Old friend.
Nothing like two simple words to ground a person. To remind them of their place—maybe not in society, but their place in Logan Marten’s life. He was not wrong. It was a very good reminder.
Jen smiled, tucking a long strand of hair behind her ear before asking, “How do you know this troublemaker?”
I wasn’t sure if she was referring to me or Logan, but before I could answer, Logan did, leaning back in his chair, his arms tucked behind his head. “She’s my little sister’s best friend. She used to leave me love notes and spy on me.”
Logan’s smile grew wider as he watched me pretend to reel in a fish with my left hand while my right middle finger slowly raised upward.
“Looks like she’s still got it bad,” Jen teased, her hand on her hip and the hint of a tattoo showing at the top of her shoulder. Jen and I had gotten to know each other during my week of running the restaurant for Chad. It started off a bit rocky, as I figured it would be when another female entered into an alpha’s domain, but we ended on a pretty good note.
Logan had his hands on his stomach while he leaned back, two pegs of his chair in the air while he dangled casually. I had the sudden urge to kick the chair to see what would happen. I stole a few fries off of his plate instead. Margo met my gaze across the table.
“I have a lot of questions,” she said.
“Get in line.”
Margo laughed at the same time our sociable waitress did. Logan’s eyes were trained on her pretty face, which, honestly, I had to give him some props for because she had a couple of other attractive features begging to be admired.
Once Jen had left, Logan picked up his hot dog, inspected it curiously, and took a bite. Margo and I watched him on pins and needles.
“Well?” I asked. “How is it?”
Once he swallowed, he said, “It tastes like something my grandma boiled on the stove.”
“I guess he’s killing it, then. Chad’s goal is to make down-home cooking like your grandma used to make.”
Logan’s eyes widened. “Mygrandma?”
I made a face. “Well, maybe notyourgrandma, but somebody’s grandma.”
Between bites, he asked, “How’s the meatloaf sandwich here?”
“Imagine if badger meat and a cow pie had a baby.”
“Perfect. I ordered it for Jake.”
We both turned around in time to see Jake taking a big bite of the brown hunk of sludge smashed between two slices of toasted white bread. He dipped it in a pile of ketchup, happily talking with the guys, telling some animated story and gesturing wildly.
“Kelsey never told me you were coming home this summer.” I tried to keep the accusatory note out of my voice, but Kelsey and I would have words later.
“And why would Kelsey feel she needed to tell you?”
I didn’t like his knowing gaze. “She probably would have called to warn me of the stench coming into town.”
He laughed, polishing off a few fries. I reached across the table and stole a few more off of Margo’s plate. She glared at me before pulling her plate closer to her. I glanced up to see Logan looking back at his construction friends and giving them some sort of signal, which seemed to give the men a reason to burst out laughing.
He turned back and caught me watching him, all innocence. “So, Tess, what kind of things do you like to do around here?”
Inside, I was waffling. What answer would come flying out of my mouth when he asked?
“I mainly sit at home and read.”
“Liar.”
Let’s see, we could make out. I could have his babies.
“You still like to hike?” he asked.
