11. Thea #2
“I was not a know-it-all,” I retort, unhappy with his first impression of me. “I just knew what I wanted, that’s all.”
He turns in his seat, resting his arm along the back. He’s got an older truck, so his front seat is one long bench instead of two separate seats. I imagine it wouldn’t be too hard to slide across it and get a little closer to him.
“I know. I admired that about you, you know. I saw you go after that restaurant with ferocity.” He rests his left hand on the steering wheel. “Even if you were bossy.”
I purse my lips and shake my head. “Someone had to be the boss.”
“Oh.” He chuckles. “We all knew who the boss was, there was no mistaking that.”
I gape. “Are you calling me demanding?”
“No,” he answers with that same grin still on his face. There was rarely a time when Logan didn’t have just a hint of a smile on his face. “I’m calling you determined.”
“Ah, that’s the new PC way of describing bossy people, huh?” I joke, leaning my head against the headrest.
Logan laughs out loud, shaking his head. “I guess it is.”
“It’s fine. I know I’m bossy. I have to be.” I shrug. “With my sisters looking up to me and a business to run, I have to be direct to get things done.”
“Hey.”
I look back at Logan’s face and see that he’s adopted a much more serious expression.
“I’m not saying it’s a bad thing.”
“I know,” I reply softly, giving him a small smile. “I guess I can be defensive. My sister Tori, she’s always called me bossy. She, however, doesn’t mean it as a compliment.”
“You two butt heads?”
I think about it for a moment, it was a pretty astute observation for someone who’s never met Tori. “Yeah, we do. She’s just…stubborn. Or maybe we both just have such strict goals for ourselves that we compete. Even though it’s completely unnecessary.”
We sit in silence for a minute, my mind moving to my sister who hasn’t answered us in a couple of days. That’s not unusual, unfortunately.
“Where is she now? You said she travels?”
“Yup, all over the world. I believe she was somewhere in Asia, last I heard.”
“Does she update you?”
I give a little scoff. “When she’s feeling generous. I usually leave it up to Ann to reach out.”
He hums a bit and reaches his hand out, rubbing his finger over the back of my hand. I smile at the small touch.
Then, because my brain can’t stop, I think about his success meter for this date.
“I should go in, get to bed,” I hedge, hoping he’ll offer to walk me to my door.
“I’ll walk you in.”
I smile as I watch him grab his hat, slapping it on before hopping out of the truck and rounding to my side and opening the door. It’s amazing how little effort it takes to get my heart pumping, but a move like that, something gentlemanly that you don’t see all that often anymore? It works for me.
“I can’t believe gentlemen like you still exist,” I say, taking the hand that is offered to me and stepping down out of the truck.
“Well, we’re few and far between, unfortunately. I recommend holding on to the one you see,” he replies quickly, as if he’s thought about it before, and I turn my gaze to him, giving him a probably too-big smile.
He grins down at me and follows me up the steps to the second-floor landing where my door is.
The tension builds for me, and I wonder if he can feel it too.
I want to throw caution to the wind and invite him in, but something in my mind tells me to wait, to hold off on going quite that far just yet.
I don’t know whose benefit it’s for yet, either.
Reaching into my handbag, I grip my keys and pull them out. I turn to face Logan again, but he’s taking two steps forward. His left hand goes to my right hip, and his other hand grabs mine.
His eyes lock on mine, and I watch his chest move on a deep inhale. My eyes lock on his, and I pull him with me, my back hitting my door.
He continues to look down at me, his lips are so close to mine that I can feel his breath hitting my lips. So badly I want to arch into his chest, bringing us flush against each other, but I hold back.
For several long seconds, he stands there, half holding me and making my heart beat faster and faster the longer he waits.
“Logan,” I breathe out, wanting so desperately for him to be the one to make the first move.
“Thea, I’d really like to kiss you.” His words surprise me, and I open my eyes from where they fell slightly closed. I take in his serious expression and can tell he’s having to physically hold himself back.
“Then kiss me,” I reply, and permission granted, he bends down and presses his lips to mine, taking my breath from me.
I feel his hand curve around my hip tighter, and his other lets go of my hand, reaching up to cup my jaw, holding me to him. He presses his lips to mine harder and more demanding, tilting my head and getting a better angle.
I groan when his tongue touches mine, and he takes that as a good, clear sign that I’m more than happy to be taking part in this little make-out session.
We move like this for several more seconds, me getting more and more worked up. My hands have moved up over his shoulders, my right hand curling into the hair at the back of his head.
His hair is ridiculously soft.
After another moment, he slows us down until he’s pecking at my lips, and I’m completely out of breath.
When I finally open my eyes, he’s smiling down at me like he knows every single thought that’s filtering through my head.
His hat is tilted up from where it got pushed out of our way.
For a moment, neither of us speaks. We just hang here in this tension-filled space, waiting for the bubble to be broken.
“That was worth every day I waited for you.”
His words make me melt right there on the spot, and it’s then that I realize our whole ploy, to make everyone think we’re dating for real, is no longer fake.