“Do you really mean that?” Logan asked with a mock sweetness.
Callie leaned over and planted a kiss on Logan’s cheek. The warmth of her wet lips undid him, and he turned to kiss her back, tumbling into her and giving in to his desire for her. He ran his hands over her hips and held her as he gave her kiss after dizzy kiss.
If only this could last forever, he thought, but he knew it couldn’t. He knew he was a fool for even thinking it could. Logan pulled back from the kiss and turned the key in the ignition. Nothing. The car was dead.
Callie watched him with an amused grin on her lips. “So the verdict is in,” she said.
“How’s that?”
“You are bad. It just happens to be that you’re bad with cars.”
“I can be even badder with you if you give me the chance.”
“I don’t know,” Callie said. “We’re half an hour from the nearest town, and who knows how far the nearest tow truck is. This might be the best chance you get.”
That sounded good to him.
Thirteen
After a long, cramped ride to Portsmouth in a tow truck, Callie and Logan had differing views on how they should spend the night. She and Logan should have been winding down back roads back to Newport with the warm summer air blowing through their hair and the moon rising somewhere behind them. Instead, they were standing on a sidewalk outside a garage somewhere in Portsmouth. The smell of salt water and motor oil hung in the air. At least it wasn’t raining. While Callie started looking for rental cars to get back to Rhode Island, Logan got on his phone and made a few calls.
“It’s all set,” he said.
“How?” Callie asked. “Every car place I’ve tried is closed for the night.”
“Who said anything about renting a car? I got us a hotel room,” Logan said. He flashed her that quick smile that let her know his intentions were less than noble.
“We should really head back. We’re only a few hours away, and we can have the car towed back. I don’t even have anything to sleep in,” Callie said.
“You say that like it’s a negative,” Logan said with a laugh. “Come on; the car died as we kissed. If that isn’t a sign, what is?”
“It sounds like a sign that I shouldn’t kiss you anymore.” The more Callie thought about that one, the truer it seemed.
“Maybe it means we should spend the night here and not worry so much about heading back. You’re on vacation. Go with the flow for once. My car gave her life so that we could enjoy one night here. I think we owe her that much.”
“First of all, your car is going to be fine, and second, when did you car become a she?”
“How could a car as sexy as that be anything but a she? If she were a guy, it would give a whole new meaning to drag race.”
Callie laughed in spite of herself and shook her head. “You’re kidding, right?”
“Yes,” Logan said, “that was a joke. Let’s spend the night. We’ll head back in the morning. It will be nice. Here you won’t be a guest of the family. You won’t have any other obligations, and I won’t be tending to a dozen other things at once. One night, you and me and maybe some wine.”
“I thought you were a beer guy,” Callie said.
“I’m willing to make an exception,” Logan said.
“And what happens if I say no?” Callie asked.
“You’re free to find your own way back, I guess. If you say yes, I’d love to bring you out to dinner and see where the night leads us.”
“How about I bring you out for dinner as a thank you for helping out today? You were really great. I don’t know why you’re so hard on yourself all the time. Sure, you have a reputation, but it doesn’t seem to fit you.”
“Look, I’m trying to do things right this time around. I’m trying to keep out of the tabloids and gossip blogs. It would be nice to be something other than a fuck-up for a change. Sometimes I really hate being Hank Harris’s son. Let’s leave it at that.”
Callie placed her hands on her hips and shook her head. “You know that’s not true. You’ve turned your life around. Look at you. You’re everything a woman could want. You’re handsome and funny and smart and successful. Who cares if you come from money?”
“Everyone does. Family, friends, every woman I’ve ever met. Do you want me to go on?”
“Well, I don’t care. You could be a bartender or a mechanic. You’d still be you, and I’d still like you.”
“It would be nice not to be Logan Harris for a night. It would be nice to forget about all of the expectations and mistakes and all of it.”