Page 52 of Wild Boys After Dark: Logan
Stella watched her now as she ate dinner as if she weren’t blind. She seemed to sense where things were on her plate and never once fished for her glass on the table.
His mother folded her napkin and set it on the table beside her plate. “Lovey, dinner was delicious.”
Stella sat between Logan and Mary Lou, across from his brothers, Heath, Cooper, and Jackson. Sitting at a real dinner table with a real family again brought down more of Stella’s defenses. Logan’s knee kept brushing hers, and he’d draped an arm over the back of her chair. Her body pleaded for her to lean in to him, to give in to what they both wanted, but she was still afraid of what tomorrow would bring.
“You always have to outdo me,” Coop teased.
“That’s not hard to do. You never actually cook.” Logan turned his attention to Stella. “Coop’s idea of cooking dinner for the family is bringing takeout with him instead of having it delivered.”
Cooper pointed his fork at Logan. “Hey, I made burgers over the summer.”
“It’s true. He brought the premade patties and everything,” Heath teased.
“Look who’s talking,” Jackson countered. “Last week you brought frozen lasagna.”
“Boys, that’s enough bickering.” Every word Mary Lou spoke was layered in love for her children, and it brought Stella’s longing for her mother closer to the surface. “I’m thankful that you have dinner with me at all. You all have successful careers and you’re so busy.” She shook her head. “Stella, do you know that there isn’t a night of the week that one of my boys isn’t here with me? Not a single night, bless their hearts. They think I’m an invalid.”
“We do not,” Logan and Jackson said in unison.
“It’s our pleasure, Mom.” Heath reached across the table and touched his mother’s hand. “We’re lucky that you make time for us.”
“Oh, honey. Please.” She leaned toward Stella again. “Luckiest mother around, I tell you.”
Stella felt her throat thickening. What she wouldn’t give to have dinner with her mother. Just one night. Maybe now that Logan had figured out how Kutcher was tracking her, she’d be able to go see her without Kutcher knowing.
Maybe hope wasn’t such a bad thing after all.
“Good to hear your shoot went well today,” Logan said.
Stella wondered if he’d sensed her need to change the subject. He’d been checking in with her all evening. Making sure she was okay. It would be easier to ignore her feelings for him if he weren’t so attentive and caring.
Holy crap.
What am I doing? I don’t want to ignore my feelings. I want Logan—without Kutcher breathing down our backs.
“We’re shooting the teasers for a movie your friend Zane Walker’s in in a few weeks,” Cooper said to Logan. “You should come watch. It’ll be fun. We’re shooting in Sweetwater, by your cabin.”
“Really? Maybe we will,” Logan answered.
We?
The smile Logan flashed told her that he’d meant to use the word we, and it made her heart tumble in her chest. Darn heart. She was supposed to be keeping her distance, but it was hard to do around him, and being near his family made it even more difficult. They were warm and friendly, and she loved the way they teased one another. She’d often wished for siblings when she was growing up, and she imagined if she’d had them, they would have been as close-knit as Logan’s family. Maybe a few savvy older brothers would have warned her away from Kutcher in the first place.
“Logan said you met Willow,” Jackson said. “Did she make you her famous cupcakes?”
“The pink-frosted ones?” she asked, remembering the sweet deliciousness. “Yes, and they were delicious. It’s a good thing I don’t work with her all the time. I’d weigh three hundred pounds.”
“You’d be the sexiest three-hundred-pound woman on earth,” Logan said.
She touched his thigh, realizing too late that instinct had taken action before she’d had a chance to stop it. His hand came down on hers and held on tight.
“He’s such a flirt,” Mary Lou said.
“Yes. He doesn’t know when to quit.” Stella tried to give Logan a serious stare, but she knew she’d failed because it was hard to look harsh around a man who was looking at her like she really was the most beautiful woman on earth.
“Oh, lovey,” Mary Lou said quietly. “He’s not going to quit. These boys don’t have any control over their hearts. Neither do you, sweetie.” She moved her head as if she were looking around the table at each of her sons. Heath’s, Jackson’s, and Cooper’s brows were furrowed with disbelief. Logan was grinning like a Cheshire cat. “Your heart knows its mate before you’re even aware something’s going on, and when it figures out who that person is, you’re about as powerful as a feather in the wind. There’s nothing you can do but go along for the ride.”
