Page 56 of The Wanderer

This way, he was making sacrifices too. He'd stay in Melbourne some of the time, she could accompany him on the road some of the time. Win-win.

Now all he had to do was convince her.

"Just so you know, women rarely change their minds, mate." Rick held up his hand, the gold wedding band on his ring finger shining in the morning sunshine. "And you don't need one of these to know it."

Logan hoped he could convince Hope to change hers. "Hope and I are on the same page. She wants to be with me, she said as much last night. But she doesn't want to give up her business and neither do I, so this should work for both of us."

Rick held up his hands in mock surrender. "Hey, I'm not the one that needs convincing. But if your relationship does take the next logical step towards long term commitment, be prepared that one of you may have to give up everything."

Logan didn't want to contemplate that yet. He knew he was in for a fight trying to sway her to accompany him on the road even some of the time. And he had to do it. He couldn't be the only one compromising, but spending longer periods of time in Melbourne would be a good start. He wouldn't do long distance. It hadn't worked for his folks and it sure as hell wouldn't work for him. He wanted all of Hope all the time and if that made him a selfish prick, so be it.

His plan was totally doable. Time in Melbourne for her life, time on the road for his. Simple.

Then why did his gut gripe at the thought it was anything but?

"Good luck, mate." Rick slapped him on the back. "Hope it works out for you. And in the meantime, I'm ready to step up in the company, in any role you need me."

"Thanks, I couldn't do this without you." Logan pulled Rick in for a man-hug that lasted the requisite less than five-seconds. "I'll email you the revised job description and the upcoming quotes I'll need you to do."

An uncharacteristic sombreness made Rick hesitate. "Do you want to wait and see what your girl says before you go ahead with the company restructuring?"

It had crossed Logan's mind that Hope may still say no to his new proposal. But he hadn't got this far in life by second-guessing decisions. He'd left home at eighteen to live in a big city, supporting himself. He'd embarked on his career with gusto. He'd launched his company with loans and a will to succeed. If he’d dithered over any of those life choices he'd still be stuck in Rally-Doo mourning his mum and hating his dad.

So he wouldn't hold back on this plan with Hope. He was all-in. And if he failed, he'd deal with the fallout then.

"Regardless of what happens with Hope, I think it's time I cut back on the constant travel and put down some roots for a while." He pointed at the rolled up newspaper on the table they'd just vacated. "Dad's done a feature interview today. He's got some gigs in Melbourne for the foreseeable future so I thought it wouldn't hurt to spend more time here, getting to know him too.”

"That's great." Rick's goofy grin returned. "You're a changed man and I like it."

When Rick held out his arms again, Logan waved him away. "Cut the sentimental bullshit and get back to work."

"Sure thing, Boss." He snapped a quick salute. "Let me know how it all goes."

Logan nodded, determined that nothing would stop him from presenting his plan to Hope and convincing her to agree.

Chapter Thirty

It had taken Hope five long, lonely days to figure out what she really wanted out of life.

Her song Yearning had gone gangbusters, downloads increasing exponentially each day, with the resultant airplay and feedback equally astounding. She'd launched a new song for an unknown artist that was already climbing the indie charts, and she had enough bookings for her recording studio to keep her busy for the next year. She should be floating.

Instead, when she walked into her apartment at the end of a long day and toed off her shoes, the emptiness crashed over her. She loved her place, a sanctuary from the increasing demands of her job. Ironic, that in launching her dream, she'd achieved what she'd always wanted, an endless stream of music and almost every hour of the day filled with creative energy, yet it wasn't enough.

She craved…more.

And that more was in the shape of one very tall, very hot, very rugged, Aussie builder CEO.

So after her sixth sleepless night in a row, she instigated steps to satisfy her craving.

She knew several experienced musicians in the indie scene in Melbourne and she'd just interviewed her third for the day. She needed a part-time manager, someone to shoulder the load alongside her, freeing up more of her time to chase another dream.

Happiness.

She gave the interviewee the usual wind-up spiel and walked him to the door, leaping back in surprise when it flung open to reveal a mussed, unshaven, crazy man on the other side.

Logan.

"I'll be in touch," she said to the interviewee, managing to keep her voice from quivering when every nerve ending in her body had gone on hyper alert at the sight of Logan.

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