a valuable lesson and he’d vowed to never let himself become vulnerable to Sophia.
He could make the distinction, between lust and love.
With that notion in mind, Logan pivoted on his heels and got into his truck. As he drove out of the cemetery, he turned on the radio. Brad Paisley’s voice carried over the airwaves with lyrics that touted the joys of fishing. Logan sang along with him, his mood lighter and anticipation stirring in his gut. Tonight, he had a date with a beautiful woman.
Four hours later, Logan rapped on Sophia’s bedroom door, hat in hand. He hadn’t seen her since this morning. A classic oil-painting image of her had stayed in his head all day—Sophia standing nude, one hip elevated, the curve of her feminine body inviting and the look in her eyes enticing. It had taken every ounce of his willpower to walk away from her. But he couldn’t lie to her. He couldn’t tell her the things she wanted to hear, so he’d done what he had to do.
She opened the door and gave him a small smile. “Hi.” One large gold hoop dangled from her ear. “Come in,” she said, turning and walking toward her dressing mirror.
Logan followed behind her.
“Sorry, I’m running late,” she said, putting on the other earring as she faced the mirror.
“No problem.” Logan stood beside her. Watching Sophia put the finishing touches on her outfit wasn’t a hardship.
“We had a last-minute emergency at the lodge. The sprinkler system went off right in the middle of our barbecue dinner. Everyone went scrambling and we—”
Logan cut her off with a brief kiss. “Let’s not talk about work tonight,” he said.
He took a step back as the delicious taste of her mouth got his juices flowing. He couldn’t imagine concentrating on irritated guests or broken sprinkler systems with the way Sophia looked tonight. Her hair was up in some sort of pretty curly twist at the top of her head. Her short gold dress glimmered and draped in soft folds over her chest. It was cinched at her slender waist, accentuating her female curves and hugging her thighs. Jeweled sandals encased her feet.
“O-okay,” she said, touching the back of her hair nervously. “No business tonight then.”
“You look amazing, Sophia.”
Her scent perfumed the air. It was the same tempting fragrance she’d worn last night when they’d been dueling between the sheets. It wasn’t a smell he would soon forget.
“Thank you. I wasn’t sure how to dress. Your note didn’t say where we were going.”
He rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, well … I wasn’t sure you’d accept my invitation.”
Her tawny eyes lifted to study his face. “You sent lovely flowers, but it was what you wrote that made me agree.”
Logan winced inwardly. He shouldn’t have written what he had. He wasn’t sure he would ever follow through and change his mind. But this morning after the hot erotic night they’d shared, he’d been thinking with a brain located south of his belt buckle.
He’d made no promises to Sophia though. And he clung to that reasoning as he put his hand to the luscious curve of her back, leading her from the bedroom and out of the house.
“You’re not working tomorrow,” he said after he helped her slip into the passenger’s side of his car.
“I don’t have to go in until the afternoon. But, Logan,” she said, with a warning in her voice.
“We’re taking a drive and we’ll be out late. That’s all I meant, little Ms. Suspicious.”
Sophia chuckled and the sweet sound filled his head.
“I want to show you something.”
“Is it a secret?” she asked.
“Sorta.”
Sophia’s voice got higher. “Really?”
Logan nodded. He wasn’t quite sure why he’d decided to bring Sophia to the spot he had in mind except that it was important that he impress her. “It’s a special place.”
“For all of your first dates?”
Sophia was fishing for clues, but he didn’t mind answering her truthfully. “You’re the first woman I’m taking there.”
Sophia opened her mouth to say something, but then those full lips clamped down and she shot him a skeptical look.
He shrugged. “You don’t have to believe me. But it’s true.”
“Does this place have a name?”
He gave her a nod. “The Hideaway.”
Her brows gathered. “I’ve never heard of it.”
“Exactly my point, darlin’. Now sit back and relax. It’s an hour’s drive from here.”
Carved out of a mountainside, The Hideaway was a chateau overlooking a vast sea of sugar pine trees with bulky trunks and branches lifting skyward like regal green giants. Beyond the forest, the still waters of Lake Tahoe glistened in the distance under starry moonlight. Lights wrapped around garden posts twinkled near where Sophia stood on the terrace outside the restaurant. She leaned against a square column, looking out. Peace and contentment filled her.
Logan walked up and handed her a glass of sparkling water.
“Thank you,” she said, gazing out. She took a sip of her drink. The cool lime-flavored liquid bubbled and popped on the way down her throat.
“I thought you might like it here.” He held a glass in his hand. She was pretty sure it was scotch.
“You own The Hideaway, don’t you?” she asked.
Logan had driven up a narrow mountain road to get here and when they’d arrived, Sophia had been surprised by what she’d found—a restaurant designed with a European rustic flare nestled in the woods. Porcelain tile work lay beneath her feet and textured walls surrounded her. The dining room had private seating areas with tufted embroidered sofas and love seats. Atop a travertine fireplace mantel half a dozen pillar candles burned, casting soft shadows on the walls.
“You catch on fast.” His teasing smile was so genuine and rare that Sophia found herself staring at his mouth. He looked handsome in a three-piece Western suit with a brocade vest, but when he flashed his pearly whites her heart raced.
“The empty restaurant and the little tour you gave introducing me to the chef and his staff were dead giveaways.”
He grinned. “I can’t fool you. The food’s pretty good. The place is quiet. And the view is …”
“Magnificent,” she whispered in awe. Her gaze wandered over the trees to the shimmering silver lake as she took in the natural splendor.
“Yeah, it is.” His tone made her turn away from the sugar pines to face him.
He stared at her a long
