Slow Hands

by Faye Avalon

  ‘I already had a luxury car,’ he said. ‘Besides, I didn’t buy them. But you didn’t come here to talk about cigars—Cuban or otherwise.’

  ‘No.’ She seemed to shake off whatever had put that huffy look on her face. ‘Anyway, as I said, I wasn’t sure of my next steps when I asked for the documents back, but now there’s no real urgency because there’s no longer any dispute.’

  He sat back in surprise. It was the first he’d heard of this. But then, why would he? Haydon had ditched Veronica, so there’d be no news coming from that corner. And since April wasn’t his client any more...

  Did that mean her new lawyers had sold her out? Convinced her to accept some kind of liability? He’d have the fuckers struck off...

  ‘Veronica dropped the case.’

  Logan froze. That was the very last thing he’d expected to hear, and certainly not what he’d anticipated.

  ‘How the hell did that happen?’

  ‘We came to an understanding. I offered her work.’

  Logan shook his head, wondering if he’d heard right. ‘You offered her work? Veronica Lebeck? Doing what, exactly?’

  April smiled. ‘Don’t look so cynical, Logan. Most people can be reasonable when the incentive is right—even Veronica. And it’s not always about money. Not even for her.’

  ‘That’s news to me.’

  Hadn’t the woman screamed at him that afternoon in his office that there was absolutely no way she’d accept anything less than a figure with several zeroes behind it?

  ‘Things change, Logan. Some people do, too.’

  The implication wasn’t lost on him. Some people. But not him.

  ‘I asked her if she’d meet me,’ April went on. ‘I read that article in the paper and I knew that she’d been dumped by your friend.’

  ‘I never agreed to represent her,’ Logan felt compelled to point out. He’d been incensed by that—mostly because he hadn’t wanted April to see it and assume it was true. ‘I tried to call you to tell you it was a fabrication.’

  April had the grace to look a little shamefaced. ‘I wasn’t in the mood to talk to you at the time. Besides, I saw they printed a retraction. Anyway,’ she said before he could say anything else, ‘I got the feeling she might be open to talking, to trying to reach some kind of arrangement which would benefit us both.’

  She shifted in her chair, hiking her bag higher on her lap and drawing it close like a kind of shield.

  ‘There’s something I never told you about my past relationship with Veronica. When we were modelling we were both searching for a new manager after ours took early retirement due to ill health. Richard was considered one of the best and, although I didn’t know it at the time, he was close to taking Veronica onto his books. I think the contracts had actually been drawn up, but then she tried to get him to renegotiate the terms of their arrangement in her favour, and he dumped her and took me on instead.’

  While his dealings with Veronica had ensured Logan could believe the woman would do something like that, he couldn’t understand why April hadn’t told him.

  ‘Knowing that would have made it easier to try and negotiate with her. Why didn’t you tell me that going in?’

  She took a huge breath, let it out on a sigh. ‘Honestly? I was embarrassed. Not because of the whole grabbing-Richard-as-a-manager thing, but because of what happened as a consequence. It’s a long story, but basically my relationship with Richard became personal as well as professional. He didn’t want me to give up modelling when my father became ill. He hated losing control over me, I suppose. Hated even more that I was determined to start a new career with my online business.’

  She took another breath. Logan wanted to ask if she needed water, or a stronger drink, but he didn’t want to stop her talking. He didn’t want to stop her telling him everything.

  ‘Eventually I thought he’d come around. As my father grew weaker I had to spend more time with him, and Richard offered to run things for me. It wasn’t until after my father passed away that I found out he’d basically destroyed my business.’

  ‘Fucker.’

  Logan wanted to hit something. Preferably the bastard who’d hurt April. But instead of ranting, as he really wanted to, he knew he had to support April while she told him. So he remained quiet and let her continue.

  ‘First off, I thought he’d done it to lure me back into modelling. He never made a secret of the fact he didn’t think I was capable of being an entrepreneur, any more than my parents did. But then I found out he’d been embezzling funds from the business to pay off his creditors. He left me with huge debts, but I was determined he wasn’t going to break me, and I was equally determined I would prove him wrong. I was going to prove everyone wrong.’

  ‘And you did.’

  She smiled, and it filled his heart to bursting.

  ‘I did. Which leads me back to Veronica. When I told her what Richard had done, and she realised it hadn’t all been roses for me, we were eventually able to come to an understanding.’

  ‘What kind of understanding?’

  ‘I’ve been approached by a well-known magazine to do a story on my business, to coincide with an international entrepreneurial women’s event. They want the article to focus on women celebrating and enjoying their sexuality. I want to highlight a new range of underwear I’m selling, by a designer I met at a trade show. He’s doing some pretty amazing things with lingerie. Anyway, we’ve both agreed to the magazine article on the proviso that we can use our own model.’

  Logan’s eyebrows came together in a disbelieving frown. ‘You’re telling me she agreed to drop the case for a photo shoot? I offered her a screen test with a New York producer. She said no.’

  April smiled. ‘It’s not just a photo shoot. The designer has asked Veronica to be the face of his new range. He’s just won an industry award, so Veronica thinks it will really help her to cement a new image. She wants a fresh start—especially since Haydon’s ended their relationship. I think she really cared for him.’

  ‘One thing,’ Logan said, wanting to voice a niggle that wouldn’t seem to go away. ‘Why didn’t you tell me? About your bastard ex and what he did?’

  ‘It’s not something to boast about, is it? Putting blind trust in someone and having them let you down quite so spectacularly. I played into his hands, didn’t I? He wanted to convince me I wasn’t capable of running a business and I went ahead and proved him right. I almost let him ruin me.’

  ‘From what you’ve just told me, and from the great guns your business is going right now, I’d say you proved him wrong. Spectacularly.’

  Her smile was full of pride. ‘Thanks. I appreciate that. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you from the start. I just didn’t want you to think I was an idiot for giving someone such control over myself and my life.’

  ‘I would never for one minute think that.’

  What she’d told him shone some light on why she hadn’t given him the chance to explain about the deal he’d tried to make with Veronica. Why she hadn’t given him the benefit of the doubt. She’d been terrified of being duped again. Of being made a fool of.

  And in his efforts to protect her, he’d played right into those fears.

  * * *

  It felt so good to get it all off her chest. To know that despite it all Logan seemed to be on her side.

  She’d rehearsed what she would say while on her way to Logan’s house. But as soon as he’d opened the door every thought had disappeared clean from her head, and her mind had turned stubbornly blank.

  Would she ever be able to look at him and not feel that dizzying punch of reaction deep in her stomach? Would she ever not want to take every available opportunity to launch herself into his arms?

  April had tried hard not to be distracted by how sexy he looked, how composed, when she had been growing more nervous and distracted by the minute. />
  Now, as he told her that he had never thought her an idiot, she knew it was the truth. Despite his infuriating and controlling ways, he’d never thought badly of her.

  ‘I fought against you because I needed to keep control,’ she said, wanting to make it clear that was why she had been so adamant about knowing what he was doing on her behalf. ‘I needed to know what was happening at every single turn just to make sure you never hoodwinked me.’

  ‘I get that,’ Logan said. ‘And it’s understandable, considering what you’ve just told me.’

  ‘I shouldn’t have done that. Not with you. You’ve done nothing but try to help me. But I kept hold of my suspicion and... You were right when you said I should have given you the benefit of the doubt.’

  Logan’s shrug was full of tension. ‘And you were right when you said I should have talked to you first—should have given you the chance to say what you thought of using the promise of a screen test to get her to back away from you.’

  ‘She told me she thought she’d probably cut off her nose by refusing that. Said that Haydon might never have dumped her had she taken your deal.’

  ‘Yeah, that’s what he told me.’

  ‘Is everything okay between the two of you now? I’d hate it if all this has ruined your friendship.’

  ‘We’re fine.’ He hesitated, then leaned forward and stood. ‘I need to tell you something, too. How about we have a drink while I spill?’

  April waited until he came around the desk, then stood and hooked her bag over her shoulder. She couldn’t imagine what he had to tell her, but there was one thing she did know. This time she would listen to what he had to say before flying off the deep end and jumping to conclusions.

  She could trust him, she thought as he stepped back to let her through the open doorway. Deep down, perhaps she’d always known the truth of that. It was just her own prejudices and hang-ups that had stopped her accepting and believing it.

  While he went to the liquor cabinet April dropped her bag on a nearby chair and, as he’d done when she’d arrived, went to the terrace doors to look out over the harbour. She loved how the lights twinkled beyond, reminding her of how many times she’d enjoyed watching them from Logan’s bedroom on those nights when they’d lain in bed together after making love.

  And that was exactly what it had been—for her, anyway. Making love. She’d fallen in love with Logan, but had been too stubborn to admit it even to herself.

  She turned, watching him as he poured brandy into two glasses. He had amazing hands. Big, capable, and very treacherous. She thought about how he’d rolled that cigar between his thumb and forefinger back in his study, and how she hadn’t been able to stop the memory of how it felt when he manipulated her nipples in the same way. Of how it was when those adept hands trailed over her body, slowly and, oh, so dangerously, before sliding between her legs and sending her into a kind of insane and frenzied bliss.

  Her hands shook as she took the glass from Logan.

  ‘Want to sit?’ he asked.

  She didn’t know what she wanted right then, apart from him to tell her that he still wanted her. That they could pick up where they’d left off before she’d gone and jumped to those conclusions.

  She nodded and sat on the sofa, her heart dipping as he took the seat opposite her on the matching one. He sat forward, clasping the glass between his knees.

  ‘Haydon is not just a friend—he was my mentor.’

  ‘Your mentor? But he’s not a lawyer. That newspaper said Haydon’s in property development.’

  Logan shook his head. ‘No, he’s not a lawyer. But, like I told you, we go back a long way.’ He looked down at his drink, turning the glass this way and that. ‘When my parents bailed, and we were split up and sent to different homes, I swore that I’d get us kids back together again. When I was fifteen I found work at a fish market in East London. I got paid in cash, so the authorities didn’t ask questions. It was long hours, crap pay—but I didn’t give a shit.’

  April had a vision of this Haydon, mentoring a child of fifteen and making him work long hours for a measly wage. What kind of friend was that? But before she could voice her opinion she remembered her promise to herself to hear Logan out before jumping to conclusions. So she kept quiet.

  ‘By chance I met Haydon. He was visiting some premises next door to the market with a view to purchasing them for development. He asked me to mind his car while he was inside—the area wasn’t exactly respectable at the time—and he rewarded me with what was basically a week’s pay. Being a pushy little shit, I asked Haydon if he had any work available. I was basically his gofer but a quick learner, and I soaked up every scrap of knowledge about how business worked. I worked my ass off for him.’

  April caught her bottom lip between her teeth, thankful she hadn’t said anything before. She was warming to Haydon.

  ‘Anyway, he saw potential in me and gave me more and more responsibility. I got to do research for him, run checks on competitors, sit in on meetings. By then I’d told him about my brothers and my sister, what had happened to them. He knew I was determined to get us all back together, and understood how, as the eldest, I felt it was my responsibility to care for my siblings. He helped me—not only financially, but with the authorities, too.’

  No wonder they shared a bond. No wonder Logan thought he owed Haydon. April now had some idea of how incredibly difficult it must have been for Logan to go against what his mentor had asked him to do when she came on the scene.

  ‘When I told him I’d always dreamed of being a lawyer, he made that possible, too. Helped me through college, law school.’ Logan smiled and took a swig of brandy. ‘He tried to steer me into choosing property law, but he understood my need to go into family law. I wanted to help families through tough times, to make sure kids got a fair deal when bloody adults tried to screw up their lives.’

  Because of his own past. His own experiences.

  April wanted badly to go to him. To tell him she understood. Instead she sipped her own brandy. ‘Your relationship with Haydon sounds like an amazing one.’

  ‘He was the closest thing to a father I ever had. Supported me when I needed it, gave me grief when I screwed up.’ He held out his arm. ‘Tore me off big time when I got this just after my sixteenth birthday.’

  ‘Your tattoo?’

  ‘Yeah. He’s not a fan of ink. I thought I was honouring him by having his company logo tattooed on my arm, but he thought I was a stupid little shit. His words. Said if I was planning on being a big shot lawyer, I’d better keep it covered with all those Armani shirts I’d be able to afford.’

  ‘Was it Haydon who bought you the cigars?’ April asked. ‘To celebrate winning your first case?’

  Logan’s smile was a little wistful. ‘Yeah. He promised me those cigars on my first day of law school.’

  April was starting to like Haydon more with each passing moment. ‘I’m so sorry you were put in a position where you had to go against him. That must have been impossibly difficult for you.’

  He shrugged, but his eyes shone across to her. ‘What was impossible for me was not helping you.’

  April’s heart kicked. ‘What?’

  ‘I owe Haydon a lot, but not everything. And before long you became everything.’

  She swallowed as her kicking heart pushed into her throat.

  ‘There was no way I’d do Haydon’s bidding when it could hurt you, set you up for a fall. Although Veronica didn’t have much of a case, an unscrupulous lawyer could have done some damage to you. Knowing that, I wasn’t going to step away and leave you to the mercy of anyone else.’

  April’s eyes filled. ‘I didn’t want to be represented by anyone else. Just you.’

  Logan was across the room and hunkering down in front of her before she could even track his movements. He took her glass and reached for her trembling hands.
/>
  ‘I’ve been a fucking idiot. I should have talked to you, given you the chance to decide what was best for you. It would have spared me going in like a freaking bull in a china shop, since you managed to sort things out for yourself.’

  He squeezed her fingers beneath his.

  ‘You’ve given me a salutary lesson, proved to me that my arrogance and conceit can sometimes work against the very people I love and want to protect.’

  April squeezed his hands right back. ‘I like your arrogance and conceit. It makes you who you are. But, given the opportunity, maybe I’d like it even more if you could perhaps tone it down just a bit.’

  His lips flickered in a tentative smile. ‘If I agree to do that, would you give us another chance?

  April’s breath caught, shimmering through her lungs on a burst of happiness. ‘I’d give us another chance even if you didn’t agree to it.’

  He stood, drawing her up against him, his arms coming around her and holding tight. ‘I love you, April Sinclair.’

  Her heart simply turned over in her chest. ‘I love you, too, Logan Fitzpatrick.’

  With a quick and sexy grin, Logan slid them both into a deep and passionate kiss that held the promise of chances taken and a future bright with possibilities.

  As the kiss turned erotic, April drew back a little. ‘Would you like to see what I have in my bag? It actually belongs to you, anyway.’

  The gleam in Logan’s dark eyes was her answer, as was his sexy grin.

  ‘It does?’

  ‘Uh-huh. You bought it from my website, remember?’

  Logan drew her closer again and started walking her backwards towards the hallway. ‘Does it include a blindfold and fluffy handcuffs?’

  April grinned. ‘It might.’

  ‘How many reviews does it have so far?’

  ‘Five stars all the way.’

  When Logan hiked her up into his arms she wrapped her legs around his waist and clung. He kissed her as he took the stairs two at a time, with her in his arms.