Page 29 of His Fantasy Girl

She looked at her daughter through narrowed eyes, but knew well enough not to give an outright no. “Maybe when you’re older.”

“How much older?”

“About sixty-five. Now, why don’t you go read for a while? We can talk later.”

She watched as Jenny pouted then wandered off to her room. Sinking onto the sofa she exhaled loudly, the tension drained out of her, leaving her weak and wobbly. Her mother gave her one look then disappeared into the kitchen, coming back a minute later with two glasses of wine.

“Here,” she said, handing Abby one and sitting down beside her. “You look like you need this.” She took a sip and grinned. “So, Logan. He’s…stunning.”

“I know.”

“Well, don’t sound so depressed about it.”

Abby shrugged. “I’m not looking for a boyfriend. And if I was, he’d be way out of my league.”

“Yet you slept with him the other night.”

“Mum!”

“That’s not a criticism. I’ve been worried about you. You need more fun in your life.”

“Ha. Bad things happen when I have fun.”

“Jenny happened.”

That stopped Abby in her tracks. She’d always thought of that one-night stand as a disaster that should never have happened. But if she could turn back the clock now, she would do it all over again. Jenny was worth everything that had happened. The only bad thing had been her mother and father splitting up—she’d always hold herself responsible for that. Even losing the chance to study law was a secret blessing. Deep down she’d only done it to please her father, to follow in his footsteps. Really, from an early age all she’d wanted to be was a detective, and she was close to that now. Hah, how would Logan feel about the fact that she’d only joined the force because of him? She must remember to tell him sometime.

“I know, and I wouldn’t have things any other way. But getting involved with Logan is not a good idea. I get the impression he’s not really into relationships—more a one-night stand sort of guy.”

“Or a two-night stand in your case”

“Thanks for reminding me. But my point is, a relationship between us won’t last, but hopefully his with Jenny will. If we start something and break up, it will make things awkward. Better if I keep my distance from the start and keep things between us on a sensible footing.”

“Good luck with that. But sweetheart, I have to be honest, I don’t look at that man and think ‘sensible’.”

“No.”

“Just ask yourself one thing—do you trust him with your daughter’s happiness?”

“I hardly know him.”

“You know him well enough. Otherwise he wouldn’t be here.”

Her mum was right. If she hadn’t trusted Logan, she would never have told him. She would have walked away. Her work had given her a good insight into character, though, honing a natural instinct. And strangely, despite his bad-boy appearance, she did trust him. And she was glad he hadn’t tried to turn himself into something different to impress them today. She’d probably have been less trusting if he’d turned up in an estate car and wearing a suit. This was Logan; he wasn’t going to magically turn into perfect father material overnight. Jenny would have to accept him as he was and that looked as though it was happening.

“Yes, I trust him.”

Trouble was, she wasn’t so sure she trusted herself.

Chapter Seven

Abby punched her pillow and slammed her head back down. It was after midnight, but she couldn’t sleep. Jenny had taken an age to settle. She’d been hyper and hadn’t stopped talking about Logan. She’d wanted to know everything about him, asking question after question, which were all a little difficult to answer because Abby knew virtually nothing about him or his family, except he had a brother with a nipple ring and a father who hated the police. She’d have to make him a questionnaire. Maybe she could email it to him so they wouldn’t have to meet. She was guessing she wasn’t his favorite person right now.

But it wasn’t that keeping her awake. It was that damn kiss. Short and not particularly sweet, she couldn’t get it out of her head. The feel of his firm lips on hers, which made her think about where else those firm lips had been. The other night he’d tasted her everywhere. No one else but Logan had ever done that for her and it had been…unforgettable. Her insides melted at the memory, a now-familiar little pulse beating between her thighs.

He wasn’t even here and he was driving her wild. Her nipples were hard beneath the strappy camisole she wore over her pajama bottoms. She bit down on her lip as she ran her palm over the tight little peaks and felt the touch between her legs. She imagined Logan’s mouth there, sucking and pulling, and she wriggled against the mattress.

It was no good. If she didn’t do something she would never sleep. Closing her eyes, she stroked her hand from her breasts down over her belly, slipping it under the waistband of her pajamas. Then lower, imagining it was Logan’s hand, Logan’s fingers sliding between the folds of her sex. God, she was wet. She touched her clit lightly, then harder.

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