“Cagey?” Harper echoed, her tone doubtful. “He’s positively Alcatraz. I’ve gotta say, I didn’t see that coming. You two are like oil and water.”
“More like gasoline and matches,” Violet put in. “All that animosity between you had to be hiding a raging passion.”
Scarlett didn’t comment on her sister’s observation, but couldn’t prevent heat from rising in her cheeks. As an actress she could control her body language and facial expressions, but stopping a blush was something she’d never mastered.
“Raging passion?” Harper echoed, her eyes widening. “What exactly have I been missing?”
“A lot.” Violet looked smug. “How many nights has he stayed at your place in the past two weeks?”
“Not one.” He liked to be home when Madison got up in the morning.
“Then how many nights has he gone home in the wee hours of the morning?”
“Several.” Scarlett couldn’t believe how giddy she felt at the admission.
“Then it’s serious?” Harper asked.
“He’s encouraging me to head back to L.A. and take the part. That tells me it’s pretty casual.”
“But hot,” Violet piped up.
Both Harper and Scarlett ignored her.
“Maybe he knows how important acting is to you and wants you to be happy,” Harper suggested with a pragmatic nod.
“But I told him I was done with acting.”
“But you’re telling us that you’re not.”
“I really thought I was. It’s been a year since I’ve been offered a guest spot. And that’s been fine. I’ve been completely content here. I put L.A. and acting behind me.” Scarlett sorted through her conflicting emotions. “I’ve already turned down Bobby three times, but he won’t take no for an answer and after Logan told me to go, I’m wondering why I’m hesitating.”
“Why are you hesitating?” Harper asked.
“You’re going to think I’m an idiot.”
Violet said, “I promise we won’t.”
“Logan is so against my past acting career and I didn’t want to do anything to jeopardize our relationship. But today he was behaving like there’s nothing going on with us. I’m starting to think I made up our connection because I’m crazy about him.” Admitting her deep feelings wasn’t something that came easily to Scarlett, but time spent with her sisters had eroded the walls she kept up to guard against disappointment and hurt.
“You are?” Violet looked surprised. “How crazy?”
“The kind that’s going to end up with my heart broken.” Being able to share her concerns with Harper and Violet gave Scarlett a sense of relief. “Maybe I should go back to L.A. and take up my career again.”
“We’d miss you,” Violet told her.
“We would.”
Scarlett’s eyes burned. “Thanks.”
“I’ll bet Logan would miss you, too,” Violet said, her hazel eyes sparkling. “Maybe he’s pushing you away because he’s afraid it will hurt too much to lose you.”
That sounded sweet to Scarlett’s ears, but she wasn’t susceptible to romance the way Violet was. In fact, until Logan came along, she’d interacted with men with an eye toward what they could do for her.
“Logan Wolfe isn’t afraid of anything,” Scarlett declared. “Least of all losing me.”
“Everyone’s afraid of something,” Harper said in an unusual display of insight. “You’ll just have to figure out if he’s more afraid of keeping you around or letting you go.”
Nine
Logan paced his living room, aware that he resembled a grumpy, caged bear. He squinted against the sunlight streaming in his large picture window, but Scarlett’s flashy red convertible was not streaking up his driveway. For the tenth time in half an hour he glanced at his watch. Not surprisingly, the hands hadn’t crept forward more than a couple minutes. It was 12:23 p.m. and Madison should have been home from her birthday party almost two hours ago.
If something happened to her...
A car was moving through the vegetation that lined the driveway, but it wasn’t Scarlett’s. As the vehicle drew closer, Logan spied his niece in the passenger seat and recognized Scarlett’s assistant as the driver. Annoyed by the change in plans, Logan strode through the front door and went to meet the car.
“Hey, Uncle Logan.” Madison exited the car, her overnight bag slung over her shoulder, and waved at the driver. She stretched and yawned with dramatic flair as she neared him. “What a birthday party. That was the most fun I’ve ever had.” Lifting up on tiptoe, she kissed his cheek. “Thanks again for letting Scarlett plan the party.”