Simply Scandalous (Simply 2)

But she knew what was stopping them, and it was plain old common sense. Hers. Just because she’d fallen didn’t mean she had to let him know it. “Nothing’s bothering me except that I’m starving.”

“I don’t believe you,” he whispered in her ear. “But I’m hungry, too.”

“Good. Then lie back and relax and let me do all the work. I promised, remember?”

“Only if you promise to take a walk with me afterward. I want to walk on the beach with you. And I want you to talk to me.”

“You drive a hard bargain, Mr. Montgomery.”

He grinned. “It’s part of my charm.”

He was charming, all right. But during the time she’d known him, she’d learned a little bit about semantics and wordplay. He said he wanted her to talk to him. She’d agreed.

But it didn’t mean she had to tell him what was in her heart.

Chapter Ten

Logan locked their hands together and led her onto the beach. The sand was still damp from the early morning and felt cold and wet beneath his feet—unlike his body, which was hot and bothered. She’d satisfied his hunger for food, but not for her.

Catherine had whipped up a meal unlike any he’d ever had. He was impressed not only with her talent and ability to make a feast out of the meager offerings in his kitchen but with the pure enjoyment the task gave her. This wasn’t a woman who demanded to be waited on or who expected maid service just because his last name was Montgomery.

“So, tell me about your plans to run for mayor,” Catherine said.

“What makes you think I’d run?”

“I heard you mention something about it when your father picked up the phone last week, and I read it online,” she admitted.

He stopped walking. Catherine kept on going until his resolve and his firm pull on her hand stopped her. She turned back to face him.

“How do you feel about that?” He didn’t mean to hedge, but he needed to know what she was thinking. He studied her but had a difficult time reading her neutral expression. He let the silent moment go on.

The roar of the waves crashed in the background. The light breeze blew her hair around her face and carried with it the scent of saltwater from the ocean. He inhaled deeply. In this spot, he’d found the sense of peace that had eluded him all his life, so buying the house had been the logical thing to do.

When Catherine’s wide green eyes met his gaze, the same feeling enveloped him, and he knew. In this woman, he’d found that same elusive contentment. She, too, brought him peace.

She shrugged. “What you do—whether you run for mayor or not—is none of my business.” But the intense look in her eyes was at odds with her words.

“Let’s get something straight. From this moment on, if it involves me, it involves you. That’s what us means.” He tugged on her hand and drew her against him.

Her full breasts pressed against his bare chest and he let out a groan. Thanks to the ample privacy the beach house afforded, neither one of them was fully dressed. His cutoff shorts were his only concession to clothing, while she wore one of his oxford shirts and the skimpy underwear he’d peeled off her the night before. Taking advantage, he slipped his hands beneath the shirt and laid his palms on the soft skin of her back.

“Us,” she murmured. “I do like the sound of that. You make life sound so simple.”

“That’s because it is. But for the record, I’m not running for office. It isn’t me.”

She smiled. “I happen to think you’d do a great job, but I agree.” Her hand reached up, and she brushed his hair off his forehead.

The simple gesture, sweet in its simplicity, was oddly sensual, too. His body, already on edge, stirred to life.

“The stuffy public image of a politician isn’t you.”

“I’m glad you know me so well. If only my father did, too, we wouldn’t even be having this conversation,” he muttered. But Judge Montgomery had never known his only son except as an extension of himself. He’d never even bothered to try.

And it hurt. The same part of Logan that rebelled against the family dictates also longed for a normal father-son relationship. One he’d never have.

“I take it you’ve told him?” Catherine asked.

“Over and over. He won’t accept it, which means he continues with his own agenda. At least until I come up with a way to stop him.”