23- The desire

She didn’t stay in the pool long. The water wasn’t as warm as she’d hoped, and the impending phone call had her feeling antsy. Padding upstairs, she entered the guest bedroom after spotting no signs of Logan and took a shower.

Though she’d felt one hundred percent confident about the plan when she hatched it, ever since then doubt had slowly but steadily crept in. There was the chance that Charlie would insist on not only going after Bryce and the trafficking ring, but Logan as well.

She hadn’t shared this fear with Logan, of course. Hopefully, it was nothing more than that. A simple, irrational worry.

Fresh from the shower, she rifled through her backpack and found a pair of jeans and a white T-shirt. She’d packed as light as possible for her trip. It would have been nice to stop by her apartment and get some things, but there came a certain risk with that.

Maybe she could order some things online and have them shipped to Logan’s house. Which brought to mind her bank accounts. She’d called and canceled her stolen cards, and it was in doing so that she’d found out exactly how little money she had left.

Traveling around the world wasn’t cheap. Not even when done as frugally as possible. She’d need to start thinking about a job soon. Trouble was, she had no idea what she wanted to do.

Paralegal work had been fulfilling sometimes, but it had mostly been boring. The idea of going back to it made her feel sick.

Right as she finished dabbing on some light makeup, her phone rang. Picking it up, she sat cross legged on the bed.

“Hey,” she answered.

“Hey.” Charlie sounded a little breathless, like he’d been rushing down the street or up a flight of stairs. Either seemed likely with him.

“Can we meet in person today? There’s something really important I need to tell you about.”

He was quiet for a long moment. “Of course. Everything okay?”

“Yes. How about that coffee shop near that home decor store? You know where we got my end tables?”

“Sure. How soon can you be there?”

“Um.” She bit her lip. “I think thirty minutes.”

Maybe. She hadn’t really paid attention when Logan had brought her to his house the night before.

“See you then.”

They hung up, and it occurred to her she had no way of getting into town. Her car still sat in a month-to-month parking garage.

“Logan?” she called, leaving the room.

It took a few minutes, but she finally found him downstairs, in a room near the back of the house that had to be his office. He sat at an expensivelooking desk, typing on a computer, built-in bookshelves behind him.

“Hey,” he said, in one of those friendly, almost off-putting moments that she’d come to expect at random times.

“Hi.” She hovered in the doorway, feeling weird about entering his personal space without being invited. “I talked to Charlie, and we’re meeting at a coffee shop in thirty minutes, but I don’t have any way of getting there.” “Right.” He turned his gaze upward, thinking. “Would it be weird if I came with and waited in the car?”

“Um…”

“Without your brother seeing me, of course.” His throat rolled with a swallow. “It doesn’t seem the best idea for you to go alone. I can park around the corner and wait. But we should stick together. Remember?”

“I remember.” She started to smile, but stopped herself. He wasn’t flirting or being sweet. He was being practical.

A few minutes later, they were in his garage, bypassing the yellow sports car and four other vehicles in order to stop at a modest electric car.

“I didn’t expect this,” Terri said, opening the passenger door of the silver vehicle and stepping in.

“It’s for when I want to blend in.” He winked as he buckled up.

“Good luck with that.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because…” Her cheeks warmed. Damn. She needed to be more careful about what she blurted out.

Because you’re so handsome, you’ll never blend in anywhere.

“Because,” she fibbed. “I’m sure most people in Chicago see your face as somewhat familiar.”

He didn’t respond, instead opening the garage door and zooming from the driveway. Even in a modest car, he drove with an unapologetic air, always over the speed limit and cutting other drivers off on more than one occasion.

But they made it to the coffee shop in time. So there was that.

As Logan parallel parked, she found herself biting her thumbnail. Realizing what she was doing, she dropped her hand.

“I didn’t know you were a nail biter,” he commented.

“I’m not. Not usually.” Her stomach flip-flopped.

“Don’t tell me you’re having second thoughts about this.”

“No.” She waited to catch his gaze before continuing. “Not at all. I haven’t seen Charlie in a while, and I… I’m nervous about that.”

“Hm.” His eyes narrowed.

Wow, she was a bad liar.

“Anyway…” She opened the door. Time to make a hasty exit before he could interrogate her further. “I’ll call you when we’re done talking. I’ll make it as quick as possible.”

He nodded. “Be safe.”

Wondering what he meant for her to be safe from, she closed the door and walked around the corner to the coffee shop. She’d only visited the tiny, cozy spot a few times, but it held good memories. This had been the neighborhood she and Charlie had shopped in when they were decorating her apartment a few years back.

Here was hoping today didn’t spoil those memories.

Soon as she entered the coffee shop, she clocked every inch of it. No Charlie.

A ball of tension forming in her abdomen, she went to the counter and ordered a green tea. She’d already had two cups of coffee at Logan’s, thanks to Kim using the last filter to make a pot that morning, and would bounce off the walls if she had any more.

To-go cup in hand, she snagged a window table right after a couple picked up their laptops and left. It would have been nice to be keeping an eye on Logan. It didn’t feel right having him around the corner, where she couldn’t see him.

What that desire was about, she didn’t know. The man still aggravated her to no end. Although, honestly, he also got her riled up in ways she would never admit to him.