Page 69 of Kilt Trip

25

Addie was having a hard time letting go of a perfect weekend tucked away in Logan’s flat, incapable of keeping her feet to herself under their shared desk. His lopsided smile would be obvious to anyone watching—and Elyse was most certainly on high alert after catching them springing apart in the stairwell this morning—but Addie couldn’t bring herself to stop. Not when he leaned in on crossed forearms, dark eyes smoldering from behind the fern.

She slipped a finger under the collar of her shirt—an absent-minded scratch of a nonexistent itch—and Logan tilted his head up to the ceiling like she was killing him.

His Adam’s apple bobbed before his heavy gaze settled on her again, and her stomach flipped at the desire reflected there. She could almost sense the air ripple with his low growl like far-off thunder in the mountains.

A smile broke out on her face. A devious, lust-filled smile. She couldn’t get enough of being the center of Logan’s attention. When he looked at her like that she floated, as if she hadn’t fully returned from the haze of dreamy satisfaction she’d been living in since climbing on that bus.

Addie’s phone vibrated across her notebook, snapping reality back into place.

As if she’d conjured Marc by absolutely, decidedly not thinking about him, his name glowed on the screen. Her heart thumped, and her hand twitched like an indecisive squirrel darting back and forth in front of oncoming traffic. As much as she wanted to retreat to the relative safety of the Decline Call button, she couldn’t avoid him forever.

“I’ve got to take this,” she said, gathering up her laptop and notebook, already on her way to the conference room. “Hi, Marc.”

“Damien got me a new backpack for Christmas. You should see the number of pockets on this thing...” Marc raved about the many features of his work-of-art bag for so long, Addie dared to hope he was simply bored in the airport, killing time. “What’s the latest at The Heart?” he said, segueing to the real reason for his call, and Addie’s stomach cramped.

Basically nothing. She’d been so swept up in Logan, none of this had seemed to matter. How had she gotten so distracted?

She slipped into a leather chair and opened her laptop like it would shield the rest of the office from this conversation. “The bones of the reservation system and website are all in place.”

“That’s been done for a while. What about the tours?”

She didn’t want Marc losing faith in her, but she couldn’t straight up lie to him, either. “They’re struggling with the big attractions since they have so many community ties and off-the-beaten-path destinations. I know they’re places that don’t usually show up in guidebooks, but the local flavor adds something unique—”

“Neil has always been a dreamer. It’s part of their problem. Above all, they want a viable company, and they may have to make some sacrifices. You bring practicality and objectivity to the table. I’ve got deals in the pipeline that could come through any time. You know how fast things move when clients’ budgets get approved for the new year. I need something here, Addie.”

She bit the inside of her cheek. She’d been shuffling through potential solutions commercial enough for Marc, authentic enough for Logan, and lucrative enough for The Heart.

The competing requirements left her stranded in the impending doom of headlights barreling toward her from both sides.

God, the pressure really was getting to her. She was feeling for this imaginary squirrel.

Addie rubbed circles into her temples. When Logan had been blocking her at every turn, the hot-spot tours she’d designed were a necessity. She wouldn’t send them to Marc as-is, but she could add destinations she now understood were important and meaningful, that kept the spirit of Logan’s vision intact.

Her heart kicked back at the thought of Logan’s reaction. She wasn’t delusional enough to think the tours she had in mind would feel like a compromise to him.

But the trips might tide Marc over while she and Logan found something better, something that lit him up the way the Highland tour had.

“I have tentative itineraries designed, but I haven’t shared them with Neil.” Or Logan. “They’re not finalized, but they’ll give you an idea of what we’re thinking.”

“Thank you,” Marc singsonged, but it didn’t unwind the knot in Addie’s stomach like she’d thought it would.

“I can have them to you by the end of the week.”

26

Logan watched as Addie returned from the conference room with Elyse in tow. “Let’s have a quick meeting about tour destinations,” she said, not quite meeting Logan’s eye.

They needed to figure out the main tours, the lifeblood of this company, before Logan had to make decisions he wasn’t prepared to make. He knew that.

Keeping the steady hum of anxiety bottled up wasn’t going to work much longer. Add to that his and Addie’s uncertain future—which he was trying to ignore for a bit longer—and he was near to bursting.

But it didn’t mean he relished this conversation.

Addie flipped her leather folio to an open page. She didn’t so much as glance at him.

Elyse, however, had all the attention in the world to spare. She settled in the fraying emerald rolling chair, resting her elbows on the tabletop, chin in her hands, gaze bouncing between them.

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