Sarah’s little nugget about how Logan had confided in her after the kiss had thrilled her. He did want to cross over that line with her. Excitement and trepidation mixed in her stomach, and she knew they both needed to try this. But Sarah had also told her Logan would never make the first move.
This blind date thing had been Lori’s idea, and, honestly, Harriet thought he would smell a rat straight away. But then the more she considered it, the more merit she could see in it. Perhaps meeting on neutral ground and getting both their feelings out in the open was just what they needed to bring them closer.
She narrowed her eyes at what Logan just said. After L.J. stood her up, leaving her embarrassed and mortified, she’d shelved the idea that he could be Logan. Her friend would never have left her there, looking like a fool. So, why was Logan bringing up the guy now? “How did you know he stood me up?”
Logan turned pale. “Um, one of the girls said, I think.”
“No, they didn’t. Logan, what do you know about L.J.?”
He looked down at this drink. “I thought you’d guessed.”
“Guessed what?” Harriet folded her arms across her chest.
“That I was, um, I mean, am L.J.”
Her jaw dropped open, but before she could say anything else, their server appeared and lit the candles on the table and placed a rose in the little vase. Both Logan and Harriet’s eyes fell on it. “We have a special romantic dinner for two, it includes…”
Harriet held up her hand. “Could you give us a few more minutes, please?”
“Sure.”
Harriet regarded the rose, then blew out the candle. “You pretended to be L.J.?”
“No. I’ve had that profile for years.”
“But why don’t you use your real name?”
“It is my real name. I was called that when I was younger. But honestly, I wanted to distance myself from Jackson’s bar, so I resurrected it, and I used that picture so my customers didn’t recognize me.”
She frowned at him. “You liked my picture.”
“That’s because you liked mine.”
Harriet lowered her voice. “But I didn’t know that was you.”
He took a sip of wine. “I didn’t set out to deceive you.”
“You didn’t think to explain when I messaged you?”
“I know I should have, but I liked messaging with you. It was a little exciting, getting to know you in a different way.”
Harriet pushed her chair back from the table and placed the napkin in front of her. “You let me beg to meet you, and then you stood me up. I waited ages for you at that Starbucks…”
“I’m sorry. I was there, outside, but I thought you’d hate me, so I chickened out.”
“Well, you got that right! I do hate you, Logan Jackson. You made a fool out of me.” Harriet grabbed her purse and ran from the restaurant. Tears stung her eyes as she ran down the road.
“Harriet, wait!”
She looked over her shoulder and saw Logan emerging from the restaurant. Harriet quickened her pace and slipped into the park, hoping he hadn’t seen her. She ran across the grass and found a bench in the corner, hidden in the shadows.
A few seconds later, she watched him enter the small park and look around. There was really nowhere for her to hide, and he spotted her straight away.
Logan strode towards her, and for a second, she wondered if she could outrun him. But then he was in front of her. “Harriet, please, can we talk?”
She stood up and tried to walk around him. “I’m too mad to talk to you now.”
He put his hands on her shoulders holding her still. “Please don’t run away from me, Harriet.”
“Logan, I don’t know what you want me to say. You lied to me, you let me believe…”
“I didn’t lie. Everything we exchanged was real. Believe me, I didn’t mean any of this to happen, Harriet, but somehow, my feelings for you changed. I didn’t plan it, there was no hidden agenda, I just fell in love with you.”
She stared up at him, and as their eyes met, she could tell he was telling the truth. Her anger melted away. This was Logan, the man she had loved as a friend for so long, the man she turned to when her relationship broke up, or if she had any type of crises in her life, and he was the man she more recently had begun to have her own feelings about.
“Why did you kiss me?”
He looked relieved and grinned at her. “Ah, so you do remember that?”
How could I forget it, you fool! She hadn’t been able to stop thinking about his lips on hers. It had gotten so bad, she’d started to dream about Logan, and in those dreams, she was not just his friend. Far from it!
Honestly, she’d been so confused since then. Even though she tried to convince herself that kiss hadn’t meant anything, she couldn’t stop herself from seeing Logan in a whole new light. A very sexy, very attractive, I wouldn’t mind kissing him again, sort of new light.
She folded her arms in front of her and threw his words back at him. “So, you do remember it, too?”
“Of course, I remember. Jeez. I’m so sorry, Harriet. I was drunk and…”
Harriet’s heart sank again. Drunk! Was he seriously going to excuse himself with that? Damn it, she should never have let Lori and Sarah talk her into this! The night was turning into a disaster. “…well, you never said anything, and I thought…”
“I didn’t want to embarrass you, so I kept quiet. Maybe I should have just slapped your face.” She threw her hands in the air in exasperation. “Let’s forget the whole thing. I shouldn’t have set this date up, it was stupid. I just felt that because
