Page 27 of Trick or Trouble
“I’ll be there about fifteen minutes earlier and grab a table.See you then.”
The dial tone hummed in her ear, and Darcy lowered the phone slowly, grinning.The man didn’t waste time with awkward goodbyes—she liked that.Nothing drove her more insane than wondering if she was supposed to throw in some lame goodbye.With him, it was efficient, decisive, and no fumbling for words.
When she pulled into Olive Garden, she spotted Logan’s silver Camaro at the end of the first row of cars.She parked and went inside, feeling way too happy when his tall figure stood up and motioned her to a table.It should be illegal to be so gorgeous.
Glad that she’d worn nice jeans and a pale blue slinky sweater that made her skin look luminous, she threw in a little extra sway as she made her way to the table.He greeted her with a quick kiss on the lips that made her breath catch.
“You look gorgeous,” he breathed in her ear.
Without thinking, the words just floated out automatically.“Seen an eye doc lately?”
The instant lift of his eyebrow made her slide quickly into the booth.
Crap—he slid in beside her!
So much for a table between them—the man was dangerous in too many ways to name.
“I see my first lesson didn’t take.I don’t mind repeating it.”A sexy grin slid across his mouth while that alpha threat stabbed through his words.
She bravely lifted her chin.“My body—my right to disparage.”She grabbed a menu and buried her face between the pages.His next words sent her pulse skyrocketing.
“Which brings us back to choices, and the best position in which to contemplate them,” he murmured just before the waiter brought their water.
“Are you ready to order, or do you need some time?”asked the cute young man with blue eyes and a brown shock of thick, curly hair on the top of his head.
Logan glanced at Darcy.“I’m ready.Do you know what you want?”
“I’ll have the soup, salad, and breadsticks,” she piped up.
“I’ll have the same, but add in an order of toasted raviolis, please.” When the waiter left, Logan turned to face her.“So, who’s been chauffeuring you around this week?Pamela?”
Darcy scoffed.“Yeah, right.Pamela gets chauffeured; she doesn’t do any chauffeuring.No, my mom took me car shopping on her Harley on Monday.”
She grinned when Logan nearly choked on his water and had to wipe some spit off the table.“Her...Harley?”
She nodded, her eyes sparkling.“Dad would never let her get a motorcycle, and she always wanted one.When he passed away almost two years ago, she bought a Harley-Davidson after what she considered an appropriate grieving time.She rides it to the cemetery to visit him when the weather is nice.”
The irony wasn’t lost on Logan.“Your mother sounds like an...interesting woman.”
“That’s one way of putting it.”
“I look forward to meeting her.”
Darcy stared.“You want to meet my mother?”
He took a breadstick from the bowl when the waiter placed the basket on the table.“Why wouldn’t I?”he asked, taking a bite and chewing as he eyed her curiously.
For a moment, the shadows snuck in and cast a damper on her spirits.“Conrad hated my mother.None of my other boyfriends liked her much either.She can be pretty blunt.”
Logan passed her the salad bowl.“I’m guessing Conrad tried to isolate you from your family and friends,” he murmured, his eyes narrowing.“I’d say your mother has good taste.”
Darcy took some of the salad, but her appetite was suddenly diminishing.She dabbed her breadstick restlessly into the dressing at the bottom of her bowl, wishing she’d never mentioned the bane of her life.
When Logan suddenly turned her chin towards him and started kissing her, all thoughts of Conrad fled.Her brain registered his spicy aftershave, the strength of his touch firmly holding her chin, and his arm drawing her close to his hard body.When he finally let her go, she stared at him hungrily, wanting so much more.
“Eat your lunch,” he ordered, winking at her.“And remember, good girls get good things when they behave.”
He kept one hand on her thigh and ate with his free hand, keeping their connection and supporting her in a way she didn’t understand, but her appetite came back with a vengeance.It was as if Logan and Conrad couldn’t exist in her thoughts at the same time, and she didn’t question it—she leaned into Logan and thoroughly enjoyed the haven he provided.
