Trust (Temptation #3)(50)

“Jesus, Logan,” Cole said, shaking his head. “That woman never ceases to amaze me.”

“You and me both. I couldn’t believe she would pull that shit on me in front of someone I fucking care about. I knew she had no problem screwing me over, but to do it in front of Tate… I’ve never been so humiliated.”

“It’s not your fault she’s a damn parasite.”

Logan gave a small shrug. “I know, but that doesn’t really help when you’re left with the bill your ‘wife’ left you.”

Cole’s eyes widened. “Damn. I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

“Don’t be. It’s not your fault.”

Cole was looking at him in a way that had Logan getting to his feet. The expression in his eyes told Logan he was feeling sorry for him, and he didn’t want to go down that self-pitying path again. Tate had just dragged him the fuck out of it.

“Look, I have several things out of the office today. Is everything covered here?”

Cole stood and nodded. “Yeah. I have everything under control. Rachel won’t be home until later. She’s so excited about Tate’s new ‘adventure,’ as she calls it. I wonder if he’ll be able to get away from her before the sun sets.”

Logan laughed as he picked his briefcase up and walked around the desk. “Tate’s pretty amicable for the most part. I’m sure they’ll be out until whenever Rachel decides to call it quits.”

As they both moved toward the office door, Cole asked, “For the most part?”

“Yeah. He’s only stubborn about certain things.”

“Such as?”

Logan took his coat off the rack, and as he opened the door and Cole stepped out, he decided, What the hell. “Like…moving in with me.”

Cole stopped in his tracks and pinned him with a “get the fuck out of here” look. “You asked him to move in with you?”

Logan closed his door and placed his coat over his arm. “I did.”

“Wow.”

“Why is everyone so surprised by this?”

Cole slipped his hands into his pockets and tried to fight back a grin. “You have to admit that it’s a little shocking. You’ve gone from a man who wouldn’t date one person, let alone—”

“Yes?” Logan asked, feeling perturbed.

Cole lost it then and started to laugh. Then he clapped him on the arm. “Nothing. I think it’s great.”

Logan eyed him as if he didn’t believe him. “It would be even better if Tate would hurry up and say yes.”

“Did he say no?” Cole asked.

Logan was quick to tell him, “No. He said, ‘Not yet.’”

Cole smiled, and as he turned on his heel to walk to his office, he called over his shoulder, “Give the guy some time to digest that he’d have to entertain your ass twenty-four-seven. Then I’m sure he’ll give you the answer you want.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Logan mumbled and headed for the door. “Go do some work. I’ll see you later.”





* * *



It had just turned three o’clock when Tate and Rachel walked through the doors of the final property on his list for the day. It was a corner lot with double doors that opened onto the street, and inside, there were three steps leading down to the main floor.

The space was large, and the bar was already built in, which, in his mind, was a plus. He didn’t have the extra money for major renovations, so if they could find something in relatively good shape, he could definitely work with that.

Tate wandered into the center of the room, and the realtor came up next to him, rattling off numbers and figures on square footage—this one had 4,400. But what caught his attention this time around was the mention of an additional loft included in the rent.

He turned to see Rachel’s grin as she nodded and walked over to the area off to the right, where a long wall of windows let in the afternoon sun and faced the side street where he’d parked his bike.

“The restaurant and bar scene has really taken off on this side of town,” the realtor said. She’d been giving them handy little facts about each place at every new stop. “Owners have been investing in restoring and renting out their properties, and fortunately, that means a lot of business.”

“And higher rent,” Rachel murmured as Tate made his way over to where she stood.

“Yes, yes. In the end, you get what you pay for,” the realtor told them.

Keeping his cards close to his chest, Tate remained silent as he walked to the long bar and ran his palm over the top of it. He didn’t want to let on just how much he liked the place before he got to see more of it.