Hitched! (23 page)

‘Oh, there's affection between you, anyone can see that,'
continued Caroline as she tugged at the curtains to make them absolutely even.
‘But I'm not seeing love.'

Evie eyed the other woman steadily. ‘What does love look
like?'

‘Depends on the type,' said Caroline Carmichael. ‘My first
great love was Logan's father and by the time we'd left the battlefield, love
looked like a wasteland. But there was passion between us, passion to burn by.
My second husband knew how to coax forth a steady flame, one that warmed me
through and I thanked him for it every day of his life. But you and Max...
Forgive me for being so blunt, but do you really intend to share this bed?'

‘None of your business, Mother,' said Max from the doorway,
determination in his voice and something else. Tightness. Anger. Max so rarely
got angry. ‘I need to speak to Evangeline alone.'

Caroline left with a concerned glance for her son and Max shut
the door behind her. Evie stayed by the bookshelf, arms crossed in front of her
and her chin held high.

Surely Logan would have kept his sinner's mouth shut.

Wouldn't he?

‘Logan tells me he's met you before,' said Max.

Guess not. ‘Yes.'

‘When?'

‘Ten years ago, maybe more. I haven't kept count. We met in
passing. I was on a study exchange programme at the University of Greenwich.
Your brother was doing something or other in London. I never did ask what.'

‘He's the one, isn't he?' said Max. ‘The one who ruined you for
all other men.'

‘I'm thinking
ruined
is too strong
a word,' said Evie. ‘I was definitely exaggerating and possibly maudlin when I
mentioned that to you. I'm not ruined. I don't feel ruined. Do I look
ruined?'

Max took his time looking her over.

‘You look flustered,' he said grimly. ‘You never get
flustered.'

‘Not true. C'mon, Max. I had a fling with a man called Logan
Black more than ten years ago. Five minutes ago you introduced him to me as your
brother. I'm calling that one fluster-worthy.' Heat flooded Evie's cheeks and
distress fuelled her temper. ‘I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry my past has come back
into play. It was a pretty tepid past.' With one notable exception. ‘It doesn't
have to impact the present.'

‘It just did.'

Hard to argue with that.

‘Do you still want him?' asked Max.

‘No.' And as if saying it louder would somehow make it true,
‘NO.'

‘Because he sure as hell still wants you.'

‘If your brother had wanted me, Max, he'd have found me. That
much I do remember about him.'

But Max just shook his head and ran his hands through his hair.
He didn't look much like Logan except for his dark hair and olive skin. Their
features were quite different. Their mannerisms not similar at all. No way she
could have known...

‘I can't believe he even told you,' she muttered. ‘Why would he
do
that? What could he possibly hope to gain?
Does he not like you? Is that it?'

‘We get on well enough,' said Max.

‘Then
why
?'

‘Maybe he thought you were going to say something.'

‘Yeah, well, he got that wrong.'

Max cut her a level glance. ‘Honesty not really your strong
suit these days, is it?'

‘Or yours,' she snapped back. ‘You said you had a brother—I
thought
I'd be meeting Logan Carmichael. You
never told me you had a half-brother named Logan
Black
,' she said as her legs threatened to fold and she sat herself
down on the day-bed.
Think, Evie. Think.
But her
mind had left the building the moment she'd set eyes on Logan, and it hadn't yet
returned. ‘Your mother's hosting a cocktail party in our honour in just over
seven hours,' she said, and put her head to her hands and the heels of her hands
to her eyes and pressed down hard. ‘What's the plan here? What do you want to
do? Because I can go find her and apologise and tell her the engagement's off,
if that's what you want.'

‘Evie—'

‘Or we could put in an order for a time machine. I could go
back in time, find your
half
-brother and spurn his
advances. Failing that, I could at least wring his neck afterwards. That'd work
too.'

‘Evie—'

‘Because after that I'm fresh out of ideas, Max. I don't know
how to fix this without making even more of a mess.' Evie's throat felt tight,
her eyes started stinging. ‘I didn't know. I
didn't
know he was your brother. I would
never...
If I'd
known. The business....
God.
'

The horror in Logan's eyes that last time they'd been together
when she'd cut her head on the too-sharp table leg. The trembling in his hands,
the fear and self-loathing in his eyes. He'd taken her to the hospital and by
the time they'd arrived Logan had pulled himself together, standing silent and
sombre by her side until the nurses had asked him to wait outside.

‘There's no problem here,' she'd told concerned nurses firmly.
‘None.'

But they'd given her a business card and on it had been a
number to call and she'd shoved it in her handbag rather than argue with them
any more.

Logan had taken her home and she'd known something was wrong
but she hadn't been able to reach him. ‘Logan, it was an accident,' she'd told
him as he'd walked her to her door. ‘You
know
that,
right?' And she'd thought he was going to reach for her then and make everything
all right, only he'd shoved his hands in his pockets instead and nodded and
looked away.

Last words she'd ever said to him, because the following day
Logan Black was gone from her life as if he'd never existed.

‘God,' she whispered.

And then Max's hands were circling her wrists and he was
crouching before her and pulling her hands away from her face. ‘Hey,' he said
gently. ‘Drama queen. Don't go to pieces on me now. We can fix this.'

‘How?'

‘We just have to know what everybody's intentions are, that's
all. Yours. Mine. Logan's. Because I'll stand aside if I have to, Evie, but only
if there's a damn good reason for doing so.'

‘That I slept with your brother isn't good enough?'

‘Well, it's not ideal...' Droll, this fake fiancé of hers, when
he wanted to be. ‘But I've got fifty million good reasons to get over it.
Question is, can you and Logan? You need to talk to him, Evie.'

‘We just did. You were there. It didn't go well.'

‘You need to talk to him
again
. In
private. Minus the element of surprise.'

‘I really don't.'

‘How else are you going to know if you're over him?'

‘I'm over him.'

‘Yeah. And he's over you. That's why he's downstairs mainlining
Scotch and you're up here falling apart.'

‘He's mainlining what?'

‘Says the voice of disinterest. Corner him after lunch. Let him
corner you.'

‘He thinks we're getting
married
,
Max. He's not going to come anywhere near me.'

‘I think you might be underestimating the effect you have on
him, Evie. Besides, he knows this is a marriage of convenience.'

‘He
what?'
Evie was having trouble
keeping up with who knew what. ‘How?'

‘I may have mentioned it. Before he mentioned knowing you. He
was concerned for me. Or possibly for you. Not sure which. He asked me straight
whether our marriage was to be one of convenience.'

‘You
told
him? What happened to the
game plan? The “I want to pretend it's real in front of my family” plan?'

Max had the grace to look discomfited. ‘Couldn't do it,' he
said finally.

‘You are the worst. Liar. Ever.'

‘Yes, well, now we know that.' Max was getting surly, a sure
sign that he'd been caught wrong-footed. ‘Look, I'll go and beard my mother,
tell her what's going on. But you have to talk to Logan and find out what he
wants. What
you
want. See if you can imagine him as
your brother-in-law.'

She really couldn't.

‘Just talk to the man, Evie.'

‘Okay,' she said. ‘
Okay.
But if I
need saving, you'd better come save me.'

‘I will.'

‘And I'm still your business partner.'

‘I know.' Max eyed her steadily. ‘That's not up for
renegotiation, regardless of what happens with the engagement.'

‘You hold that thought,' Evie said doggedly. ‘No matter what
Logan tells you, you hold that thought.'

ISBN: 9781460303771

Copyright © 2012 by Jessica Hart

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