Her Soldier Protector (8 page)

“Don’t ask,” Logan muttered, giving the dog’s head a scratch.

What he should have been concerned about was how much he was starting to treat Ranger like a pet instead of an elite military dog, and how easily they’d fallen into bad habits since they’d been home. Instead he was thinking about a blonde who’d looked just as sexy as a brunette, and who was starting to drive him crazy.

He picked up his phone and dialed Brett, hitting speaker and putting his phone on his lap.

“All set for tonight?” Brett said as he answered.

Logan fought the urge to thump his head on the steering wheel. Instead he yanked on his seat belt and started driving, needing to be distracted.

“There’s been a slight change of plan,” he told Brett.

“Don’t even think about it. Jamie will kill you if you cancel.”

“I’m not cancelling. I’m, ah, bringing someone.”

Logan waited for the laughter, but all he heard was silence.

“Anyone I know?”

“Look, I need you guys to just not make a fuss. Just treat her like any other girl I might have met and brought along for a drink.”

“Except you’ve never brought a girl along before,” Brett said with a laugh. “In fact, I don’t know when I last heard the words Logan and date uttered in the same sentence.”

“I’m warning you...” Logan told him, knowing he could trust his best mate but going all stupid and protective over Candace anyway.

“No need. It’ll be fun. Want to just meet us there?”

“Yeah, I’ll see you there.”

Logan hung up and let his head fall back against the rest. Asking Candace out had been crazy, but the fact he was heading out with Brett and Jamie would mean there was no pressure, that everything would be fine. So long as he didn’t end up taking her back to his place again, it would just be a night out with friends.

Ranger whined and Logan took his eyes off the road for a split second to glare at him.

“I know, I know, but it’s only one night.”

His dog ignored him and stared out the window, and Logan tried to think about going back home to the Outback instead of what the night was going to be like. Because he couldn’t convince his dog, and he couldn’t convince himself that seeing Candace for a few hours over a drink was ever going to be enough. Or that he’d be able to hold back and not end up trying to make something happen between them again.

Weakness wasn’t something he’d ever struggled with before. He’d had to fight a lot of other emotions, deal with loss and a lot of crap over the years, but no one could ever have accused him of being weak. Until a gorgeous, sexy country singer had walked into his life and turned everything he’d ever known, ever felt, up on its head.

Next thing he knew he’d be playing her music and singing along to her songs like a lovesick puppy.

*

Candace had a pile of rejected clothes strewn across the bed. After trying almost everything on, she’d settled on a pair of skinny jeans, a T-shirt with sequined sleeves and a pair of super-high stilettos. Logan was insanely tall and while she liked the fact that his size made her feel protected, she didn’t like only reaching his shoulder if her shoes weren’t high enough.

She fluffed her hair, tousling her curls, and applied one final brush of lip gloss. Candace was about to reach for her purse when her phone beeped. She grabbed it and scrolled through her emails, smiling when she read the first new message.

Candace Evans spotted getting cozy with mystery man in L.A.? Source sees her being rushed through customs and into the arms of another stranger.

She blew out a sigh of relief and flicked her phone to silent before jamming it into her purse. Her tip-off had worked, which meant no one would be expecting her to still be in Australia, and definitely not at a local bar hanging out with some regular people. She just had to hope that enough gossip sites passed around the message.

Candace left the light on in her room and turned the message on the door to Do Not Disturb, then headed for the elevator. Her heart was pounding, nerves making her hands damp. The anticipation of seeing Logan again was putting her more on edge than she ever was just before a concert. It was crazy, and she hadn’t been like this around a guy for a very long time, but something about the sexy soldier-turned-bodyguard had her stomach doing cartwheels.

She’d promised herself that she wouldn’t ever fall for a man again, that she was better off being single, but while that might have been easy before, it didn’t seem quite so straightforward now. Because Logan had shown her that not all men were jerks, and no matter how hard she wanted to resist him, her willpower had failed her from the moment she’d agreed to go out with him the first time.

The elevator dinged and Candace took a deep breath and walked out. She hadn’t bothered to put her wig on, but she did keep her head down as she walked toward the lobby doors. She doubted anyone would bother staring at her too hard, and all the excitement over her concert had well and truly died down.

“Candace.”

She glanced up just as she almost walked straight into Logan, his deep voice stopping her. He was standing with his arms folded, waiting like he’d kill anyone with his bare hands if they so much as came near her.

“Hey,” she said, wishing the sight of him had settled instead of unnerved her.

“I was half expecting a brunette tonight,” he joked, turning so he could put his arm around her and walk them both out of the hotel. “It’s kind of like the whole Miley Cyrus versus Hannah Montana thing.”

His joke blew all the nerves from her body, somehow made her relax.

“How on earth do you know
anything
about Hannah Montana?” she asked, laughing as he opened the door to his vehicle.

Logan leaned in toward her, one arm braced on the door. “Ten-year-old niece. I was trying to be a good uncle.”

Candace laughed to herself as he shut the door.
This
was why she liked Logan so much—being in his company was...refreshing. It made her feel like she was a world away from everything, and right now that was the best feeling she could imagine.

“So tell me about your friends,” she said, angling her body so she could stare at Logan. “Do they know you’re bringing someone along with you?”

He glanced at her before starting the engine, and she was just watching as his mouth opened to reply when—

“Argh!” Candace squealed and almost hit her head on the ceiling.

“Ranger!” Logan barked, pushing his dog back and reaching for her, his hand covering her thigh. “I’m sorry. I was just about to warn you and then...”

“Your dog stuck his tongue in my ear. Actually in my ear,” Candace complained, wiping at her face and glaring at the dog in the backseat. But her anger quickly turned to laughter when she saw the confused look on Ranger’s face.

“It’s fast becoming one of his party tricks,” Logan confessed. “We both apologize, don’t we, Ranger?”

Candace reached back and gave the dog a stroke on the head, finding it hard to believe that the dog had actually molested her, not to mention the fact that she was voluntarily touching him.

“It’s okay. I guess that was just him saying hi,” she said, not wanting to get the dog into trouble now that she was actually starting to like him. “Next time I suggest warning your passenger, though.”

Logan stroked his hand across her thigh before putting it back on the wheel, and she wished she had the nerve to just grab it and put it back in place.

“He was all upset seeing my bags packed, so I told him he could tag along for the ride.”

Candace leaned back in her seat, keeping an eye on the dog in case he decided to get frisky again.

“Anyway, you were asking about Brett and Jamie?”

“Yeah. Tell me about them.”

Logan made a noise in his throat that made her think he didn’t really want to discuss them, but then he took one hand off the wheel and seemed to relax.

“Brett is one of my oldest friends. We met our first day of training, and we both ended up going through to the SAS and then the doggies division.”

“Has he retired now, too?”

Logan nodded. “Yeah, he was injured pretty bad on his last tour.”

She watched as Logan’s jaw tightened, a visible tick alerting her to the fact that this might not be something he was comfortable discussing with her.

“Is he, ah, one of the guys you mentioned the other night? One of the two that you used to meet up with at the restaurant?” Candace hoped she hadn’t pushed him too far by asking.

Logan didn’t say anything straight away, but he did put his fallen hand back on the wheel, the whites of his knuckles showing how hard his grip was. She wished she knew what was going through his mind, wondered if it was the same memories that he fought in the night.

“There were three of us. Brett, Sam and me. They were on tour together about a year ago, working a routine patrol, when an IED bomb went off and killed Sam.”

Logan paused and Candace just stayed still, silent.

“Brett lost his dog in the blast, too, and he’s so lucky to be alive himself.”

She had no idea what to say. “Logan, I’m sorry.”

He shrugged, but she knew he wasn’t finding it easy to talk about, that it wasn’t something he’d ever be able to truly shrug off, no matter how convincing he might look.

“When Brett came home, things kind of became difficult between us when he, well, he kind of fell in love with Sam’s wife. His widow, I mean. It’s all a bit of a complicated story, but at the end of the day it was the best thing for both of them.”

Jeez.
When Logan had said he’d been through a lot these past few years, he actually had.

“You must have found that pretty hard to deal with?” Candace said. “Understandably so, I mean.”

“I was a jerk when I should have listened to them, but Jamie can tell you more about all that if she wants to. All I care about is that they’re both happy now.” He glanced across at her. “I’m not usually the guy who overreacts, except when it comes to the people I care about.”

Candace shifted in her seat as Logan focused on the road again.

“And you,” he added, his voice low.

She stopped moving, wondering if she’d heard him right. “Me?” Candace forced herself to ask.

Logan pulled over, parking the car, but she couldn’t take her eyes off of him. What did he mean by that?

Once the vehicle was stationary, he turned his body to face hers, reaching for her hand. She let him take it, their fingers linking.

“There’s something about you that I can’t stay away from, no matter how much I tell myself I should.”

Candace was like a spider caught in a web—Logan’s gaze was impossible to escape from, and she didn’t want to. It was like he was saying the words that were in her head, telling her what she was thinking.

“Meaning you wish you hadn’t asked me out tonight?”

“Meaning,” he said, cupping her face in his other hand, “that it probably would have been best for both of us if I hadn’t, not that I didn’t want to.”

She knew exactly what he meant, because she’d been telling herself the same thing, knowing that it would have been best to move on and not think about Logan, let alone see him again. But like a bee was lured to nectar time and time again, so it seemed was she to him.

“You’re leaving in the morning, right?” she whispered.

Logan nodded, just the barest movement of his head. “Yes.”

“Then it’s just one more night. We’ll both be heading our separate ways tomorrow.”

He leaned toward her, placing a feather-light kiss to her lips. Logan didn’t say anything, and he didn’t need to. Whatever it was they had between them, whatever was pulling them together, wasn’t something either of them seemed to understand. But by tomorrow, neither of them would have a choice.

“Let’s go meet your friends,” Candace said as he dropped his hand from her face.

Logan smiled and jumped out of the car, and Candace quickly touched up her lip gloss in the mirror.

CHAPTER SEVEN

L
OGAN
TOOK
C
ANDACE
’
S
hand as they walked toward the entrance of the bar. He hoped no one made a fuss and recognized her, especially not after last time. All he wanted was a quiet evening with friends, a couple of beers and to make the most of his only night left with Candace. So much for telling himself that he was going to play the part of the perfect gentleman tonight. After what she’d said in the car, his mind was all over the “just one more night” line she’d given him.

“They’re just over there,” he said into her ear, pointing toward where Brett and Jamie were standing near the bar.

Candace squeezed his hand and they headed straight over. He could see the grin on Jamie’s face even from across the room once she spotted them, and he knew it wasn’t just because it was Candace he’d brought with him. She’d been trying to set him up with someone,
anyone,
for longer than he liked to admit, and even though he’d repeatedly turned her down she’d been pretty insistent that it was time he met someone. Pity he’d have to let her down gently that this wasn’t a relationship that was going anywhere.

“Hey!” Jamie said, kissing his cheek and holding her hand out to Candace. “Great to meet you.”

Candace smiled and shook hands with both Jamie and Brett, and Logan gave them both a hug.

“What do you want to drink?” Logan asked Candace.

Candace raised her eyebrows and looked at Jamie. “What are you having?”

“A mocktail because I’m driving. But whatever you do, don’t let either of these boys talk you into a Long Island Iced Tea.”

They all burst out laughing, except for Candace, who just looked confused.

“Come sit down and I’ll tell you all about it,” Jamie said with a grin, looping her arm through Candace’s. “Logan, ask the bartender to make her something delicious. He’s good like that.”

Logan reached out and touched the small of Candace’s back just before she walked away, receiving a sweet smile in response when she glanced over her shoulder. He stared at her as she moved, watched the gentle sway of her body, the long curly hair that hung like a wave down her back and that he was desperate to fist his hands in.

“Hey,” Brett said, nudging him in the ribs. “You going to get these drinks or do I have to?”

Logan snapped out of it and stared at Brett.

“I’m losing it,” he admitted. “I’m losing the plot and there’s nothing I can do about it.”

Brett sighed and leaned across the bar to order the drinks, clearly deciding he was useless for the time being. “Next round’s on you,” he muttered.

“Brett, I’m serious. She’s done something to me and I can’t snap out of it.”

“So you like her. What’s the big deal?”

Logan put one elbow on the bar to prop himself up. “The fact that she’s way out of my league, not to mention she leaves tomorrow.” He ran a hand through his short hair. “And you know me, I’m just not interested in being with anyone after, well, everything.”

Brett chuckled and passed him a beer. “You can pretend all you like, but you’re interested in being with her. Otherwise you wouldn’t be telling me all this. Besides, you can’t dwell on the past forever, no matter how bad it is. At some point you’re going to have to move on.”

Logan raised the beer bottle and drained almost half of it. “She’s under my skin. I want her but I don’t, and...”

He had no idea what he was trying to say, because he didn’t even know what he wanted. It was impossible to even think straight with her around. Deep down, he doubted he could give enough of himself to any woman, certainly not Candace, but he knew he was starting to think about her as more than a one-night thing. He’d be lying if he told himself he didn’t want more. A lot more.

“Logan, she’s a beautiful girl, and you’ve had fun with her. You telling me you want more than that, or are you just pissed that you can’t have her in your bed for a few more nights?”

“Don’t talk about her like that. It has
nothing
to do with me just wanting her in bed.” Logan knew he sounded angry, and he was.

“Whoa,” Brett said, putting his beer down and holding up both hands. “I was just trying to make a point. You don’t have to bite my head off.”

“Well, don’t,” Logan grumbled, even though he knew it was him who’d been in the wrong.

“You remember when I was first with Jamie, and I tried to tell you how I felt about her?”

“Was that before or after I gave you the black eye?”

Brett punched him in the arm, but he was still grinning. “The point is, I felt differently about Jamie than I’d ever felt about another woman. I could have lost you as a friend just for telling you, for trying to explain, but she was worth it.
She’s still worth it.
” He shrugged. “Your past is never going to go away, so you’re just going to have to deal with it.”

Logan watched as Brett glanced across to where the girls were seated, and he angled his body so he could see them, too. They were sitting together, heads bent as they discussed something that made them both burst out laughing. Jamie was one of his closest friends, and he’d been right to think that she’d be perfect for Candace to spend time with. And everything Brett was saying was right, even if it was blunt.

“Don’t be so much of a hard head that you lose someone you feel that way about, that’s all I’m saying,” Brett said, picking up his beer bottle and another mocktail for Jamie. “Jamie was worth fighting for, and that would have been the truth no matter how high the stakes. You just have to decide if Candace is worth the fight, whatever that fight turns out to be.”

Logan collected his drinks and walked beside his friend, knowing he was right. He often kept everything bottled up inside and refused to talk, but telling Brett what he was thinking had been the right thing to do.

“It’s about time I told you I’m sorry for being a jerk when you tried to talk to me about Jamie,” he admitted. “I should never have been so harsh on you, and every time I see the two of you together I know what an idiot I was. I hope you know that.”

Brett just shrugged. “You were looking out for her, I get it. And you’ve said sorry enough times for me to believe you, so how about we just move on, huh?”

“Yeah, but until now, maybe I didn’t know how you really felt. I meant it when I apologized back then, but all of a sudden I actually get it,” Logan mumbled, eyes locked on Candace as he headed toward her. “As much as I want to forget about her, to ignore the way I feel...”

“You just can’t,” Brett finished for him. “Trust me, I get it.”

“So what do I do?” he asked just before they reached the table. “What am I supposed to do?”

“Stop overthinking it,” Brett said in a low voice. “If it feels right, just go with it. For once in your life switch that part of your brain off and just enjoy the moment.”

“Hey,” Candace said with a smile as Logan sat down beside her on the leather seat.

The table was tucked away, a low-hanging light casting warm shadows around them in contrast to the darkness of the bar.

“Try this and see what you think,” Logan told her, sliding the drink across to her.

Candace grinned and leaned forward, at the same time resting her hand on his thigh. Logan stiffened, couldn’t help how rigid his body went, like it was on high alert, but if she noticed she never said anything. What Brett had said had been right, trouble was that the last time he’d just lived in the moment, he’d had his heart ripped out and stomped all over. Add to that his fear of losing anyone he actually cared about again, and he was one screwed up individual, he knew.

“So what were you two busy talking about?” Brett asked, kissing Jamie when she turned to face him.

“Oh, you know, just telling Candace some stories about you two,” Jamie responded. “It’s always fun having someone new to share info with.”

“I was telling Jamie about my fear of dogs, and how Ranger decided to make love to my ear with his tongue on the way here.”

Logan just shook his head when the other two burst into laughter. He’d hoped they’d just be themselves around Candace, and they were, which was making the whole situation seem...like some sort of double date. They weren’t treating her any differently than they would any other girl.

He cleared his throat. “I’m heading back home first thing tomorrow, Jamie, did Brett tell you?”

“Don’t tell me you want me to babysit Ranger?” Jamie asked. “Or is that something Candace wants to do now that he’s shown his love for her?”

Both Candace and Jamie giggled, and Logan exchanged looks with Brett. His friend was giving him a look he’d only seen when they’d been serving, a look that told him he had to do what he had to do. Before, it had been about war, about making decisions that could affect his entire team, and now it was about putting his own heart on the line and putting himself at risk. Which wasn’t something he was comfortable with at all. Now, the decision he made was only going to affect his own life, which was why the whole thing was scaring him.

“What are your plans, Candace? You heading back to the States?” Brett asked, giving Logan a moment to gather his thoughts.

Candace was toying with her straw. She took a delicate sip before answering. “You know, I don’t have any definite plans as yet, but I’m planning on staying in Australia for a few more days, maybe longer.”

Logan almost choked on his beer. “You are?” He turned so he was staring straight at her.

She glanced across at him, her eyes not settling on his. “Yeah. You kind of convinced me that I needed a break.”

“When you said you were going to take some time off, I didn’t realize you meant
here.
I figured you were going back to your ranch in Montana.”

Suddenly it was like there was just the two of them in the room, that Brett and Jamie weren’t even part of the conversation. How had she not mentioned this earlier? Why hadn’t he asked her?

“You’re going tomorrow, and I didn’t want you to feel like...” Her voice trailed off, her sentence unfinished.

“I could have changed my plans,” he muttered. If he’d known there was the chance of spending more time with her, of this being more than a one-night thing...he would have what? He still didn’t know how he felt about Candace, what he thought, what he was capable of offering.

“Candace, you should see Logan’s property while you’re here,” Brett said, interrupting them just as Logan was about to tear his hair out. “I know you’ve probably travelled to a lot of beautiful places, but there’s nothing quite like the Outback.”

An awkward silence fell over the table. Even the ever bubbly Jamie was quiet, which made the whole situation feel more pressure cooked than it was.

“I’d love to see it one day. I’m sure it’s pretty special,” Candace said, but she kept her head down, eyes on her cocktail.

“Brett, why don’t we go get another round of drinks?” Jamie suggested, standing and tugging on Brett’s hand.

“But we haven’t even...” He stopped talking and just stood up when Jamie gave him a fierce look that Logan caught from the corner of his eye.

Logan let them leave before turning to Candace. His mind was jumbled, his thoughts all over the place, but he kept thinking about what Brett had said and he realized he didn’t want to regret anything when it came to the woman seated beside him. It was time to man up and he knew it.

“You should have told me you were staying in Australia,” Logan said, going to reach for her hand then hesitating, before forcing himself to get out of his comfort zone and just do it. “I just presumed you were heading back straightaway.”

Candace’s hand was warm in his, but her eyes were staring at their connection, not back into his. She was deep in thought and he wanted to know what was going through her head, what she wanted from him.

“Candace?” he asked, wishing he hadn’t sounded so angry.

“I didn’t want to tell you because I don’t even know what this is between us,” she said, finally looking up at him. “I couldn’t exactly ask you not to go back home, to stay for another few days just to keep me company.”

Logan’s heart physically felt like it was going to stop. The pain he felt at seeing her eyes swim with tears was too much for him to handle, because it was him hurting her and that wasn’t something he’d ever intended on doing.

“I have no idea what this is, either, Candace.” It was the truth and he didn’t know what else to say.

“A couple of years ago, I made a decision that I was better off alone than with a man in my life,” she told him, still letting him hold her hand. “And then I met you, and I forgot all about the promise I’d made myself. I want you to know that I’ve never had a one-night stand in my life until you, Logan, and I’m fairly certain it’s not something I’ll ever do again.”

Logan stared back at Candace, wondering what on earth she saw in him to make her want to spend any time with him at all. Why she trusted him, why they both seemed able to confide in one another.

“I don’t have a lot to offer, Candace, not emotionally. But I’m not ready to say goodbye to you yet.”

She leaned into him, her cheek to his chest. Logan circled his arms around her body, held her to him and shut his eyes, wanting to remember what it was like to have the tiny blonde against him. To be with a woman who made him feel things he’d never expected to feel again in his lifetime, to simply have Candace tucked against him. For as long as he lived, he’d never forget her warmth, the vulnerability he’d glimpsed—it was a comfort like he’d never experienced before.

“Come with me tomorrow,” he said, his voice low.

Candace went so still he couldn’t even feel her breathing.

“You mean that?” she asked, keeping her face to his chest.

Logan blew out a breath, not sure how he’d just ended up inviting a woman he barely knew back to his family home. But he had, and deep down he knew he wanted it more than anything. This time, he wasn’t going to let his fears make decisions for him.

“Yeah, I mean it.”

Candace eventually sat upright, one of her hands touching his face as she stared into his eyes.

“Screw doing what I think I should,” she said, the corners of her mouth tipping up into a smile. “I think it’s about time I just do what feels right.”