Healed with a Kiss (Bride Mountain 3)

He shrugged and began to empty his pockets onto a nightstand. “Small world. I’d think that’s especially true of the theater world.”

“I guess. I don’t see many of that crowd in Virginia, but I’ve been too busy with my business during the past couple of years to spend time at the theater.”

He nodded. “I don’t see many associates from my old software design days in Tennessee, either. Some of them could have ended up here in Seattle, considering how many tech companies are located here, but I’m not interested in reconnecting with any of them.”

“Oh, I feel the same way,” she assured him. “Isabella and I weren’t really friends, simply acquaintances and occasional cast mates. We ran in the same crowd, but we didn’t have much in common otherwise.”

“Who’s the Paloma she mentioned?”

She sank onto one side of the bed to remove her shoes. “Paloma Villarreal is my best friend from my Peabody days. We went to New York together. She stayed there, and she loves it. She’s very talented, makes a good living in the cast of a long-running musical and has had a few other offers she’s considering.”

“Sounds like you miss her.”

“I do,” she admitted. “We talk often, but that’s not quite the same as spending time together.”

“So will you go back?” Sitting on the other side of the bed with his back to her, he kicked off his shoes. “To New York, I mean.”

“To visit? Yes, probably, though I’m not sure when I’ll have the time. To live? No.”

She glanced over her shoulder to see him unstrapping his watch, which he then laid on the nightstand with the former contents of his pocket. For a moment, she was taken aback by how domestic the scene had become. She was more accustomed to Logan sweeping her into his arms, tumbling her onto the bed as soon as they were alone together. Was familiarity already breeding—well, not contempt, perhaps, but nonchalance? She’d known the passion wouldn’t last, but she hadn’t thought a day and a half of a joint vacation would dampen it so quickly.

Setting her glasses on the nightstand, she stood and started to walk toward the dresser to pull out her nightclothes. Before she’d made it halfway across the room, she was suddenly whirled around and lifted against him. His mouth was on hers, his hands sweeping her body. And the passion that she’d thought had dampened was suddenly ignited again, flaring through her so swiftly, so unexpectedly, that she felt the heat on her skin. One moment she was standing on her feet, the next she was lying on her back on the bed with Logan looming over her. She reached up to tug him down into the flames with her.

They had tonight, tomorrow, then one last night of this retreat to go. She’d be a fool not to make the most of it while it lasted.

* * *

She came awake slowly, reluctantly. She was so content and comfortable, snuggled into a soft bed, a warm shoulder. Keeping her eyes closed for a little longer, she focused on sounds—a soft rain against the window, a steady heartbeat beneath her ear. She moved her hand slightly and her fingers brushed against sleek, taut skin over firm, defined muscles. A strong arm wrapped around her, and a long leg tangled with hers. Maybe if she kept her eyes closed, she could make this perfect moment last just a while longer.

Logan brushed his lips against her forehead. “Playing possum?”

She nestled more deeply into him. “Mmm. Savoring.”

“Thought you wanted to do museums this morning.”

“Mmm-hmm. Maybe later.”

He shifted beneath her. “Not that I’m complaining, because this is really nice. But if you want to keep sleeping, you’d better scoot over to your side of the bed.”

She shifted her raised knee a bit and her eyebrow rose when it brushed against an increasingly hard ridge. “Again?”

“What can I say? You feel damn good.”

Giving in to the inevitable, she opened her eyes. Seeing him lying on the pillow next to her, with his dark hair tumbling in his gleaming eyes, a shadow of morning beard on his strong jaw and a faint smile playing on his firm lips, made waking up worth the effort. “Anyone ever tell you that you’re a gorgeous man?”

It wasn’t often that she was able to fluster him, and it always amused her when she did. He blinked a few times, cleared his throat as if trying to decide how to respond to that, then grimaced lightly. “Uh, no. But thanks, I guess?”

She laughed and lifted her head to kiss his rough chin. “You’re just so pretty.”

“Yeah, okay. That’s enough.”

She touched the tip of her tongue to the corner of his mouth. “Bee-you-tee-ful.”

Laughing now, he moved swiftly to flip her beneath him, looming over her. “You’re just trying to get into trouble this morning, aren’t you?”

She blinked innocently. “By telling you how handsome you are?”

He nipped her lower lip. “By trying to embarrass me.”