Page 65 of Until the Sea Runs Dry

Trevor wasn’t a tall man, maybe two heads shorter than Logan on a good day. He worked out fairly frequently in the gym but hadn’t been able to shift the extra weight he carried around his stomach that he could never quite hide, no matter how expensive the designer suit he wore.

Logan had been his client for the past decade. Trevor had stuck by and mentored him when no one else in town had believed in him. The two had a solid relationship, and he was the closest Logan had to a best friend.

“I see the gang’s all here,” Trevor commented wryly.

“Why don’t you all make yourselves at home,” Logan directed at the room. His sarcasm wasn’t even acknowledged. Kitty took drinks orders from the assembled group, trying not to appear flustered by the unannounced company.

“I don’t have any food or snacks ready.” She seemed mortified that she was letting him down.

“It’s fine, Kitty. None of them will be staying long,” Logan replied firmly.

Adele raised a thinly plucked brow. A smile came over her lips that never quite reached her eyes. “It’s cute that you think you’re in charge of this meeting.” She sat down and crossed one leg over the other, a high-heeled foot swinging daintily.

Logan knew better than to tackle her head-on.

Overexcited by all the new people, Loki made his way around the room, introducing himself to each of them. Vicky beamed when he came her way. She played with him until Adele’s swinging shoe caught his attention. He stared at the sharp point of the heel, mesmerized.

“I understand you’re all concerned; I am too. But this whole thing is a mistake, and we just need to figure out a way to fill in the press while respecting both mine and Jane’s privacy. This doesn’t have to be a big deal.”

“Of course it is!” Adele snapped, unable to hide her irritation any longer. “You have been single by design! When the time was right — when I decided it was right — we were going to reveal your new relationship to the world. I have spent months vetting suitable candidates. I don’t give a rat’s ass who you screw in private, but who you mess around with in public, that’s on me. Have you any idea how much of my time and effort you have wasted with this stunt of yours?”

Adele tapped her stiletto on the oak floorboards. The sound of it rattled his head though it had a different effect on Loki. The puppy hunkered down until his stomach pressed against the floor and stalked that swinging foot. When he was only inches away, his jaws opened wide to snap around her heel…

Adele jerked her foot away. “Don’t you dare!” She hissed at him. Startled by the tone in her voice, Loki backed away from her like she was something terrible, then ran behind the sofa to hide. Logan gave his dog a level stare.

“Oh, but you’ll listen to her?”

Loki’s only response was a sad bark before retreating to a fluffy dog bed that sat in the corner of the room. He circled the bed and laid down, staring at the rest of them like a wounded soul. Ignoring his theatrics, Logan addressed Adele.

“I already told you that you don’t need to do that. I can find my own girlfriend. I don’t need you auditioning a love interest for me.”

“And you’ve been in this industry for how long?” She rolled her eyes as if she was talking to an idiot. “Your next relationship was planned to coincide with the launch of this new movie, but now all anybody wants to talk about is the ordinary woman you have fallen in love with. Speaking of which, why isn’t she here? She is the cause of all this.”

Logan shook his head. “Oh no. You’ll terrify her. Jane is not a part of this madness. She’s an honest victim. We have to leave her out this.”

Trevor’s his eyes held an apology. “I don’t think that’s going to be possible. Her face is already plastered everywhere. If she doesn’t hear of this soon, it’s only a matter of time.

The woman herself chose that moment to step into the room. Her eyes looked wild, like a trapped animal. She’d obviously seen the news. At the sight of them all, she stopped dead.

“I was looking for Logan, but I see I’m interrupting.”

“Actually, we’re here to talk about you so you might as well sit for this.”

Confusion shone from her eyes. “Me?”

“Well, you are the mysterious woman of the hour, are you not? It’s Jane, isn’t it? We need to have a discussion about how we’re going to deal with this catastrophe.”

“Maybe we could take this down a notch or two?” Trevor chided, taking pity on Jane who looked almost ready to pass out. “Jane, please, take a seat.”

She perched on the end of Logan’s sofa, wondering who on earth these people were? Logan introduced them all.

“I don’t understand why this is even in the news. Can’t you set them straight?”

Adele looked at Jane with a half exasperated smirk.

“You want us to tell the public that Logan found a woman with amnesia on the beach and brought her home out of the goodness of his heart?”

Jane was bewildered by the question. “But that’s what happened?”

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