Page 11 of Sapphire Sunset

“How’d it end up with those guys, by the way?” Connor asked.“Did my uncle throw them out?”

“He didn’t have to.” Logan hoped his ramrod straight posturewould distract Connor from the fact that he was taking little steps to bringthem closer together. “They were so pissed they decided to check out early.Can’t say they did the best packing job given how sloshed they were. Afterthat, it was a matter of working with valet to make sure they didn’t get behindthe wheel. And, hey, if it makes any difference, by the end one of them wascrying on me about his divorce.”

“Excellent.” Connor’s smile made Logan’s stomach wobble. “Ithink they all deserve a really good long cry. Maybe they can have one over atThe Ritz in Laguna Niguel.”

“Anyway. That’s why I didn’t make it back.”

You’re talking like you were a guest, jackass.Logansucked in a deep breath through his nose.

“Well, I’m sorry about that.” When Connor noticed Logan hadclosed most of the distance between them, he chewed his lower lip gently butdidn’t move an inch.

“Thank you. To be honest, I figured they might’ve put me onmidnight rounds because they thought I came down too hard on those guys. Didn’trealize the party shut down so early.”

“Yeah, well, if there’s one guarantee about the hotelbusiness, it’s that schedules are not always guaranteed. And you didn’t comedown too hard on those guys. Not in the slightest.”

Connor avoided Logan’s curious gaze as he took care to spaceout all the items in the gift bag.

Logan, meanwhile, felt like there was a beast inside of himchoking on its short chain. If this were a crowded bar and Connor were a guy he’djust met, he’d already have said all the things necessary to get the guywrapped around one of his legs while they headed for the nearest private flatsurface. But this was his new workplace. And Connor wasn’t some potentialone-night stand. He was two generations away from being Logan’s boss. Andthat’s why Logan was awkwardly holding his hands behind his back. He was afraidhe might pull Connor in for a long, wet one if he let his arms roams free.

“All right,” Connor said brightly, “let’s go through your loot.”

“This should be interesting.”

“Okay, well, there’s a story here, so don’t get your hopesup too much. I was a business administration major, and so most of the gueststonight were from the department, and I thought, wouldn’t it be neat to find classmateswho were already product testing and putting together startups and see if theywanted to donate something to the gift bag?”

“Cool.”

“Well, sort of. The problem is most of them are edible, andthey’re not very good. Take for instance Bernie Killian’s new vegetable chips.They’re kind of tolerable, but only if you eat ten in a row and think aboutpotato chips the whole time.”

“So the tenth chip does the trick, huh?” Logan asked.

“Not really. It’s more like thinking about nothing butpotato chips for the time it takes to get down ten of these is what does thetrick.”

Logan couldn’t control his laughter. “Awesome. What othergoodies you got?”

“This”—Connor held up a small, bright pink tube—“is MarissaAtwell’s new brand of organic, artisanal lip balm.”

“What’sartisanallip balm?” Logan asked.

“I have no idea. And neither does Marissa. But it doesanswer the question, what would a dead frog taste like if I sucked it out of anexhaust pipe with my mouth?”

Logan laughed so loud they could probably hear him in thepenthouse suite four stories up.

“Well, Connor, Igottasay, thanksfor bringing me all of these terrible gifts.”

“Yeah, well, you’re on duty, so champagne didn’t seemappropriate. And this was all I had. Seriously, though. Are you hungry? I couldbring you some food.”

“I’m good.”

“What’s your favorite snack food?” Connor asked.

“Anything that combines chocolate and peanut butter isbasically a reason for living,” Logan said.

“Let me go see what we have then.”

“Actually, right now I think I’ll be fine with yourcompany.”

You will be just fine if you shut the fuck up and stopletting your balls do the talking.

---