Your Captivating Love (The Bennett Family 2)

“I need to cancel our date,” I say breathlessly into the phone.

“Why?” Logan doesn’t bother to hide the disappointment in his voice.

“Because I just received the keys to my very own shop, thank you very much. It’s in dreadful condition, so I need to start working on it right away.”

I’m standing in the shop right now, and it looks every bit as decrepit as it did when I first saw it. But I already bought part of the supplies I need for renovations, so I might as well start.

“Congratulations. I thought you were going to show me your best options.”

“I was going to, but the owner of this place called me this morning and told me I had to make my decision today, or he’d give it to someone else.”

“I’ll come by now.”

“You’ll try to convince me to go out.”

“It’s Friday night, so of course I’m going to try to, but I also really want to see your place. Tell me the address.”

I dictate it with a grin on my face. He called it “your place.” There are a number of people I could’ve called to tell them about this monumental moment in my life, and yet it’s Logan I called first. It wasn’t just because I had to cancel our date, but because I knew he’d understand how important this is for me. Even though I have a million things to do, I’m happy he’s coming over to share this with me.

I can see past the dilapidated walls and ceiling. Instead of them, I imagine spotlights sprinkled on the ceiling. At least the floor is in great shape; it’ll need some polishing, but nothing more. My dream is finally in my grasp. There are three rooms—two in the back, which I’ll use for storage, and one in the front, where the actual shop will be.

Logan walks inside the store half an hour later, and I lick my lips at the sight of him. He wears his suit jacket open, and my imagination runs wild thinking about what’s under his white shirt. Logan oozes masculinity, no imagination required. Something about the way he owns any room he walks into makes me feel safe when I’m with him, even though he’s a danger to my senses.

After a quick inspection of the room, he sets his jaw.

“I know this looks dreadful,” I say.

“Dreadful? That’s one word. I would’ve gone with shithole.”

“Don’t be mean.”

“I’m worried about you. It’ll be hellish work to get this place up and running, Nadine.”

It’s been a long time since a man worried about me, instead of the other way around. It feels good. Better than good. Most of all, it feels right—and that scares me.

“It’s the only one I can afford.”

“Why do you want to start working on it right away? Surely, no renovation crew will begin working this late on a Friday.”

I barely keep from laughing as I point at myself with both thumbs and say, “Logan Bennett, meet the renovation crew.”

“You want to do it yourself?”

“I have to. No money for a crew. I made a list of everything I need to do.” I hand him the list, and he scans it quickly.

“I’m impressed. Do you know how to do all this?”

“Believe it or not, I do. I waitressed for years while in college, and whenever something needed fixing, the owner would make us do it. One summer, he closed for renovations, and I stayed to help. I needed the money, and I gained some extra skills. After I moved home, a friend of mine had a business fixing up houses, and selling them at a profit. I worked for her during weekends, so my skills are top-notch.”

“You’re unbelievable.”

“Thanks.”

“Now, seriously. You’ll need a crew to—”

“No money for that. I’ll do it myself. It’ll take longer than I’d hoped, but it’ll work.”

“If you want to do all the things on your list by yourself it’ll take you three months at least.”