Page 24 of Logan

“That is very kind of you to offer,” Farrah said, her smile not reaching her eyes. “But I will have to speak to my husband. He…does not often have time to socialize. His work with university students takes up a great deal of time.”

“Well, he has to eat sometime, doesn’t he?” she asked, returning her smile. “But if not, then we can get together forcoffee or tea or something. You could tell me the best places to shop.”

Farrah’s smile faltered. “Of course. It would be an honor to have tea with you sometime. I… well, my husband has me go to the grocery on Thursday afternoons, and there really is only the one store close by.”

A slight movement in her peripheral vision caught Vivian’s eye. A man looked out of the window, his hand pulling the curtain partially back. Too far away to determine whether he was one of the men in the pictures, she continued smiling at Farrah.

Hearing Logan’s truck rumbling down the road, she quickly stepped back. “Oops, I need to get dinner started. I’ll talk to you soon, and we’ll figure something out. Nice to meet you, Farrah.”

“You too, Vivian.”

Hurrying back to her car, she reached inside the trunk to take out the bag she had placed there earlier. Seeing Logan’s narrowed eyes on her, she smiled as he parked next to the house. Rushing over to him as he stepped out of the truck, she threw her arms around his neck while giving a little hop, causing him to catch her as she wrapped her legs around his waist.

Logan’s arms encircled her waist as she plastered her front to his. She had no doubt his fast action was due to surprise and instinct, but she was also shocked at how her body reacted to being held by his. It was as though she fit perfectly against him. Her romance novels would have described it as two halves creating a whole. Or maybe the steamier ones would have said his hold awakened the parts of her that had slumbered too long. And she knew just what parts they would have referred to.

“Viv,” his deep voice rumbled in her ear, jerking her back to the present.

“Hey, sweetie!” she called out, tamping down her desire and plastering a joyful smile on her face.

14

Stunned, Logan held on to Vivian as she clung to him. He’d seen jungle monkeys not hold on to trees as tightly. Concern sent his heart racing. “Viv, what’s wrong?”

Placing her mouth close to his, she whispered, “Is she looking?”

Blinking slowly, he crinkled his brow as he glanced over her shoulder, then returned to her face. “She was, but she’s headed back inside.” He held her easily, finding her weight in his arms comforting. And as she wiggled slightly, his comfort quickly became discomfort as his cock reacted to the beautiful woman plastered to him. Her breasts were pressed against his chest, the soft feel against his hard body making his growing erection hard to ignore. He was still uncertain of why she clung to him so tightly, but the smile on her face gave evidence she wasn’t in danger.

“Just in case she or the man inside who was peeking out the window earlier are at the window watching now, we should stay like this for a moment,” she whispered. “I told her we were newlyweds, and she’d expect me to greet you this way.”

Dawning slid over him as he continued to hold her in his arms, enjoying the feel of her body pressed to him more than hewanted to admit. “Oh, she would, would she?” he said, keeping his mouth close to her cheek.

“I tried to invite her over for tea, thinking that would be a way to get to know her without her getting suspicious.”

Holding her close, Logan felt her warm breath wash over his cheek, and he fought the urge to wish her lips were closer. “I think it’s safe now.” His gruff voice effectively sliced through the distraction that was Viv in his arms. Irritated that she had made contact with the neighbors without a plan or him around, he forced his arms to loosen, afraid they might go from holding her waist to throttling her neck.

Startled, she settled back on her heels with a jolt. “Uh…yeah. Right.” Turning quickly, she walked toward the front door with him following. Once inside, she faced him again, only this time from a respectable distance. “I went over to introduce myself to her.”

Cocking his head to the side, he placed his hands on his hips and said, “You should have waited for me.”

“Oh, no. I didn’t go to their door. I just waited until I saw her come out, and then I went out like I was going to my car to get something. I stowed a bag there just in case the opportunity arose. And it did! It was easy to introduce myself to her.”

“And what name did you give her?” he asked, his voice unyielding.

“Uh…Vivian?” she said, a question in her tone. “You and I didn’t talk about names, did we?” Her smile fell as she muttered, “Damn.”

“You should have waited, Viv. I’m the one with experience planning. I’m the one who has to anticipate what they might think or do.” He worked to keep his voice steady, but his words held an undercurrent of anger.

“But it seemed like such a good idea. Really spontaneous.”

“Did you give your last name? Did you say Sanders?”

“No. No,” she hurried to say. “I just told her my name was Vivian. And she just said she was Farrah.”

A relieved breath rushed out of Logan as he dropped his chin to his chest, closing his eyes on the way down. A soft touch reached his arms, and his eyes jerked open again. Vivian stood right in front of him, her face peering up into his, her dark eyes searching.

“I’m sorry, Logan. I just saw her and wanted so much to make contact. I figured they might get suspicious of us if they never saw us out together. Now they know we’re a newly married couple who just moved in. I thought you being gone would be a good thing, not knowing if she would approach if you were here.”

Nodding slowly, he reached up. His fingers itched to cup her cheek but rested on her shoulders instead. “Right. It’s done, and it appears nothing untoward occurred. But”—he pinned her with a stormy stare—“from now on, you don’t make a move unless I know about it. I don’t want them inside this house any more than I want you over there. Agreed?”

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