“Am I supposed to understand anything you just said?” Callie asked.
“Usually, when I meet someone, I know what they want from me. Men who want money or adventure, women who want sex or money, or both, but you, I can’t figure out what you want from me. I like that.”
Maybe because that’s because I don’t know what I want from you, Callie thought. Part of her wanted to get serious with Logan, wanted believe in the deep ache she felt whenever he wasn’t there and the deeper ache she felt whenever he was. She wanted to dive head first into love with him, but another part of her knew that this couldn’t last.
“It will be good to get back to normal,” Logan said.
Callie nodded without thinking. It had become normal. Her time with Logan had felt so natural. Even when he was driving her nuts or making her do something ridiculous, she never felt like there was somewhere else she should be. “When did this become normal?”
“What do you mean?” Logan asked.
“I mean, when did we become… this?” Callie wanted to say more. Logan’s carefree ways be damned, she wanted to put a label on it. After all, he had already sworn off other women. Wasn’t that a sign of something? And she, well, at least for a few hours, she had forgotten all about her job and the reason she had been sent to Logan in the first place. It had allowed her to feel good about herself. It had allowed her to think that maybe she could be the kind of person who falls in love.
“I think we’ve always been us,” he said, “but we’ve just been waiting to meet each other.”
That’s it, Callie decided, in the morning, as soon as they were back in Newport, she was going to figure out some way to tell him. She didn’t want to ruin their night or their trip, but she knew she had to tell him the truth. The only question was whether he would feel anything other than betrayed when told him.
Fourteen
Logan pulled his corvette up to the entrance of the hotel. He was consistently amazed at how fast large sums of money could get things done. The engine purred like it had just rolled off the assembly line as he waited for Callie to make her way down from the room. The only instructions the mechanic had given him were not to turn the car off until he had reached his destination. With a full tank of gas and a strong desire to get home, Logan didn’t see that as being a problem. He had gotten a few stares when he left the car running outside a coffee shop on his way back to the hotel, but he figured Callie would appreciate the morning pick-me-up, especially after they kept each other up for half the night.
“I didn’t even hear you get out of bed this morning,” Callie said as she hopped into the car. A gentle breeze blew over them as they started on their way. In the warm morning sun, everything seemed perfect.
“I don’t think you would have heard an elephant get out of bed this morning,” Logan said. “You were out cold.”
“I attribute that to all the fried food,” she said.
“Do you really?” Logan asked.
“No, not in the least. I think you know why I’m so tired,” she said. She leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
“The mattress, right?” Logan joked.
“More like the man on top of it,” she said.
“We did have fun, didn’t we?” He said.
“I never would have thought to do that with a bucket of ice,” Callie said. She let out a wistful sigh.
“Live and learn,” Logan said as he pulled the car out onto the street. “I picked up some coffee for you.”
Callie took a sip. “You even remembered my order.”
“What can I say, I remembered the alliteration of caramel cappuccino. If the whole billionaire thing fails me, I’d make a hell of a secretary.”
Callie laughed. “I’d love to see that. I’m sorry. I’m just trying to imagine you actually answering to someone on a daily basis. Nope, can’t do it.”
The rest of the ride was uneventful, though as they drove south, the sunny summer morning began to give way to overcast skies and wind. Somewhere south of Boston, they had to pull the car over and put up the roof, and, for the rest of the ride, the squeaking old the old windshield wipers joined the hum of the engine as the only sounds. Callie had fallen asleep leaning against Logan, only to wake up as he pulled off of the highway and onto the backroads that led home. Maybe he’d make her a late breakfast, and they could catch up on sleep together on the couch. Callie would like that, he thought.
But as Logan rounded the last bend home, he realized he wasn’t going to get a chance to relax. News crews and paparazzi lined the street outside the gate to the mansion. “You think this has something to do with my father? Logan asked.