Logan sighed. His father had made a recovery and came home a few weeks later, but it had been a massive heart attack, and the guy wasn’t the same. Logan had dropped out of college and began taking on more and more at Jackson’s bar. Ever since that day, he and Harriet had been friends. Logan didn’t know what he would have done without her support twelve months later, when his dad had a second massive heart attack and passed away.
About a year after that, Harriet had moved back home. Her family owned some sort of holiday ranch over in Colorado. Her father was sick, and she went to help her brother, Miles, run things for a while. They had some falling out a couple of years later, something to do with Miles and his wife divorcing. After that, Harriet came back here and started working at a high-end interior design place. Logan couldn’t have been happier to see her back, and their friendship just picked up where it had left off.
He wandered through the apartment, eating his sandwich, and tidying up a few of his things. He stopped at Harriet’s door and shook his head. It was weird thinking she lived here now, but to be honest it was the best decision he ever made. Since his dad had passed, this place had been kind of lonely. She was fun to come home to.
There was a meow from inside her room, and the next moment Harriet opened the door. She’d put on makeup and styled her hair. “Go find Daddy, puss.” She let Logan’s cat, Marlow, out of the room.
He swept the cat up into his arms. “That’s where you got to.” The traitor of a cat now chose to sleep on Harriet’s bed instead of Logan’s—but then his cat always did have good taste. “Sorry, Harriet, I think he prefers your bed to mine.”
She smiled at him. “It’s no problem, he keeps me company.”
As Harriet disappeared back into her room, Logan tickled Marlow’s ears. “Come on, I’ll give you some milk before I go down.” The cat purred loudly, as if it understood everything Logan said.
As he poured milk into a bowl, Logan wondered if things would have been different if he’d ever had the courage to ask Harriet out all those years ago. It was something he pondered intermittently over the years. He might have tried his luck when she came back from Colorado, but he’d been afraid to screw up their friendship.
Ten minutes later, he was fixing a coffee when Harriet emerged from her room. Damn, she looked amazing all dressed up. For a second, an irrational jealousy came over him as he wondered if she was going on a date. Then he checked himself. She was probably seeing her friends, and even if she wasn’t, it was none of his business.
4 Harriet
Harriet smoothed down the delicate kimono-style top she wore over a black camisole and black skinny jeans. Jules had been terrific at talking her off a cliff and putting together an “appropriate” blind date outfit. It showed she made an effort but was comfortable. It wasn’t too fancy, or too sexy, but it showed off her petite figure and long legs.
She stood in front of Logan, as his eyes roamed over her. “Huh, what do you think?” She put her hands out to the side and twirled around. “Will I do?”
“Wow, you look fantastic. Off with the girls?”
She shook her head and shuffled from foot to foot, unsure if she should tell him. “Please don’t laugh, but I’m going on a blind date.”
She thought she saw Logan’s mouth twitch. But he quickly ran a hand over his chin to disguise his mirth. “A blind date?”
There, she knew it, she should have kept quiet. “Um, yeah. Tashia set me up. A guy she knows.”
“Jeez, not one of her exes?”
Harriet cringed. “This is a terrible idea, isn’t it?”
Logan walked over to her and put his hands on her shoulders. His touch was gentle and somehow brought immediate calm to her. “I’m sure it will be fine. It’s just a date. If you don’t hit it off, you don’t have to see him again.”
“I guess. Oh, God, I feel so nervous.” She laughed to try to break the tension in her shoulders.
He pulled her in for a hug and kissed the top of her head. “Hey, it’s him that should be nervous. Look at you, you’re so beautiful and talented. Whoever he is will have to work damn hard to deserve you.”
She blushed. “Thanks, Logan, I needed that boost.”
He frowned at her. “I’m not just saying that to flatter your ego. I mean it. You are fantastic, and if this blind date is anything less than amazing, kick him to the curb, and come have a drink with me at the bar.”
Harriet picked up her purse and grinned at him. “I will. Oh, by the way, thanks for replacing my car battery, how much do I owe you?”
Logan went into the kitchen and finished making his sandwich. “Oh, I left the receipt over there, don’t worry about it.”
Harriet snatched it up. “Okay, I’ll leave you the money later. Enjoy your dinner and wish me luck.”
As she got to the door, he called after her. “You have my number in your phone. If the guy is a sleaze ball, you call me, all right? I’ll come rescue you.”
“Now, that would mean you playing hero twice in one day! I’m going to take my car,
