She (23 page)

“Oh. My. God!” she whispers. “He’s
brilliant
!”

“I know, right?” I agree, breathlessly.

“Intelligent…sensitive…
gorgeous
! And he’s completely besotted with you.”

“I know,” I say again, with the biggest smile on my face. “And I adore him, Amber! He’s the most amazing man — person — I’ve
ever
met!”

“Uh, hello? What about me?” she pretends to be offended, before waving away my comment. “It’s OK, I know you’re all loved up. It’s so wonderful to see!” she smiles sincerely and hugs me tightly.

I giggle, feeling giddy, and then I reach for the wine.
Two more bottles
, I think, merrily.

“I didn’t know you had a heat drawer,” Amber blurts out, getting distracted.

“Fancy, huh?” Not that I can take credit for it. “It’s Logan’s doing,” I explain, “he built the place.”

“Wait…he
what
?” She’s incredulous.

Oh? “Didn’t I tell you that?”

“No, you’re not telling me
any
thing!” she exclaims, dramatically.

I grin at her, knowing she’s not truly perturbed. “He built the whole complex,” I nod, “and he still owns it.”

“That’s so romantic!” she squeals unexpectedly. “He must’ve known, unconsciously, that you’d live here, so he built you your home!”

I laugh, thoroughly unconvinced.

But Amber is firmly decided. “He
totally
knew!” she insists.

“It does sound romantic when you put it like that,” I allow. “Ready for dessert?” I ask, pointing at the cake on the countertop.

“Awesome! I love your cakes. They go excellently with wine,” she says, opening one of the bottles right here and taking a swig.

“Classy,” I laugh again.

She shrugs, thoroughly unconcerned. Then she looks thoughtful for a few moments. “This wine tastes funny…it’s tasted odd all night,” she muses.

“Maybe…?”

“I’m not pregnant, I wish I was,” she says quickly. “I want that more than anything,” she sighs. She looks suddenly despondent. It’s the only subject I know of that can bring Amber down so much. Her desperate desire to be a mother is something I’ve always supported, though never quite shared. Motherhood is Amber’s dream.

I pat her hand. “It’ll happen for you,” I say surely.

“That’s what I thought last time,” she says, referring to her miscarriage six months ago. She shakes her head, putting a stop to her wallowing. “You’re right, when it’s time, it’ll happen,” she nods. “Now, give me some juicy details of your past week to cheer me up.”

Oh, jeez! Where to begin? I smile. “Hmm, he’s got a pool in his penthouse…”

She rolls her eyes playfully, as if to say:
of course he does
.

“And…
ooh
…one wall of his bedroom is made entirely of windows, which we can see out of but which no one can see in through…” I grin, thinking back, “…
that
was fun!”

“Gem! You’re telling me he had you pressed up against a
glass
window in a
penthouse
? That’s
dangerous
! A penthouse has got to be at least…” she considers.

“Thirty seven stories,” I tell her.

“
Thirty seven
?” she blanches.

I grin and nod. “The glass is bulletproof. Quite safe,” I assure her.

“Hmm, I suspect Logan is too in love with you to let you fall to your death.”

What else
, I wonder. Ah, yes… “And those Latin dance classes we took a few years back certainly came in useful last night!”

“I’ll just
bet
they did!” she laughs. “You know, I didn’t think it was possible for a handsome man to be made even more attractive, but you’ve managed it.”

Did I? “How?” I ask.

“Well, when I saw those pictures of him on the internet, he was handsome…but he wasn’t happy,” she says bluntly. “He’s happy now, Gem. It’s obvious. It’s obviously
you
.”

I smile, what a beautiful thought. Logan has said as much as well: he’s never been happier; he only smiles when he’s with me. I revel in knowing that I’ve had such a positive affect on him, and am overcome with gratitude for the positive affect he’s had on me! Something Amber is quick to note…

“And I never saw you this happy with Jerry. Never,” she tells me.

“That’s because I wasn’t,” I say simply. “Everything with Logan is vibrant and energetic and exciting. Everything before him was stale.”

“And cheating and ugly,” Amber adds, with a nod. She takes another swig from the bottle as Logan enters the kitchen, and she looks a little put out that she’s been sprung.

Logan is amused. “Classy,” he teases, and I laugh.
Great minds
, I think.

“Did you get bored talking to Seamus?” Amber asks Logan, and it’s clear to me that she’s joking, but not to Logan.

He falters. “No! Not at all!” he insists. “I just…I wondered where you’d gotten to,” he says, making a beeline for me.

“You. Can’t. Get. Any.
Cuter
,” Amber gushes. She takes ahold of the two wine bottles and turns to leave us alone, before suddenly turning back, and saying to Logan, “Sorry about Seamus’ poor timing in bringing up Jerry…”

“It’s fine, really,” Logan tells her and she leaves with a smile at him and a wink at me.

I look at Logan reading his face; there is mirth there, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “Is it
really
fine?” I wonder.

Sure enough, he’s put out. Honestly, he says, “Your ex-boyfriend calling up your mutual friends to get advice on how to win you back? It’s a little unsettling.”

I wrap my arms around his waist as I stare up at him, feeling a need to get a few things clear. “They’re not our mutual friends, they’re
my
friends,” I say, almost possessively. “Jerry has never called Seamus before. This is a one-off, out-of-the-blue kind of thing,” I tell him.

“You guys never hung out like this?” Logan asks.

“Not once. Jerry never warmed to either of them,” I tell him truthfully.

“Why not? They’re great,” Logan says, earnestly.

I beam at him, delighted.

Logan smiles back, but still his eyes are troubled. He says, “Either way, it’s obvious Jerry wants you back.”

So what? It’s not like he’s got a chance in hell. I look at Logan…surely he knows that…doesn’t he? “You don’t think I’m going to go back to Jerry, do you?” I blurt out quickly, my voice sounding horrified.

From his expression it’s clear that my words are comical to him.
Phew
, I think.

“You’d have to be certifiable,” he smiles, and this time his eyes smile, too.

“Totally certifiable!” I agree.

“No, I don’t think you’re going to go back. I do think it’ll make Thursday
very
interesting,” he grins mischievously.

Thursday? Oh, yes! The work function that Jerry may or may not attend… Well, after hearing Seamus mention Logan’s name, Logan’s in no doubt that Jerry will show, and I concur. But Jerry’s presence will do nothing to dampen my evening; I’m going there to be with my new boyfriend.

As if knowing what I’m thinking, Logan leans down and kisses my lips, and for a moment we’re in our bubble. When we break apart he smiles his adorable smile, and without thinking my hands reach up to touch the dimples in his cheeks. I love them! I love
all
of him!

“I love you,” I say, the words flowing so naturally from my lips.

His smile broadens. “I love you, too, baby. And I’m having a really wonderful evening with
your
friends.”

“Are you really?”

He nods, and I don’t doubt him. I remember one of my first ever thoughts about him:
this man is genuine
. How right I was, I think happily.

“I am curious, though,” Logan says, “About Amber’s opening remark about bringing a woman to orgasm by the way I look at them?”

Shit
! Thank you very much, Amber, I think sarcastically. ”Uh, yeah…sorry about that…”

“Don’t be. I just want to know what she was referring to,” he grins, his mouth very close to mine.

“Well, um, that pertains to after our first lunch date,” I say, “when I was having my portrait taken. The way you were looking at me…it did things to me…”

He smiles and buries his face into my neck, kissing my bare skin. “What kinds of things?” he whispers against me.

The feeling of his lips evokes a longing deep within me. I run my hand through his hair, tighten my grip and then pull him away from me. His smile broadens, and my longing increases.

It’s with intense satisfaction that I say, “
These
kind of things…” I kiss him hard, holding his head against mine as our tongues caress one another, and for more minutes than is socially acceptable we’re lost in our kiss.

“We should get back,” I say when we eventually break apart, and Logan nods.

Amber and Seamus aren’t waiting for us in the dining room. I check the living room, expecting them to have moved there, but they haven’t. Logan and I exchange curious looks, before I retrace my steps back into the kitchen. Nope, not in there. It’s while walking back to Logan in the dining room, that I come across them, stumbling out of my bedroom, pulling the door shut behind them, both of them laughing like naughty school children.

“What were you doing in there?” I ask suspiciously, making them jump.

“Oh, shit! Uh, nothing,” Amber says.

“Nothing at all,” Seamus grins, before they both burst into laughter again.

I narrow my eyes at them and then step forward to get by them to check my bedroom, but they both block my path.

“Nothing to see in there,” Seamus assures me quickly.

“Nothing to
see
…” Amber giggles.

I take a step back and they relax. Whatever it is, I’m bound to find it later. “Get back in the dining room,” I scold them.

They trot ahead of me, their guilty postures making me grin.

The rest of our evening is a little more relaxing; perhaps because all of the initial embarrassment has ebbed away, or perhaps because of the additional wine we consume. However, all too soon, Seamus, the voice of reason, tells his wife that they really ought to make their way home.

At the front door we say a long goodbye, all of us rambling on. Tonight’s been a brilliant success, and I beam at both of them as they leave. But, it turns out that even after I shut the door, they’re still not truly gone.

From outside I can hear Seamus whisper to Amber, “What are you doing now?”

“
Shh
, I’m listening!” she whispers back, and I peer through the peephole and see Amber’s ear pressed up against it. “I bet they’re making out already!”

“Amber, I can
hear
you!” I say loudly.

“Fuck!” she curses. “Seamus,
run
!”

I watch through the peephole as they make a dash for it, huge grins plastered across their faces. With a grin on my own face, I turn to look at Logan. Ah, alone, at last. He raises his eyebrows at me, and a moment later I’m on him.

*

We undress each other slowly, sensually, while we’re making out headily. Logan drops to his knees in front of me to pull down my stockings and panties, but before he does that he buries his face into my crotch breathing in my scent. The sight of him pushes my arousal through the roof!

“All evening I’ve been thinking about you,” he mutters, and I don’t know if he’s talking to
me
or my crotch, though I’m content either way.

When we’re naked we fall onto the bed, me on bottom, Logan on top. During our fall we break in kissing, and over Logan’s head I spot what Amber and Seamus were up to. I burst into laughter immediately.

Mirrors
! Mirrors stuck to my bedroom ceiling!

Logan looks up, catches sight of both of us and cracks up as well. There are a dozen square mirrors, the types that you buy with adhesive backs that can be stuck anywhere. So,
this
is what they were up to! Logan stands up to better investigate them as I crawl across my bed to my bedside table and grab my mobile phone to type two identical messages to Amber and Seamus.

*You buggers!
So
busted!*

Seamus replies almost instantly.

*You’re welcome ;)*

As I laugh, Logan looks down at me through the mirrors. He reaches up to them, and for a moment I think he’s going to pull them down.
No
!
Don’t
, I think. But to my great excitement he pushes against them firmly, making sure they’re secure.

“We don’t want these falling down on us,” he grins to himself, something I’m able to see, thanks to the mirrors. He’s excited by the prospect of them, and knowing that turns me on even more. Once he’s checked them all he drops down onto his knees and crawls over me, seductively. “I can’t wait to watch you,” he breathes. The tension between us makes me feel like we’re having sex already.

“You watch me anyway,” I say quietly. He’s said as much.

“That’s true,” he confesses, leaning over me, looking utterly besotted. “How could I not watch something so beautiful?” He bends down and kisses my bare chest. “I can’t take my eyes off of you, Gemima. The way you move…it does things to me,” he says, repeating my sentiment from earlier, a smile forming on his lips. Overcome by his desires, he flattens me to the bed and kisses my chest, up to my neck, to my cheek, and then to my ear. He whispers to me, “You’re not going to get a wink of sleep tonight.”