Kate Carlisle - An Innocent In Paradise

But he continued to walk around in a fury for the next few days until Aidan and most of the staff were no longer talking to him.

The phone rang and Logan punched the speaker button. “What is it?”

“We’ve got a situation in the cocktail lounge,” Aidan said. “Get out here now.”

Logan shook his head in irritation. Why couldn’t anyone handle anything around here without him? Muttering an expletive, he pushed away from the desk and took off down the hall.

As he came within a few yards of the doorway into the lounge, the strident sound of breaking glass resounded from inside the bar.

“What the hell?” Logan groused, and walked into the large, open room. The first and only thing he saw was Grace in an impossibly sexy bikini and see-through sarong. She stood a few feet away, staring down at a pile of broken glass and liquid oozing across the sleek wood floor.

“Oops,” she said.

“Hello, Grace,” he said.

She looked up. “Oh, hello, Logan.”

“You’re fired.” He turned to leave before he did something stupid like sweep her up against him and kiss her until neither of them could breathe. He’d already learned that sex wasn’t the answer, though he wanted her more than ever. The fact that she was here didn’t mean a damn thing had changed.

“You can’t fire me.”

He whirled around. “Oh, yeah? Why not?”

“Because I love you.”

Logan glared at her in spite of the fact that his heart took a hard lurch at her words. “Oh, really? I thought you were way too smart to fall for someone like me.”

She smiled. “As it turns out, I’m a complete idiot.”

He sighed. “No you’re not, Grace.”

“It’s true.” She walked up close to him and pressed her hand against his chest.

He was helpless to move. Damn it, he didn’t want to move. Just her touch was enough to ease away the pain of the past few days. “Grace.”

“It’s no excuse for the way I behaved,” she said, “but I’ve grown used to men walking away from me in my life. I just assumed you would do it, too.”

“You didn’t trust me.”

“I did, Logan. I trusted you with my heart.”

“But not with your spores.” Logan wondered if this conversation sounded as weird to everyone else in the room as it sounded to him. It didn’t matter. He wanted to get it over with. “Grace, you didn’t trust me enough to do the right thing.”

“I know and I’ll never forgive myself. I was wrong. I admit it. Can you ever forgive me and let me back into your life?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Oh, for God’s sake,” Aidan shouted in exasperation from across the room. “Just kiss the girl and get on with it.”

Logan pierced him with a look. “You of all people should understand why trust is so important.”

“Yeah, yeah, your ex-wife cheated,” Aidan said, shaking his head. “Blah, blah, blah.”

Logan bared his teeth and Grace gasped, but Aidan ignored it all. “And not only was she a cheat, but thanks to the Switch, we found out she was too self-involved to take the time to learn the differences between you and me.”

“What’s your point, Aidan?” Logan said.

“My point is that Grace could see the differences from the first minute she met me. That’s because Grace is in love with you. Even I figured that out. And I think she’s earned your forgiveness. Haven’t you, Grace?”

Grace flashed Aidan a sweet smile that pissed off Logan even more.

“Logan,” Grace said, forcing his attention back to her. “It never occurred to me that you would care. Nobody’s ever cared, so I didn’t know what that looked like or felt like. I should’ve, but I didn’t. And that makes me as stupid-”

“You’re not stupid.”

“Yes,” she said earnestly. “I’m as stupid as a big bag of dirt.”

Logan was taken aback. “That’s a little harsh, Grace.”

“It true, a big bag of dirt, with sphagnum and peat moss thrown in there.”

“Sounds like potting soil.”

She clapped her hands. “See how smart you are? No wonder I love you so much.”

Logan laughed and pulled her into his arms. “So are you, because you came back to me.”

“Kiss me, please?”

He kissed her. “I love you, Grace.”

“Oh, Logan, I love you, too.” She stretched up on her toes and met his mouth in a kiss meant to seal a promise.

Logan touched her cheek. “But you’re still fired, Grace. I can’t afford the breakage bills.”

“Fine,” she said, laughing. “But I’m not leaving here, ever again.”

“What about your laboratory?”

“I don’t care,” she said. “I’ll…well, to be honest, I don’t know what I’ll do. But I’m not worried.”

“I’m not worried, either,” he said, wrapping his arms around her. “Because I’m going to find a nice spot to break ground on a new research lab right here on the island.”

She gazed up at him. “You’d build a lab for me?”

Logan saw a sheen of tears in her eyes and his heart overflowed with joy for this very smart woman who’d stolen his heart. “I’d do just about anything for you, Grace. If you hadn’t come back to me, I would’ve gone to get you in another day or two. I can’t live without you, spores and all.”

Applause broke out in the bar as Logan and Grace sealed their love with another long kiss and a whispered promise to each other that they would always be together.

New York Times bestselling author Kate Carlisle was born and raised by the beach in Southern California. After more than twenty years in television production, Kate turned to writing the types of mysteries and romance novels she always loved to read. She still lives by the beach in Southern California with her husband, and when they’re not taking long walks in the sand or cooking or reading or painting or taking bookbinding classes or trying to learn a new language, they’re traveling the world, visiting family and friends in the strangest places. Kate loves to hear from readers. Visit her website, www.katecarlisle.com.