“I wasn’t embarrassed, Harriet.” He looked at her sheepishly. “Just scared that kissing you messed stuff up between us.”
She laughed half-heartedly. “Why would it? It was just a kiss, no big deal.” Even as she said it, she knew she didn’t mean it.
He sighed and looked into her eyes. “See, that’s where we differ. For me, it was a big deal. One I haven’t been able to stop thinking about.”
“You haven’t?” Her heart rate sped up.
“No. In fact, it has been just the opposite. I can’t think of anything else. Don’t you see, I kissed you because I was drunk. It was the only way I had the nerve to do it. I have wanted to kiss you for a very long time, Harriet.”
She stared back at him.
“Please say something.”
Harriet cleared her throat. “I’m not sure what to say. Actually, I’m not sure I really understand what you are saying. You stood me up when we had a chance to…”
He took her hands. “Forget all that. That was just another level of stupid on my behalf. The fact is, I no longer think about you as just a friend. I’d like there to be something more between us. I’d like to kiss you again, take you on a date, see if we can be good together.”
Harriet took a deep breath as she took it all in. A flutter started up in her stomach, and as it grew, tingles spread through her body. This man, masquerading as L.J. and standing her up, suddenly seemed unimportant. Logan wanted to kiss her, wanted to be more than just friends, and if she was honest with herself, she wanted that, too.
“I think, I’d like that.”
Logan grinned back at her. “You would? Are you sure?”
She nodded. “As sure as I can be. I’m not going to lie, that kiss was a total surprise, but,” she blushed, “it was very nice.”
He smirked at her and reached out and traced his thumb across her cheek. “Only nice?”
“Okay, it was more than nice, it was pretty hot.”
He shook his head. “I can’t believe we are talking about this. I seriously thought I’d messed everything up.”
“We are better friends than that. Oh, God! But what if this doesn’t work out? Can we still be that?”
“I think we will have to deal with that if it happens. Harriet, I can’t predict the future, but then part of the fun is going along with the present, don’t you think? I don’t know about you, but being just friends isn’t enough anymore.” Logan wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. “Please, Harriet, don’t stay mad at me.”
His face lowered to hers a little, and she linked her hands around his neck, and tugged him closer. “Then you’d better kiss me, Logan Jackson, so I can see if you’re worth it.”
He grinned down at her. “You’ll let me?”
Harriet nodded, and the next moment, he crushed her to him. His mouth was eager, rough, and hungry as he devoured her. Without a moment’s hesitation, Harriet kissed him back.
When they eventually parted, Harriet’s head was swimming, and all she could do was trace a finger over her lips as she stared at him in stunned silence. Logan chuckled, and took hold of her hand. He led them out of the park, across the road, and over to the bar.
Just as they reached Jackson’s, Harriet caught sight of her girlfriends through the window. “Oh, no. The Spanish Inquisition are waiting for us.”
Logan followed her gaze. “Do they know about our blind date?”
“I swore Lori to secrecy.”
“Okay, then we could sneak in through the kitchen.”
“How will we make it to the stairs without being seen?”
“I’ll send Sarah to distract them. After this, she owes me one.”
They ran around to the back of Jackson’s and slipped in though the kitchen entrance. Sarah was just coming out of the cellar and was startled by them as they flew in through the back door. “How was the date?”
“I’ll let you know tomorrow,“ Logan growled. “Right now, I need you to give us some cover so Harriet’s friends don’t see us.”
Harriet giggled, as she looked over at him and saw the smoldering look in his eyes.
The ruse almost worked. They made it halfway up the staircase before Harriet heard Katie shout. “Harriet, come join us.”
She froze on the step, and looked over at Logan, and he cringed. “You wanna go down?” He gave her the option, but she could see that he had a whole different agenda on his mind.
“Let’s pretend we didn’t hear them.”
He raised his eyebrow. “All of New York state heard Katie.”
Harriet giggled, and ran up the stairs.
17
Logan
Logan was not sure how his evening got turned around so much, but he was grateful to Sarah and Lori for helping Harriet to mastermind this match-making ruse. He’d only ever been on one blind date, and it seemed like the success rate was one hundred percent! But then that is what happens if you have a blind date that throws you a curveball.
As he sat cuddling and kissing Harriet on the sofa, he wondered why they hadn’t made this journey sooner. It seemed like they had both taken an inordinate amount of time to get on the same page.
Eventually, the TV they had put on and hadn’t watched went black and a message asked them if they were still viewing. Logan turned it off. “Guess it’s late.”
Logan was reluctant to leave the sofa and go to his room, as he was enjoying this intimate time with Harriet. He was also wondering if, in the cold light of morning, either of them would regret this change in dynamics.
Harriet wriggled out from the nook under his arm, and he held on to her hand for a moment, not quite wanting to let her go. She looked over her shoulder at her room. “Your place or mine?”
“We don’t have to rush things.” Although his words were sincere, Logan
