“I asked how the restaurant refit was going.” Gray’s voice was full of amusement. “You were somewhere else for a minute.”
Taking a deep breath, Logan brought his attention back to his brother. Even with his gaze firmly averted from the truck, he could still hear the rumble of the engine as it pulled away. He gritted his teeth to keep himself from turning to watch her leave the town square.
He lifted his hand, raking it through his stylishly trimmed dark hair. He’d always prided himself on his appearance. Today he was wearing dress pants and a shirt – his tie rolled up and stuffed in his pocket – thanks to the early morning business meeting he’d had before leaving Boston for his home town.
He’d been living in Boston for years. Ever since he’d graduated and started working in the restaurant business. He’d slowly worked his way up through management, before striking out on his own. Now he owned three – make that almost four – restaurants across the city, all of which were highly rated by critics, thanks to his attention to detail.
“It’s going slowly,” Logan told him, wincing at the memory of his meeting this morning. “We’ve had a few snafus, and a couple of arguments over the building regulations, but we’ll get there. Paris is going in this weekend to make sure we’re on track.” Paris Northman was his business partner. She had been for the last five years. Initially, she’d brought the money while he brought the drive and expertise. But after all this time, they were on a level playing field. Both of them lived for their careers, spending stupid hours at their restaurants, and their free time scouting for new locations.
“Ah, the lovely Paris.” Gray winked at him. “How is she?”
“She’s hot,” Tanner agreed. “You tapping that, bro?”
Logan screwed up his nose. “No. We’re in business together.” And anyway, he hadn’t touched any woman for months. Not since he was last in Hartson’s Creek. Hadn’t had the inclination to, not even when one of his old friends-with-benefits had called him looking for an evening of fun.
He blamed the new restaurant. It was taking all his energy and concentration, leaving no time for things like sex. He was too busy to think about women.
Yeah, you carry on believing that. So why do you have a hard-on just from looking at Courtney Roberts?
“Are we gonna stand around here and gossip all day, or are we gonna go into the bar?” Logan asked them. He already knew his twin – the fourth of the Hartson brothers – was waiting inside for them. Though Cam also lived in Boston, he’d taken a later flight in and headed straight for the Moonlight Bar on the edge of the town square. No doubt wearing a cap down low on his face to hide his identity.
Like Gray, Cam was famous, though for a completely different reason. He played defense for the Boston Bobcats, the town’s NFL team, and was beloved by their legion of fans. Here in Virginia, he was still a familiar face. Logan thanked god that his twin wore his hair longer than he did. It meant that he didn’t have to explain to everybody he met that he wasn’t Cam Hartson.
Though enough people still made that mistake.
“Yeah, let’s hurry up and get a drink,” Tanner agreed. “I have a hot date with my wife tonight.” Tanner and Van – his childhood best friend – had reconnected last year, after a decade of not talking to each other. They ran the local drive-in movie theater, and were disgustingly in love.
“Young love.” Logan grinned. “Give it a year and you two’ll be desperate for a night apart.”
“I doubt it.” Tanner shrugged. “You’ll understand when you meet the right woman.”
Gray laughed loudly. “Logan’s married to his restaurants. We all know that.”
“Yeah,” Tanner agreed as they walked into the bar. “But do they keep him warm at night?”
Logan shook his head, sighing at his brothers’ teasing. “Why don’t you ask Cam when he’s going to settle down?” he asked, as he spotted his twin sitting at the bar. Cam stood up from the stool he was sitting on, a huge grin on his face as he walked over to hug his brothers one by one.
“Why are you talking about me settling down?” Cam asked, looking genuinely confused. As expected, he had his Boston Bobcats hat pulled low on his head. He was wearing a pair of low-slung jeans and a black t-shirt. The days of Logan and Cam dressing identically were long-gone, thank God. Logan winced at the thought of it.
They may have looked the same, but they were individuals.
“Tanner was asking Logan when he was gonna find a woman,” Gray said, slapping Cam on the back. “But we don’t need to ask you. We know you’re never going to settle down.”
“I don’t have time.” Cam shrugged. “And even if I did, I wouldn’t tell you guys.”
Tanner punched Cam in the arm. “You’re a professional football player. We all know you’re fighting the women off.”
Cam shook his head at his brothers, while Logan bit down a grin. Though he’d flown back to his home town a few times recently, it wasn’t often that all four of the brothers were here at the same time. The last occasion had been for Tanner and Van’s wedding.
And now they were all here for his nephews’ first birthday party. Gray and Maddie’s twin sons had come as a surprise to them as well as everybody else. Cam had been miffed that there were more twins in the family, whereas Logan thought it was hilarious.
“I’ll get the first
