Northern Fascination (8 page)

“We’re a community of people who care about one another, who look out for one another, and who respect one another. From the very second I parked my motor home on what was mostly a dirt track at the time, I knew this was a special place. Our motto—
where you get to leave behind what ails you
—is right on the money. I stopped, I parked, I got out and it was as if my heart found the balm it needed. And that, my friend, is something cash can’t buy. I know you think we were all holding out to drive the price up. Not a bit. We’ve had this discussion numerous times over the years and the outcome has always remained the same. Price isn’t a factor.

“So, I hope you’ll kick back and relax and take the vacation you say you’ve needed before you move on to the next location on your list.”

“And if I tell you I intend to fly out tomorrow?”

She shrugged, amusement in her blue eyes. “Then we’ll book your flight for tomorrow. Is that what you want to do?”

“No. I’ll finish out my vacation here. And I’ll leave the proposal with you, although I believe you when you say the town’s not for sale. I’m a businessman. I know when to cut my losses.” He stood. “I’ll drop the proposal off on my way out, just so you can see what you’ll be missing out on. It’ll make me feel better.” He shook her hand. “It’s been a pleasure doing business.”

“Likewise. Now let your hair down and enjoy our little town as much as we do.”

The front door opened and a woman he recognized from last night barreled in.

“Morning, Norris,” Merrilee said.

Norris. That was her name. Logan knew it was something a little unusual.

“Morning, Merrilee.” She nodded in Logan’s direction. “Morning, Jeffries.” She plopped a stack of folded papers onto the desk. “Hot off the presses. The first edition of The Good Riddance Observer.” She pulled one off the top and handed it to him. “Your girl is our feature story.”

It was on the tip of his tongue to deny she was his girl, but then he thought better of it. For now, it seemed that she just might be. “So I see.”

Jenna, her smile bright and generous, stood holding her cat in black and white on the front page. “I’m looking forward to reading it.” And he was.

“Say, I’d like to snag an interview with you while you’re here, if you wouldn’t mind. You know, a story on chasing the pot of proverbial gold, a twenty-first century prospector.”

Funny, he’d never thought of it that way. He bet Jebediah would like the analogy. “I believe I’m going to have some free time. Sure.”

“Good deal. How about lunch today? Gus’s at one?” He nodded as she was still talking, all the while heading toward the door. “Gotta run. Our feature story is doing my nails and then I’ve got a date with a younger man.”

“Do tell,” Merrilee said as Norris opened the front door.

“Clyde. I promised to help him with his poker game. You know there aren’t a lot of dating options here.”

Merrilee winked at Logan. “Innovation. Innovation.”

J
ENNA WALKED ALONG THE
sidewalk, enjoying the sun on her way back from checking in on the spa, which was coming along beautifully. Tama trotted along beside her.

It was all she could do not to dance along the sidewalk. She had a date tonight. And it wasn’t just any date. She had a date with Logan, who was a better kisser than she’d even imagined. Now she wanted to know if he did everything better than he did in her head.

And quite frankly that posed a dilemma.

She wanted Logan Jeffries in the carnal sense. There was no doubt about it, he was just what she’d been looking for all this time. With every fiber of her virginal being, she wanted that man inside her, on top of her, behind her, beneath her. As far as she was concerned, they had a whole lot of ground to cover. But—why did life have to hand you “buts”?—she’d read a million times in magazines and books that a woman shouldn’t sleep with a man on a first date because then he’d think she was promiscuous and lose interest. But Logan was only going to be in town for a limited amount of time. If she waited until tomorrow night, she’d only have two nights left.

A horn blew and she waved without really looking, wrapped up in her thoughts. The irony of it hit her. She was a twenty-nine-year-old virgin, worried Logan might think she was easy for sleeping with him on their first date. How crazy was that?

Her cell phone rang in her pocket. She pulled it out and saw Merrilee’s number. “Hey.”

“Where are you?”

Jenna laughed. “On my way back from the spa. Where are you?”

“Sitting at Curl’s, waiting on you.”

She’d been floating on Cloud Nine all day—had she forgotten an appointment? “Did I have you down in my book?”

“No. You had a package arrive on a flight this afternoon and I thought I’d walk it down.”

“Okay. I’m almost there.” She’d ordered some darker nail colors for the winter but she hadn’t expected them to arrive this soon.

She opened the door and walked in. Merrilee was sitting in the barber shop chair looking like the cat who’d just swallowed the canary.

“You’re looking pretty pleased with yourself,” Jenna said, smiling as well.

Merrilee smirked—there was no other word for it—it was a flat-out
smirk
. “Special delivery for Ms. Jenna Rathburne in Good Riddance, Alaska,” she said, pointing to the manicure table behind Jenna.

Jenna turned. Her mouth dropped open and she leaned against the door, speechless. A dozen long-stemmed yellow roses were interspersed with baby’s breath in a crystal vase. They were stunningly, breathtakingly beautiful.

“Oh, honey, don’t cry.”

She hadn’t even realized she
was
crying. “They’re they…you’re sure they’re for me?”

“You are Jenna Rathburne, aren’t you?”

“No one’s ever… Logan?”

Merrilee shrugged, grinning from ear to ear. “I didn’t read the card, hon. I just delivered them.”

“But there’s no florist in town.”

“Juliette picked them up. I told you, sweetie, they’re special delivery.”

Her hand was shaking so hard, she could barely hold the envelope. She pulled out the card.
I should’ve said yes. Please forgive me.

That was it. Her legs were no longer capable of holding her. Jenna sank into her chair. “Merrilee, I…”

“He did good. You know he paid the round trip fare to have them picked up and delivered today.”

“I am so going to sleep with him tonight.”

“What?” Merrilee asked, laughing.

Jenna explained her dilemma. “But the flowers, the card… I don’t want to wait any longer, Merrilee.”

“Jenna, the way I see it, the two of you have been waiting twelve stinking years. I say go for it.”

“It’s a little bit like deciding to have sex in a goldfish bowl.”

“Well, that sort of comes with the territory when you live up here. So you might as well just relax and enjoy it. Heck, everyone’s going to think you did, whether you do or not.”

“True enough. And if everyone wasn’t talking already, these flowers will seal the deal.” She drew a deep breath. “Do you have any idea where I can get a condom?”

Merrilee laughed. “I can hook you up with protections. Not that Bull and I need it at our age—I mean we are sexually active but I hit menopause a couple of years ago. Even though I wasn’t really looking forward to the hot flashes and all that business, it hasn’t been bad and I’ll have to say not having a period is downright nice. But I keep a supply on hand, right along with any other toiletries my guests might need. But you’re going to need more than one. How about half a dozen?”

Jenna swallowed hard. “Six? That seems like a lot.”

“You’re better off having a few extras than running short. He’s young and he strikes me as virile. You know how that can go.”

“Um, well, the problem is I don’t know.”

“I’m feeling you there. I do distinctly recall Tad being a one-hit wonder and that was only when the stars were aligned just right. Then again, I should quit being such a crank. It was a long time ago and it’s tacky to kiss and tell.”

“He said you were frigid.” She’d never told Merrilee that before because there just hadn’t been any point. But she didn’t want Merrilee to feel bad about saying anything about Tad now. He deserved anything she wanted to say about him.

“Impotent little-dick bastard. Sorry.”

“No apologies necessary. I’m just as glad I skipped that.”

“You mean you never, you and Tad, didn’t…?”

Jenna shook her head. “I was never feeling it.”

“Lord, honey, I was married to the man and I wasn’t feeling it, either—that’s cause it was hard to find. I definitely upgraded with Bull. How do you think he got that nickname?”

“I always assumed it’s because he’s built like a bull.”

“Trust me, honey, he is, in every respect.” Merrilee took a moment to fan herself. “But let’s get back to what we were talking about.”

“Well, I’ve never really wanted it with anyone, but I think Logan might be the one, so…”

“Are you saying you’ve never, not with anyone?”

“Never. No one.”

“Well, I’ll be damned. Were you wanting to wait until you were married?”

“No, and I sure don’t think I’m going to marry Logan. I just wanted some kind of connection on my part. I’m not talking about love, I’m talking about passion.”

“Lots of women confuse the two.”

“Tell me about it. My mother tops the list.” And while Jenna loved her mother, she didn’t want to relive her mother’s mistakes.

“You must be as nervous as a cat on a hot tin roof.”

“A little.”

“Well, look, sugar, if it doesn’t feel right, you don’t have to—”

Jenna started laughing. “Merrilee, I’m twenty-nine years old. I obviously know how to say no.”

Merrilee grinned. “Well, that’s true enough now, isn’t it. I guess my best advice is to just relax and enjoy yourself. If you’re having a good time then he’s having a good time.”

Jenna checked her watch. Four more hours. The wait was almost over.

“T
HANKS FOR EVERYTHING
,” Logan said, nodding toward the basket. He’d picked everything out but Merrilee had put it all together for him. “It looks great.” Logan put on his coat—he’d returned the loaner—and pulled on his gloves.

“I’m glad you like it. You made some good choices. Enjoy your evening.” Merrilee hesitated and then added, “Jenna’s a special person.”

He’d reached that same conclusion. He’d read the “newspaper” article on her twice. “I think so, too, Merrilee. I think so, too.”

It was the craziest thing. He’d
missed
her today. He’d caught a glimpse of her a couple of times this morning doing her thing in the front window at Curl’s. As she’d pointed out, Good Riddance was so small, it was damn near impossible to avoid seeing her. However, catching a glimpse of her wasn’t the same as actually spending time with her.

Carrying the basket in his right hand, he left through the front door of the B & B. Outside, snow danced down through the early evening sky. The temperature had dropped in the last hour since he’d returned to his room to shower and shave.

It was too early in the season for the aurora borealis display but he was certain it was an awesome sight to behold.

It had been a good day altogether. He’d enjoyed picking out the items for the basket. Leo, the dry goods store owner, was as sharp as a tack. He’d been as current on national and international business affairs as any other businessman Logan knew. Lunch with Norris had gone well—she had a slew of stories to tell after forty plus years in the newspaper business. And most importantly, Jenna’s flowers had been delivered today.

Since Merrilee had told him, unequivocally there’d be no deal, he’d already sent the office an email and instructed Chaz to pursue the opportunities in Barton. As of this afternoon, he was officially on vacation.

As he walked along Main Street, he passed several people. Some he knew by name, others just from seeing them last night at Gus’s. Everyone offered a friendly greeting. Logan wasn’t sure he’d ever fully understand the town’s rationale in passing up the kind of money his company had been offering, but he was beginning to get a small sense of their reasoning.

Jenna’s front porch light was on and a feeling of homecoming ran through him. His place in Vinings had never actually felt like home. His mother had brought in a designer who’d shown him a couple of “storyboards” with colors and fabrics. He’d chosen one, then a couple of weeks and several thousand dollars later, he was set. But despite all the furnishings, there was an emptiness to his condo. He spent time there to eat, sleep and catch some mindless television, but there was never this sense of belonging that flowed through him now.

It must be Merrilee’s talk about how special this place was. There was a lot to be said for the power of suggestion.

He knocked and stood there, waiting for Jenna to answer the door when he felt something brush against his leg. What the hell? He looked down. Tama rubbed Logan’s leg again, offering a feline greeting. “Hey, big guy.”

Maybe when he got back to Atlanta, he’d get a cat. That’d be cool. It’d be nice to have something to come home to. A cat could handle his occasional travel schedule and his long days at the office.

Jenna opened the door and all his breath seemed to lodge in his chest. She looked good, well, she actually looked great, but it was the expression in her eyes that nearly left him unable to breathe.

For what could’ve been a moment or a lifetime, his eyes locked with hers and he felt himself drowning in the oh-so-sweet emotion there.

“Hi,” she finally said softly.

“Hi,” he repeated, somewhat stupidly.

“Come on in.”

He stepped into her cabin and she closed the door after him, enveloping him in the room’s warmth and the scent of her perfume.

“You look beautiful,” he said, feeling as gauche and awkward as he had at eighteen.

“Thanks.” She smoothed her hand over her skirt and he got the impression she was as nervous and unsettled as he was. “You look nice, too.”

“Thanks.” He was glad he’d opted to wear khaki’s and a buttoned-down shirt. Picnic or not, this wasn’t a blue jeans and flannel kind of night.

“The flowers are beautiful,” she said, sweeping her hand toward the vase that sat on the coffee table in front of the sectional sofa. The front door had opened into the den, but he’d been so busy looking at Jenna that he hadn’t noticed anything except her at the time. “That wasn’t necessary—”

“In my book, it was. The florist said yellow roses symbolize an apology. They’re long overdue.”

“You apologized last night.”

“I wanted to send them, Jenna. I wanted you to have them.”

“Then thank you.” She seemed to notice the basket he was holding for the first time. One of those radiant smiles that made him feel like he’d been kissed by sunshine bloomed on her face. “What have you got there, Logan Jeffries?”

He hefted the basket. “For our date tonight, how about an indoor picnic?”

“Ohhhh. What a ro…great idea.” She’d almost said romantic.

He smiled like the idiot he seemed to morph into whenever he was in her company. He personally thought sitting on the hard floor was a bit loony, especially when there were perfectly comfortable sofas and chairs available, but if it elicited that kind of response from her, then he was all for floor-sitting. “Where should we picnic?”

“How about over by the pellet stove? It’ll be nice and warm and there’s lots of room.”

“By the pellet stove it is,” he said, grinning simply because he couldn’t not, he was just so damn glad to see her.

“Right this way,” she said, skirting the sofa. Lamp light glowed in the room and music he didn’t recognize, but liked nonetheless, played low on an ipod docking station. “Nice music.”

“Thanks,” she said. “I wasn’t sure what you listened to.”

He placed the basket on the floor and did what he’d wanted to do all afternoon. Hell, what he’d wanted to do since he’d walked her home last night.

“Okay, let’s start with hello again and do it right.” He pulled her into his arms. She felt so right there, as if she’d been custom-made just for him. She tilted her head back, looking up at him, her lips parted in invitation. He kissed her. A short but thorough kiss that said how damn glad he was to see her.

“Hmm,” he said. “That’s better. But we might want to try it one more time to get it just right.”

Her lips were even sweeter the second time around and he hadn’t thought that was possible.

She was soft and warm in his arms and he held her close, reluctant to release her just yet. Her arms wrapped around his waist and she seemed content to stay in his arms. “This has been one of the longest days of my life,” he said.

She tilted her head back, looking up at him, a teasing glimmer in her eyes. “It’s the shorter hours of sunlight.”

“That’s not it!” He nuzzled her cheek and she burrowed against him.

“Then what made it such a long day?”

“You. This. You smell good. You feel great. And you taste even better.” Another kiss, this one hungrier, more intense. She slid her hands up his chest, leaving a trail of fire in her wake, linking her hands behind his neck, her fingers stroking his nape.

She opened her mouth to him and he tangled his tongue with hers, giving himself over to the pleasure that was Jenna.

A
N HOUR LATER
, J
ENNA
studied the angles of Logan’s face in the candlelight. He’d confessed that the idea behind the picnic had been Merrilee’s, but he’d done the shopping. She didn’t care, it was still wildly romantic.

They’d spread the quilt on the floor and lit the candles he’d packed, setting them on the coffee table and end tables since that seemed to be the safest places in case Tama decided to investigate. So far, the cat had grandly ignored them and curled up in a laundry basket of towels off the kitchen.

At Logan’s suggestion, they’d pulled the cushions off of the sofa so they had something to at least prop their backs against. It was relaxed, yet there was still a tension between them, the pull between a man and woman. She found him incredibly sexy, with his dark eyes and hair, a smile playing about his oh-so-sensual mouth.

They’d talked about how each of them wound up in their respective careers. Logan’s had been predetermined at birth, while hers had been more or less something she’d pursued at the urging of her aunt Kate, who’d recognized Jenna’s head for business.

“So, there’s been nobody special in your life since you split with your fiancé?” he said. “I would have thought they’d be lining up from here to Anchorage.”

Jenna smiled and sipped at her wine. “I wouldn’t say all the way to Anchorage. Actually, I’ve just been, you know, happy to be hanging out here, enjoying being me. What about you? Any serious relationships? Or any that weren’t so serious?”

“None of the above.”

“Really?” She was incredibly relieved to hear it, although he could be lying. But he didn’t strike her as the type. If he did, she wouldn’t be sitting here with him now. “So, you’re a nice looking guy with a good job, an okay personality—” she said that with a teasing note, causing him to nudge her with his toe and scowl “—all right, make it great personality, but you’ve managed to stay unattached. How’d that happen? Those Atlanta women must be slipping.”

He sat there for a moment, studying his wine glass. He looked up. “Because none of them were you.”

Her heart thumped against her rib cage. “You don’t have to say that.”

He looked faintly stunned. “I didn’t realize it until…well, just now. I guess I hadn’t really thought about it. I didn’t have to make this trip. I’m not the one who handles acquisitions anymore. I came because I knew you were here. I’d seen it on Chelsea’s Facebook page.”

Was he saying he had followed her here? And if he’d found out about her through Facebook, then surely he’d known that she was relatively new to Good Riddance? “Logan, I lived in Marietta up until a year ago. I was right under your nose. Why did you wait twelve years to travel across the country to look me up?”

He looked at her sharply. “Did Merrilee tell you to ask me that?”

“No, I managed to come up with that all on my own. Why?”

“Because she asked me the same thing.”

“Oh. And the answer is…?” Why now? Why wait all these years?

“I don’t know.”

“How can you not know?”

“I’m a guy, Jenna. I get up every morning and I go to work. I analyze numbers and come up with a bottom line. I don’t sit around and think about relationships. I work with financials—numbers on paper. Plain and simple. Clear-cut. That’s why I don’t know.”

“What about your family?”

“What about them? We’re Jeffries. Not only do we not think about how we feel, we sure as hell never
discuss
how we feel.”

“That’s all my mother ever wanted to talk about. Her feelings.”

“Maybe that’s why she’s been divorced so many times. Men aren’t big into that.”

Had he just said what she thought he’d said? “Hey, wait a minute. I can say that, but you’re not allowed to.”

“Why?” He really didn’t get it.

“Because she’s my mother, that’s why.”

“
This,
this is why men don’t talk about feelings. Not only do we not know how we feel, but when we try and talk about it, we say the wrong thing. They should put warning labels on baby bottles for males—talk about how you feel with a woman and she’s going to nail you.”

Jenna sat for a second, processing his rant…and then she laughed. He looked at her as if she’d lost her mind. “You’re right.”

“Huh?”

“You’re right. You’re absolutely right.”

“I am? You mean I didn’t screw that up, too?”

“No.” What difference did it make whether he knew how he felt? He was here with her now. And the last thing she wanted to do was argue with him.

“So, you don’t want me to leave?” Relief showed on his face.

“Only if you’d rather be somewhere else. If that’s the case, then yeah, I’d rather you leave. Just like if I wanted you to leave, I’d tell you.”

“Okay. Good. Just for the record, I don’t want to be anywhere else.”

“That works, because I don’t want you to leave. But I’d definitely like for you to kiss me again.”

He put his wineglass on the end table behind him. She silently handed him hers. Logan leaned in close and buried his fingers in her hair. She sighed and rubbed her head against his strong hands.

He pulled her to him, nuzzling her cheek with his lips. “Jenna, you are the most amazing, fascinating woman.”

She felt as if she was melting from the inside out. His words, his touch, his scent…

“Logan.”

Her eyes drifted shut as he kissed her. He tasted like chocolate and wine. He sipped from her mouth, sampled her lips. She did the same, teasing and taunting him in return.

Desire moistened her thighs and left her breasts feeling heavy and needy. She wanted more than just his kisses.

He pulled her and she shifted until she was on his lap, her legs to one side on the floor. They shared hungry, eager kisses. He seemed intent to discover every nuance of her lips and mouth. His arms wrapped around her, warm and strong. She burrowed closer to the expanse of his chest, exploring the hair that curled over his collar, the edge of his jaw, the width of his shoulders with her fingertips.

He was like a potent drink, going straight to her head. He sprinkled kisses across her jaw, then nipped and sucked at the sensitive skin of her neck. Her breath came in short, hard pants and he stroked up the length of her leg with one of his hands, stopping just short of reaching beneath the hem of her skirt.

She wiggled until his hand slid beneath her hem and his fingers brushed against her thigh. A sweet liquid heat gathered in her sex. She’d wanted him so very, very long. She’d fantasized about him, about the two of them but his touch, his scent, his taste was so much more potent than anything she’d imagined.

She felt desperate to touch more of him, to be closer. She tugged at his shirt and loosened it from his pants. He was wearing a button-down with an undershirt on beneath it.