has to go over there and pay for a kiss,” Tyler said stubbornly. “Once one man, uh, survives, more customers will come along. We need that money for the prom decorations.”
“Kid…” Logan ran a hand through his hair, trying to think of how to explain the situation tactfully.
“Someone has to,” Tyler insisted, looking young, noble and not just a little bit stupid. “And I guess that someone has to be me.”
Logan sighed. God. He’d tried, he really had. No one could say he hadn’t. He sighed again.
“Never mind, kid.” Logan inhaled a long, deep breath and wondered if the dread starting to build in his belly was what human sacrifices had felt on their way to execution. “I’ll do it.”
From fifty feet away, Logan gazed at the woman in the senior prom booth. If she wasn’t so staggeringly beautiful, he thought, kissing her wouldn’t be so bad.
Her midnight-black hair was sleek and shiny, hanging straight to her clean jawline and emphasizing her full, bewitching lips. Her skin, fine-pored and unmarked by even a single freckle, was a golden cream color that made her black-lashed blue eyes stand out like sapphires.
If that wasn’t enough to mess with a man’s brain, ever since she was sixteen years old, Elena O’Brien had possessed the kind of curves that made men from 12 to 112 stop, stare then salivate.
The hell of it was, Elena had a beautiful face paired with one hot, bodacious bod. It was the kind of coupling that made a man think only of…well, coupling. But Logan knew from personal experience that it wasn’t wise to let your wits wander southward when you were around Elena. While you were busy dreaming of her scratching your back, she’d be busy finding ways to scratch your eyes out.
The funny thing was, people genuinely liked her as a person. Women included, despite the kind of loveliness that might inspire jealousy. She was reputed to be an indefatigable employee and Logan’s new sister-in-law swore she was a terrific friend. But when a man approached Elena O’Brien as a man, she’d hiss and spit and scare the poor guy off. Sometimes off women altogether.
Rumor had it there was a guy in the next city who, after one date with Elena, had moved back in with his mother and was now raising bunny rabbits.
Inhaling a fortifying breath, Logan began strolling toward the kissing booth. As if sensing his destination, the people in front of him parted, clearing his path just the way the citizens of Dodge City cleared a path for the white-hatted sheriff in a bad Western.
He shoved his hands in the pockets of his worn jeans and ignored the chug of his blood pulsing through his veins. He hoped like hell his face was expressionless. Conventional wisdom said it wasn’t smart to show fear around animals that bite.
The senior prom committee’s booth was situated in the shade of mature trees and had a fanciful, castle-like facade that was painted white and decorated with bright pink and red tissue-paper flowers. The colors framed Elena’s vibrant beauty perfectly, and as Logan approached she raised her black brows in twin arches just as perfect.
He shoved his hands deeper in his pockets and curved his lips in what he hoped appeared a relaxed, casual smile. “Hey, there,” he said, bracing for the expected verbal lashing.
An overlarge, empty glass fishbowl sat on the booth’s narrow countertop. It was where the kiss money was supposed to go, and in other years the thing had overflowed with bills. Elena didn’t spare it a glance as she slowly slid from a high stool to land on the soles of her sneakers. “What do you want?” she asked, her tone on the low end of the truculence scale.
Well, good. Apparently she didn’t immediately assume he was after a kiss, which would be sure to set her hackles rising. “I, um, just thought I’d say hi.”
“Yeah?” As usual, she wasn’t much impressed with him. “Hi.” Her gaze fell to the toes of her shoes.
Something about the short response put Logan on alert. The truth was, he’d accidentally and unfortunately stood her up two weeks ago, the night of the wedding rehearsal dinner. Given their past history and the daggers she’d thrown with her eyes all the way down the church aisle, he’d been convinced she’d take this opportunity to launch a full-on verbal assault.
“Is something wrong?” he asked warily.
Instead of answering, she flushed.
Logan’s jaw dropped. With her gaze still on her feet, he could only see the top of her head and the red color crawling up her neck. He didn’t know what to think. She was never subdued, shy or, for that matter, even civil around him. “Are you sick?” he asked.
Her head jerked up. “Is that what they’re saying?”
She sounded hopeful, Logan thought, still trying to comprehend her out-of-character reserve.
“Is that it?” she insisted, that hopeful note intensifying. “Does everyone think I’m contagious or something?”
He couldn’t lie to her. “No,” he answered, stepping forward. “But, uh, Elena…”
“Never mind.” She scuttled back against the stool. “I didn’t really think so.” As if to prove she was in her usual fine fettle, she lifted her chin to half glower at him.
Still puzzled, Logan studied her face. There was definitely a flush on her skin, and he was certain it wasn’t a fever or even a flush of ill temper. Hell. It couldn’t be, it wasn’t possible, was it? Was Elena truly bothered by her lack of business?
Damn it, that wouldn’t make things any easier. He’d come over here to help out the senior prom fund. To save noble knight Tyler from Elena’s wrath, and possibly a career in the rabbit industry. She’d murder Logan if she somehow leaped to the conclusion he was here to buy a kiss to save her from humiliation.
But Elena humiliated? It just didn’t seem possible.
Not sure what to believe, he decided to postpone immediate action by smiling again, trying once more to appear friendly. “Have you heard from Griffin and Annie?” The two were on their honeymoon, touring Europe.
“Yeah,” she said softly. “A postcard from France.” The corners of her mouth lifted in a sweet, genuine smile.
Uh-oh. At the sight of that enchanting smile, Logan felt his knees go weak. His brain stuttered as whatever amount of blood supposed to keep the top half of his body in working order instantly rushed lower.
Her eyes narrowed and her body stiffened. “What’s wrong with you?” she demanded.
He sucked in a quick, desperate breath. “N-nothing.” With another breath, his voice got stronger. “Not a thing.”
She relaxed slightly, though her eyes remained watchful. “Okay.”
Whew. That was a close one. A really close one. Elena hated when a man displayed a reaction to her beauty. Particularly when he did. But it was an impossibly difficult thing to control so instead he just took great pains to hide it.
With a show of nonchalance, he stepped closer and leaned casually against the side of the booth. “I met your sister.”
Her face brightened, that smile threatening
