Page 6 of Make Me Burn

Last night was hard enough, with Anthia asking her a million questions about him as soon as they got in the car to go home. Jinx had explained that Logan had been Victor’s college roommate and best friend, that he had a messed up family and so having him spend Christmas, spring break, and even most of the summer with her family had become the norm. The last couple of years, when Vic and Logan were on their way to grad school and after their first year of it, they used to rent a nearby cottage for the summer, but Jinx still saw them plenty.

Anthia had been beside herself with glee, but her excitement was somewhat dampened when Jinx told her that Logan had betrayed her brother in a way that destroyed their friendship. And that he had turned into a cold, ruthless businessman who disappeared on them, totally forgetting about her family, as he took revenge on his own father by gobbling up his investment firm.

“But he seemed so concerned for you last night,” Anthia had said. “So worried about you getting home safely.”

Jinx had just shrugged it off, not really sure what that was about. And she sure as hell did not tell her roommate that Logan had also rescued her from the hands of a married man who wanted to get some free sex on the side.

Or that she’d always had a hard time believing Logan had really done all those terrible things her brother had reported about him.

Now, on this otherwise peaceful June evening, Logan Bennett was standing just inside the door of Bajinx. What was he doing here? Well, for one, he was studying her with that same sexy, stern, half curious, half ravenous look. Instead of the high-fashion suit he’d had on last night, today he wore dark jeans and a snug-fitting tee.

Something about the way he was standing in those jeans took her back to the days when he was all she dreamed about, all she wanted. It had begun as a crush, but each time he returned they got closer—doing simple things like fixing the toaster together or making Christmas tree decorations or helping her mother run a garage sale or laughing at those corny jokes her dad told over and over again. But the best times were when she and Logan sat together, just the two of them, and talked about a book they’d both read or a drawing she’d done or their philosophical thoughts about the world.

Being six years younger than her sister and seven years younger than her brother meant Jinx was the baby who was never included in their activities. And while she knew her mother and father loved her with all their heart, Jinx had always felt they did not understand her. Like they saw the world in a different way. Like she was a chick that had fallen out of the nest of another kind of bird or something.

Logan was the only person she’d ever told that to. When she was fourteen she’d gotten into an argument with her father and she had run out of the house afterward to a place where she could hide and cry and not be ridiculed for it. She was not surprised when no one came after her because most of the time they did not pay any attention to her “antics” as they called them. Her working class family had a “pick yourself up and get back to work” attitude that considered her sensitivity a weakness. But Logan had come looking for her that day and had even guessed exactly where she would be.

At the time she was already half in love with him, so when he sat next to her and asked her gently what was wrong, she opened up about feeling like she was an odd bird that did not belong anywhere, even in her own family.

“That’s because you’re an artist, Jinx. Artists are born, not made, and they can be born into any family, rich or poor. Artists are odd creatures who usually see the world differently and sometimes see things other people do not. Your parents, your sister and brother are good people, smart people, but none of them are artists. So they will most likely not see the world around them the same way you do.”

“Are you an artist, Logan?”

“No, I’m not, but my mother was, so I can see it in you.”

After that, Logan became a person she could talk to, this being a secret they had kept between them over the next few years. It was how she had found Bailey when she was in high school, recognizing another person who did not quite fit in.

Jinx looked at Logan now and tried to steady her beating heart and the heat that rushed to her core at the sight of him. He had always been a walking wet dream, but now his sexuality was mixed with a manly power that made him irresistible.

“Can I help you with something?” she asked, her tone as neutral as she could manage.

Logan strolled forward and began gazing around at the shelves and peering into the display cases. “I saw your website and thought while I was in town I would check out the store. I like the name—Bajinx. Your partner, Bailey, is that the same tall quiet blonde that was your friend in high school?”

“Yes,” was all Jinx said, wary and reluctant to let down her guard, since she had also heard about his take-no-prisoners style of doing business and had no intention of getting hurt again by him. However, she was somewhat gratified to learn he had looked her up on the net.

He smiled at one of Bailey’s tri-colored soaps molded into the shape of three birds. “Lemon and rose and lavender. Interesting combination.”

“Bailey is endlessly creative,” Jinx said, proud of her bestie. “She and Lexi, the bride at yesterday’s wedding, have a line of scented hats that are being sold by a major fashion house. Lexi makes the hats and Bailey creates scented ribbons and appliqués for them.”

“Clever.” He nodded, then peered down at the jewelry in a glass case. “Are these yours?”

“Yes. The other crafts in the shop are by local artisans, but all the jewelry is mine.”

Logan stopped at the second case and pointed to a piece. “May I look at this one, please?”

From where she stood she could not see what he as pointing at. Jinx put on her big girl panties and walked up to him, his eyes on her the whole time sending a quiver through her that she managed to suppress. “Which piece was it?” she asked, hoping he would step back a bit, but he did not, instead hovering close to her as she reached the case and opened it.

“The one with the two horses chasing lightning bolts.”

Her head snapped up, her eyes meeting his. Too close, but her feet would not move. Those piercing brown eyes of his ensnared her the way they always had. Then his gaze shifted to her lips. She remembered how many times that used to happen—his eyes on her lips—and she would literally pray he would kiss her. But he never had. Never would cross that line. Always turned away, leaving her wanting.

Well, now it was her chance to turn away. Jinx did and focused on the wide wrist cuff made of heavy silver with an engraving depicting two horses leaping under a sky filled with lightning. She did not think for a moment his choice was an accident.

He knew very well what the image on the piece meant to her.

Jinx could still remember sitting next to him in her parents’ backyard one night after a painting she had submitted to a local show got rejected. Actually, it was worse than that. The judges had called her work obscene because it had a naked man and woman entwined in the clouds and she was only sixteen. She’d made sure the clouds covered certain body parts, for God’s sake, but her father had still been livid about it.

“Artists have to be brave,” Logan had said to her. “Willing to take risks. Put themselves on the line. Be daring.” He was twenty-two at the time and she had looked up to him.

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