Page 56 of Switching Places

“Do you always go?”

She shook her head, then glanced involuntarily at Logan, her smile fading a bit.

“No, but I don’t think he’ll miss me.”

“Shows how much you know or how little. This is the first time he’s brought someone to one of our parties. Logan has been a cagey man ever since he dumped Crystal. I find it very interesting that he brought you today.”

“He doesn’t date?” she asked, finding that almost impossible to believe.

“Of course he dates. He’s a man, isn’t he? But there are dates and dates. The ones he usually goes on don’t involve friends. He takes a woman to dinner or a movie or dancing, but it is strictly one-on-one. He doesn’t mingle those women with his friends. Especially not the friends he works with. You’re the first since Crystal.”

“So you knew Crystal?” she asked.

“Yes, still do, as a matter of fact. I see her from time to time. That’s the other thing. You are even more beautiful than Crystal. From the few women I’ve caught Logan with over the last three years, I thought he only picked out the ones who were not especially beautiful—a backlash, if you would, from Crystal. Another exception with you.”

“I’m not beautiful,” she protested.

Granted, her mother often said she looked pretty, but mothers were supposed to say so.

Phil put down the drumstick he’d almost bitten, staring at her.

“I think you believe that,” he said in wonder.

“I’m not.”

Emma was definite on that point. Maybe the clothes changed things a bit. They were daring and glamorous and colorful. Her usual pick of pastels and neutral tones had given way to Lily’s flamboyant selections.

That’s what Phil saw, and maybe Logan? He probably wouldn’t look twice at a woman who normally dressed in beige and tan.

“Now I get it,” he said mysteriously.

“Get what?” she asked warily as she ate the succulent chicken.

“The attraction. A beautiful woman who doesn’t know she’s beautiful. And I’ll bet you are not impressed with material things.”

“Like what?”

“You know, a house in Malibu, a Mercedes.”

“I’m living in a house in Malibu.”

“Do you like it?”

“Yes.”

“Are you so impressed by your address you mention it to all who come in contact with you?” he persisted. “I mean, I was the one who brought it up just now.”

“Of course not. It’s just a house on the beach.”

“Logan’s that way. He bought the house because he wanted to live at the beach and liked the architecture. I think he bought his car to get back at Crystal”

“You’re kidding.”

Phil shook his head, taking a huge bite from a drumstick.

“Nope. Does he strike you as car mad? I have friends who have fancy cars, and brag about them all the time, telling me how fast they go, or how many women’s heads they turn on the highway. The common theme is they constantly talk about their car. Logan never mentions his. I think he bought it solely to get back at Crystal. She loves flashy symbols of affluence.”

“Oh.”

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