He smiled at my subject change, and then started walking out of the office and back to the shop floor. “Let’s see . . . There’s Jessica and Camila who both work part time at the front desk. Jess is in college so she needs flexible hours and Camila is the sister of one of the mechanics. She fell on some hard times and needed a job, and I was more than happy to give her one. And then I have eight guys who work on the cars. I was thinking, if you’re serious about helping me with some marketing, maybe you could come in one day this week and meet everyone.” He said it casually but I knew this was important to him.
“That sounds perfect,” I said to him. “And maybe we can also make out in your office a little?”
Logan huffed out a surprised laugh. “Mills! It would be during business hours . . .”
“I know,” I retorted, throwing him a quick wink.
He shuffled his feet. “My god, woman,” I heard him say under his breath.
I pulled my phone out of my purse to check the time, seeing that it was only eight-thirty. “Come on,” I said, holding my hand out for his. “I want you to take me to get some ice cream.”
Thirty minutes later,we sat in a plush booth at a local diner with a massive snickers milkshake sitting on the table between us. “I feel like I’m fourteen again,” Logan mumbled before he took a pull from one of the straws.
I put my lips around mine and joined him for a drink. Chocolate and caramel flooded my mouth, sending endorphins straight to my brain. When I was done, I licked my lips before saying, “You certainly don’t look fourteen.” Flickers of a younger Logan illuminated in my mind. The boyish grin that drove me crazy. The long, unkempt hair beneath his backward hat. The wild rage that could fly out of him on a hairpin trigger. I ached for the boy I once knew, but also fiercely longed for the man in front of me now.
Logan hummed. “When can I see you again?” His eyes bounced from the cherry falling deeper into the melting whipped cream to my eyes. His question sent my body floating. It elated me that he was already trying to secure our next encounter.
“Depends,” I responded nonchalantly.
“On what?”
“On when you want me to come in for my field trip.” I took another sip of the milkshake, getting some of the snicker chunks up through the straw.
“How about Monday?” It was as if he were injecting helium straight into my bones.
I thought about my schedule for the week. I needed to work on new brand guidelines for Bite of Life, and I had to build next month’s social media calendars for a few other clients, but all of that could easily be done after Monday. “Monday sounds good to me.”
Logan dipped his head in approval. “Okay, good. I’ll have some things to work on first thing in the morning, but I should be available in the early afternoon.”
“Okay, I’ll be there around eleven?”
He nodded, before his face grew serious as he considered me. He reached his hand out to cover mine, lightly rubbing his thumb along the side of my pinky. “I’m already counting down the hours.”
I felt a pitter patter in my chest that only he had the ability to create.
After we finished our dessert, Logan reluctantly drove me back to Adam’s. I’d have liked to say that we fully respected our new rule to leave sex off the table, but we definitely played with fire as Logan pushed me up against the front door and kissed me so deeply I almost forgot who I was. It was a kiss full of promises, a blazing reminder of the twin flame burning within us.
Much to my disappointment, Logan finally peeled himself off of me and said goodnight with a chaste kiss to my forehead. “Sleep well, Mills.”
“Thirty-seven more hours,” I responded wistfully.
I heard his low chuckle from the end of the hall as I watched him press the elevator button.
ChapterEighteen
FOUR YEARS AGO (AGE 21)
The electricityin the air was so thick and palpable, I could feel it weave between my fingers as I reached out to grab the cold bottles of beer from the bartender’s hands. The little dive bar was crowded with college students fresh off of finals who were looking to unwind and get lost in the night before heading back to wherever they came from for summer break.
I handed my credit card to the bartender, asking her to keep my tab open, and then made my way back to our little table in the corner. Scarlet and Ivy cheered as I approached and Danny whistled his approval, his bright eyes locking on the bottles in my hands.
A shiver of excitement ran up my spine. It felt like the beginning of one of those nights—a night that would sear into my memory to be thought of and admired later. Like a right of passage that I would only really be aware of after it was over. I was twenty-one and had just passed all my finals. Junior year of college was officially over, and as I looked around, it felt like every single student had ventured into this little college bar to celebrate. To let loose. To get drunk and rowdy.
Classes had definitely been difficult, but with a lot of late nights spent studying in my tiny bedroom, I’d ended the year with straight A’s. It was my best semester yet, and I was ready to burn off some of my pent-up energy.
I set the bottles of beer down on the table and wrapped my arms around Danny’s neck, stealing a quick, salty kiss. We’d been dating for almost five months now, and while our relationship wasn’t perfect, he was always a good partner-in-crime to go out with on nights like this.
Danny was a year older than me and had just finished his engineering degree. He’d be graduating with the rest of the senior class early next week. I knew he was probably going to get raucous tonight, and I saw it as a challenge, eager to keep up. “Cheers,” I said into his ear, clinking my bottle against his.
