It was the only thing she could think of to say, and he replied with a little laugh. “Yeah, I’m serious, but...but only if you want me to.” His face grew abruptly solemn, not a trace of the smile that had been there a moment before. “Lacy, what happened yesterday...I can’t even begin to...” He trailed off then took another deep breath, forcing himself to continue. “If you wanted to take a break, get a little space away from me...I would completely understand.”
Lacy blinked up at him, before pulling back with an incredulous frown.
“If I want to get a little space from you?” she repeated in a daze. “Why the hell would I want to do that—”
“You were attacked,” he said quietly. “Placed in a horrible situation...because of me. I didn’t think of it yesterday, I was too wound up, but when I woke up this morning it all hit me at the same time. I wasn’t sure if...I wasn’t sure if you’d even want to see me again—”
“Okay—stop!” She actually put her hand over his mouth, unable to listen to this lunacy for even another second. “To start, not a single thing that happened yesterday was your fault. The guy was crazy. And he was angry with me because of my job. And if it weren’t for you...”
Her eyes swam with tears, but she refused to let them fall.
“Logan...you were the only thing that got me through it. First, it was just the thought of you, and then you actually burst through the door.” She shifted around so that they were facing each other, staring deep into each other’s eyes. “You coming to Cleveland, the thought of us starting a life together—one that doesn’t have a two-week expiration date...it’s all I’ve ever wanted.”
The flickers of doubt and hesitation fell away, as he beamed back at her. For a second, he looked too overwhelmed to speak. Then his head bowed with a little laugh.
“Lacy, that’s really good news...because I kind of bought a ho
use already.”
“You what?!”
The two of them burst out laughing as their new reality began slowly settling in. Yes, this was a whirlwind romance if ever there was. Yes, it was a case of mistaken identity to the utmost degree. But yes...they had truly fallen in love with each other. They were ready to take this step.
...almost.
“There’s just one thing that we might have to take care of first.” Logan winced apologetically as the two of them locked eyes. “My wayward brother. Apparently, he’s made a bit of a mess of things back in Florida. I’m going to have to go over there and fix—”
“We are going to go,” Lacy interrupted firmly. He looked at her in astonishment, and she gave a swift nod of her head. “We do these things together now. Agreed?”
Logan’s lips curved up in a radiant smile.
“Agreed.”
They would get their blissful future. They just needed to settle his past first.
And on that note...
“So what do you say?” Logan asked with a quirky grin. “You ready to fly to Miami? And take down my brother? Help me get my life back?”
Lacy shook her head, pushing to her feet with a smile.
“Sure. It can’t be any stranger than here...”