The Billionaire's Kiss (Scandal, Inc) (10 page)

"And the way to figure that out is by kissing me?"

"Yeah," Callie said. She took another deep drink of her drink. For someone who didn't like beer, she sure was drinking it quickly. "Maybe I could use a little more trouble in my life." Callie hiccuped at the end of her sentence.
God, even her hiccups were cute.

Callie, I'm more trouble than I'm worth
, he thought. "Yeah, I think maybe it might be time to get you home."

"Let's just stay for one more drink," Callie said. "And then we can go.” Instead, they started telling each other stories.
 
With each story, Logan and Callie each leaned in a little closer together. Hours passed. The stories started to blur together until Callie announced that she only had one more story to tell. “Want to hear about my first time?” she asked.
 

“Woah,” Logan said. “I didn’t expect that turn.”
 

“No I meant my first job for Haven Communications, the first time I went into the field on my own.”

“I would love to hear that story. Maybe some time you can tell me the other one too,” he said.
 

Callie blushed at his suggestion and shrugged it off.
 
“So I had flown out to California, and the client — I can’t tell you his name, so let’s call him Brian — had a Rolls Royce come pick me up at the airport. He had been married for a few years, and he was selling off his winery in order to move with his wife back to the East Coast. I should mention that this was Brian’s third wife, and she was a little insecure about their relationship, probably because it had started while he was still married to the second wife.”
 

“This is getting interesting,” Logan said. He liked the way Callie’s face lit up when she told a story, the way she made eye contact and swung her arms around to add extra flourish to everything anecdote. “So what happened?”

“Well, Brian’s wife had found out that he had sent the car out to the airport, and she had noticed that he had been sneaking around doing something. Her mind had jumped to an affair.”
 

“How do you know that?” Logan asked.
 

“Well, she threatened me with her stiletto on the tarmac as soon as I tried to get in the car. She yelled, ‘Are you Bella? You bitch! I should have known he’d screw some young blonde.’ I didn’t know what to say so I pulled out my license and handed it to her, and I explained who I was and what I did for a living. Well, that convinced her that her husband was trying to cover up an affair, only now she thought it was with someone else.

“When we got back, Brian was waiting on the front steps for his wife, and she shot across the walkway at him, swearing and shouting and calling him every name she could imagine, and asked him how he thought he could hide something like that from her.”

“So what happened?” Logan asked.
 

“Well, he looked at me, and he shrugged, and then he said, ‘I thought she’d make you happy.’ I took a step back at that point and readied myself for the fireworks. ‘You what?’ she shouted. ‘You are sick! I can’t believe you!’ She collapsed on the ground.”

‘Honey, what’s going on?’ Brian asked. ‘Are you feeling sick?’ You should have seen the look of confusion on his face. Meanwhile, she was clawing at her face. ‘I am now,’ she said. ‘You thought getting yourself a whore would make me happy?’ I’ve never seen someone more confused than he was. He said ‘What are you talking about?’ Have you figured it out yet?” Callie asked.

“I can safely say I have no idea.”
 

“Well, I almost fell over laughing at what happened next. ‘Bella,’ the wife moaned as she started to sob. ‘I know all about her. Where is she? How long has this been going on?’ She was wailing at this point. This was the first time I had seen someone lose it like that, and I was trying to figure out an exit strategy. But I couldn’t move after what Brian said next. ‘Honey,’ he said, ‘she’s right inside. I was going to surprise you with her tonight.’

“Well, the wife jumped up and tried to lunge at him as he turned around and opened the door and called inside, ‘Bella, here girl.’ Out trotted this little chocolate lab with a pink bow on her hair. The dog ran right up to the wife and started licking her face.”

“You’re kidding,” Logan said. He reached across the table and held Callie’s hand. He hadn’t even meant to do it. It just happened, but she squeezed his palm, and it just felt right.

"There's something I've been meaning to ask you," Callie said.

"What is it?"
 

"It's kind of personal," Callie continued. She waved him closer. As soon as Logan leaned toward her, Callie pressed her lips against his and kissed him, catching him completely by surprise. Her lips were so soft, and the smooth heat of her kiss thrilled him. As he ran his tongue against hers, he felt like his heart had cracked open and filled his chest with warmth. He wanted this to last, but he knew he should stop Callie before she did something she regretted. She was buzzed after all, and he didn’t want to take advantage of her.

When he finally pulled back from the kiss she said, "Did you enjoy that?"
 

"Of course I enjoyed that," Logan said. "I just don't know if you're in the right frame of mind to go and kiss someone with a reputation like mine." Of course, he wouldn't mind if she went ahead and kissed him one more time before making the right decision.

"I thought it was nice," Callie said.

"Nice?" Logan asked. Hell, it had been better than nice. It had been wonderful. "Yeah, I guess it was ok."

Callie grabbed his collar and kissed him again, this time letting the kiss linger. As she slid her tongue against Logan's lip, he tried to remind himself that he had stopped the first kiss in order to prevent exactly the desire he currently felt. "How about we get you home? Does that sound like a good idea?"

"Are you coming with me?” she asked. She smiled and tilted her head slightly as she looked him over. Logan knew that smile. She wanted him. And he wanted her, but he couldn’t let anything more happen.

"Of course," he said. The prospect of spending the night with her seemed incredible. It was going to take all of his strength to resist her.

"Then yes,” she said.

Logan tried to appreciate the irony of the situation. The woman he had been chasing for over a week decided to get drunk in his bar and throw herself at him, and he was going to make sure she didn't succeed. He wouldn't have believed it if it wasn't happening at that moment. "Come on, let's get you to the boat," he said, stepping up and sliding his arm around her.

"Are we going to your yacht?" she asked. Logan laughed and shook his head. While this night was not going the way he had hoped, he couldn't deny that it was amusing as hell.
 

Half an hour later, Logan cut the engine and tied the boat to the dock outside the guesthouse. "Callie, we're here. How are you doing?" She had nodded off during the ride, and Logan had to step over to her to wake her up. "Come on," he said, wrapping his arms around her, "let's get you home." He stepped onto the dock and pulled Callie up out of the boat. "Do you want me to carry you?" he asked.
 

Callie nodded.
 

"How much did you drink?" Logan asked.

"Enough, apparently," Callie managed to say. Logan couldn't argue with that.

Logan scooped one arm under her knees and one across her back and lifted her up, cradling her in his arms. She was lighter than he had expected, he thought as he walked up the short path from the dock to the guesthouse. He managed to get her inside the house without too much trouble. Then he placed her down on a couch and headed to the kitchen.

"You're going to want to drink some water. Otherwise you're going to hate me in the morning."
 

"Why can't I just hate you right now?"

"Is that how it is?"
 

"No, you're nice," Callie said, "and you smell good." Logan wondered how much of this she would remember in the morning.

"Well, it's good to know you've still got a sense of humor." Logan poured a glass of water and brought it over to Callie. "Drink."

Callie drank the water as quickly as she had downed the several pints of beer, holding two hands around the glass as she finished it. "So what do we do now?" she asked. Logan knew the look on her face, that half smile.
 

"Now I get you to bed and head home," Logan said. He walked over to Callie and held out a hand.

"Is that a euphemism, heading home?" Callie asked.
 

Logan laughed. "Despite what you may think of me, I'm not trying to get you into bed."
 

"Wait, I thought that was what you were trying to do."
 

Logan shook his head and smiled. "I mean I'm not getting into bed with you. We'll save that for another night." He led her into the bedroom and sat her down on the edge of the bed.

"Chivalrous and cocky," Callie said. "I didn't know it was possible to be both of those at once." She crawled into the bed and pulled the sheets over herself.

Logan leaned over and whispered, "In my experience, they're the same thing." He opened the window to let the sea breeze in. The gentle lull of the waves crashing on the shore filled the room with a quiet calm.

"I don't get why you want everyone to think you're a jerk. You're really nice. Will you stay?" Callie asked.

He looked down at her. In the half-light, she looked more beautiful than ever. He just wanted her to be sober so he could lean down and press his lips against hers. He wanted to climb into the bed and peel off his clothes, wanted to feel the heat of her body, but he wasn't going to take advantage of her like that. "I really shouldn't. Callie, I like you a lot, and I tend to move too fast with women. Trust me, there's nothing in this world I want more right now than to climb into that bed with you."
 

Logan shifted his weight to get up, but Callie reached out and grabbed his arm. "Stay," she said.

"I'll be on the couch," he offered.

"Promise?"

"Yeah. Good night, Callie."

"Just stay with me until I fall asleep," she said.
 

"Of course," Logan replied. He clicked off the light and sat there in the darkness, listening to Callie's rhythmic breathing.

"Good night, Blondie." she mumbled before finally drifting off.

Logan couldn't help but grin as he shut the door behind him. He was going to go about this the right way. He wasn't going to make the same mistakes he had made in the past. If it had been some other night with some other girl, maybe things would have been different. But there was something about Callie, something that drew him to her. He didn't know what it was exactly. He had always had his choice of women. Beautiful women, smart women, everything he could have asked for, but none quite like her. He grabbed a pillow and lay down on the couch, listening to the waves rock against the shore. Besides, he couldn't wait to see the look on her face in the morning.

Seven

Callie woke with a throbbing headache. What had she done? As she looked at the room around her, she tried to piece together what had happened the night before. She remembered touring Logan's brewery and doing a tasting. She remembered feeling buzzed and then feeling drunk, and she remembered leaving with Logan. She couldn't remember the details of how she got back to the house, but she did remember sitting on the couch while Logan brought her water.
 

There was something else she was forgetting.
Oh God
, she wondered,
did I try to kiss him last night?
She needed some more water and some aspirin before she thought about that one any more.
 

Callie pulled on a t-shirt and a pair of pajama pants and shuffled out of the bedroom and into the bathroom. She splashed water on her face and brushed her teeth. She wondered if she should shower. It might help her feel less terrible about herself. But she figured several glasses of water and some aspirin would be even better for her. She walked back out into the living room. She made it to the kitchen before she noticed Logan sitting on the couch. "She emerges," he said, grinning. "How do you feel?"

"Like death. I shouldn't have done that last night."
 

"Shouldn't have done what?" Logan asked.

"Any of it. I shouldn't have gotten drunk, shouldn't have hit on you. I'm sorry. Do you have anything for a hangover? Do you have a cure for idiocy?"
 

"Callie, I think you're getting a little carried away. Nothing happened last night, and you were completely charming."
 

"Charming?"
 

"Yes. You were great company."
 

"I made a fool of myself."

"I thought you handled yourself quite well considering you could barely stand. Now have a seat, I'll get you something for your headache. Do you want some coffee?"

"I'm an adult, an adult who acted a bit like a child last night, but an adult nonetheless. I can get my own aspirin."

"Nonsense, you're my guest. Besides I know where the aspirin is, and you don't."