The Billionaire's Kiss(36)

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Logan grabbed Callie's hand and led her down the hall. He hadn't set foot in the secret room for years, but he wanted to show it to her. He wanted to share it with her. It might have been dumb, but it felt like a way to share more about himself with her without getting overly sentimental. "Come check out the study with me. It's over here." Logan led Callie down the hall and then turned the corner to another hallway. He motioned to a wood paneled wall and slid his hand across the dark mahogany, looking for the seam. He knew exactly where the handle was, but he wanted to put on a show for Callie. What good was a secret room without a little suspense? He couldn't just walk over and open it. No, he had to take his time. As soon as his fingers reached the seam in the wood, he slid them down the opening toward the latch. Then he stepped back. "Why don't you do the honors?"

Callie looked at him and raised an eyebrow. He could tell that she wasn't sure if he was joking about there being a secret door. "This house was owned by a bootlegger, Eldridge Colt, a distant relative of the man who invented the revolver. He built a series of hidden passages and rooms throughout the house in case he needed to hide or flee. Over the years, most of them, like closets with false walls and hidden compartments, were opened up or closed off. By the time my parents bought the house, almost all of the passages and rooms had been removed during renovations and remodels, except for one. Give me your hand."

Callie stepped up to Logan and placed her hand on the wall. With his guidance, she pushed in, and the panel before her opened to a tiny hallway. "It's a hidden study. Supposedly, Colt kept his secret books in here, but my father kept it as a study. Go on, do the honors." Callie stepped forward and opened the next door. As she pushed it open, light from the windows spilled onto her face, and Logan watched as she looked around the room. The storm had broken, and sun filtered through the clouds outside.

When he was little, Logan had loved this room more than any other. It was where his mother had read to him. It was where his father would take him after finishing a business deal. It was the place where he felt closest to having a normal life and a normal family. Inside the room, with the big mahogany pocket doors pulled shut and a small fire crackling in the fireplace, he felt like an ordinary kid in an ordinary family, together in a small room, happy and content.

Even at that young age, Logan had known that most families didn't have libraries or secret rooms or many of the things his family had. For a while, the room had served as his father's office during the summer months. It was easy to see why. It was hidden away from the rest of the house, and with two rambunctious sons and a parade of houseguests, it was one of the few places where he could get away and just work. At night, when Hank was finishing up his work for the day, Logan would sneak in and plop down in one of the leather chairs and watch him.

Sometimes, Logan would pull a book off the shelf and start reading. His father hadn't explained to him how many of the books in that room were rare first editions, but he had taken every care to remind him that these things were special, that they were the result of hard work and good luck. His father had done a good job of instilling that lesson. Logan had taken it to heart. He hadn't earned any of this. It had been given to him, and it was his responsibility to live up to that.

"I've always loved this room," Logan said as he stepped into the library. He walked over to a wall of bookshelves that reached from the floor to the ceiling and ran his hand over the spines of the books.#p#分页标题#e#

"I thought you were the man who didn't love anything or anyone," Callie said.

"I loved this place when I was a kid, probably more than any other. Every detail of it seemed so magical. The ornate detail in all of the woodwork, the tall bookcases, the way the sunlight filtered through the dusty air in the morning. Whenever the room wasn't in use, I used to come down here before breakfast and take a book down from the shelf and just start reading. Half the time, I had no idea what the books said. I don't think it really mattered. You're the first person outside of my family to step foot in this room in twenty years."

"That's incredible," Callie said. She sat down in one of the leather chairs and ran her hand over the arm rest. Against the oversized chair, her body looked even more delicate and feminine. Logan wanted to lean in and wrap his arms around her.

"Come on, we should get going while the weather's still good," he offered.

He watched Callie pull herself up from the chair. Bright golden afternoon light lit up her lovely face and her blonde hair, making her seem even more beautiful, like she was a vision, a dream of what an angel would be. As she moved towards him, his desire for her overtook him and he stepped forward to kiss her.