“Let’s hope it will be soon. Patricia is so stubborn. She’s dragging out the whole process.”
I eyed him. “And you’re not, Mr. Bossy?”
“I’m not bossy.”
“You’re stern, especially with your sisters.”
“I can’t help it. I’m the big brother. I’ve always been the smartest and best.”
“You’re so full of it.”
He shrugged. “I really am full of it.”
“To your bookstore’s success.” I held up my almost finished Oxi.
Logan raised his. “To you being happy, no matter what.”
I sighed, knowing he was referring to Tyson. “Thanks.”
“No problem.”
We tapped our vials and swallowed down the rest. Oxi potions weren’t alcohol. They were these super sweet concoctions of goodness that pushed me back to my childhood. Those days where all I wanted to do was get quarters so I could buy this candy or that. Nothing else mattered but sweets and sugar.
“Good?” Logan set his empty vial down.
“Awesome.”
“Let’s dance.”
He grabbed my hand and led me to the front of the stage before I could respond. I giggled, loving his excitement. Who else could make me forget about my problems, but Logan? Had I been by myself, I would’ve just grabbed the book and went home, pouting, probably not even reading the book but more of Tyson’s notebook.
No. I’m going to enjoy myself with Logan.
The band sped up their playing, pushing the diverse crowd to more exhilaration. The music was hot and fast. Logan held the bag of books in one hand as he twirled me in close to him. He gazed at me, warming my skin as he kept the beat.
Logan probably couldn’t dance by himself, but when he was with a woman, he owned her on the floor. I’d discovered this on my birthday.
Tyson had at least done one good thing with Logan’s help. He surprised me at a beach house in Clearwater. He’d rented it from Airbnb, decorated everything, and brought in caterers. The house looked just like a small castle from the Kingmaker series. I didn’t know how Tyson had discovered it. My brother, friends, Logan, his sisters, and even more people had come.
Tyson had disappeared after everyone sang happy birthday to me and we cut the cake. In fact, I think Ashley had gone missing too. I ended up dancing with Logan’s sisters most of the time. Karan tried to teach me some moves, but he was too drunk and ended up passing out by the pool.
Later, Logan slipped into every slot on my dance card, never letting me catch my breath.
When I danced with him on my birthday, all lingering disappointment of Tyson missing had faded away. Logan and I ruled the dance floor at least in our drunken minds. In all fairness, Tyson didn’t have the moves when it came to dancing. But for the few slow songs where I guiltily danced in Logan’s arms, dance skills didn’t matter. I was thankful the moon had provided shadows for the moment and everyone around us was drunk and grooving to their own rhythm.
In moments like that, I just knew that Logan and I fit. And that night, we moved in silence to the perfect rhythm of the melody.
And today in this bookstore, Logan had taken me out of my thoughts of Tyson and had become my center focus. We didn’t slow dance this time. We jumped and yelled with the music. We bopped and hopped, causing laughter from the other people on our right.
“This is fun,” I yelled over the music as I bopped in front of him.
“It definitely is.” Logan’s gaze slipped along my body and then paused at the halter. “I really love that top.”
“Thank you.”
Logan spun me around and then drew me his way until our bodies meshed for twenty lovely seconds before I inched back a little and he licked his lips. Every now and again, he brushed his fingers against mine and his gaze remained on me as he curved those lips into a smile.
Why does he have to be so gorgeous?
He probably had no idea what his attention did to me. How it made my blood rush and my heart ache for something more. Sometimes, when he gazed at me this way—like I was the only one in the room—it made me want to curl up and purr against him.
A few times, his hands brushed against my hips and a spark of pleasure bloomed in that area.
To him, I was certain his finger caresses were innocent.
To me, those little touches ignited sexually-charged fantasies that would play out in my mind later that night.
But his biggest appeal was our talks and how they always flowed so easily—nothing forced or superficial. It was effortless to chat with him. I never felt like the awkward girl with nothing to talk about but baking and books. He always made me feel special.
At least Tyson wasn’t a complete mistake. I mean I met Logan through him.