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She nods before spinning on her heel and walking toward the living area. I close the door behind me and follow, my eyes tracking from her slim shoulders down to the curve of her butt, which tonight is encased in long silky pajama pants with snowmen. I want to reach my hands out to feel the gentle sway of her hips beneath them. But I’ve lost my right to do that, so instead I just look and remember.
I miss everything about her, even her ridiculous choices in sleepwear, not that when we were together in bed she wore any of them.
She leads me to the kitchen rather than the sofa. I guess that tells me she plans on our talk being brief. Katie’s kitchen layout is different to mine. It’s U-shaped with a wide black granite island separating it from the living area. Allie moves to the kitchen side of the island and for the moment, I remain on the opposite side.
“Okay, so you wanted to talk. Go ahead,” she demands. She’s not going to make this easy and I’m not surprised.
“First, I’m really sorry. I know I fucked up, badly.”
Her eyes narrow. “Second?”
I take a deep breath. “Second, I thought that if we could find your mother then maybe with Todd’s connections he’d be able to check if she was receiving threats too. He was never going to reach out to her or tell her about you.” I stop. It’s hard not to notice the way her arms are crossed over her chest and her hands gripping the sides of her long T-shirt. She’s holding on so tightly the fabric has risen to display a sliver of her perfect pale skin.
“Go on,” she says.
“I knew you wouldn’t agree with the idea, but I thought it was our only chance to move the investigation forward. Every other lead Todd followed was coming up blank.”
Her arms drop and I take it as an encouraging sign. “Allie, I just want this to be over as much as you do. I know I should have talked to you first.” I move slowly around the counter to stand an arm’s length away from her.
“Maybe finding your mother will also give you the chance to learn what really happened back then.”
Her green eyes spring up to meet mine. “Maybe I don’t want to know,” she murmurs so low I need to lean in to hear her.
I reach for her hand. “Allie, please …” I begin but don’t get to finish because the sound of a key in the door has us jumping apart. Our hands drop to fall loosely by our sides. Seconds later Katie appears, stopping when she sees us standing in the middle of the kitchen.
“Logan, I wasn’t expecting to see you tonight,” she says, and the tilt of her head tells me she’s got questions.
I feel like I’ve been caught doing something forbidden. I wish that was the case rather than the conversation Allie and I were just having. My hand digs tracks through my hair and I turn my gaze to my sister.
“Just leaving, Katie,” I tell her, but before I do, I look down into the most beautiful emerald eyes one more time. I want her to know we’re not done here.
Chapter twenty-five
Allie
Logan isn’t only in my bad books. He has written a new volume on ways to piss me off. If only my body would get the message.
It’s not helping when he’s standing beside me in his tux, oozing sexy, hot man appeal. That damn delicious combination of expensive cologne and pure Logan moodiness is melting me from the inside out. But I’m still angry with him, and I pull the invisible cloak of fury tighter around me. I don’t care how many times he says sorry or tries to make excuses; he had no right to go behind my back. He was meant to be supportive, working with me. Together, he told me. Then he goes and does his own thing.
Katie eyes us suspiciously. Her dark-brown eyes move from me to Logan and back like we’re playing for match point in a game of tennis.
Usually, I look forward to the Carlson family sponsored Christmas Charity Gala but with my enforced proximity to Logan and Katie on edge waiting for her author, Drew, to arrive, it’s not feeling like a lot of fun. Damn men are so much trouble. I go to say the same out loud not caring that Logan will hear, but Katie is mesmerized by something or someone over my right shoulder. Her dark eyes have ignited with a fire that confirms my suspicions. Drew, the author she signed to Carlson publishing in the summer, has just arrived. The same guy who seduced her with his dick sorcery, then ghosted her.
I turn to follow her gaze. “Is that him?” If I were a cartoon character my eyes would be popping out of my head. It’s no wonder she’s unable to resist him. Several of the ladies standing nearby seem to be having the same trouble. “Holy hell, his hotness is burning my retinas.”
Logan releases an expletive, before grumbling a little louder, “Seriously? You’re here to greet the guests, not drool all over their tuxedos.”
I turn my fiercest glare on him. “And you’re here to not be an asshole, Logan,” I quip, rolling my eyes before turning my back on him.
I don’t even hear what he mutters before he storms off. Who cares? He’s gone, so I can stop pretending politeness toward him. Not that I was all that polite.
Staring wide-eyed at me, Katie says, “Whoa, you two are sounding toxic. Whatever is going on with you guys lately, you need to sort it out.”
To her, we probably do sound toxic. Like vinegar and baking soda, whenever we’ve been together these last few days, we erupt. If only she knew why.
I wave my hand dismissively in her direction, hoping that will be enough for her to forget about Logan and me. It’s time I explained everything to Katie, and I mean everything. Tomorrow, when she’s through dealing with her own man-sized problem, we’ll be able to sit down alone and really talk for the first time since she arrived.
But right now, she needs to shore up her defenses and go deal with Drew. I’m still encouraging her in that direction when Logan comes back.
