Kate Carlisle - An Innocent In Paradise

Logan jerked forward and sat straight up.

“What the hell?” He shook his head in disgust. Where had that thought come from? He was rarely possessive when it came to women. In fact, he couldn’t remember a time when he and his brother had been jealous of each other. It helped that they’d rarely ever gone after the same woman, but the few times they had, one of them had always acquiesced to the other. It just wasn’t that important and, after all, there were plenty of women to go around.

But with Grace, Logan was willing to draw a line. It was mostly about business; after all, he and Grace had a deal. It was his responsibility to handle her situation. Aidan had nothing to do with it.

Okay, fine, he might be willing to admit that something about Grace tugged at him. The passionate way she’d defended her actions that first day still intrigued him. Logan sort of admired her quirky but logical way of thinking, even when it drove him nuts. And, he admitted, there was the basic fact that the woman was gorgeous.

“And scheming, and a liar,” he added aloud, then shook his head in defeat. The schemes and lies didn’t seem to matter. He still wanted to bury himself inside her.

Ever since that damn kiss he’d been unable to get her out of his mind. Several times he’d caught himself daydreaming, for God’s sake, wondering what she was doing. Was she conducting a class in the joys of the G-spot to a new group of unsuspecting honeymooners? Was she hunting down spores in the rain forest? Was she balancing twenty-seven strawberry margaritas on her slim shoulders?

He thought about the other night in the bar, when Clive had trained her how to balance those heavy trays and she’d picked right up on his advice. Logan frowned with the sudden thought that Clive might be watching her a little too closely. He hoped not. He would hate to have to fire his top waiter.

He clawed his hands through his hair in frustration. Hell yeah, he was distracted, as Aidan had been quick to notice. But he was also discreet. Aidan would be the only person in the world who would have ever heard it in his voice. No one else would have a clue, and that’s the way he wanted it. He didn’t want or need anyone on his staff knowing his personal business. And, frankly, right now that included Aidan. Yeah, they were twins; but that didn’t mean he was willing to kiss and tell, especially over the phone.

The main thing was, he didn’t want Grace’s reputation damaged. Not that he particularly cared about the woman one way or the other. He just wanted her. Once he’d had her, all these idiotic distractions would fade away and he would be able to get his head back on business and complete the sports-center deal.

In the meantime, Aidan would be home in three days and Logan was determined to have Grace Farrell for himself before that. It would help if he could just figure out a way to keep her from running in the opposite direction the next time he kissed her.

“Tequila, triple sec, sweet and sour, squeeze of lime,” Dee said, and handed Grace a shot glass.

“Oh, I know this one,” Grace said, taking a tiny sip. “Margarita, right? Mmm, that’s good.”

“That was too easy,” Dee said, her tanned arm flexing as she lifted another bottle and poured. “I still can’t believe you memorized the entire bartenders’ guide but never tasted the drinks before.”

Grace downed the rest of the margarita. “I suppose I’ve always been more of a reader than a doer.”

“Guess those days are over,” Dee murmured, grinning.

They faced each other at the small table in Dee’s hotel room. Between them was a cocktail tray filled with different bottles that Joey had smuggled out of the bar for their enjoyment. But this was business as far as Grace was concerned. On the tray were chunks of fruit and several shot glasses, as well.

She had already taken sips of a martini, a gimlet, a Brandy Alexander, Sex on the Beach and a whiskey sour. She’d written the names down, followed by her own descriptions and reactions to the flavors of each drink, but her notes were looking a little fuzzy. Still, she was determined to learn as much as she could from Dee.

Mixing a new concoction in a clean shot glass, Dee slid it across the table. “This one’s vermouth, bourbon and bitters.”

Grace frowned as she tasted. “It’s too strong.”

“It’s usually shaken with lots of ice and a cherry on top. Makes it really tasty.”

“I hope so.” She made a face. “Is that a Manhattan?”

“Yes,” Dee said, sitting back in her chair and fluffing her long, dark hair. “You won’t get a lot of orders for that down here since it’s more of a big-city winter drink. But it’s a classic.”

“Then I should know how it tastes,” Grace said firmly, and forced herself to take another sip. After almost a week of working together, she had finally confessed to Dee that she didn’t have much experience as a cocktail waitress. Dee had wrapped an arm around Grace and revealed that everyone in the bar already knew that. Grace had begged for a few more tips about the job.

When Dee questioned her further, Grace had confessed that she rarely went out to bars and didn’t really drink. That’s when Dee had gleefully suggested they have a cocktail quiz.

“You might like this one better,” Dee said, and handed her another tiny glass filled with a bright pink liquid. “Vodka, cranberry juice, lime juice and triple sec.”

“Oh, I know this one,” Grace said as she downed the entire drink. “That’s yummy, but I can’t remember what it is.”

“Cosmopolitan.”

“Oh, yeah.” Grace nodded slowly. “I get lots of orders for those. I can see why.”

“They’re smooth, but dangerous.” Dee mixed another small cosmo and handed it to Grace, then put the caps back on all the bottles. “I think we’re done.”

“Oh.” Grace frowned in thought as she stared at the notepad, trying to discern her scribbling.

“So you don’t ever go out to bars, Gracie?”

“Not really,” she said, and pushed her notepad aside.

“Do you have a boyfriend?”

“No.” Grace grimaced. “I thought I did, but I was wrong.”

Dee nodded sagely. “He was a jerk?”

“Oh, yes. Big-time.”

“Goody,” Dee said, rubbing her hands together. “Tell me all about him.”

Grace laughed as she took a sip of her cosmo. “His name is Walter.”

“Oh, sorry. But I have a creepy uncle Walter and that name is not a good sign,” Dee said darkly. “He already sounds like a jerk, for sure. So how did you meet him?”

“You really want to know?”

“God, yes. Spill everything.”

“Okay.” She stretched her arms up for a few seconds, then pushed her hair back off her forehead, wondering where to begin. “Well, you know I work in a lab, and I’ve been so busy this past year that my boss decided to hire a new associate to help me. As soon as Walter started, we hit it off. It was nice, because we were spending long hours together. My experimentation phase was reaching a critical point.” It was odd, but her tongue felt numb.

“Sounds very exciting,” Dee said, sipping her mini-margarita.

“It was.” Grace took a moment to remember how it was in the beginning. “Walter was wonderful. We talked about so many things. He seemed to really like me and he was always telling me how much he admired my intelligence.”

“That’s so sweet.”

“It was,” Grace said. “I don’t get that a lot.”

“Well, you should,” Dee declared. She tried to rest her chin in her hand but her chin slipped twice before she was able to get comfy. “So keep going. I want to hear every last ghastly detail.”

“Oh, it’s ghastly all right,” Grace admitted. “So, anyway, I suppose it was silly to be so flattered by Walter’s attention, but he’s very nice-looking and I’ve never had much of a love life before, so what did I know?”