“I would, but you’re wearing a dress.”
Suddenly, I understand why he’s trying to charm me. The bastard. “No, Logan, you’re still not allowed to rip apart my dress. A thousand compliments won’t convince me.”
“I don’t have time for that many. I need you,” he says with urgency, then devours my mouth. A few seconds later, I’m lifted off the floor again. Logan carries me in his arms, walking blindly through the dark.
“Shouldn’t we turn on the light? Can you find the bedroom—”
“Shh,” Logan says. “Don’t worry, I won’t hurt you.”
Keeping his promise, he leads us to the bedroom safe and sound. He lays me on the bed, turning on the lamp on the nightstand.
“I want to see you,” he says.
Maybe it’s the few sips of wine I had, or maybe Logan somehow succeeded in tearing down yet another one of my walls, but a confession slips past my lips.
“If the store does well, I want to bring Mom and Brian here.”
Logan nods, urging me to go on.
“I... The reason I want to go back to North Carolina if the store fails is not just for me; it’s for my parents too. I want to take care of them after they retire.”
He hops into bed next to me, lying on one side. Caressing my cheek with his fingers, he says, “We’re very much alike, Nadine. Don’t worry. Everything will turn out all right.”
“I hope so. I’m confident right now. I am very lucky to have run into you and your family.”
He kisses my forehead, his lips lingering on my skin while his arms pull me closer to him. At this moment, I realize that I’ve never felt so cherished in my life.
“I’ve always considered myself a lucky guy,” Logan murmurs against my forehead, “even more so after Bennett Enterprises became a success.” Pulling away, he tilts my chin up. “But meeting you, that was my real luck. You mean more to me every day, Nadine. You complete me in the best possible ways. In all the ways.” As he holds my gaze, it strikes me that he’s right. We’re very much alike—we’re two people learning to love and let ourselves be loved again. Without taking his eyes off me, Logan starts removing my dress carefully. I undress him too, kissing each inch of skin I reveal.
Logan makes love to me gently, for a long time. Afterward, as we fall asleep in each other’s arms, I am sure I never want to let him go.
Chapter Fourteen
Nadine
On Monday morning, I wake up with a jolt, half an hour before my alarm is set to ring.
D-day is here. Logan’s side of the bed is cold. I wish he were here to hug me good luck, but he had to fly out to London to meet his brother. He’ll be gone the entire week, back just in time for Summer’s gallery. A bulge of anxiety forms in my stomach, but I push myself to my feet, and force myself to go through my morning routine.
In the living room, I find a croissant and a note on the table.
Wish I could be here for your opening week, or at least kiss you good luck this morning. I did try to hug you when I woke up, but you kicked me good (I’ll have the bruise to prove it when I return).
Love,
Logan
The note alone is enough to turn my anxiety into euphoria. I eat the croissant and make myself a coffee. Unfortunately, the coffee turns my previous euphoria into downright dangerous energy. My pulse is drumming in my ears, and my heart beats at a nauseous speed. I walk to the store even though I’m wearing high heels, hoping to walk off some of that energy. No such luck.
Once inside the shop, I wipe my sweaty palms on my jeans, remove the paper covering the glass and turn on the sign on the door, indicating I’m open for business. Right then, my neighbor, the owner of the shoes and bags shop, passes by, offering a thumbs-up. I wave and give her a smile I’m certain came across as manic.
This is it. The day I’ve been preparing years for.
It’s a good thing that my euphoria level was out of this world when I entered the store, because with each hour that passes, it dwindles and dwindles. Not one soul steps inside, which makes all of my dread come back. What if this is a mistake? I’ve invested everything I had into this. To think I might lose everything makes me sick to my stomach. I play with my phone, itching to hear Logan’s voice, but he’s on the plane. I resolve not to call him when he lands either. I’ll sound like a whiny child, and that’s not sexy at all.
When Pippa sends me a smiley face, my mood lifts. I remember that I did, in fact, sell the girls four of my dresses, which gives me a great head start. Yeah, a vicious voice says in the back of my mind, to four people you know. They might’ve been pity buys.
Luckily, I have the changes for Summer’s dress to keep me occupied for the afternoon. Not one single person steps into the store the entire day. When I head to Logan’s in the evening, I’m in tears. On Tuesday, I go over the advertising plan I worked on with Ava. She’s a marketing genius, but she had to scale her genius down to my nonexistent budget. The plan was to save up the money I earn in the first month of sales, and use all of it for marketing. If today is anything to go by, I won’t have anything to save.