Page 21 of The Wanderer

He winked. "So thanks for letting me know what's going on in your think-tank but seriously, don't overanalyse this. We're two people insanely attracted to each other who are having fun. That's it."

"Okay," she said, nodding, but she couldn't help a wistful sigh escaping her mouth a second before he claimed it.

She liked fun. She needed fun.

But what if for the first time in her well-ordered life she wanted more?

Chapter Eleven

"What bug crawled up your ass?" Mike, the lead electrician on Hope’s job, nudged Logan in the back with the blunt end of a screwdriver. "You're never this moody."

"Leave me alone, dickhead," Logan growled, snapping his fingers at two apprentices who were dillydallying over measurements. "Get a move on."

"Shit, you're in a foul mood, boss, and it ain't pretty." Mike jerked a thumb towards the open door. "Hopefully the foreman can get you to lighten the hell up."

Logan scowled and glared at the door where Rick stood, sporting a giant shit-eating grin like he knew exactly what had precipitated his mood. He strode to his mate and jabbed him in the shoulder so Rick had no choice but to back up.

Once they were outside, Logan slammed the door. "What the hell are you doing here? You're supposed to be resting."

Rick’s grin broadened at his overt rudeness. "I came straight from a physiotherapy session, thought I'd check the job out."

"You're not supposed to be here so fuck off."

Rick mock winced and held up his hands. "What's up with you?"

"Nothing," Logan said through gritted teeth, mentally counting down the minutes until his head carpenter would arrive so he could get the hell out of here.

If arriving early to see Hope had been a bad idea, sticking around afterward had been worse.

When he'd heard her play that song on the piano…he'd been blown away. He'd never heard anything so beautiful and he felt as if she'd reached a hand into his chest, wrapped her fingers around his heart, and squeezed. He’d been so choked up that for a horrifying second he thought he might cry, and he'd been out of sorts ever since.

He didn't do deep and meaningful conversations, especially not with women who knew the score. But she'd been so damn vulnerable he couldn't help himself. He'd wanted to reassure her that he wasn't the kind of guy to break her heart, yet that's exactly what he would do.

He could see it playing out so clearly. Despite telling her he would move on shortly, he saw the gleam in her eyes: she wanted more. More than a guy like him could give any woman.

So he'd taken his foul mood out on his workmen, something he never did. For all he knew, Mike had probably called Rick and ordered him here to calm him down. He'd fire Mike's sneaky ass if the guy wasn’t a shit-hot electrician.

"Is Hope the woman I spied through the front window of this place?" Rick smirked, annoyingly smug. Yeah, he knew exactly why Logan was edgy and out of sorts.

"Yep."

"Try using bigger words next time."

Logan flipped Rick the middle finger.

"She's pretty, in that English rose kind of way," Rick said, oblivious to the minefield he tread.

Logan was all talked out for today. "Leave it alone—"

"You like her." Rick studied him, appraising and shrewd, nothing like his usual jocular self. "I've never seen you like this on a job, so it has to be about her."

Logan knew he'd have to give his friend something or he wouldn't let up. Rick didn’t tolerate bullshit, yet another thing they had in common. "We're hanging out. No biggie."

Rick guffawed and slugged him on the shoulder. "Never thought I'd see the day, the great wanderer falling for a woman."

"We're fucking, that's it," Logan said, instantly regretting the declaration, feeling disloyal to Hope for belittling the sensational physical connection they shared.

"Yeah, right." Rick shook his head. "You're such a schmuck. What's wrong with admitting you like her?"

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