Marching through their shambolic living room, she wrenched open the door. ‘You have some nerve. Do you—?’ The words instantly died on her lips as Logan turned back from scanning her street.
His blue eyes, surely brighter than they’d ever been before, grimly took her in from her awful bedhead right down to her bare toes.
Cassidy swallowed, wondering if she was dreaming.
Logan scowled. ‘You didn’t wait.’
She was so stunned to find him on her stoop she nearly fell sideways as he swept passed her and into her living room. Cassidy followed, finally managing to unstick her tongue from the roof of her mouth. ‘What?’
Logan eyed her coolly. ‘You said you’d wait.’
‘Cassidy...’ Peta’s tentative voice came from the kitchen doorway, and trailed away as
she recognised Logan standing like a conquering warlord in the middle of their tiny living room. Wearing a dark suit, and with legs braced wide apart, he looked magnificent.
‘Your Majesty.’
Her sister dropped into a wonky curtsy, which made the twins, who were stood just out of sight, giggle.
‘You must be Peta,’ Logan said, managing to soften his features when he looked at her stunning sister. ‘It’s an honour to finally meet you. Please accept my heartfelt apologies for what the press has printed about you. I’ve done everything in my power to ensure that you, and all of your family members, will not be bothered again.’
‘Thank you.’
Peta looked like she was about to apologise to Logan in return when Cassidy gave her a look.
‘I’ll just give you two a minute,’ she said, backing out of the doorway and closing it behind her.
Reminded of just how Logan had tried to solve the problem, Cassidy frowned. ‘I’m not sure you solved anything. In fact, you’ve no doubt made things worse.’
Logan turned the intensity of his gaze on her, which made her horribly aware of exactly what she must look like.
‘You will not be bothered by the press any more, because I’m assigning bodyguards to all of you.’
‘Bodyguards?’
‘Yes.’ He let out a breath. ‘It won’t be for ever. Just until the press understand the full consequences of hounding your family for information.’
‘Okay, well, that’s very nice of you, but not really necessary. When everyone realises that there’s no story to write about, they’ll disappear. Which would probably happen a lot quicker if you hadn’t actually shown up here today. The paparazzi must have gone crazy when you drove up the street.’
‘My men cleared them out first. Although there is no doubt they will go crazy when they learn I’m here.’
‘If you leave quickly enough, they won’t.’ Suddenly she realised that he was here and she had no idea why—unless it was just to apologise in person. ‘Why are you here? It’s nice of you to apologise to my sister in person, but a phone call would have worked just as well.’
‘Not from my perspective.’
‘Well...’ Starting to feel nervous now that the adrenaline rush of having him in her home had worn off, Cassidy fidgeted with her shirt. ‘You’ve said your piece so you can go.’
‘I haven’t said anything.’ He gave her a hunted look and ran his hand through his hair. ‘I need you to come back to Arrantino.’
‘Why? If you’re looking for a replacement, Margaux will be perfect. She knows everything.’
‘I know. She might even eclipse you in some areas.’
Cassidy force a smile, trying not to let him see how much that hurt. ‘Great. Excellent.’
She moved to straighten the twins’ homework, which had been left haphazardly on the coffee table. Anything other than having him see how upset she was.
‘The problem is,’ Logan said softly coming up behind her, ‘she’s not you.’