“I have milk in the fridge and sugar is on the island in front of you.”
“Thanks.” He opens the sugar container and glances around the room. “I said it last night, but in case you forgot, you have a great house.”
I smile. “Thanks for admiring my decorating style and for breaking me out of the hospital and making sure I didn’t die.”
“It’s no big deal,” Logan replies and takes a sip of his coffee. “I’m confident enough in my masculinity that I can admire good décor openly.”
A burst of laughter escapes my lips. My head throbs more, so I force myself to stifle it, and I wince. He puts his mug on the counter. “Are you okay? That should have been my very first question.”
“Headache,” I admit and let him put a hand under my chin and push my gaze up to meet his. He’s staring at me with intensity, like a diligent paramedic assessing his patient, but it still makes my heartbeat quicken and my blood warm. “No dizziness anymore and no more blurred vision. And I’m ravenous. Can I eat?”
He stops staring into my eyes and his hand drops from my chin. “Yeah. Eat. Also, you can take some ibuprofen for your headache and any soreness you’ve got from the fall. But I would take it easy for the next couple of days. Headaches and dizzy spells can persist for a while.”
I bite back a groan. I can’t afford time off work either when it’s finally picking up thanks to Terra and my friend Mitch, who is talking to his boss about having me design a site for a new campaign at his ad agency.
Logan glances at the clock above the stove. “I should get going. Chewie and I are taking my son tobogganing. First snow ritual.”
I smile and wonder what his kid looks like. I’m betting he’s like Gerber Baby, Jerry McGuire kid, Sprouse Twins pre-Zach-and-Cody level cuteness. “Sounds fun. But be careful. It’s slippery out there.”
He smiles softly. “Are you sure you’re going to be okay? Do you have a family doctor you could follow up with?”
“I do,” I lie because I think if I tell him I don’t he’ll feel like he’s still responsible for me and I don’t want him to. We have to get back to the proper tenant-landlord relationship. Unfortunately. “I’ll be fine.”
“Okay well, I’m with River most of the day, then I’m dropping Chewie at my sister’s because I’m working tonight,” he explains. “Do you have someone you could spend some time with today or tonight? Just so you’re not alone if you do get dizzy or sick again. It can happen.”
“I’ll invite my friend Aspen over,” I say and he seems to relax.
“Aspen Barlowe?” He cocks one of those dark, thick eyebrows.
“Yeah. I know, she used to date Jake. She was the one who sent me to meet Terra for the…” I stop talking. I’m about to fuck up and talk about my secret job.
“The waitressing gig you didn’t get?” Logan finishes for me. “Shit, if Terra knows you’re friends with Aspy that might be why you didn’t get it. Their friendship is…precarious at best.”
I smile and shake my head. “Aspen mentioned that they were rebuilding their friendship, but Terra didn’t factor that in, I swear. The fact that I’ve never waitressed might have been the problem.”
Logan smiles at that and yep, it’s just as breathtaking as I imagined it was when my vision was too blurry to make it out last night. “Are you still interested? Because I can make shit happen. I have clout.”
He puffs out his chest overdramatically and winks at me, and I laugh again. It’s a sound I’ve made more in the last twenty-four hours than I have in the last year. His perfectly warm and sexy smile deepens for a second before he lifts his coffee mug. I shake my head at his offer as he finishes his last few sips. “I have enough freelance work right now. And I am going to list one of my rooms on a rental site, so hopefully I get income from that.”
He walks over to place his mug in the sink, his smile gone. “You’re renting out a room in this house? Like upstairs, in your part of the house?”
“Yeah. People do it all the time for vacationers,” I say and suddenly get nervous. “Was the bed uncomfortable or the room not adequate?”
“Hell no, it was great,” Logan replies easily and my shoulders relax. “I just…I’m worried about strangers up here with you.”
“That’s sweet, but I’ll be okay,” I say and try not to blush. But his concern is more than flattering. It’s a turn-on. I remind myself he’s a tenant and I need to put him back in that zone. I mean…I don’t have a choice, right? “The original goal was to turn this place into a bed and breakfast and live in the suite you’re in, but well, my injuries and other stuff kind of threw all of that for a loop. I’m working on getting back on track.”
He nods slowly, but I can tell he’s still not convinced it’s a good idea. And the feeling of flattery gets knocked out by a little skeptical voice that lives in the back of my head that reminds me he’s got a sister.He’s probably thinking of you like he would Terra. That’s all.
“Call me if you need to today, okay?” Logan says as he walks backward toward the door to the kitchen where Chewie waits for him, Boss at his feet.
“Sure,” I say, but I won’t unless I truly feel like I’m dying. I’ve bothered him enough. As if to prove my point, he covers his face with his hand and tries to stifle a yawn. I feel so bad. “I feel like I should give you a rent discount next month for all your help.”
“Nah. Don’t worry about it. That’s what friends are for,” he says with an easy shrug.
We’re friends now? I guess he’s right. “It does seem we jumped from the Landlord-Tenant zone to the friend zone. I guess that’s what happens when you shower together.”
We’re in the hall now. He’s slipped on his boots, grabbed his bathing suit from the powder room, and has the door half open but when that last line drops from my lips, he freezes. The only things moving are his perfectly symmetrical lips…upwards into a hell of a sexy grin. “To be honest, Chloe, when I shower with a woman, they’re usually in a zone that’s well past friend. This thing with us…is unique.”
