scratch.”
“I can’t wait,” Logan told her, and she beamed.
Silence fell over their table as they ate, but every time Laurie glanced up, Logan winked at her. If the warm feeling in her chest got any bigger or brighter, it would explode out of her and beams of light would shoot all around the diner. That would probably make people stare, so it would be just as well if that didn’t happen. She tried to look at him less, but her eyes kept popping up of their own accord. He was just so amazing.
“I’m going to get a room at that little hotel I saw over on the corner of Main and Sycamore Street,” Logan said after he finished his burger. “If I can get in to see Melvin in the morning or early afternoon, it would be silly to drive all the way to Denver just to turn around and come back.”
“You decided that awfully fast. I only told you about Melvin a couple of minutes ago.”
“Bacon cheeseburgers are brain food, in case you didn’t know that. So are onion rings.” He motioned down at his plate.
“I had no idea.” She stabbed a piece of chicken with her fork. “I wish I didn’t have to work tomorrow—I’d hang out with you before or after you see Melvin.”
“But remember, having a job is good. We’re grateful for employment.”
“Yes, yes, we are.”
The cherry pie was every bit as good as Sloane promised. Laurie didn’t know why she’d never tried it before—probably because she usually went for the chocolate silk when she was in a pie mood. She was definitely going to have to expand her horizons a little bit in the future.
“So take me for a walk and show me all the sights of your amazing little town,” Logan said as they left the diner.
“Well, we can do the Main Street portion on foot, but we’ll need a car for the rest,” she told him. “The community spreads out a pretty good distance from the base of the mountain.”
“Show me Main Street tonight, then, and we’ll drive around the rest of town tomorrow.”
She slid her hand into his and he gave it a little squeeze as they started their walk, first down the south side of the street where they already were and then up the north, while she told him all about the shops and who ran them. The thought that he might also become a resident of Aspen Ridge was almost more than she could take—her happiness bubble was being tested to its absolute limits.
Chapter Fourteen
Laurie hadn’t slept well the night before. She was too keyed up about Logan’s possible meeting with Melvin. He’d promised to text her as soon as he spoke with Melvin about an appointment, and she found herself checking her phone every few minutes while she got ready for the day even though she knew full well the ringer was on.
When she got to the shop, Millie was beaming. “Guess what’s here early?” She took Laurie’s hand and led her to the center of the store, where ten dress racks bulged with garment bags.
“The fall line!” Laurie said, hardly able to believe it. She loved new seasons—seeing the new gowns, getting to show them to the brides for the very first time. And her very favorite part, a Millicent’s Bridal tradition—each consultant chose out the dress she liked the best and tried it on. There had to be
some perks with the job, right?
Emma, Willa, and Lisa arrived just a few minutes later, and they began to sort through the dresses and decide which they’d like to try on. First, though, before their little fashion show, they had to get everything hung up in the stock room because the shop was bulging and they’d have customers any minute. Laurie couldn’t wait to add these dresses to the website, but along with all that excitement was the tedious task of going through and pulling all the dresses that had been discontinued. They would have a clearance sale on the sample dresses, and then they’d start fresh with the new designs, plus the dresses that remained.
The first appointments of the morning went smoothly, with a sale for Lisa and a polite “No, but thanks,” for Laurie. Willa and Emma were kept busy in the back organizing the new stock. Then came the lunch breaks—first for Lisa and Emma, then for Laurie and Willa. Laurie had brought food from home and didn’t bother to leave the shop with it, but ate it in the break room. She checked her phone—yes! Melvin had agreed to meet with Logan at one o’clock. It was one thirty now—she hoped everything was going well. It would be hard for her to concentrate until she knew.
When a lull hit midafternoon, it was party time. Each of the consultants went into the stock room and chose out a dress, and then they took turns trying them on. Laurie answered the phone while Holly got in on the action in an amazing ivory satin, and then it was her turn.
She wandered up and down in the stock room for what seemed like forever. There was so much to choose from, so many dresses that caught her imagination. And then there it was—and she nearly gasped. Pure white organza flowing to the floor, rosettes gathered on one hip—it was stunning. This was definitely the one she’d try on.
And Something Blue (Main Street Merchants Book 1) Page 12
