“Let’s face it, Logan, I mean Mister Lehmbeck, you hate everything I have done.” I could feel my face getting hot. I was exhausted, frustrated, and the idea of having dinner alone with him, with wine was far more appealing than it should have been.
I drank back the last of the wine and relaxed back on the couch as Logan looked over all my designs again. “You don’t really hate them all, do you?” I questioned.
“Honestly, I think they are great.”
“You do?” I normally let none of my insecurities show but here they were out in full force. The glass of wine I drank wasn’t helping.
“I do. I can’t wait to get started. How long do you think it will take before everything is finished?” he asked finishing his glass of wine.
“When do you need it by?” I asked, reaching for my phone.
“The end of the month,” he said looking down at another rendering.
“No worries. I’ll get ordering things right away. Call your photographer back and book in your shoot.” I glanced at my watch. “I should get going, it’s late,” I said shoving my phone back into my bag.
Logan stood and helped me up off the couch. As I went to turn, I almost fell, Logan reached out and grabbed me around the waist, steadying me. He pulled me back against his chest and let me rest there, holding me. I closed my eyes, the feel of his chest behind me was so comforting. His large strong hands still sat on my waist even though I was now fine. I felt his lips at my ear and a warm puff of breath on my neck.
“I think maybe I’ll take you home,” he whispered.
The light-headed feeling returned as I felt my pulse quicken. “I don’t think that is a good idea,” I whispered back. I should have moved, but I didn’t. Instead, I stood there taking in the feeling of my body pressed to his.
He leaned his head into my neck. “You smell so good,” he whispered, his one hand left my waist to pull my hair back away from my face. The feel of his rough fingers against the skin of my neck, sent a shock of energy through my body, hardening my nipples. I felt his breath on my neck, the hot puff of air as he breathed, and then I felt his lips on my earlobe. His teeth grazed the bottom. “I want you so bad.”
I closed my eyes and let my head fall to the side, letting him have full access to my neck. As he kissed his way down, he gently pulled the collar of my shirt off my shoulder, exposing my bare skin to him. His lips gliding over my skin. His hand left my waist and found its way to my breast, gently squeezing it. I felt a rush of heat to my center. I turned and met his lips, as he squeezed my breast he deepened his kiss, his tongue forcing my lips apart. He wasted no time, his fingers gingerly unbuttoned my shirt, he slipped the cups of my bra off my breasts and ran his thumbs of my already hardened nipples as he devoured my mouth.
He pulled away from my mouth and looked at me and when I didn’t protest, he bent down and ran his tongue and teeth over each hardened nipple, sending shock waves through my body. While his hands continued to caress and fondle my breasts, he met my mouth again, this time totally losing me in his kiss. His large hands ran through my hair cupping the back of my head, his tongue swept through my mouth.
The sudden ring of my phone brought me back to reality. I jumped out of Logan’s arms, quickly covering myself up and turned in circles looking for my phone. I reached for it, fumbling it in my hands. “Hell, Hello.”
I swallowed, embarrassed that someone had caught us. I pushed my hair out of my face trying to regain my composure. I was so warm, and my eyes connected with Logan’s as I heard Jenna’s voice come through on the phone.
“I’m just about home,” I lied, fastening the buttons on my shirt. “Can I call you back once I am inside?” As soon as I heard the answer, I ended the call, grabbed my bag and made my way to the door. I left Logan standing there, the outline of his raging hard on through his jeans staring back at me.
“I will drive you, hold on.” I heard his voice from the other room. I closed my eyes and threw my coat and shoes on, in a rush to get away.
“It’s good I’m fine, really,” I called.
“Leah, you are not fine. You’ve had a lot to drink, I will drive you.”
“I’m fine, I only drank one glass of wine. I will call you in two days with a delivery schedule. I’ll talk to you soon.”
I pulled the door open in a rush and ran from the front door to my car. It only took a matter of seconds to drive toward the long winding driveway. Just before my car started its descent down, I looked in my rear-view mirror to see Logan standing in the doorway watching me drive away.
TWENTY-FOUR
Leah
I drove all night to get to Jenna’s, debating the whole time whether I should come and see her or not. I could handle all this on my own, but I needed my best friend. I pulled in her driveway and shut the car off, it was only four in the morning and her house was still bathed in darkness. Did I go and knock or just sleep in my car? I thought on that for a minute and then I saw a light come on in the kitchen window and saw a messy haired Jenna in the window. Thank god.
I flicked the lights on my car to get her attention and she soon looked out the window. I got out of the car and held up my cell phone with the screen on waving it frantically, something we used to do as kids when we were trying to alert one another without our parents finding out. Suddenly the door opened, and she stepped out on the front porch. “Leah? What are you doing here?” she whispered waving for me to come to her. As soon as I got to her, I fell into her arms, tears falling from my eyes.
“I had to come, I needed to spend time with you. I don’t know what else to do.”
“About Logan?”
“Yes.”
I cried into her shoulder, I was utterly exhausted and all this with him wasn’t helping.
“Well, come on in, it’s freezing out here.” She let me go and pulled open the door ushering me inside. “You must be exhausted.”
“It was just a short six-hour drive, I left as soon as I got home.”
“Well, short drive or not, you need to sleep. I will get you a blanket and set you up in the guest room. Jim will be leaving soon, and I will call in to work with a family emergency.” Jenna, unlike me, worked on weekends.
I followed her to the spare room, careful not to make any noise and fell onto the couch pulling the pillow under my head. I was exhausted, my body ached. Jenna walked quietly into the room and draped a blanket over me and leaned down kissing me on the forehead then shut the door. I fell into a deep sleep.
By nine I was awake and sitting on the living room floor, cross legged, watching Ellen and delving into a container of Ben and Jerry’s Coffee Toffee Bar Ice Cream for breakfast. I shoved the sweet, ice-cold dessert in my mouth and closed my eyes savoring the flavor. It felt good to just relax. Jenna came in and sat across from me. “Okay, we are alone now. Spill it.”
“Seriously, Jenna, Mary is going to kill me if she finds out about that kiss.” I was crazy with nerves and I never should have made the drive to Jenna’s, but I needed my best friend. I shoved another mouthful of ice-cream in my mouth.
“Well, you can’t take it back now,” she said shoving a handful of M&M’s in her mouth.
“You’re not going to see him alone next time, right? You are taking someone with you?”
“I emailed my assistant, she is to go with me next time. I am sure Logan is going to be pissed.”
“Serves him right, Leah, don’t worry about it.” It didn’t matter the amount of permission she bestowed upon me, I still felt like shit and I knew better. I was supposed to be professional.
Suddenly my phone started to ring, and I glanced at the screen.
“Who is that?” Jenna asked reaching for my cell phone, but I pulled it away from her reach.
“It’s Logan. He has been calling me for the past few hours. What should I do?”
“Best to let it go to voice mail, don’t you think?”
I looked at the screen, my heart telling me to answer, but I knew Jenna was right. I sat
the phone down beside me and averted my eyes from her, trying to hide how I truly felt.
“I’m not going to let you drown your sorrows this way. Come on, let’s put all this sugar away and head to the spa. We can soak in the plunge pools and get a massage by a hot young man.” She ripped the container of ice cream from my hands and picked up the tray covered in nothing but refined sugar. I stood following her with our coffee cups.
“I don’t have a bathing suit.”
“Duh, you can borrow one of mine. Let’s go.”
An hour later, we were already soaking in one of the hot tubs while waiting for our massages. The spa was empty, and we had all the pools to ourselves. “So, tell me, is he any good?” she questioned.
“Who?” Even though I already knew who she meant, I thought I had better clarify.
“Logan, who do you think?”
I blushed at her question. “Probably the best I ever had.”
“Hmmm who would have thought. Do you love him? Like really love him.”
I hesitated. I did love him, I just wasn’t sure I wanted to share that information.
“You don’t need to say anything. I can tell. Do you remember all those years ago when you broke up with Aaron?”
I smiled thinking back to how funny the whole situation was now. “Of course.”
“You did know he really only wanted to date Kara Kingsley, right. That he made up the story of there being a rumor to get out of the relationship with you.”
“How do you know that?”
“You didn’t show up the next day for school, so I asked Logan where you were, he said you were home sick with food poisoning. When I was on my way out of fourth period, I saw a whole bunch of people surrounding what appeared to be a fight. I ran over to see what was going on, you know how I loved a good scrap. I was shocked to find Logan and Aaron going at it. Logan had him pinned to the ground. He kept shouting at him to tell him the truth, he wouldn’t let him get up until Aaron confessed. He just kept punching and kicking him.”
My eyes widened. “He got himself suspended from school for that fight, I remember that.”
“Yep, Mister Turner, the science teacher, broke up the fight. Logan had broken Aaron’s nose and arm.”
“Yep, Aaron was pissed.”
“They marched Logan and Aaron to the principal and called your parents. They suspended Logan on the spot for two weeks.”
“He never told anyone what that fight was over either. He just said it was nothing they needed to concern themselves with. I guess he wouldn’t even tell the principal. He got into so much trouble when that happened, and it was all because of me?”
“Yep, he told me that Aaron finally confessed to him in the principal’s office that he lied to you. There never was a rumor.”
“Why are you only telling me this now?” I asked.
“Because, even though I see what he is doing to you by playing these games, I think you also need to know that he really does care for you on some sort of level that maybe you are fighting not to see.”
“Ladies, your masseurs are ready for you now.” I looked up to see a spa attendant standing there.
“Great. Thanks.”
We pulled ourselves from the water and entered arm in arm into the change room. “Just so you know, I am supposed to comfort my friend when she is upset. Even though I hate to see what he has been doing to you, I see you love him, and I think its only fair that you have the entire picture in your head when you make the decisions you are about to make. Now go and enjoy having man hands all over your body for the next hour. I’ll see you soon.” She flicked a towel at me, smiled and left the change room in her robe and slippers.
The smell of lavender soothed me as I lay in the darkness, while Nick, my masseur, found every teeny tiny knot in my aching muscles. I closed my eyes and listened to the soft music that floated in the air, my mind drifting to Logan.
As soon as my massage was over, I went to my locker and checked my phone. My assistant had called and left me a message regarding Logan’s order. Then I listened to Logan’s messages. I was just stepping into the shower when Jenna came through the door looking relaxed as ever.
“I am jumping in the shower and then I have to go,” I stated to my sleepy faced best friend.
“Go where? We are supposed to have lunch here too.”
“No time, I need to get back. I have work to do and my assistant needs my help. I should at least be in town to do that.”
Jenna smiled and wrapped her arms around me. “I miss you so much,” she said into my shoulder.
“Me too, babe, me too.”
TWENTY-FIVE
Logan
It had been four days since Leah had left my house running like a mad woman. I hadn’t heard a word from her. I was hoping she would have texted me when she had gotten home but there was nothing from her. I leaned back and looked down at the design I was working on, everything about it was wrong. I was frustrated, in more ways than one, and this project wasn’t helping matters.
My phone rang on my desk, I reached for it hoping it was Leah. “Hi, Logan, it’s Jean.”
I searched my mind: Jean, Jean. Why couldn’t I think of who Jean was?
“From Home Design Magazine.”
“Oh, yes, sorry you caught me in the middle of something,” I said brushing off the fact that I couldn’t remember who she was.
“I received your message. Let’s book you in for that shoot on the first of the month. That way it will give us plenty of time to get you as the featured guest in the following month’s issue.”
I glanced at the calendar that sat on my desk. I had no clue what the date even was and since I hadn’t heard from Leah, I couldn’t exactly fight her on this. After all, I was the one who had called her looking for the date. “Sounds good.”
“Great, see you then. I should be there about three. Oh, and please make sure the designer is there too. I would like to include her in on the shoot.”
Leah would kill me for agreeing to have her there. “No problem,” I said lying through my teeth, I’d worry about it later. I hung up the phone and tried to concentrate on the design I was working on. Instead, I sat and stared at it, so I pushed that project to the side and started to work on another one, but the same thing happened. Lines blurred and nothing was clear.
I grabbed my coat and was about to head down to the coffee shop when the phone rang on my desk. I contemplated not answering it but reached for it anyway.
“Logan.”
The other end was silent for a moment and then I heard a small weak voice. “Hi, Logan. It’s Leah.”
“Hi.” I sat forward, my pulse racing at the sound of her voice.
“The painters will finish up soon and I have the first furniture shipment coming in on Friday. I’m expecting the rest to be there next week then our work will be finished.”
A funny feeling came over me at her words. I didn’t want to be finished with her. “What time do you need me to be home for the delivery?”
“I don’t need you there per se. I’ll get the keys from the painters, and once all the furniture is moved in, I will lock the house up before I go. Once everything is complete, I will leave the key in the mailbox outside the front door.”
I didn’t know how to respond to what she said, it sounded like she didn’t want to see me.
“Does that work for you?”
I wanted to say many things, tell her the truth about how I felt. “Okay. No problem.” The words fell quickly from my lips. In all honesty, it was a big problem.
“See you Friday morning.” As quick as her call had come in, it was over, and I sat listening to a dial tone. She was gone.
I hung up the phone, grabbed my keys, shut the lights off in my office and made my way to the coffee shop.
Later, as I drove up my driveway, all that was on my mind was Leah. I kept thinking back to the night when all I had wanted to do was continue to kiss her into the morning, nothing more, but that damn phone of hers h
ad to ring, pulling her from me and back into reality.
I slammed the front door shut and walked into the living room. I threw the fireplace on and flopped onto my old couch, turning the TV on as I sat down. I closed my eyes as the TV echoed in the large empty space. Soon, this space would be transformed, and it would all be because of her. I would have her design as a constant reminder of what I wanted the most: her. I would live here surrounded by her, wrapped in her, without her.
I needed to tell her she was the one, without just coming out and saying it. She wouldn’t believe me if I did. She would be here tomorrow morning at eight. Noting the time, I had less than twelve hours and needed to get busy with my plan.
TWENTY-SIX
Logan
The sun shone through the window of the breakfast nook as I sat eating my oatmeal and reading through the morning paper. I heard a car door slam and felt my stomach hitch at the thought of seeing her this morning. I had been up almost all night deciding how to go about this and I was excited to see the look on her face. I got up from the table and carried my bowl to the dishwasher, quickly loading both my mug and bowl into the top rack. Finally, the doorbell rang, and I made my way to the front door. I smiled as I pulled the door open only to come face to face with a girl I had never seen before.
“Mister Lehmbeck?”
“Yes.”
“I’m Susan.” She stood there holding her hand out smiling at me as if I should know who she was. When she realized I had no clue, the smile disappeared, and the hand dropped. “I’m Miss Tate’s assistant. She is sorry she had to deal with something before arriving this morning, but you need not worry. She has sent me in her place, and I have everything under control. She should be arriving in the next forty minutes or so.”
“Where is Miss Tate? I’ve asked that she personally handle this account.” I sounded like an utter dick and I knew it, but I was pissed.
“I’m sorry, she was dealing with an issue regarding one of your pieces. I had a voice mail on my phone this morning asking me to be here at eight.” The girl gave me a gentle smile. “The first delivery will be here in about ten minutes, Mister Lehmbeck.”
Bad Company Page 12
