“An existential question I can assure you I’ve been grappling with for the better part of a week,” Logan replied easily. “But in this case, I’m not sure exactly what you mean.”
Brad set down his wine glass with unnecessary force—showering the starched tablecloth with little drops of crimson. “This is Samantha. Samantha Cregg.” His eyes glittered wickedly as they looked Logan up and down. “You clearly have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Lacy died a million deaths, as Logan leaned back in his chair—his eyes twinkling with amusement as they rested slowly upon her blushing face. “Clearly.”
For a second, she thought that might be the end of it. She certainly prayed that would be the end of it. But Logan was just getting warmed up.
“Samantha must have totally slipped my mind,” he continued innocently, his eyes locking squarely onto hers. “You just look like so much of a Lacy to me.”
A surge of anger shot through her, crowding out all the fear, and for the first time since Logan sat down at the table, Lacy went on offence. Matching him smile for smile.
“Well names can be tricky things, can’t they?” she replied sweetly. “In fact, I could have sworn you look more like a Dylan.”
A flicker of shame broke through his confident smile. So fast, she thought she must have imagined it. Just a second later, it was gone. And he was staring deeply into her eyes.
“Please don’t ever compare me to Dylan. I think we both know that’s not who I am.”
“But then I guess we all make mistakes, don’t we? At least I don’t pretend to be somebody else.”
“That’s true,” he said softly, angling entirely towards her as if they were the only two people sitting at the table. “But what matters is what you do afterwards. If you repent and try to put it behind you. If you sincerely apologize—”
Lacy’s burst of laughter cut him short. It was carefree and unrestrained, setting both of the men at the table on edge. “But what’s an apology? Just words. When the lie is something you put into action. The lie gets you into people’s lives. Gets you into their beds.”
Logan’s face crumbled for a split second, and he reached reflexively for her hand. “Lacy, that was never my intention—”
“I told you. It’s Samantha.” Brad scooted his chair closer to the table, as if proximity alone would prevent him from being ignored. Despite the coded conversation going on around him, he was somehow clinging to the idea that his perfect date might still end up in his hotel room. “I don’t see how you could possibly forget that. You dated in college, right?”
Logan glanced over in surprise, as if he’d entirely forgotten the man was there. That surprise soon turned to merriment as the apologies were forgotten, and the game commenced once more. “Did we now?” His lips curled up with a mischievous smile. “That’s right, it’s coming back to me. You were the doe-eyed theater major, I was the dreamy professor—”
“And what college was that again?” Lacy interrupted, forcing her lips into a sarcastic smile. “Was it Stanford or Princeton? I can never remember.”
“Go tigers.”
“And for the record, you should be the theater major, given all your past experience in acting and drama. Weren’t you up for the Oscar in that movie, Trading Places? And not the movie with Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd. It’s the other one. The new movie where you swapped lives with your twin brother? I believe you got the Oscar for that performance. The emotion and passion were so riveting and heartfelt. The heroine was totally duped and heartbroken. Your brother should get an award for best supporting actor.”
Lacy’s date cocked an eyebrow. “So why don’t we just invite the brother to dinner too?” he asked sarcastically.
Logan turned toward him. “Sadly, he’s off somewhere in the Caribbean on my yacht.”
“I guess someone sure is enjoying your life,” Lacy said.
“Excuse me, sir?” The quick back and forth came to an abrupt standstill, as the waiter returned and tapped nervously on Logan’s shoulder. “But will you be ordering with the others?”
“No.”
“Absolutely not.”
“Why, yes. I would love to.” Logan took the menu with another breathtaking smile. “Are there any specials today? Or are we just winging it?”
Oh—for fuck’s sake!
Lacy pushed back from the table, just barely keeping her composure beneath a precarious smile. “Logan, can I talk to you for a second?”
The infuriating billionaire stayed exactly where he was, staring up at her with wide, unblinking eyes. “Sweetheart, anything you want to say to me, I’m sure you can say to the whole group. This is a date, after all,” he added with a theatric eye roll in Brad’s direction. “We don’t want to exclude anyone...”
“Yeah man—this is a date!” Brad interjected, trying hard to rally. “So in case you wouldn’t mind, the lady and I would like to be getting on with it. Alone.”
“And what lady would that be?” Logan asked with a little frown. “Samantha or Lacy?”