She hadn’t drunk any champagne yet, but she’d had plenty of mini-margaritas. And as far as kissing a handsome man? Well, she’d done that, too, except for the moonlight part.
“And the part where you went scurrying away like a mouse,” she reminded herself. Other than that, the kiss had been pretty darn dreamy.
The mild breeze whispered across her shoulders, ruffling her hair. Nudging her sandals off, she walked in bare feet through the cool sand. Oh, yes, she’d definitely had one too many mini-drinks, but she felt wonderful. At the water’s edge she stopped, then had the strongest urge to keep on going. Touching the water with her toes, she discovered it was tepid. Not too cold, not too warm. Just right. And wouldn’t it be delightful to swim in the moonlight?
“It’s not safe to swim alone at night.”
She whirled around. Logan stood behind her. “Oh, hello. I didn’t hear you coming.”
Logan came closer. “The sand swallows the sound of footsteps.”
She smiled at his poetic words. “Are you taking a walk in the moonlight?”
“It appears I am.”
“Isn’t it beautiful?” she said, and spun around to take it all in.
Logan grabbed her before she stumbled straight into the shallow water.
“Oops,” she said, and giggled.
“Have you had a few drinks tonight, Grace?” he asked as he pulled her closer to him. She wished he would smile again. He had such a nice smile. She couldn’t seem to get it out of her mind.
Had he asked her a question? Oh, yes.
“I have,” she said, resting her head on his chest because it seemed so inviting. “But it was strictly for business purposes. I was taking a test.”
“A test?” he said, rubbing her back in a slow circle. “Which test was that?”
She could hear in the tone of his voice that he was smiling. She liked that tone, too, and gazed up at him. “Dee calls it the cocktail quiz.”
“Ah. And how did you do?”
“I passed with flying colors because I’m very smart. Do you know how smart I am?”
“You’ve mentioned several times that you’re very smart indeed,” he said.
“But you don’t know how smart I really am,” she said, pointing her finger at his face, which was slightly blurry around the edges. “If you knew, you’d run for the hills.”
“You said that before, too,” he murmured, wrapping his hand around her finger. “But you’re wrong.”
“I think you’re very handsome,” she said, staring at him keenly.
He chuckled. “And I think you’re toasted.”
She thought about it, then nodded. “I think you’re right. And I’m okay with that.”
“Glad to hear it,” he said, his arms wrapped securely around her waist. “Shall I walk you to your room now?”
She looked up at the night sky, then at him. “Aren’t you going to kiss me again?”
“Do you want me to kiss you?”
“Yes, please,” she whispered. “Under the moonlight, if you don’t mind.”
“Well, since you ask so politely…” He touched his lips to hers in a kiss so gentle, so sweet, so warm, Grace wanted to melt in his arms.
“Just like a dream,” she uttered, feeling as if she were floating on air. Was she melting for real? She felt as light as a feather. Then she felt nothing at all.
Logan caught her as she slid downward, boneless and out cold. Lifting her effortlessly into his arms, he was thankful he’d decided to take a walk out to the beach to catch a few minutes of fresh air before heading to his suite for the night. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have had a chance to rescue Grace from a night spent sleeping on the sand.
As he carried her across the terrace, he hoped like hell she wouldn’t wake up with too bad a hangover in the morning. He had a feeling she didn’t indulge very often, so she was probably going to pay for taking the cocktail quiz.
He reached her room and used his own master-key card to open it. Stepping inside, he let the door close behind him and carried her over to her bed to lay her down. Once she was settled, he glanced around her room and saw the elaborate setup she’d arranged on her table and across the top of her dresser. It was a portable laboratory complete with a serious-looking microscope, state-of-the-art laptop and some contraption with a toggle switch and digital readout screen that measured something or other. There was a small scale next to a plastic thing that held glass cylinders suspended in a row, several of which had tubes attached that wound around and emptied into nearby beakers.
If he didn’t know her better, he might’ve thought she’d set up a still to make whiskey.
He glanced back at Grace, who was snoring softly. She would probably freak out when she woke up in the morning and realized that her boss had been the one who’d carried her to bed.
She wore cropped pants and a thin blouse and he pondered the idea of taking her clothes off. She would sleep better wearing just her underwear, right?
He enjoyed the image of her waking up and seeing herself in panties and a bra. How quickly would she grasp that it had been Logan who’d undressed her?
Ah, well, it was a nice fantasy. One he wouldn’t be carrying out tonight.
But soon. Very soon.
This time, though, he would allow her to keep her clothes on because that’s the kind of guy he was. Pulling the lightweight comforter over her, he turned off the lights and left her alone to sleep off the cocktail quiz.
Five
He found her late the next morning, sitting in an overstuffed rattan chair in the shady portion of the terrace. She wore dark glasses and a light pink sweater and was sipping something thick and red.
“Is that a Bloody Mary you’re drinking?” he asked.
Grace looked up at him and tried to smile, but it was a bit shaky. “Dear God, no. No alcohol for me, thank you.” She stared with suspicion at the concoction, then back at Logan. “It’s something Joey mixed up. Supposed to be good for me because of my…um, hay fever.”
“Hay fever.” He grinned. “Is that what they’re calling it these days?
“All right, fine,” she said, pouting. “I’m a little under the weather. But it’s all your fault.”
He barked out a laugh. “My fault?”
“Of course.”
“This I’ve got to hear.” He sat in the chair next to her. “How is your hangover my fault?”
She turned slowly in her chair and faced him. “I was investigating ways to improve my job performance last night.”
“Ah. And in order to improve your skills at carrying drinks, you got drunk, apparently deciding to carry those drinks on the
She frowned briefly. “Exactly.”
He chuckled. “That’s a new one.”
She hunched a bit lower in her chair and glared at him. “It’s true.”
“Sweetheart, nobody said anything about you having to drink the same stuff your customers order.”
“But I thought it would be good to know how the different drinks taste. That way I can give advice to people who ask for recommendations.”
“That’s thoughtful of you, but it doesn’t excuse Dee from overserving you.”
Grace grabbed his arm. “Don’t you dare yell at Dee. She’s my friend.”
Logan’s eyes focused on her soft hand on his arm. “I have no intention of yelling at her.”
