Free The Heartbroker by Kate O'Keeffe Page A

Lucinda and her buxom, bouncing assets flashes before my eyes.
    Even though it shouldn’t be of any concern to me—I’ve made the decision Logan is a no-go zone, after all—part of me needs to know whether he did in fact go home with Lucinda that night.
    Before I can stop myself, I ask, “Can I ask you something? I mean, feel free not to answer, because it isn’t any of my business or anything.”
    “Ask away.” He smiles, indulging at me.
    I’m suddenly very nervous. “Did you have a nice time with Lucinda?”
    “Who?” he asks, sounding surprised.
    “Lucinda. You met at Charlie Noble, the restaurant I saw you at in Wellington? You left with her.”
    “Oh, Lu.” My heart sinks at his use of her nickname.
    “Yes, sure. We did. She was real friendly.”
    I bet she was.
    I let out a bitter chortle and he darts me a quizzical look. “What’s Lu got to do with anything?”
    “Did you sleep with her?” I whisper, not sure I want to hear his response.
    “ Sleep with her? No! What makes you think I did that?”
    A wave of relief washes over me. Lucinda failed to catch her prey? That must have been a first. I bet she’s spitting tacks over letting Logan slip through her fingers.
    I shrug. “I just thought—” I stop before I incriminate myself any further.
    As far as Logan is concerned, I’m the woman he’s brokering a partnership deal with. I can’t go acting like a jealous girlfriend now. I haven’t earned that right.
    “I’m sorry. I thought you might have, but it’s none of my business if you did.”
    I watch as his smile spreads from ear to ear. “She offered to take Chad and me to a bar we’d heard of, so we left. We just had one drink and then we said goodbye to her and came back to the restaurant.”
    “You did?” I ask in surprise.
    “Yeah, but you must have left already.”
    “Oh.” The girls and I had a quick bite before heading to the movies. We must have just missed him. I wonder why he came back?
    “You know, her type is a dime a dozen where I’m from.”
    “I bet.” I return his smile, my head buzzing with a cocktail of emotions: from relief to embarrassment, with a growing urge to reach across the table, pull him to me, and kiss his sweet, soft lips right off his delectable face.
    “So,” he begins, changing the subject as he peruses his menu. “What looks good to you?”
    I resist the urge to say ‘you’, and instead look over my menu, settling on a sizzling chicken fajita.
    “After the excitement of today, I’m going to order a frozen margarita. Will you join me?” Logan asks, and I’m unclear whether he’s referring to our jumping adventures or our post-bungy activity.
    I clear my throat, pushing thoughts of the incredible way his lips felt on mine out of my mind. “Sounds good. Although just the one for me tonight. I need to work later.”
    I sit back in my chair, satisfied I’m setting the tone for the evening: this is a dinner between colleagues, after which I will be returning to work. I think that’s clear.
    “Sure.” He smiles and orders our drinks.
    “This place is so beautiful. You sure live in an amazing country.”
    “Yeah, I guess.”
    “You guess? It’s incredible! I’ve just seen mountains, lakes, fiords, geysers and boiling mud, all within a sixteen-hundred mile radius.”
    “Wow, you’ve been busy since I last saw you. Where have you been?”
    He looks a little bashful. “I’ll tell you, but you can’t breathe a word to anyone else, okay?”
    Wondering what weird and wonderful things he’s been up to, I lean in conspiratorially. “Agreed.”
    “Well, I’ve been on a tour.”
    “Well that’s nothing to be embarrassed about. Why the secret squirrel act?”
    “It was a tour for fans of, umm, The Hobbit.”
    “Oh, I see,” I murmur, smiling. “So you’re telling me you’re a sci fi geek.”
    He laughs his warm, comforting laugh. “I guess I am, then.”
    “Well, each to their own. Just as long as you don’t run around