Crazy for Her by Sandra Owens Page A

help her, not to provide stud service. But he was the one who’d kissed her and lit the match that started the fire. Fine, it’s his fault I’m acting like a slut . She glared at him, but he was too busy feeding Regan to notice.
    Without a word, Dani walked out of the room—something she seemed to be doing a lot since he’d arrived. After changing into a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, she returned to find Logan on the floor playing with Regan. He glanced at her, but made no comment. She sat on the floor and for the next hour tried to forget her sorrows, her stalker, and the longings Logan stirred up.

    Logan tickled Regan, amused by how giggly she became each time he touched her. “I’m gonna get your tummy.” He flicked his finger over her stomach. She was on her back, her feet and hands thrashing in the air, her shrieks of laughter piercing. If he tried to remove his hand, she grabbed his finger and put it back.
    “More?” He tickled her again while keeping a covert eye on Dani. The dress she wore earlier should be declared illegal or at least come with a warning: Beware, may cause loss of breath. Her abrupt departure and change of clothing indicated something was going on in her mind, but damned if he knew what. He hadn’t missed the look she sent his way right before striding out of the room, one that said he was a shithead for some reason.
    Now, she seemed to be attempting a happy front, but tension poured from her so thick he could cut it with his knife. Unfortunately, after Regan fell asleep he was going to ruin whatever peace she had left. Regan pulled his finger into her mouth and sucked.
    “She’s getting sleepy,” Dani said, and popped a pacifier into Regan’s mouth.
    Logan leaned back against the sofa and let out a sigh. “Thank God. Where does she get her energy?”
    Heartfelt love filled Dani’s eyes as she gazed at her daughter. Had his mother ever looked at him like that? A no-brainer question. Never. The only person Lovey Dovey cared about was Lovey Dovey. One unwanted child had been an inconvenience. Then along came Maria and by the time she was three, Lovey Dovey, had decided two brats were intolerable.
    His sister had come within a hair’s breadth of being a throwaway, a little girl given over to social services to be placed in foster care. Only because he had been fifteen and working after school, giving Lovey Dovey his earnings, had she reluctantly agreed to give Maria to him. His threat to disappear forever, taking Maria with him, had the desired results. Lovey Dovey’s fear of losing her booze and cigarette cash was the only reason his baby sister hadn’t been lost to him forever.
    “Lovey Dovey could take lessons from you on how to be a mother.”
    “Who?”
    Hell and damn, why had that come out of his mouth? “My mother.”
    “Your mother’s named Lovey Dovey?”
    The incredulous look Dani gave him was expected. Who the hell had a mother named Lovey Dovey, anyway? Logan hated talking about his parent—rarely did to anyone. But he’d opened that door.
    “She was born Gretchen Kincaid. When she decided she was going to be a famous stripper like Gypsy Rose Lee, she legally changed her name to Lovey Dovey. She kept the name, but the dream got lost in the dregs of a tequila bottle.”
    Dani didn’t seem to have a response, and he was glad for it. He had nothing more to say about the wretched woman.
    Nodding at Regan, he said, “She’s asleep. Why don’t you put her to bed, and then we need to talk.”
    “About what?”
    “Your stalker.”
    Her expression turned guarded. “Do you know something?”
    “Yes. Put Regan in her crib; then I’ll tell you.”
    She gently gathered up her daughter, and again he compared her tenderness to his mother’s cruel touch, especially with Maria. To Lovey Dovey, Maria was competition. By the time his sister reached her teens, it became obvious she was going to be stunning. Lovey Dovey’s hatred of her daughter grew with each passing