“Hey, now. Hands off. There’s a strict look but don’t touch policy here.” Despite Logan’s words, he was smiling and I was surprised by his laidback demeanor. These past few months, I had noticed that Logan had a tendency to become jealous over innocent things, but evidently he regarded Mack highly enough that he trusted him and his intentions.
Logan pulled out a chair for me and we all sat down. Mack was already working on a bourbon, so Logan and I both ordered drinks from the waiter hovering at our elbow.
“It’s good to see you,” Mack said when the waiter left, but then shook his head. “But it’s damn cold here. I forget how good we have it in L.A.”
Logan grimaced. “Tell me about it. I have to get used to putting on ten layers of clothing plus a coat to go outside. That’s one thing I definitely miss about the West Coast.”
For some reason, hearing Logan complain about the weather in Chicago bothered me. It made me feel like he preferred living in L.A. and that annoyed me, especially since there was a particular woman in L.A. whom I never wanted him to have contact with again.
“I think it’s nice having actual seasons,” I countered. “There’s something wrong with wearing shorts and t-shirts during Christmastime.” I realized that I was getting uptight over a trivial conversation about the weather, of all things, and forced myself to smile. “I’m surprised Santa Claus even visits you guys. Do you have chimneys for him to slide down?”
Mack laughed. “Sure we do. We need something to keep us warm when it gets down to the sixties.”
I shook my head in dismay. “You’ll never survive a real winter in the Midwest. Sixties is shorts weather here.”
Logan raised an eyebrow. “Funny you say that since you always complain about the winters here.”
I playfully smacked him on the arm. “Traitor. You’re Midwest born and bred. You should represent better than that.”
It was almost easy to forget that I had an ulterior motive for coming to dinner. I wished that tonight was nothing more than friends getting together to enjoy a meal. Mack was funny and friendly and Logan was in a good mood. This should have been a fun night, but instead, it was going to be tainted by Kristina and my suspicions about what had happened in L.A.
Almost as if he had read my mind, Mack turned to Logan with a serious look on his face. “How are you feeling? Honestly, I thought it was a bad idea for you to fly so soon after your accident, but I guess you were right. You seem to be fine.”
My pulse jumped at the mention of the accident. Logan shrugged his shoulders, not looking concerned.
“I am fine. It was no big deal.”
Mack gave him a skeptical look. “You being unconscious isn’t ‘no big deal.’ You’re lucky that you woke up without any serious issues.”
Logan gave him a look that I interpreted to mean shut up, and then he glanced at me. He definitely wanted the conversation about the accident to end, but I didn’t know if it was because he didn’t want me to become worried or if he didn’t want Kristina to come up. I decided I wasn’t going to let him drop the subject.
“What exactly happened?” I asked, looking at Mack. “Logan said a car going the opposite direction hit him when the driver fell asleep, but that’s about all he’s told me.”
Mack’s glance at Logan before answering my question wasn’t lost on me. “That’s about all I know, too. I was just worried about him since he was drifting in and out of consciousness. But the doctors there gave him the clearance to fly so I guess it wasn’t very serious.” Mack smiled at me and winked. “I’m just a worrywart by nature, I guess. Don’t let my manliness fool you. I’m a softie at heart. I cry at Hallmark commercials, too.”
I didn’t smile at his joke. It was obvious that Mack was censoring what he was saying, because he had gone from concerned to joking in a matter of seconds, all from a glance at Logan.
“Let’s not talk about the accident,” Logan interjected. “It sucks that it happened but I’m fine. I’m sure there are a lot more interesting things to talk about.” Logan looked at Mack and grinned. “Like your love life. Is it as dismal as ever?”
Before Mack could answer, we were interrupted by the waiter. After he spent ten minutes listing all the specials before letting us order, Mack smirked at Logan.
“Since when is my love life dismal? I personally think my love life is terrific.”
Logan shook his head and turned to me. “Every time I see this guy, he’s with another woman.”
“And the problem with that is…?” Mack asked with a grin. He winked at me before continuing. “Just because you found the love of your life doesn’t mean we’re all so lucky. Or maybe I just have a lot of soulmates. Who says you just have to have one?”
“I guess that means you have a soulmate for every day of the week,” Logan replied drily. “I don’t know how you have time for anything else, when you’re juggling so many women.”
Mack leaned towards me conspiratorially. “Don’t listen to him. I’m a true romantic at heart. I’m just looking for the perfect woman. I have to kiss a lot of frogs before I meet my princess, right?”
I arched a brow. “I don’t think the perfect woman exists. And if she does, I doubt her ideal match is a Lothario. Or a lawyer, while we’re at it.”
Instead of being offended, Mack laughed. “Which is more offensive: being a lawyer or a so-called Lothario?”
I pretended to give it serious thought as I furrowed my brow. “It’s hard to say since both are similar in so many ways. They both take advantage of people, they’re too smooth to trust, and they always tell you what you want to hear, even if it’s a lie.”
Mack smiled even wider and nodded his head towards Logan. “Need I remind you that your soulmate is a lawyer as well?”