“Are you sure?”
Ordinarily, Beverly would never have consented to let her sixteen-year-old daughter hang out with them, but the fact that she so quickly agreed proved how much she wanted to see Lacy happy. It wasn’t that they hung with a rough crowd. Hell, half the people there tonight would be Lacy’s older cousins. She’d be surrounded by friendly faces and Logan didn’t doubt for a second they’d all make sure she had a prom night to remember.
“We just play music and dance. I’ll make sure she stays out of the spiked punch and Evan will get her home at a decent hour. We won’t let her out of our sight. Promise.”
“Oh, Logan. How can I ever thank you for this? She’ll be delighted.”
Lacy entered the room with the cookies Beverly had made for the barn dance.
“Hey, Lace,” he said, taking the tray from her. “Go upstairs and put on your prom dress. You’re going to the barn dance with me.”
Lacy’s eyes widened in sheer joy. “Seriously?”
She glanced at her mom for confirmation, who grinned. “Logan and Evan will keep an eye on you.”
Lacy dashed toward the stairs excitedly. “Five minutes. Give me five minutes.” With that, she raced up, with Beverly hot on her heels.
“Better give us fifteen, Logan. I have the cutest idea for her hair.”
Logan waved, grinning. Surprisingly, he was kind of looking forward to taking Lacy to her first barn dance. God knew the kid had been begging him and Evan to let her tag along with them for years.
Beverly and Lacy split the difference on the time it took to get ready. Lacy descended the stairs ten minutes later.
She looked absolutely gorgeous—and Logan suddenly regretted the offer. It would have been easier to keep an eye on her when she was still dressed like a gangly sixteen-year-old girl. Right now, she would pass for much older in her form-fitting dress. It was way too fancy for the barn, but no one there would care when they heard about her sick prom date.
“You look amazing, Lacy.”
Her smile lit her entire face.
“Here,” Beverly said. “You two stand there real quick and let me snap a picture.”
“Mom. It’s not like Logan is my date.” From her blush, it was clear she was embarrassed.
“I don’t mind.” Logan set the cookies down and put a friendly arm around her shoulder. They both said, “cheese” and then, somehow, Logan found himself taking Lacy to “prom.”
Chapter Four
Logan stood outside Sparks Barbeque and cursed himself for being the world’s biggest jackass. It had been a week since Lacy had shown up at his shop and seduced the fuck out of him.
And for seven days, he’d done nothing but think about how he wanted her to do it again. After her mind-blowing blowjob, he had helped her dress and cuddled her on his lap as they sat in his desk chair for nearly an hour. He’d cuddled her, for God’s sake.
Then, he told her to take a week to decide if she wanted another round. Damn woman had said yes before he had finished speaking, but he’d rejected the response and insisted she really think about it.
Now, it wasn’t her at his doorstep, but him at hers. He tried to reassure himself he wasn’t here because of the sex—yeah, right—but because of business. He had to get her chaise lounge out of his shop. It was driving him insane. He’d been a fool to make that her safe word. Every time he looked at the thing, he recalled Lacy bent over his desk as he spanked her.
It was way past time to get Lacy Sparks out of his head. He hoped that by engaging her here—amongst her family—he’d remember why it was a very bad idea for him to become involved with his best friend’s sister.
Lacy homed in on him the second he crossed the threshold, her too-pleased grin doing funny things to his insides. It occurred to him she had always lit up like that whenever he walked into a room, even when she was just a kid. And it had always made him feel good. Made him want to be a good man, a positive role model, the kind of person who was worthy of her admiration.
Now it just made him want to push her into the nearest broom closet and have his wicked way with her.
“Hey,” she said as she approached him.
“Hi, Lace.” His fingers itched to pull her close to him, to hug her tightly. That impulse seemed odd. He would have expected to feel desire—and he did—but the urge to simply embrace her and soak up the smell of her perfume was even stronger.
“Did you come for dinner? I’m off the clock in about ten minutes. I worked the breakfast and lunch shifts today. I could join you.”
He shook his head. “No. I’m not here for food.” He pointed to where his truck was parked out front. “I’ve got your chaise. Thought I’d see if you could take a few minutes to pop over to your place and unload it. Looks like I picked a good time.”
