Trust (Temptation #3)(36)

When her eyes stopped on him, she boldly asked, “How’d you two meet?”

“Would you stop with the twenty questions already?” Logan asked.

Tate found it extremely interesting that Logan seemed almost embarrassed about this part of the story.

“Oh, stop being such a bore, Logan. Plus, I wasn’t asking you. I was asking Tate. What are you so worried about? Did you hunt the poor guy down or something?”

That was it. Tate couldn’t hold back his laughter anymore, and the shocked expression that crossed Logan’s face at his hilarity didn’t help.

“Don’t tell me…” Evelyn continued, picking her glass of white wine up. “He did, didn’t he?”

Logan pointed a finger at him. “Shut it.”

But he wasn’t about to keep quiet. “Let’s just say he was very persistent.”

“In other words, I was right. He’s always been like that, even as a kid. If he saw something he wanted, he went after it with the tenacity of a bulldog.”

Logan took another gulp of his drink.

“To be fair, he had to be a bit more forceful than usual. I’d never considered dating a man, let alone wanted one before I met him.”

Logan practically choked on the liquor he’d just swallowed, and Tate gave his most charming smile as he raised his glass to his lips.

“Really?” Logan said as if he couldn’t believe he’d just said that.

Tate lowered his drink back to the table and nodded. “Really.”

“Good evening, and welcome to the Shanghai Terrace. My name’s Julie, and I’ll be your waitress tonight. Do you know what you would like to start with?”





* * *



For the most part, the night went along smoothly, which was a minor miracle.

Logan decided to go all out after much coaxing from Evelyn and ordered the most expensive meal on the menu. The food was delicious, and after several drinks, Logan reluctantly admitted that the company wasn’t too bad either.

He’d just excused himself, deciding to take a time-out to get the final round from the bar. All night, he’d been wary, waiting for the proverbial ball to drop, and he was both shocked and pleasantly surprised it didn’t seem it would happen.

Maybe she is turning over a new leaf.

Resting up against the bar, he didn’t see Tate approach until he felt a warm body behind him and heard a low voice whisper in his ear.

“Hey there, Hot Rod. Wanna come home with me later?”

A wide grin split Logan’s lips at the change to his childhood nickname and he turned so he was only inches away from Tate. With one of his forearms on the bar top, he reached out with the other to play with the buttonholes on his jacket.

“Hot Rod?”

Tate’s eyes lazily ran down his body, and when they came back up to his, the desire in them was obvious. “Yeah. I’m thinking that fits you better these days than Hot Wheels. Though you do still like fast cars.”

Logan licked his upper lip, and when Tate’s eyes followed his tongue, he cocked his head to the side. “Says the one who rides fast bikes.”

Tate kissed him, and then said, “What can I say? I like sleek, sexy things between my legs. Makes sense since I fucking love having you there.”

Logan placed his hand on Tate’s chest and closed his eyes for a second. “Shit, Tate.”

“You never answered. Want to come home with me?”

When Tate took a step back, Logan opened his eyes. “I’d love to, but I have a staff meeting first thing tomorrow and need several things from home. You could always come back and stay the night with me.”

As the bartender came over with their drinks, Tate shook his head. “Nah, it’s okay. I kind of need to go home and get into my own clothes anyway. Plus, I told Rachel I would meet with her before work with a list of potential areas.”

“Excuse me, sir?”

Logan turned to see their waitress for the evening.

She softly asked, “Are you Mr. Mitchell?”

He nodded at the polite inquiry that also had Tate turning.

With a tight smile, she handed him a small, black bill folder. “Your wife told me she had to leave to catch her plane and that you’d be taking care of the tab for both the dinner and the hotel stay.”

As Logan’s fingers clutched the rectangular folder in his hand, he felt the blood drain from his face and all the sound around him ceased to exist.

No…she couldn’t have…

It wasn’t until he heard Tate’s muffled voice disagreeing with the woman in front of them that he was aware she was waiting for him to respond. Like a robot on autopilot, Logan reached for his wallet, removed a card, and handed it over. All the while, Tate was still talking, saying words he couldn’t quite decipher.