two sofas and sat down, leaning forward, eyes on hers. “You’re in Australia, not America, and the places I’ll take you, if it’s just the two of us, no one will even realize who you are.” Logan held his hands up. “But I have thick skin, so you can just turn me down and I’ll forget I ever asked.”
She took the plastic tops off the containers and reached for a pair of chopsticks, before looking up and seeing the serious expression on Logan’s face. He was serious. And she had no idea what to say to him.
“You promise I’d be safe? That it would just be the two of us?”
“I promise,” he said. “You’ll just be a girl in the crowd instead of a superstar.”
A shiver cascaded down her spine, spreading warmth into her belly. Now that was something she liked the sound of. “I’ll think about it, but it does sound nice.” It sounded way better than nice, but she didn’t want to lead him on, not until she’d had time to think about it.
“Well, you just let me know when you’re good and ready,” he said. “Now it’s time for you to tell me exactly what I’m about to bite into here, because I haven’t ever seen anything that looks like this before.”
Candace didn’t usually even talk much before a show, tried to rest her voice, yet here she was chatting with a cute guy and thinking about going out with him. Maybe Australia was exactly the place she was supposed to be right now, to take her mind off everything that had been troubling her since...way too long.
* * *
Logan fought not to grimace as he held the chopsticks—awkwardly. He wasn’t opposed to trying new things, but the food sitting in front of him looked downright scary. Not to mention the fact that he was more comfortable using a good old knife and fork.
“When you said Japanese, I was kind of thinking about the over-processed chicken sushi that I find at the mall.”
Candace gave him her wide smile again, the one that was making him wish he’d met her under different circumstances. Although, someone like her wouldn’t exactly have crossed paths with him if he hadn’t been assigned to mind her. She was an international superstar and he was...a soldier turned bodyguard for a couple of days. Which was why he’d taken his chance to ask her out while he could. That would teach his friends for pestering him about being single too long and not enjoying enough human company—he’d stepped completely outside of his comfort level with Candace.
“So, I probably should have explained to you that sashimi is raw fish, huh?”
Logan raised his eyebrows and wrangled with the chopsticks some more, trying to mimic her actions. Except she was already dunking her first piece in the soy sauce and popping the entire thing in her mouth, which meant she was way ahead of him.
“Here goes,” he muttered, leaning over the table so he didn’t spill any, his other hand ready to catch anything that fell.
“What do you think?” she asked.
He swallowed. “I can’t say I’ve ever wanted to eat raw fish before, but I guess it’s not half bad.”
“I do have one kind with a cooked prawn on top. Here,” Candace said, opening another box and then pushing it his way. “Try this.”
Logan shook his head. “I can’t go eating your favorite foods hours before your big concert. I’m the help, not a guest.”
She rolled her eyes. “If we eat all this I can order more, so just take whatever you like, okay?”
Logan stared at her, wondering if he was about to see her diva side firsthand. He had a feeling someone that beautiful and talented was bound to be difficult. “You’re sure?”
“Look, most celebrities have a rider about exactly what they do and don’t want backstage or in their dressing room. Me? I just ask to have someone ready to run out and grab me great Japanese food and bottled water, and I request good lighting for my hair and makeup team.” She smiled, shrugging at the same time. “I like the fact that everyone thinks I’m easy to deal with, so trust me when I say we can order more. These people are used to divas requesting a certain number of candles with a particular scent, flowers, bowls filled with expensive chocolates and imported candy. You get my drift?”
Logan got the picture. “Okay, pass me the prawn one, then.”
“That’s more like it.”
Candace pushed the container closer to him, as well as a cup with a lid on it.
“What’s this?”
“Miso soup. You’ll love it.”
Logan took off the lid, staring into the brownish liquid. “You sure this stuff won’t kill me?”
“Positive. Now stir it with your chopsticks and take a sip. The green stuff is just seaweed, and there might be a few pieces of tofu floating around, too.”
“Tofu?” he asked, pausing before the cup touched his lips. “You’re killing me. I don’t even think Ranger would eat tofu.”
As if he understood exactly what they were saying, Ranger let out a low whine that made Candace laugh.
“Tofu,” Logan muttered, taking a sip.
It wasn’t half as bad as he was expecting, so he had some more, careful to avoid anything solid that was floating around in the soup. He was probably the only person in the building who hadn’t tried this type of food before, but he was a soldier and a rancher—he was more used to simple steaks, vegetables and fries than the latest cuisines. Not to mention he was having to act like a regular guy instead of one who usually couldn’t go a day without exercising like a crazy thing—sprinting as hard as he could to outrun his demons.
“So, what do you think?” Candace asked, pulling her long hair from her face and throwing it back over her shoulders.
“I think,” he said, clearing his throat and putting down his chopsticks, “that it’s time I went and did another perimeter check.”
He was starting to become way too comfortable sitting around with Candace, eating fancy food like he did it every day.
Smoke billowed around him, obscuring almost everything. He walked slowly, not able to see even one of his feet, but he never let go of Ranger’s leash. And then he stumbled, looked down and realized he’d just walked over another human being, facedown in the sand.
Logan cleared his throat, pushing away the memories that always hit him when he was least expecting them. If he wasn’t on duty, he would have changed his shoes and hit the gym. But today that wasn’t an option, and neither was giving in to his memories.
CHAPTER TWO
CANDACE TOOK A deep breath, mentally preparing for the concert. She’d been given her sixty-minute countdown already, which meant it was time to start running through her exercises, have a little something to drink, stretching out so she was all limbered up and dressing in her first costume.
But preparing for the performance wasn’t taking up all her energy like it should have been. Instead she was thinking about a certain man who’d as good as knocked the wind from her earlier
