She paused thoughtfully, staring into his eyes.
“...you’re sweet.”
He froze for a second, looking down in surprise, before shifting her closer with a playful grin. “You’re just saying that so I won’t strangle you for bursting in on me in the shower.”
Her sparkling laughter rang out over the garden, and she nestled deeper inside his arms.
“That might be true.”
They sat there for a long time. Bathed in the silver moonlight. Swinging gently in the breeze. It was quiet for so long, that Logan thought she must have fallen asleep.
Then a soft voice piped up from the darkness.
“Goodnight, Dylan.”
The name hit Logan hard—like a punch to the gut. His muscles tightened as he looked down at her in surprise, before wilting again with a quiet sigh.
“Goodnight.”
Chapter 23
Logan and Lacy spent the entire night sleeping on the porch. He woke up once to tuck the blanket around her when she started shivering. She woke up once to marvel at the fact that she’d fallen asleep in the man’s arms. But other than that, they slept peacefully until morning.
At which point...everything started to fall apart.
How the dog got out—Logan would never know. He half-believed the thing had developed opposable thumbs and was just waiting for him in the tall grass. All he knew was that he wasn’t remotely surprised to wake up and discover Spartacus drooling on the side of his face.
“What...” he shifted in his sleep, bringing a hand to his cheek, “what’s going...FUCK!”
He pulled back with a gasp—his arms tightening automatically around Lacy as he shifted her away from the dog’s massive teeth. She woke up a second later, gripping onto his arms and blinking in disoriented surprise. Meanwhile, Spartacus pranced back and forth in front of them—thrilled that they were awake. So thrilled, that his wagging tail knocked over the half-empty mugs of hot chocolate, shattering them on the porch.
For a second, they both just sat there. Then Lacy started shaking with silent laughter. It was harder for Logan to find the humor, but her smile was contagious. After just a few seconds, he gave in—alternating between chuckling, and cursing the dog under his breath.
Finally, after they quieted down, Logan looked down at her with a warm smile.
“Well...good morning.”
She peered up at him, still nestled in his arms.
“Good morning yourself.”
It was very strange—waking up with someone that he hadn’t had sex with the night before. Logan didn’t know whether to follow his instincts and give her a kiss, or if they were simply two people who’d passed out after a neighborhood potluck, only to be woken by his dog.
“Can I get you some coffee? Maybe some breakfast?”
He watched her very closely, hoping to pick up on some kind of behavioral clue. But she seemed just as out of sorts as he was. That signature confidence had turned suddenly shy and she shivered slightly in the morning breeze, leaning subconsciously into his chest.
“That sounds great. Thanks.”
The blanket came down, and there was a good deal of awkward shuffling as they tried to untangle themselves from each other. A slipped hand here, a self-conscious blush there. At one point, her hair got stuck on his jacket, and he was painfully reminded of the woman next door. A woman who he’d been nervously keeping an eye out for at the cookout last night.
“Sorry, I’ve almost—”
He hastened to unloop a lock of her wavy hair.
“No, it’s okay,” she reassured him. “Take your time.”
Her face tilted up as he readjusted the angle—gazing with that twinkling smile into his eyes. He tried not to look. He tried to keep his eyes on his work. Tried very hard not to smile, or swoon, or sweep her off her feet right then and there.