Harriet ignored Lori’s text, but a few minutes later, another came through. I know you read the message, I can see you opened it.
Darn! She had to give her friend something to placate her. The date was good, although we never got as far as eating. No way was Lori going to let her get away with just that.
And?
And we went for a walk after.
And?
Harriet sighed. We talked and kissed on a park bench.
Her phone rang, and she reluctantly answered it.
“Oh my God! How was it? Is he a good kisser, was it a peck, or were tongues involved?”
“Lori! Yes, Logan is a very good kisser.”
“I knew it! See, I told you this would work. What else happened? Did you sleep with him?”
“Lori, please, I don’t want to talk about this. Just give me a few days to get used to things, ok? Please don’t tell the others.”
“My lips are sealed. Um, just say yes or no.”
“To what?”
“My question. Did you sleep with Logan Jackson?”
Harriet closed her eyes, Lori would hound her until she confessed. “Yes. And that is all the information I am giving you.”
The squeal down the phone almost ruptured Harriet’s eardrum. “Good Lord, Lori.”
“Okay, I’m going to let you go. But I want a full report before you tell anyone else. Now, what do you think, navy or cream?”
“What?”
“The Kate Spade purse I just won, should I go for navy or cream?”
“Goodbye, Lori.”
Harriet ended the call but couldn’t help smiling at her friend. She finished getting dressed and headed down to the bar.
Even though it was only just seven, the place was already busy. Jackson’s reputation for good food brought out the crowds, even on a Monday. When she went to the bar, Logan caught sight of her and winked. She watched him as he dealt with his customers, a bar towel over his shoulder. Mmm, she hadn’t really noticed before just how sexy Logan Jackson was. It was an effortless sexiness. He didn’t have to try, or dress up. The man looked good in jeans and that black tee, with the bar logo on it.
Even though he was flat out all night, Logan stole minutes here and there to talk to her, and once he even followed her to the bathroom so he could procure a kiss. Harriet found she liked this secret between them, the surreptitious glances, the winks from across the bar, and her phone buzzing now and then with the naughty little messages he sent.
When he finally closed the door on his last customer, he prowled across the bar to her and scooped her into his arms. “That was torture.” His mouth found hers and he stole her breath as he claimed a night’s worth of kisses.
He stepped back from her and turned serious. “I can’t do that again.”
“Huh, should I stay upstairs? I don’t want to disturb you while you work.”
“What? No. I love having you down here with me. I mean, I think we have to go public. Do you know how many times I almost kissed you in front of everyone?”
“You sure about this? It’s so sudden, and…”
“Harriet, I reckon I have always been sure about you. I know you almost as well as you know yourself. We’ve been friends for eight years, baby.”
She smiled up at him and nodded. They may have only stumbled into this relationship twenty-four hours ago, but in some ways it did feel like they had landed eight years into it. Their long friendship, might as well have been a long courtship. They’d grown up together, and their devotion to each other had grown stronger every year.
None of it felt forced; in fact, Harriet couldn’t understand why she hadn’t seen this earlier. She put her hands to his chest and reached up to kiss him. “This feels right, doesn’t it?”
“Yeah, it does, baby.”
“Okay, then we should tell the girls.”
“And Sarah.”
Harriet giggled. “I think Sarah should become one of the girls. I should introduce her. After all, she and Lori seem to have hit it off big time.”
Harriet and Logan managed to live in their newly constructed bubble for a few days longer. Katie was on a business trip for the first half of the week, and RoryLynn was sick for the latter part of the week.
“Um, do you think I should move out?” Harriet traced her hand over Logan’s bare chest. They were lying in his bed, and she was snuggled against him after being woken by his fingers exploring her body at six a.m. Harriet was getting used to her early morning fun with Logan, and found it was a delicious way to start the day.
“No. I think you should move in here, in my room, permanently. We could convert the other room to a study so you have a place to work on your designs.”
Harriet chewed on her lip. “Seriously?”
“I am deadly serious. What’s the point in you moving out? We both already know this will work, and… even before we became involved, I’d gotten used to you being here.”
Marlow jumped on the bed and climbed over Logan, squeezing himself into the tight space between them. He turned around a few times, and then settled, closed his eyes, and purred as Harriet and Logan stroked him. “Besides, this way, I get to have Marlow back on my bed. He likes to be where you are.”
She tickled the ginger cat’s ears. “Well, I guess for the sake of you bonding with your cat, I had better just move my stuff in here.”
Logan’s grin supersized. “I’ll make room in the closet. Heck you can have the whole closet if you like, I’ll buy an extra dresser and shove my stuff in there.”
Harriet wrapped her hands around his neck and tugged him towards her. “Oh, I think the closet will be big enough for the both of us. We can take the junk out of it and store that in the closet in my room.”
“Junk? I’ll have you know none of my stuff is
