Healed with a Kiss (Bride Mountain 3)

A couple more days of fun and then they’d be back home, immersed in those busy schedules she’d just reminded him of. Rested, refreshed, ready to get back to work after the brief vacation they had both needed. She shouldn’t waste the weekend trying to analyze his every word and expression, she decided, slowing her steps and smiling more naturally up at him. There was plenty of

time after they returned to Virginia to decide how to proceed—if at all—with their affair.

Chapter Seven

It was immediately apparent that a beautiful spring day brought out the crowds in Seattle. While locals celebrated a respite from a long winter, tourists took advantage of the clear views of the Olympic Mountains to the west and the Cascades to the east, frantically snapping photos of Mount Rainier and the Space Needle from dozens of different angles.

With Logan indulgently tagging along, Alexis cheerfully played tourist along with everyone else, taking photos and standing in line to buy tickets for the monorail. The two-minute elevated ride took them to Seattle Center, where they admired the International Fountain, then rode the elevator to the top of the Space Needle for the breathtaking views of the mountains, the sound and the sprawling surrounding neighborhoods.

Logan didn’t complain when she browsed gift shops full of souvenirs and local handicrafts, and he seemed to enjoy the music and science fiction museums. While she explored yet another gift shop, he fell into conversation with a security guard. Stuffing her purchase—a cheesy but cute little ceramic replica of the Space Needle—into her bag, she approached them just as the men shook hands and the guard moved on.

“That looked like a serious conversation.”

Logan nodded. “We were talking about the best places to eat lunch around here.”

“So where are we going?”

He chuckled. “Depends on what you’re in the mood for. Pacific Northwest seafood, Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese, Ethiopian, Greek, Indian, Korean, Mediterranean...”

She laughed and shook her head. “Maybe you should just pick one and surprise me.”

After riding the monorail back downtown, they dined on Vietnamese food—stuffed escargot followed by pan-fried lemongrass sea bass for him, papaya salad and stir-fried vegetarian rice noodles for her. Logan had studied the menu carefully before making his selections, his expression so serious that she was rather amused. He’d done the same last night when they’d eaten at a popular seafood establishment, consulting with the server before ordering a wood-grilled chinook salmon dish that he declared “delicious.”

“You really are a foodie, aren’t you?” she asked him with a smile as she twirled noodles around her chopsticks. “Since we usually eat takeout or easy meals at my place, I didn’t realize what an adventurous palate you have.”

He looked a little self-conscious about her teasing. “I’m usually happy eating just regular stuff at home. I’m certainly no chef. Bonnie says I’d probably live on grilled steak and microwave-baked potatoes if she didn’t invite me to dinner several times a week, and she’s probably right. I guess I’m just in the habit of ordering more interesting dishes when I’m dining out and someone else is doing the cooking.”

“You and I haven’t really eaten out at home.”

He shrugged. “Just seemed too likely we’d run into people we know.”

“It wasn’t a criticism. It was every bit as much my choice to stay in for the meals we’ve shared.”

He nodded and glanced around the rather crowded dining room in which no one was in the least interested in them. “Still, it’s kind of nice to be able to eat out together for a change.”

“Yes, it is.”

She sipped her green tea, then set the cup on the table. “I dined out all the time when I lived in New York. Trying new restaurants was something my group of friends did at least once a week. Since I’ve owned this business, unless I’m being served at an event, I find myself eating on the run, or just settling for something quick I can make at home and eat while I do the never-ending paperwork.”

“I have lunch at the diner a couple times a week, and Bonnie has me to dinner fairly often, or I’ll meet with some guys to watch a game over pizza and beer, but I fend for myself the rest of the time. Occasionally, when a new place opens, I like to check out the menu, either by myself or with friends.”

She wondered how often those “friends” were actually dates. She knew he hadn’t been seeing anyone else since they’d gotten together, but that had been only a few months and she doubted he’d been entirely celibate beforehand. Logan’s healthy appetite was not limited to food. Perhaps he hadn’t worried about being seen out and about with those other women, who weren’t connected to him through their work and his sisters, leading to far fewer potential complications.

“You said your father introduced you to fine dining,” she remarked, partially to distract herself from thoughts of those less-complicated women. “I’m sure with all his world travels, he’s tried a lot of different foods.”

Logan’s expression went studiously blank, though his reply was cordial. “Yeah. He liked trying to gross us out when we were kids by telling us about the weird stuff he’d tried—scorpions and rattlesnakes and various animal organs. But mostly he enjoys traditional ethnic cuisines from various other countries. He talks a lot these days about New Zealand dishes—traditional Maori foods, Kiwi-Asian fusion, that sort of thing. Kinley said last time she talked to him, he mentioned that he’s thinking about resettling again. He’s looking at Bali.”

“Bali, really? Intriguing choice.”

Logan shrugged. “He has exotic interests.”

“Have you ever visited him in any of those exotic countries?” She thought she already knew the answer, but she had to ask.

As she’d expected, he shook his head. “No. Only time I’ve ever left this country was to go hiking in British Columbia with some friends the summer after my first year of college. Had a great time.”

Maybe he hoped she would be sidetracked to ask about his trip, but she was still trying to understand his relationship with his father. “Did your dad never invite you to join him?”

She thought she heard what might have been a faint sigh of resignation before he said, “Not really. Until I was in high school, his excuse was that I was too young. Then I got involved in sports, and I didn’t want to miss the seasons, especially baseball in summer. Some other things came up while I was in college that kept me from traveling for a while. After I earned a degree, I got busy making a living, starting a software business, helping out Uncle Leo when I could. It just never worked out for me to take off to whatever distant location Dad had landed in. Now it just seems better to leave things the way they are.”