Leaning forward, he adds in a whisper, “For me.” My skin flushes under his gaze. Logan smirks then leans back, my reaction obviously satisfying him. When the waiter stops by, I order a “Seduction on the Rocks.” Now it’s my turn to watch Logan’s reaction with satisfaction. His eyes darken a notch, his lips parting. Great. The next cocktail I order will be “Love All Night Long.”
I’m not just dancing on a fine line; I’m deliberately crossing it. But this man demands that I let my inhibitions fall... that I let loose and care about nothing more than his smile. His presence is so intense that it wipes away all my thoughts. What would his lips do? His touch?
He cracks the walls I’d carefully built around myself since my split with Thomas. I should fight, should secure these walls with brick and mortar if need be, but for tonight, at least, I don’t want to. I want to have fun, and let this handsome man spoil me.
Sipping from my cocktail a few minutes later, I say, “Tell me an embarrassing story.”
“Ah, I’ve got plenty of those. Any particular topic?”
“I’ll leave the choice to you.”
“When I was a high school senior, a member of my soccer team was dating Pippa. He was bragging in front of the entire team about how he took my sister’s virginity, and being a pig in general. Obviously, I wanted revenge for my sister. But I wanted to be mature and not fight him, so instead I cut a giant hole in the back of his pants before the game started so his boxers would hang out.”
“That was mature?”
He shrugs. “He realized what I did and switched our pants. I ended up being the giant idiot with a hole in his pants after all, and I was the captain. Did I mention I had no underwear? So my ass was practically hanging out on the field for all the students and parents to see. Our coach almost had an aneurysm.”
I laugh, holding my belly. “You’re not making this up, are you?”
“Nope. On the bright side, the sight of my ass ensured I had a hoard of female fans dying to go out with me.”
“I’m sure you didn’t lack for female fans before either.” A knot twists in my throat. He can’t be lacking for them now either, can he? He’s sexy, fun, and impossibly rich. Surely, women must line up at his door. I can’t believe I’m jealous already. This is fun . Nothing more. Reminding myself of that fact doesn’t seem to be helping, though.
“True.” A small smile accompanies this one word, and my insides dip again. Amazing how territorial I feel about a man who isn’t even mine.
“You were your sister’s self-proclaimed avenger or what?”
“Avenger, guardian, whatever role I needed to fill, as long as I could wear an imaginary hero cape.” Pulling a serious face, he says, “Pippa always had a knack for attracting the wrong guys, even though she’s lovely.”
“Weren’t your sisters upset that you were being—“
“Overbearing?”
“I would’ve said overprotective, but I like a man who owns up to his flaws.”
“Trust me, with my family, there’s no way not to own up to your flaws. Every time you try to shirk them, eight siblings will happily point them out. Now back to my sister. She didn’t catch on most of the time, and when she did, Sebastian had my back, though he never approved of my meddling.”
I raise an eyebrow. “So, he never meddled?”
“He did it in his own way, which I didn’t always find effective. He likes to talk to people. I’m the do-er.”
“I see. Was Pippa the only sister you were babysitting?”
Logan remains silent for a moment, his brow furrowed. “I guess. Pippa is the mother hen. She likes to take care of everyone else, often at her expense. She’s also very vulnerable. Alice is a lot like you. Resilient, stubborn, and determined. She rarely tolerated my involvement, but both sets of twins were effectively playing bodyguard for her when they could get away with it, and for Summer as well—she’s the eternal
I’m not just dancing on a fine line; I’m deliberately crossing it. But this man demands that I let my inhibitions fall... that I let loose and care about nothing more than his smile. His presence is so intense that it wipes away all my thoughts. What would his lips do? His touch?
He cracks the walls I’d carefully built around myself since my split with Thomas. I should fight, should secure these walls with brick and mortar if need be, but for tonight, at least, I don’t want to. I want to have fun, and let this handsome man spoil me.
Sipping from my cocktail a few minutes later, I say, “Tell me an embarrassing story.”
“Ah, I’ve got plenty of those. Any particular topic?”
“I’ll leave the choice to you.”
“When I was a high school senior, a member of my soccer team was dating Pippa. He was bragging in front of the entire team about how he took my sister’s virginity, and being a pig in general. Obviously, I wanted revenge for my sister. But I wanted to be mature and not fight him, so instead I cut a giant hole in the back of his pants before the game started so his boxers would hang out.”
“That was mature?”
He shrugs. “He realized what I did and switched our pants. I ended up being the giant idiot with a hole in his pants after all, and I was the captain. Did I mention I had no underwear? So my ass was practically hanging out on the field for all the students and parents to see. Our coach almost had an aneurysm.”
I laugh, holding my belly. “You’re not making this up, are you?”
“Nope. On the bright side, the sight of my ass ensured I had a hoard of female fans dying to go out with me.”
“I’m sure you didn’t lack for female fans before either.” A knot twists in my throat. He can’t be lacking for them now either, can he? He’s sexy, fun, and impossibly rich. Surely, women must line up at his door. I can’t believe I’m jealous already. This is fun . Nothing more. Reminding myself of that fact doesn’t seem to be helping, though.
“True.” A small smile accompanies this one word, and my insides dip again. Amazing how territorial I feel about a man who isn’t even mine.
“You were your sister’s self-proclaimed avenger or what?”
“Avenger, guardian, whatever role I needed to fill, as long as I could wear an imaginary hero cape.” Pulling a serious face, he says, “Pippa always had a knack for attracting the wrong guys, even though she’s lovely.”
“Weren’t your sisters upset that you were being—“
“Overbearing?”
“I would’ve said overprotective, but I like a man who owns up to his flaws.”
“Trust me, with my family, there’s no way not to own up to your flaws. Every time you try to shirk them, eight siblings will happily point them out. Now back to my sister. She didn’t catch on most of the time, and when she did, Sebastian had my back, though he never approved of my meddling.”
I raise an eyebrow. “So, he never meddled?”
“He did it in his own way, which I didn’t always find effective. He likes to talk to people. I’m the do-er.”
“I see. Was Pippa the only sister you were babysitting?”
Logan remains silent for a moment, his brow furrowed. “I guess. Pippa is the mother hen. She likes to take care of everyone else, often at her expense. She’s also very vulnerable. Alice is a lot like you. Resilient, stubborn, and determined. She rarely tolerated my involvement, but both sets of twins were effectively playing bodyguard for her when they could get away with it, and for Summer as well—she’s the eternal
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