Page 52 of The Pumpkin Spice Cafe
And she was here now. He’d be a fool to waste it.
* * *
Logan’s fingers dug into Jeanie’s hips, a delicious pressure. Her hands rested on his chest, and she ran them over his shoulders and back again, just savoring the breadth of him, the solidness.
She realized this was why she’d come.
Not just to feel him up, although that was definitely part of it.
No, it was because in the short time she’d been here, Logan had become a grounding presence for her. Even when things felt like a mess at the café, or she wasn’t sure she belonged here, or she wasn’t sure how to be the Jeanie she was aiming for, being around Logan just made her feel ... right. Like she could figure all the rest out, but she wanted him around to talk to at the end of the day. To bounce ideas off. To tell her it was going to be okay.
He was comforting; safe.
But also sexy as hell. He reminded her by pulling her closer and dropping his mouth to the soft skin behind her ear. His lips trailed kisses along her jawline until he found her mouth.
‘This mouth.’ His voice was a low rumble. His hands skated up her sides, brushing over the curve of her hips, the dip of her waist, the side of her breasts. ‘This body,’ he groaned.
She kissed him, catching his groan, savoring the vibration of it coursing through her.
Jeanie was quickly learning that Logan didn’t do anything halfway, including kissing her. He didn’t rush. He took his time. He wasthorough. Jeanie had never been kissed like that before. It was like he could kiss her all day; like he would never tire of it. Like kissing wasn’t just a means to an end.
But Jeanie didn’t want to kiss all night. She had other plans, or at least she did until the knock at the door.
The knock might as well have been gunshots for how quickly Logan reacted.
His hands pulled away from her body so fast she got whiplash. He took a step back and then another, putting as much space between them as he could. His face above his beard was a bright, embarrassed red. His blue eyes were wide with guilt or fear, or something else entirely; something like regret.
He tore away from her like they’d been caught holding the murder weapon while hovering suspiciously over the dead body and laying out their evil plan loud enough for everyone to hear.
He jumped away from her, like he might catch fire if he touched her.
He dropped his hands from her body, like he couldn’t bear the thought of anyone knowing what they’d been up to these past few weeks.
And suddenly, this secret relationship was less fun.
She watched Logan run a hand through his hair as he walked to the door. She listened as he spoke to the person on the other side. Something about a shipment coming in early. And by the time he’d closed the door and turned back to her, the moment was thoroughly ruined.
Suddenly, the warnings from her new friends were ringing in her head. Warnings about Logan falling hard, about Logan having his heart broken. So many warnings about treading carefully around this man and trying not to hurt him. But for the first time since they started this secret thing between them, she wondered who was protectingherfrom getting hurt.
It had seemed like a good idea when they started, like a low-pressure way for them to have some fun, but now things were twisted in her gut. Things were less fun when she could see how this ended. When she could so clearly see hownotover his ex he was. When she could feel how much she’d let herselflikethis man, to come todependon this man. And she refused to let her feelings for Logan get all tangled up with her feelings about being here.
Whatever happened with Logan, Jeanie liked it here. She liked her new friends and her new book club. She was learning how to be a good owner and boss. She had a cat for goodness’ sake! She couldn’t let suddenly complicated feelings for Logan derail her plans.
‘I should go.’
The crease between Logan’s brow deepened. ‘Jeanie, I—’
‘No, no. It’s fine.’ She waved a hand, brushing off his impending apology. She didn’t want it. She just wanted to go home and untangle her confused thoughts, to tend to her bruised feelings. ‘It’s just that I have some ... uh ... some inventory to do. And Casper needs dinner. You know how pet ownership can be.’ She forced a laugh and tried to move toward the door, but Logan grabbed her hand and stopped her.
‘I’m sorry about that. It was just a work thing, but you know how this town talks.’
‘Right. I know. No big deal.’ Her fake smile hurt her cheeks.
‘Jeanie.’ His voice was low, demanding she tell him what was going on inside her head.
‘It’s totally fine, Logan. This is what we agreed on from the beginning. It’s just for us.’
He frowned, his expression darkening. ‘You’re not happy about it.’
