“I’m just getting out. Hang on.”
Fuck. As if flashbacks of her big lip-lock on him weren’t enough, now he had to sit through their phone call wondering if her nipples were hard from having gone from hot to cold. Or whether or not her hair was wet, dripping down her body. Or said nipples.
“I’m back. Now, yes you know me too well. I was daydreaming about going. But I can’t accept your offer.”
“Yes, you can. It’s number one on your bucket list.” The huskiness in his voice was thick as he spoke. He was trying really hard not to imagine what she looked like sans clothing.
“I know. But it would be too much. I could never repay you, Logan.”
“You wouldn’t repay me. It would be my treat. Truthfully, it’s being paid for by the company. I already negotiated for you to go—that was partly why I agreed to go on such short notice.”
“What? Logan, you can’t do that.”
“I already did it. Come on, Cinderella. You have absolutely no reason to say no, now.”
“You’re forgetting Lolita. That is the biggest reason of all.”
“I didn’t forget Lolita. I’ve already scheduled it to overlap with the two days you’re closed for the week. Technically, you will only miss three days of work. Four at the most.”
“Logan,” she sighed into the receiver. Was she still naked? “I know you mean well, but this isn’t a good idea. I’m not sure Brandi can cover for me. Especially for three days.”
“Don’t start stressing out, Gabriella. I will help you figure out whatever you need. Just imagine….Japan. With me. First Class. All paid for by REEVES.”
He pulled the phone away from his ear as Gabbie squealed in excitement. “This would be like a dream come true. And First Class? Are you serious?”
“You know Jack, only the best. You haven’t given me an answer though.”
“Logan, I have to talk to Brandi first before I can commit. What are the dates we would be gone?”
He told her the dates, once again pulling the phone away from his ear as she squealed in delight mentioning something about the cherry blossoms. Logan shook his head. It felt good to make her this excited. Honestly, hearing her excitement and knowing it was going to be him that got to share this monumental moment with her, turned him on. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to bring up their kiss the other night and her crazy idea. She assured him that she had meant what she said, but he still had reservations about the entire thing.
His problem was that he wanted to sleep with her because he was attracted to her, not just to feed her curiosity. He wanted to seduce her slowly, kissing every inch of her curvaceous body, sucking and biting every place his lips touched. He wanted to give it to her right. He wanted to give it to her so well that she, in turn, would desperately want him just as much. Enough so that she would forget about the best friend’s thing.
That led to the problem of their friendship. What if his great plan didn’t actually work that way? What if Gabriella still only thought of him as a friend? Never letting her feelings cloud her judgment of what could be between them? He had been thinking about her non-stop since he got to the City and the more he thought about it, the more being attracted to her made sense. He knew her, knew what she liked and didn’t like. He knew more about her than the chef ever would, and she knew everything about him. Hell, his family adored her. Maybe this trip to Japan would convince her they could be better together as a couple than as friends.
And what an exotic place to sleep together Japan would be.
He hadn’t consciously been thinking that when he negotiated for Jack to pay her way. Like a true gentleman, he had been thinking it was her number one place to visit in the whole world and knew he couldn’t go there without her.
However, sitting here on the phone with her while she was hopefully still…bare, he was having ungentlemanly thoughts. He adjusted his pants as he envisioned what her heavy tits looked like as she lay on her bed. Knowing that she would be okay sleeping with him because she “trusted him not to get her pregnant” and Japan was her number one, had been a smart idea. Brilliant on his part.
“So, do you want to go with me?” She asked.
“What? Go where?”
“Gee, daydreaming much? I just told you, Marilyn and Blake are having a picnic this weekend. Will you come with me? Do you think Lucy would mind?”
“I’ve already told you she is not my keeper. Yes, I’ll go.” He refrained from asking about the chef.
“Good. Tell me, how was your day at the firm?”
Logan expelled a deep breath. “Good. Our meetings went pretty well. Hiroshi is one of my father’s longest and most affluent clients. He would be offended if I declined the invitation to his country. I just don’t know, Gabbie. Aside from the job, I’m not sure I could live here. It’s crowded—everywhere you turn, there are people. I’m not sure there is ever a lull of tourists. The constant honking and cars weaving in and out of traffic—when they can even move, it’s crazy. It’s not Windsor. Not by a long shot. And I’ve told you before how the people are different here. Much more blunt than home. They don’t smile and wave here.”
She laughed. “That’s the Midwest for you, we’re a friendly bunch!”
“It’s going to take a lot of hands-on work on my part in order to run his company successfully.”
“So, you
