They stood there awkwardly for a moment, before the music changed gears—shifting down into a slower song. One with a hypnotic, driving beat.
Logan didn’t ask her formally. He was too afraid of being shot down. He simply held out his hand in a silent invitation. After a moment’s pause, she took it.
It was dancing like he’d never danced before. Probably because there was no posturing, no hidden cameras, no transparent agenda. They were just...dancing.
And it was magic.
He sucked in a silent breath as she rested her hands lightly upon his shoulders, swaying her body to the beat. There was an inch or two of space between them, and he was suddenly desperate to close it. With a permissive glance at her face, he wound his hands around her lower back, pulling her closer. This time, she was the one to catch her breath as they started swaying at the same time, their bodies pressed together as one.
“So, you’re a multi-tasker huh?”
Lacy looked up at him with wide eyes, catching her breath again as the blue lights haloed around his face. “Excuse me?”
Logan smiled, memorizing then rememorizing every line on her perfect face. “You have to go to a friend’s birthday party, but this jerk asked you out on the same night. You decide to do both. Save a little time. Attend both, while committing to neither.”
He spoke in a quick, fluid manner. As persuasive as he was charming. It was a skill he’d learned whilst laying the foundations for his company. One he’d perfected the bigger it grew.
Lacy’s body shook with silent laughter, and for one of the first times since they’d met, she gazed up at him with a genuine smile. “Attend both, while committing to neither?”
Logan nodded thoughtfully, shifting so she was pressed right up against his chest.
“Well you’re here at the club, but you’re not exactly ‘at’ the birthday party. You’re over here dancing with me.” His heart quickened just at the thought of it. “But at the same time, if anything over here starts going a way you don’t want it to, you have a pack of drunken women ready to rip me to shreds. It’s a clever set-up. Really.”
Instead of blushing at being caught, Lacy grinned without a hint of shame. “You can never be too careful. Especially as a woman. Especially out with a known philanderer.”
This time, it was Logan’s turn to laugh. “A known philanderer? Just because I was having sex with a woman who—and I know you don’t believe this—I sincerely thought was single at the time? That makes me a known philanderer?”
He felt her spine stiffen, as the smile melted off her face.
“Have you ever heard of Verum Investigations?” He shook his head and she pulled an inch or so back, looking him up and down. “That’s my company. Started it myself. We cater our services almost exclusively to women. Help them find out if their boyfriend or husband is being unfaithful. Banging the secretary. Seeing hot construction worker on the side.” She paused a second for effect. “We’ve even set up a few sting operations just to make sure they won’t cheat. We call them honey traps.”
Logan braced himself. He had a feeling this was leading somewhere bad.
“Let’s just say...this wasn’t the first time I’d seen your picture, Dylan Stone.”
Perfect. That’s just perfect. I find this amazing, beautiful, intelligent girl—who happens to carry a nightstick and scare me to death—and she already hates me because of my brother.
He was silent for a long time. Staring at the floor. Unable to say a single word in his own defense. When he finally did speak, it wasn’t at all what she was expecting.
“That’s clever,” he said quietly. “Verum Investigations.”
She pulled back, looking up at him in shock. “Excuse me?”
“Verum means truth in Latin, right? Your company isn’t about catching the men, it’s about helping the women. You just want them to learn the truth.”
Her mouth fell open as she stared up at him. The two were no longer dancing, they were simply standing there. Motionless in the middle of the spinning floor. For a second, she was completely unable to speak. Then a hint of that sparkling smile flickered in her eyes.
“Yes, that’s exactly it—”
She flew forward with a gasp, as a man knocked into her from behind. A man who was just as drunk as Stella the birthday girl. Logan caught her automatically, cradling her a second in his arms, before pulling respectfully away.
“I’ll go,” he said softly. “You don’t have to—”
“Dance with me,” she interrupted. Her eyes were shining with a mix of curiosity and caution, each battling against the other. In the end, curiosity won out. “Just...dance with me.”
Logan held out his hand with a smile. He needed no more invitation than that.
Chapter 16