Page 51 of Switching Places

For a moment her resolve wavered. No one but her mother had ever fixed her breakfast. Maybe she should latch on to him and never let go. The eggs looked delicious. She cut into the steaming omelette, then tasted it.

“Wonderful,” she said as the blend of flavors hit her tongue.

“My one major culinary accomplishment,” Logan said smugly.

In only moments he’d prepared one for himself and sat opposite her.

As they ate, conversation was sporadic. Emma felt a comfortable ease between them that she’d not felt before. Munching on toast, she gazed out the window, wondering at all the firsts. Was it an omen?

Was Logan destined to be more than her sister’s neighbor she met one vacation? Swinging her gaze to him, she watched as he ate, drank the coffee, slathered strawberry jam on his toast. What would it be like to share breakfast with him every morning? Would they discuss their day? Make plans for the future? Laugh at something the children had said?

Children?

Carefully she laid the toast on the edge of the plate. She was getting a little carried away.

She’d only met the man a few days ago. And a wild attraction didn’t necessarily mean anything. Hormones, chemistry. That’s all. The fact that she found him fascinating proved how much she needed to experience life a bit more before settling down.

He was outside her realm, and she was awed by their differences. Once she knew him better, he’d probably become as predictable as David.

Yet for the moment a rosy hue obscured that. To her, Logan was simply a totally foreign element to her normally staid existence.

“How did you get started in special effects?” she asked.

There were probably three hundred questions she wanted answers for, but that one seemed the least revealing. She didn’t want him to suspect her interest. Wouldn’t that put him on his guard? Lily had lived next door for two years yet had nevermentioned him in any phone calls. Obviously she didn’t see him in the same light as Emma.

“I started out in animation. I liked cartoons as a kid, became interested in how they were done when I was in high school. My mother really pushed me to study so I could get a scholarship to the college of my choice. I was lucky to get into USC’s film school. I began learning about animation, but once I discovered the amazing things that computers could do, I switched majors to computer science, and branched out from animation to special effects.”

“And now you have your own company.”

“Yeah, but it was a long time coming. I worked for some of the studios while in college and when I first graduated. When I scraped up enough money to buy some of my own equipment, I continued to do small jobs for the independents. I got a break when one of the major special effect studios couldn’t take on a new film and the producer asked me. I came in on time and under budget and was the golden child for weeks. That led to more assignments, and finally I was able to open my own place.”

“I’m impressed.”

Hollywood was a cutthroat business and to succeed as much as Logan had in so short a time was nothing short of phenomenal. Yet to talk to him, she’d never have suspected. He exhibited none of the bragging or concentration on his own achievements that her father had displayed in their short lunch.

“So now you’re rich and famous and doing what you like.”

“I’ve got enough money to live here. Fame is fleeting. I want the studios to know that they can count on my work. You’re right in that I’m doing exactly what I like. Aren’t you?”

She thought of her job at the library. She enjoyed working with the patrons, researching hard-to-find tidbits of information, and being surrounded by books. Reading was hergreatest pleasure, and to combine it with her job gave her a lot of joy.

“Yes, I love what I do,” she said, finishing the last of the omelette.

“Playing the field and lying on the beach,” he murmured.

She looked up at that.

“Do I detect a note of censure?” she asked.

For a moment she forgot she was in the role of her sister. She almost told him how hard she’d worked to get her current position.

“Not if doing nothing brings you happiness.”

“You think I should be doing more?”

“What do you think?”

“I know what I think, I want to know what you think.”

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