Command Control

Sadie laughed, but kept her hand on him, enjoying the connection. “Seriously, where are you taking me?”

“I told you, it’s a surprise.” He stopped at the main road. One way led to town and the other to the hospital, but beyond that she wasn’t sure. “Close your eyes.”

“Yes, sir.” She shut her eyes. But she could feel the car turning to the right. The road to town. She’d secretly hoped they could escape Mount Pleasant for a night. The Quilted Quail served good food, but it was the only decent place in town, and overflowing with locals.

“Almost there,” he said. The truck slowed and then took another turn, followed quickly by another. Then it stopped. “You can open your eyes now.”

Sadie scanned their surroundings. The parking lot behind the bookstore, currently empty. “I’m guessing the store is closed for the night.”

Logan nodded. He’d come around to open her door and held out a hand. “It is.”

“Then what are we doing here?”

He led her to the back door, the one they’d used to make their escape, withdrew a key from his pocket and opened it. “I talked the owner into lending me the store for the night.”

She followed him through the maze of bookshelves. When they turned the corner, Sadie froze. Her eyes widened and her stomach did a little flip. A table set for two stood in the exact spot where they’d first met. In front of the romance/erotica section.

“You didn’t have to go to all this trouble.” She walked toward the table, which held a bottle of red wine, two plates covered with metal domes and a single rose in a vase. “This is a fling, remember? I don’t need to be romanced.”

“Sadie, look at me.” He stepped in front of her, blocking her view of the fairy-tale setup. Placing one hand on either arm, he held her there, demanding her attention. “I’m not ready for commitment. With my job, I might never head down that road again. But that doesn’t mean you aren’t special.”

Sadie looked away. The honesty in his eyes—it crushed her. Despite his grief and the turmoil surrounding the mission that had gone awry, Logan was giving her everything he had to offer. He was building something with her. It would never lead to happily-ever-after, but still, he didn’t hold back.

What did she offer in return? Her gaze landed on a shelf filled with MJ Lane’s breakout novel—her bestseller. Secrets. One big lie by omission.

“Sadie?”

She met his questioning gaze, noting the worry making creases around his eyes.

“If you don’t like it, we can go someplace else.”

She shook her head. “It’s perfect.” She should tell him the truth, but not tonight. He’d gone to so much trouble. “You haven’t told me what we’re having yet.”

He released her arms and went over to the table. Lifting the metal domes, he revealed two plates of sushi.

“Laurel mentioned it was your favorite,” he said, setting the domes to the side. “I went with vegetarian rolls. The only sushi place is two towns over. I wasn’t sure how well fish would do on the trip.”

“Vegetarian works for me.” She eyed the array of avocado, tofu and sweet potato rolls. On her list of things she missed about New York, sushi was in the top five, maybe top three. “Let’s eat.”

Logan nodded, walking around to pull out her chair before claiming the one across from her. He filled their wineglasses, then reached for his chopsticks and dug in.

“What about you?” she asked, watching him inhale one piece after another. “Do you like sushi?”

He shrugged. “Sure. I’m not picky. After months spent eating MREs—those are pouches of ready-made meals—I like anything solid.”

“Is that all you ate during your ride?” She hadn’t asked many questions about his horseback trip through Afghanistan. She knew it was a touchy subject, but she was curious.

“We roasted a lamb one night. And the locals provided meals. Most of it was pretty good.”

“If I ask another question, are you going to tell me it’s classified?”

“Probably.”

“Fair enough.” She picked up another piece of sweet potato roll. “How was your ice cream date?”

“Not bad,” he said. “You were right.”

“I usually am.”