I shrugged slightly. “I'm working on forgiving you.”
He leaned forward and kissed me again. His lips were sweet and sent small thrills down my spine. It blew my mind how well the man could kiss. He pulled back and examined the results of his work. “How am I doing?”
“Good.” Words were hard to come up with after a kiss like that. “Really...good.”
He chuckled. “I'
ll get you there eventually.”
“What about your dad?” I asked. The thought hit me like a blow to the stomach. He had already nearly ruined me once and was on track to do so again. “I can't imagine he'd be thrilled about me in your bed, especially given how he lured my employees away from me.”
“Let me worry about my father. Right now, this isn't business. This is us.” He touched my cheek again, forming a connection between us once more. I never wanted him to stop touching me. “My father has an excellent mind for business, or at least he used to. However, when it comes to his children, he is stubborn and usually wrong.”
“I'm sorry,” I said softly, not knowing how else I could respond.
“He's still my dad, and I of course love him.” He shrugged and fell away from me onto his back. His eyes focused on the ceiling, seeing memories instead of wood. “I think when mom died, he just lost the part of him that knew how to feel. His heart died with her. He buried himself in his business. My brother and I... I think we remind him of her, so he just chooses to view us as employees rather than family. It's easier for him that way.”
His voice ached with a quiet, secret sorrow. To lose a mother, and then have your father retreat because of it would be terrible. I kissed his cheek, feeling a slight prickle against my lips. “That sounds terrible.”
“Mom died when I was ten. I remember my dad as a totally different person. He never would have pulled this crap with your company when Mom was around. She was, in a lot of ways, his conscience. When she left us, she took the best part of him with her.” He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I kept thinking that if I just showed him how good Aiden and I could be, he would be his old self again. But, after welcoming three gold-digging step-mothers, graduating top of my class, perfect business records, and doing everything he has ever asked of me, nothing has changed.”
I lifted his arm and tucked it around me so I could rest my head in the hollow of his shoulder. He pulled me close to him, as if he needed to hold onto me. Logan's attempts to impress his father made a strange sort of logic. He just wanted the father he had once had and was trying his best to make it happen. “You know it's not your fault, right? You can't change him. Only he can do that.”
“I know. I'm thirty-two years old, yet I only recently realized I was still behaving like a ten-year-old boy seeking my father's approval instead of finding my own way.” He sighed somewhat shakily. “I've done everything in my power to make him happy, but he never changes. He never will.”
I squeezed my eyes shut and nestled in to him. This was a side of Logan Hayes that no one ever got to see. I should know. I’d practically stalked him online. But here, with me, he was vulnerable and lost. He was struggling like the rest of us mortals to come to terms with his place in the world. I liked seeing this human side of him, even though his pain broke my heart. “I wish I could take your pain away,” I whispered.
He tightened his arm around me and then raised one hand to tip my chin up so that we were looking into one another’s faces. “You already have.” His eyes were warm and full of complete sincerity. He smiled softly, and I realized that he legitimately liked me. Maybe even loved me. Joy surged through me as if I'd been asked to prom by my high-school crush. “You make me happier than I've been in a long time.”
“You really are as charming as you appear, aren't you?” I purred, falling into the dark velvet of his eyes. Between those eyes and that smile, I was never going to escape his allure. I didn't want to.
“Probably,” he replied, his grin gaining a touch of cockiness. “It just depends on how charming you think I am.”
“Very.” So much so that I was willing to make the same mistakes over and over again just to see that smile. I was a lovestruck idiot.
“Good. I have to keep you somehow,” he murmured, moving to kiss me on the top of my head.
This was a beautiful moment, so of course I had to ruin it. My stomach rumbled. It was loud enough to be audible even over the constant roar of the storm.
“Sorry.” I couldn't believe it had been that loud. Logan laughed, his chest reverberating mirthfully against my shoulder.
“I guess you're hungry,” he teased. “Let's get some food. I was told they're still delivering room service even though it’s storming.”
“Really? That sounds wonderful. I'm starving, but I don't want to get up.” I glanced down at my watch. “Holy cow. It's two in the afternoon.”
“Already? Time flies when you're having fun,” Logan mused, slowly sitting up. He looked around until he saw the room service menu on the far desk. I lost my breath as he stood. His toned, naked body displayed its perfection to me. I couldn't take my eyes off him as he sauntered to the desk and retrieved the menus, completely unaware of the effect he was having on my lady parts.
I quickly tried to remember if I had anything planned for this evening, or if I could stay here and continue having more fun. I would have to check my phone, which was in my pants across the room, and I had no intention of leaving this bed unless it was for food.
“Maddy must be wondering where I am,” I mused out loud. I hoped she just thought I was napping.
“I won't tell if you don't,” Logan replied, sitting down on the edge of the bed and handing me a menu. “I'm not sure she likes me all that much.”
“She's just being protective of me, and until you explained everything, she had good reason,” I told him. “She's kind of a best friend, guard dog, mom and secretary all rolled into one smart lady.”
“She doesn't have to worry. I wouldn't hurt you for the world. And, I can't tell you how sorry I am for the last time.” His face grew serious. “I knew then just how amazing you were, and I should have called you that morning and never stopped. My father and his company be damned.”
“You already got me into your bed. You don't have to keep charming me,” I said with a smile. He relaxed his shoulders and grinned.