Simply Scandalous (Simply Series Book 2) by Carly Phillips (non fiction books to read .TXT) 📗

She drew a deep breath, unsure if she wanted him to enter. At least in her apartment, there were no memories of him besides the ones she conjured in her head.

“You have my car so I had to pay for a cab ride out here. You wouldn’t turn away a poor working man, now would you?” he asked, a charming but wary grin on his face.

Nick would have driven his car back tomorrow, but she doubted Logan wanted to hear Nick’s name mentioned right now. She also doubted he’d accept his car keys at the door and be on his way. Her best bet was to stay composed and detached. Get him in and out—of her apartment as well as her life, no matter how much the thought hurt. “Come on in.”

She stepped aside, and as he passed her, she caught a whiff of his distinctive scent and her knees nearly buckled under her. So much for remaining detached. She wondered if she could pull off the composed and aloof routine. She doubted it.

He walked into her small living area and glanced around at her furniture. Dressed in a black polo shirt and jeans, he looked at home in her cozy apartment. And that was the last thing she wanted him to be.

He appraised the room from top to bottom before focusing his attention on her living room carpet, one of her favorite furnishings. He raised an eyebrow at the leopard-patterned area rug covering the hardwood floor. No way he’d understand her love of animal prints.

“It’d go well in the cottage,” he said.

Her heart nearly stopped beating. “What do you want from me? Don’t you think today’s proven just how impossible this is?” She gestured back and forth between the two of them, keeping a physical distance.

He closed that fast and she found herself surrounded by his masculine presence. Reaching out, his finger brushed at her nose. “Flour?” he asked.

She nodded, trying not to acknowledge how much that simple gesture affected her. Self-conscious now, she rubbed her nose with the back of her hand. “I’m making crepes.”

“Sounds delicious.” His stomach rumbled and she laughed.

“Sounds more like you’re hungry,” she said.

He grinned. “So, feed me.”

Without another word, she walked over to the pass-through area between her walk-in kitchen and the living room. “I hope you’re not starving because I don’t have much,” she warned him. She was due for a supermarket run. Her cupboards were almost bare except for junk food and the standard things she kept for elaborate baking.

“Whatever you’ve got is okay by me.” He made himself at home, sitting on one of her barstools that doubled as her kitchen chairs.

She sighed and decided junk food would do just fine. She dug into her cabinets, grabbed her only choice, and headed back to Logan. “Here you go, eat up.” She tossed a bag of potato chips at him.

He shrugged. “Love them.”

“Figures,” she muttered aloud.

He took the tie off the bag and held it toward her. “Want some?”

She shook her head. “No, thank you.”

“Then don’t let me keep you.” He popped a chip into his mouth, then gestured toward her baking ingredients. “I’d love to watch.”

She sighed and glanced at the batter, which still needed thinning.

“You shouldn’t have had to go through what happened this morning,” he said.

The sudden change of subject caught her off guard. She glanced at his serious expression, not sure what to say in return.

“I don’t know if the picture will hit the news or not,” he said when she remained silent.

“What you can’t control, you ignore.” Or tried to. She’d spent the afternoon trying to come to terms with the fact that she’d be plastered all over the Internet. “Any chance they’ll bury the story?” she asked.

“Doubtful. And I wish it hadn’t happened.”

She met his gaze. “Maybe so, but did it accomplish your goal?” she asked.

He raised an eyebrow. “You can’t believe I had anything to do with that press conference.”

She shook her head. If there was anything in life she was certain of, it was Logan’s integrity. “Of course not.” She wrapped her hand tight around the whisk. The edges of metal bit into her skin. “But can you deny that getting caught half-naked with the woman of the day will help derail your father’s campaign?”

She held her breath, waiting for his answer. As if whatever he said would change what had happened, what was or wasn’t meant to be.

“I wish I could.”

And she wished he’d denied that she was his woman of the moment and felt let down that he hadn’t. What a bundle of contradictions she’d become, Catherine thought. Pushing him away with one breath, wishing he’d come back with the next. Never in her life had she been at such loose ends, so confused over her feelings.

No, that was wrong, she amended. She was quite certain of her feelings. She loved a man she couldn’t have.

“So, how did your father take the news that there wouldn’t be a run for mayor?” she asked.

No way Logan would repeat the judge’s tirade. Logan grunted. “Not well.”

He took another potato chip in hand. “As usual, I disappointed him.” And as usual, Logan felt the same swell of disappointment in his father because they couldn’t find any common ground, and this time, the rift would be permanent.

“I’m sorry.” She’d braced her hands against the counter and studied him. “Will he get over it?” she asked.

Logan shrugged. “I really couldn’t tell you.”

“But you want him to, don’t you? You’d like to be some sort of family?”

“Not if the judge is going to act like a pompous, overbearing…”

“No cursing in my kitchen,” she said before he could get his next words out.

He laughed. “You know me too well. But yes, if there was a way to come to an understanding without compromising my life, I’d take it.”

“Then try with your mother. You never know.”

Logan nodded slowly. Catherine was right. He hadn’t exhausted every avenue toward peace. When his father