Not a gourmet meal by a long shot. But it was a meal, nonetheless.
“That smells delicious.”
Standing at the stove, Logan continued stirring the sauce as he looked up and smiled.
Natalie had changed out of the sexy work attire and into a pair of leggings and an oversized hoodie she’d brought from home. Her long brown hair was damp, several strands sticking to the sides of her neck.
Her face was free of makeup, those adorable freckles he loved much more prominent than before. But it was the shadows marring the delicate skin beneath her eyes that Logan couldn’t quit staring at.
Shadows created by an act of violence that had clearly left her shaken.
Gripping the wooden spoon’s handle tight, he kept his smile steady and his voice free from the anger swirling through his veins.
“Feel better?”
“I do.” She rewarded him with a tiny smile of her own. “Thanks.”
“Hope the shower helped to work up an appetite, because I may have overdone it on the spaghetti.” A quick glance at the heaping pile of cooked noodles in the large pot to his right.
That smile of hers grew a fraction as she started toward him. “I am, actually.”
“Nope.” Logan stopped her with a raised palm. “You sit. I’ll bring it to you.”
“You don’t have to wait on me, Logan.” She ignored his directive and picked up one of the two empty bowls waiting on the counter near the stove. “I feel bad enough upending your life like this, as it is.”
You’ve got it all wrong, gorgeous.
She wasn’t upending his life. Shewashis life.
“You’re not upending a damn thing.” He waited while she filled her bowl with noodles and sauce. “And until we know for sure that tonight was random, I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to stay with your sister. Just in case.”
“No, you’re right.” Natalie carried the bowls of spaghetti and salad over to the bar. Sitting on the same stool as before, she jabbed her fork into the salad. “I just hate this. First the tires, and now my house…” Her lashes fluttered with several succinct blinks. “It was supposed to be a safe neighborhood, you know?”
“Shit happens everywhere, Nat.” Logan sat down next to her. “All we can do is stay as alert as we can and take precautions.”
Although I plan to do a hell of a lot more than that from now on.
“I called in to work for the next couple of days,” she shared. “Told my boss what happened, and he was really understanding. Said he’d call Dennis Atkinson and let him know I won’t be in and why.”
“That’s good.”
“Yeah, except that just puts me two days behind.” She took a small bite of pasta, chewing it well and swallowing before speaking again. “I brought some stuff home with me tonight to look over, but I think I’m just going to leave it until morning.”
“Probably smart. You look dead on your feet as it is.”
A slight blush filled her flawless cheeks. “Gee, thanks.”
“You know what I mean.” Logan nudged her playfully with his knee.
A move that, a week ago, he wouldn’t have thought twice about. But now, after the kiss they’d both done a stellar job of ignoring, Logan found himself second-guessing everything.
Every look. Every spoken word. Every innocent, friendly touch.
The entire night, he’d found himself rehashing every goddamnthingregarding him and Natalie. And he fucking hated it.
For the next few minutes, time passed by in silence as the two focused on their dinners and their thoughts.
Logan’s head filled with all the things he’d wanted to say to her tonight, but hadn’t. Things he’d spent the last five days working through, and then rehearsed during his earlier drive to her house.