Page 74 of Wild Catch
The thing is that Logan’s hand is huge—it spans the width of my waist easily. And it’s so hot that it feels like a brand, a surprisingly soft one for someone whose skin is calloused by a lifetime of playing sports.
Logan pulls my chair for me and a genuine smile blooms in my face. I don’t remember the last time a guy showed me this bit of consideration. Too bad that it’s just an act.
Following along with that train of thought, I wait for him to take the chair beside mine to scoot closer. This time he doesn’t wait for a cue and reaches his arm over to embrace me. I lean into his side and because my left arm is squished between us, I have no choice but to drop my hand on his thigh. It’s that or cut off my blood flow.
The muscles beneath my hand tense. I look at Logan to confirm if this is not okay—I’ll cut off blood flow for sure if that’s the case. But he’s already looking down at me and our noses brush. I gasp, all thought fleeing from my mind.
Worse, I completely stop breathing as he leans lower, his eyes shifting to my lips for a second. My heart hammers against my chest hard enough that I’m sure he can feel it against his ribs. But at the last second he veers away from my lips and whispers into my ear.
“Comfortable?”
Shutting my eyes tight, I breathe in the masculine pine scent that clings to him and swallow hard. “Oh, yes. Very.”
Oh. My. Word. My voice comes out all throaty and thick and it’s so clear that he’s affecting me that it’s not even funny.
“Me too,” he says before pulling away, forcing me to focus back on reality even though my head is swimming.
What completely snaps me out of the haze is the way that TJ and Freja look at us. There is no amusement in their expressions, or even curiosity, or secondhand embarrassment. I would think those would be normal reactions that parents would have about their adult kids being lovey dovey with their partners. But these two are neutral, except for their eyes.
Completely dead.
A chill crawls up my spine. Maybe Logan senses it, because he holds me slightly tighter.
Freja flips a switch. A smile comes to her and she leans over the table, speaking with a subtle lilting accent I assume comes from her Swedish mother tongue. “I am just dying to know how you made my son fall for you. He’s remarkably closed off, you see.”
“That’s true.” TJ bobs his head. “At times I wonder where he got it from when the rest of us are such extroverts.”
It’s subtle, to the point where I wouldn’t have noticed if Logan hadn’t warned me off them so intensely, but all they seem to do is throw digs at him. Reflexively, my hand tightens over his hard thigh.
“That’s just part of his charm,” I say easily, turning to him like he just plucked the moon from the sky and hung it over this restaurant table for me. “It’s what made me fall for him.”
Logan’s lips twitch but other than that, there’s no further reaction.
“So does that mean that you’re the one who seduced him?” Freja asks. This time she’s unable to disguise the needle thin sharpness from her voice.
Logan catches on right away and speaks for the first time. “There’s been no seducing here. I’m the one who’s been courting her.”
I press my lips tight. That’s too bold of a lie for my sake.
“Is that so?” Freja covers her mouth as she laughs.
“Good evening ladies and gentlemen,” a waitress says with the utmost politeness, showing a wine bottle that she holds partially wrapped in white cloth. “May I offer you a sampling of today’s wine? It pairs deliciously with the house specialty.”
TJ diverts his attention to the waitress and asks her for details on the wine, but I can’t pay any attention when Freja is still looking at me like I’m the most interesting thing she’s ever seen.
They test the wine with great theater, swirling their cups expertly, smelling it, and discussing the richness of its body or whatever. Logan and I stay out of it because neither of us can drink—him because he has a game tomorrow, and me because I have to drive home once the night is over.
Unfortunately, once the nice wine lady leaves, TJ and Freja’s attention turns back to me.
I squirm until Logan’s hand suddenly starts rubbing my arm up and down, gently but with enough pressure to remind me he’s in on this act with me.
“It’s just so striking to see you two,” TJ says, eyes crinkling with a smile that actually doesn’t make his eyes shine. “I never thought I’d see the day when Logan truly cares for someone else. You must be one of a kind if he’s even sharing this special occasion with you.”
“Special occasion?” I ask politely.
“It’s his birthday.” TJ glances at his son.
Logan doesn’t react, which tells me nothing about whether this is true or not. But a girlfriend should know that, and I don’t appreciate how both of his parents watch me like hawks.
