The Billionaire's Kiss(89)

“Sounds perfect,” Logan said.

When Callie reached Henry and Evelyn, they both stood up and wrapped their arms around her in a hug. The old couple was beaming. They were both tanned, and energetic and seemed much younger than they had the first time Callie met them. “We don’t know how to thank you,” Evelyn said.

“It’s really beyond anything we could have dreamt of,” Henry said.

“What are you talking about?” Callie asked.

“Our honeymoon. What you’ve done for us was so above and beyond anything we could have imagined.”

“I let you move to my seat. It wasn’t a big deal.”

“No big deal?” Evelyn asked. “Little did we know on the plane that we were rubbing elbows with someone of influence. Oh, the sunset dinner cruise, the upgraded suite and extended stay at the hotel, the guided tours of mansions, it’s all been a dream. I don’t know how we could ever thank you.”

Callie looked back up the sideline toward Logan, who seemed like he was purposely avoiding looking over to her. “You said there was a note left for you on my behalf?”

“Yes,” Evelyn said. “It, like everything else, was very kind.”

“I think I know what’s going on here,” Callie said. “I’ve been set up.”

Evelyn crossed her arms and looked around. “What do you mean?”

“I didn’t arrange all of that, but I know who did.”

“Who?” They both asked in unison.

“A friend of mine. I might have mentioned how sweet you and your husband had been on the flight,” Callie said. “How he tracked you down, I don’t know.” Despite all the teasing and taunting, Logan had gone out of his way to ensure that Henry and Evelyn had a wonderful, extended stay in Newport.

“Who is he?” Evelyn asked. “We’d love to thank him.”

“I don’t know if he’d really want to be thanked.” Callie looked over at Logan. She had to introduce him, right? Would he go through all of that effort for some stupid bet? Of course he would. But why would he ignore her when he was finally about to win?





***

As the half ended and the crowd spilled out onto the field, Logan knew he’d been caught. Callie had waved him over twice, before he finally relented and started to head over. He had been looking forward to this moment since the morning he had placed his bet with Callie. He had wanted to see the look on her face when she realized that he could, in fact, do nice things for other people. Winning the bet was just going to be a side benefit. But, as he walked over, he felt no excitement. Instead, he dreaded talking to the old couple. He dreaded hearing Callie say nice things about him.

He’d probably tell her that he had set it all up so he could win his bet with her, but that wasn’t completely true. When they had made the bet, Logan hadn’t intended to do anything, but he had been able to tell that it meant a lot to Callie to believe that people really could be happy. And if it only cost him a few calls to a concierge service to set everything up for Henry and Evelyn, what was the harm? They reminded him of his parents in a way. Henry bore no more resemblance to Hank than their shared name, but Evelyn, from a distance reminded him of his mother. Probably any woman her age would, but the way Henry and Evelyn held their arms around each other on Thames Street that morning had been exactly the way his parents leaned against each other whenever they had a moment alone. Logan knew that Hank would have given anything to have one more week or day with his wife.

In truth, both Logan and Hank had been mad at each other for years for not spending enough time with her at the end. They didn’t talk about it, but it was a grief that had kept itself wrapped around Logan’s heart for years, and he knew Hank had been even more shattered by his loss. Even though they barely spoke, Logan wished he could ease his father’s pain. Helping Henry and Evelyn have the honeymoon of their dreams wasn’t going to change that, but Logan figured he could at least give them the happiness his own parents had known. The bet aside, he just wanted them to be happy. He wanted to reassure himself that not every story ended in tragedy. The rest, the bet and all, was a bonus. Callie’s belief in true love would be upheld and he’d find a way to get her to admit he was right.

He watched Callie, down the sideline, smiling and happy. As soon as he reached her, he’d have to pretend to be happy too. Maybe his problem was that he still held out hope that things would work out. If he knew for sure that Callie would be better off without him, this whole thing wouldn’t have been so bad. If it all had been doomed to fail, he wouldn’t feel so bad about sending her away. As he headed over to her, his confidence in his plan started to wane. Maybe he just needed a sign that things were meant to work out, that he and Callie were meant to be together no matter what. Logan scanned the field looking for a sign, and, sure enough, within a minute, he had one. It just wasn’t the one he wanted.