“I'll take that as a challenge,” he said, his breath tickling my hair. He smelled amazing; like soap and testosterone goodness. My stomach tightened as heat surged through me. I was so mad at him, but my body craved his like a drug. Dear Lord, I had forgotten just how good he smelled. It wasn't fair that he could twist my mind and body up so easily just by standing close to me. “Someday, you'll look forward to seeing me again.”
“It will be a cold day in hell,” I replied sweetly, stepping back and away from his intoxicating scent. I was torn between hot lust and cold fury. He had deceived me and almost ruined my company. I had every reason to hate his stinking guts. But I found myself wanting to touch him and forgive him for everything.
His brown eyes flashed with self-assured optimism. With a polite nod to Maddy, he turned and walked down a green path toward the dance floor with the bride and groom. I stared after him, trying and failing not to check out his butt, until he disappeared into the mass of guests below.
I felt like a deflated balloon. I was still so angry and hurt by what he'd done, but for whatever reason, as soon as he got close my body forgot everything except the way he felt. It was like he had cast a spell that would cause my body to find him sexually attractive no matter what my mind thought. I understood that a ruling from his father would be difficult to break, but I had thought we had shared a connection. It couldn't have been that hard to make a single phone call? To write an email?
I chugged the last bit of my champagne. I could hear laughter coming from the wedding, but instead of feeling happy, I was jealous and bitter. I had never thought that Logan and I were going to get married or grow old together, but that night we had together was special. I had thought it was at least going to go somewhere. I never expected to be left hanging without so much as a phone call. I certainly hadn't expected it to hurt so much.
“You okay? You want mine?” Maddy asked, offering me her glass. I glanced down at my empty one and nodded. She switched glasses with me, and I chugged down the bubbly liquid.
“I hate him,” I said softly, looking into the empty glass.
“No you don't,” Maddy gently contradicted me. “You want to hate him. You should hate him. But, you hate that you don't hate him.”
“You're drunk.” I watched as she wobbled slightly on her designer heels.
“Doesn't mean I'm not right,” she said with an all-too-knowing smile. “If you hated him, you wouldn't follow him on Twitter. You wouldn't know his social events, and you wouldn't blush every time someone says his name.”
“I only follow him to know how to make sure I don't get caught in his web again,” I explained. The champagne was finally starting to go to my head. I needed another glass. Maybe seven.
“And the blushing?” Maddy asked, eyebrows raised. It was very obvious she didn't believe me.
“He embarrassed me.” I sighed and put my hand on my hip. “And I do not blush at his name.”
Maddy held me in her gaze for a full beat before slowly shaking her head. “You've got some sort of torch for that man. Given the delightful way he fills out that suit, I can imagine part of it, but there's something else there.” She frowned, her eyes trying to focus through the alcohol. “But you need to be careful. That man hurt you once, and I saw the aftermath of just one night with him. You can't let him do that to you again. I don't know if you'd survive a storm like Logan again.”
“I have no intention of ever spending another night with that man,” I said solemnly. “He may drive me crazy, but I won't let him destroy what I've worked for.”
“Good.” Maddy nodded emphatically. “Now, we need some more champagne. Tyler's with his grandma, neither one of us needs to drive, and there is more free booze than we can drink. Let's get our party on and get that boy out of your head!”
I glanced toward the wedding party, wondering if Logan was down there. He was in my head. He had sneaked in there with his charm and warm brown eyes the night I met him and, unfortunately, hadn't found his way out. I needed to forget the way his hands felt on my skin and the way he made my heart skip. It had only been one night. I should be able to forget him and move on.
A dark blue suit stepped out into an open space on the dance floor below us and I felt my heart flutter, as I recognized Logan's shape. The bride stepped into his arms with a smile and he danced with her as her husband watched, spinning her in flawless circles. She laughed and kissed his cheek as the song ended. A stab of envy hit my stomach. She had it all.
“I really need another drink,” I mumbled. I wanted to forget Logan Hayes and his brown eyes and soft laugh entirely. I wanted to prove him wrong, that I would never look forward to seeing him, but I already knew I had failed.
Chapter 18
Present Day
I woke up to the sound of rain pounding against the building. There were square-shaped indentations on my cheek from having fallen asleep on my keyboard. At least I hadn't drooled, or my laptop would have been ruined. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and groaned. Technically, I still had another five minutes before I had to get up and catch my flight, but there was no way I was going to get it. I knew I was going to want those five minutes of sleep later today. It had been a long night and was shaping up to be an even longer day.
I had been up most of the night with worry. I could feel my business and my future teetering as though on the edge of a knife. I was furious that Logan had been able to hamstring my company in four, well-paid moves. I had called each of my former employees; three had been smart enough not to pick up and the fourth apologized and promptly had an emergency to attend to.
After punching a pillow several times and threatening to stomp on my phone, I started trying to fix what I could. I posted ads for new consultants and had made some inquiries into potential applicants. I had also called my lawyer, several times. There was no way that what Travel, Inc. was doing was anywhere close to legal, but as far as getting my business on the rocks, it was effective. Mounting a legal defense would take weeks, and while Travel, Inc. would lose, the impact on my business would be big enough to force me to sell to them.
Just thinking about it was making my blood pressure rise. This was my business, and I had worked far too hard to just let them take it. I loved this company too much to give up on it now. Logan Hayes wasn't going to defeat me that easily. He may have thought his good-boy act would fool me into trusting him again, but I wasn't falling for it this time.
I slammed my laptop shut and grabbed my suitcases. I was already dressed, so one last look around the room was all it took for me to be ready. I was on my way to the lobby to get on a plane to go save my business before the light was even off.
I set my bags down in front of the check-out desk when I heard Maddy calling my name. She was hurrying toward me as fast as she could on her ankle.
“Olivia! Don't check out yet!” Maddy's cast made a hollow thunking noise as she limped over.
A ray of hope lifted my spirits. “Did the girls change their minds?” I asked with anticipation. Maybe they had come to their senses and realized what they were doing.
“No,” Maddy said with a grimace. “The flight's been canceled. The tropical storm upgraded and turned South last night. We're going to have to wait out the hurricane.”