“Take me upstairs,” Lacy whispered as she leapt up into his arms, confident that he would catch her. Confident that he would always catch her. Every time.
Logan had trouble removing his lips from hers. In the end, it was the smile that did it. It was impossible to keep kissing when he was smiling so bright.
“Yes ma’am.”
They made it halfway there before the dog made a comeback. Furious had having been ignored the better part of the day, he barreled into Logan’s legs mid-step—toppling the couple over and causing a collision that could have been disastrous if Logan hadn’t caught Lacy’s head just an inch away from the stairs.
“Shit—I’m sorry!” he gasped, struggling to find his own footing as he pulled her into his lap. “It’s this damn dog. I swear, he’s still trying to kill me...why are you laughing?”
It was an unlikely turn of events, but the second Lacy started, she found herself completely unable to stop. She didn’t know what was the most bizarre. That she was in the home of Cleveland’s most notorious womanizer. That she was naked on the stairs with his identical twin brother who happened to be worth over a billion dollars. Or that the pair of them had just gotten taken down by a Great Dane big enough to demolish half the house.
“I’m sorry.” She covered her face, shaking with silent giggles. “This is just...this is just way too...” She lost herself again, dissolving in a hysterical puddle beside him.
For Logan’s part—he had no idea what to do. He shared a long look with the dog (who promptly fled, as if women’s hysterics were beyond his canine purview), before gathering her tentatively into his lap. Afraid to move too slowly, lest she come to her senses and take off in a cab after all. Afraid to move too quickly, lest it make things worse.
“Okay...” he began slowly, “is this good laughing? Or bad laughing? Or even crazy laughing—as I do believe you’ve started to cry.”
Lacy wiped her eyes, burying her grin in his bare chest as she pulled in deep breaths of his intoxicating scent. “This is good laughing. And crazy laughing. Nothing bad.”
“Yeah?” He tilted up her chin with a hesitant smile, studying her face. “You promise?”
The laughter finally subsided enough that she pulled in a deep breath, gazing intently into his eyes. “Logan Alexander Chase.” She said the name with relish, and felt his pulse quicken beneath her hand. “It has a nice ring to it.”
His arms tightened to an almost painful extent, as he beamed down at her. “I have to admit...I love hearing you say it.” The two of them laughed again before he quieted thoughtfully, stroking back a lock of her hair. “You have no idea how hard it’s been, hearing you call out the name of someone else. It’s been absolutely killing me.”
Lacy glanced down for a second, intertwining her fingers with his. “Yeah? And whose fault is that?”
“Mine,” he answered without hesitation. “Lacy, I mean it—I take full responsibility for everything that’s happened. The blame lies with me, and me alone. And I’m so, so sorry.”
She stared up at him for a moment, before gesturing down to her naked body with a mischievous grin. “Clearly, I’ve forgiven you.”
He flashed another breathtaking smile as he leaned down for a kiss, but she pulled suddenly away—leaning a few inches back so she had a better look at him.
“But that doesn’t mean that I don’t have a hell of a lot of questions.”
His shoulders fell with an almost imperceptible sigh, but the next moment, he was nodding in complete agreement. “I bet you do. And you deserve to hear the answers.” He stroked a finger down the side of her cheek, before his brow tightened with a sudden frown. “And you’re freezing. Come on—let’s get you upstairs. I can draw you a bath—”
“—and we can order in some food?” Lacy asked tentatively. He glanced down in surprise, and she flashed a sarcastic grin. “In case you forgot, my dinner date tonight got crashed before we could get to the salad course. I’m absolutely starving.”
A grinning blush colored his cheeks, as he bowed his head—hiding just the hint of a dimple. “Something else that’s my fault...although you can hardly blame me. What else was I supposed to do with you wearing that dress?”
Lacy blushed as red as him, casting a sideways glance at the crimson silk puddled on the floor. “Oh I don’t know...show even a modicum of self-control?”
“Not a chance.” He kissed her again, before glancing around for his phone. It had fallen halfway out of his pants, which were in a pile by the front door. “What kind of take-out are you in the mood for? Chinese? Italian?”
“Surprise me.” She pulled herself to her feet, prancing up the stairs to begin drawing
what was sure to be the first of several bubble baths. “Surprise me...with some Chinese.”
He chuckled and headed in the opposite direction, down the stairs. “Will do. While I’m at it, I might as well pay some of these utilities,” he muttered under his breath. “It’s colder in here than it is outside...”
Chapter 21
Only about thirty minutes later, the two of them were curled up in the bath. Talking, laughing, and occasionally stabbing their chopsticks into a pair of take-out boxes sitting on the rim of the tub. A bottle of wine was already lying empty on the floor beside them, and another one was half-gone. Half-gone and going quick. Having forgotten to grab any glasses, they were merely passing it back and forth, laughing every time it almost fell into the tub.
“So is this what you’d be doing?” Lacy asked casually, dropping her head back against his shoulder with a relaxed sigh. “If you were back in Florida?”
She felt his chest shake as he laughed silently behind her.