Last Dance (Rock With You #3) Rock Star Romance (9 page)

“But
you’ve been obsessed with me, and jealous of Logan.”

“Melody.
Again, give me some credit. I may be obsessed and jealous, but I’m not crazy.
The last thing I would ever have wanted was to hurt you. There’s no fun in
that…unless it’s consensual.”

Melody
opened her mouth, not even sure what she could say to Ryan after a comment like
that, but she was interrupted by a knock on the door. Joe Hunter stuck his head
into the room.

“Melody.
How are you? Is there anything you need?” He sat down at the end of the couch.

“No,
I’m just confused.” She glanced at Ryan. “I wonder what possessed her to attack
me.”

“Well,
from the ranting and incoherent babbling on the way through the lobby, I would
say she’s a rather obsessed fan of Mr. MacKenzie. I walked out to the ambulance
with her and all she kept repeating was that you were taking him away from
her.”

Joe
held a slim manila folder and he extended it to Melody. “We found this in her
desk drawer. It may explain things, if there is any explanation to be had
here.”

Melody
opened the file. Inside were pages and pages of lists, written in tiny cramped
handwriting. She squinted and then her eyes went wide.

“Melody,
what is it?” Ryan leaned forward.

“It’s
everything I’ve ever said, anything at all that related to Logan. Snippets of
conversations she and I had, transcriptions of phone conversations I had with Logan…all
with the date and time.” She flipped through the pages. “It goes back to her
first day here. If someone said Logan’s name, she wrote it down.” She looked up
at Ryan.

“You’re
in here too, Ryan. Everything… no matter how insignificant.”

Melody
pulled one page from the rest. The handwriting was different, a flowing and
elegant script, the text almost like a diary entry. “And then this.” She held
up a single page, eyes scanning the paper.

“It
looks like fantasy, make believe. Conversations with Logan, things he said to
her…complimenting her on her clothes, telling her how beautiful she is.” She
closed her eyes, stuffing the paper inside and shutting the file abruptly. “I
can’t read anymore. She’s got something written about having sex with him.”

“Melody,
I’m so sorry.” Joe leaned forward, his hand on her shoulder. “Consider yourself
on indefinite paid leave. Do you feel well enough to go home now? I can have
someone drive you…”

She
shook her head. “No, thank you, Joe. I’ll call a cab.”

“Are
you sure? You really shouldn’t be alone.”

“I’ll
take her home…or wherever she wants to go.”

Melody
jerked her head in Ryan’s direction. He held up his hand. “Really, Melody. It’s
the least I can do. I promise…” He held up three fingers. “Scout’s honor, I
will not do anything the least bit inappropriate.”

“Ryan,
I’m not sure that’s appropriate.” Joe turned to Melody. “Shall I call you a
cab?”

Melody
regarded Ryan for a moment.

“I
think I’ll take Ryan up on his offer, Joe. I’ll be fine.”

Joe
left, muttering a final warning beneath his breath. Ryan watched him go.

“I
can’t say that I blame him.” He turned back to Melody. “I’ll go get the car and
pick you up out front. Will you be alright getting downstairs?”

Melody
nodded and stood, tentatively, feeling the strength return to her legs. She
dropped the blanket on the couch and went to her office. She found her purse
and took out her cell phone and called Logan. The conversation was brief.

“I’m
coming home. Something’s happened.”

* * *

Ryan
deposited her at the security door of the hotel. Logan was there, pacing back
and forth and at the sight of him, tears began rolling down Melody’s cheeks.

“I’ll
understand if you don’t invite me in.” Ryan’s voice held its usual smug tone.

She
turned to him, shaking her head. “You really are a piece of work, Ryan. Truly.”

“I
am. And now you’ll never know what we could have had. I see you’re smitten with
him…” He nodded at Logan, who was walking toward Ryan’s car.

“And
you best get out. I don’t feel like being assaulted a second time today.”

Melody
opened the door of the car, turning to Ryan. “Thank you for the ride, Ryan. I
can’t say it was good to see you, because it isn’t. But you’re the only hold I
have on my sanity at the moment, odd as that seems.”

Ryan’s
laugh startled her. “ ‘Better the devil you know than the angel you don’t.’ Or
something like that? I get it. Now get out.”

Logan
was reaching for Melody’s hand. “What is going on Melody? Are you alright? And
what the hell are you doing here?” Logan was looking in at Ryan, tension
evident in every muscle in his body. Melody put her hand on his arm.

“Logan,
it’s okay. He gave me a ride, that’s all. I’ll explain upstairs.”

She
slammed the car door and Ryan drove off. Logan watched the car for a moment
before turning to Melody. He tried to pull her against him, but she put her
hands on his chest, holding him at arm’s length.

“Take
me upstairs, Logan. I don’t want to fall apart down here.”

* * *

Logan
had given her a glass of something strong to drink.

“Macallan?
Does it fix everything?” She drank the last of the amber liquid, feeling the
warmth spreading outward from her center. She’d finally stopped trembling, her
sobs reduced to shaky breaths and hiccoughs.

“It’s
not Macallan. I’m not sure what it is.” He was sitting next to her on the
couch, after helping her change out of her clothes into a robe and then
wrapping her in a blanket from the bed. She had clung to him, from the minute
he’d closed the door, the pent up emotions finally letting go, her body shaking
uncontrollably as she cried against him.

“What
the hell happened?” He was holding her hand, chafing her knuckles with his
fingers.

“Victoria…she
wasn’t someone Ryan knew. It turns out she was after you. She was a stalker.
This was her way of getting close to you, I guess, working with me. But she
figured out we were together, so she decided I should…that she would…so she
tried to…” Melody’s voice broke. Logan pulled her against his chest.

“Shhh…stop
talking about it for now. She’s gone, she’s not here.” He rocked her back and
forth, settling her more firmly against him, murmuring Gaelic words into her
hair. The warmth of the alcohol was working through her body, her knotted
muscles finally relaxing. She closed her eyes, resting her head on Logan’s
shoulder.

He
held her for a long time, his words changing slowly into a song, the same song
he’d sung to her the other night. She tried to ask what the words were, but her
mind and body were floating, and she let herself fall asleep in Logan’s arms.

* * *

They’d
been in Scotland for almost three weeks, Melody on indefinite leave from the
firm. Logan had made good on his promise, taking her to the Highlands, to see
remote lochs and mountains, and a cave, all of it wild and beautiful. She’d
been entranced by everything she saw. There were times she couldn’t even
imagine going back to New York.

At
night, they’d made love, endless times, on deep featherbeds with canopies
overhead. They’d fallen asleep, wrapped in each other’s arms, beneath soft
eiderdown comforters. Melody couldn’t remember a time she’d slept so deeply, or
so much. Logan teased her that she was getting harder to wake up each morning,
convinced his lovemaking was tiring her out.

“Even
if that’s the case, don’t think I’m willing to get by with less. I’d rather
have ye as many times as I want and get used to you sleeping late, than not
have ye enough.”

She
stretched, breathing deeply. The scent of their lovemaking rose up around them,
as heady as any perfume, making her want him again.

“It’s
all the fresh air and exercise, not you.” She rolled over on top of Logan,
pinning him to the bed. “Although you are wonderful, and I’m not complaining.”

“Ye
better not be complaining. You’d be wounding my male pride if ye did.”

“Your
male…pride seems to be just fine.” Melody squirmed against Logan, giggling, as
he thrust himself gently against her.

“Well,
that…and my pride…are two different things, ye ken. That…” He slowly rocked his
hips against her again “…works just fine, regardless if it’s been insulted.”

Melody
shrieked in pleasure as Logan rolled over on top of her. “So, we’ll just see
how well this works then, shall we?”

* * *

Logan
told her he had a surprise. They got up early and he drove her out of Inverness,
north toward the sea. They stopped along the way for breakfast and then, not
long after that, Logan drove down a winding lane, beneath trees that arched
overhead. Through breaks in the trees, Melody saw glimpses of white buildings,
briefly visible. He turned down a drive and a larger building appeared.

“Where
are we?” She was looking out the window, up at the blue sky. For the first time
in days, it was clear and sunny.

“I
thought I’d show you a castle.” Logan had been uncharacteristically quiet on
the drive but Melody had been so engrossed in watching the ever-changing
scenery she hadn’t given it much thought.

“Does
it have a name? Don’t most castles have names?” Logan had stopped the car and
she climbed out. The wind was cool but the sun shone brightly.

The
castle was four stories, whitewashed, with a gray roof. There were several
chimneys visible among the peaked rooflines, and there was a turret at the
front. Melody looked up at the narrow windows, some with what looked like
leaded glass. It was smaller than she thought a castle should be, but it was
charming nonetheless.

“Aye.
It does. Sometimes castles are named after their owners.”

Melody
turned to Logan. “And? Is this one named after someone famous?

“Well,
I wouldn’t say famous, but well enough known in this area.”

“Is
it open to the public? Can we go in?” There were no other cars that she could
see and the only sounds she heard was birdsong and the rush of wind through the
trees.

“It’s
a private residence. But, if you like…”

Logan
had walked around the car and was standing next to Melody, looking up at the
turret. He turned to her, taking her hand, turning it palm up. She felt
something cold and heavy placed in her hand and she looked down. It was a key,
a large iron key on a decorated fob.

“You
asked if the castle had a name. If the current owner decides to name it after
himself, it would be Castle MacKenzie. But I think that sounds a little
pretentious. I’d rather just call it home.”

She
stared up Logan, unable to speak. “Logan?” She managed to stutter out his name.

“I
bought you a castle, Melody. I hope you like it. It’s a bit big, but there’s
room for us, for horses, if you want. You can have an office, I can have a
studio.”

He
pulled her into his arms. “And there’s room for as many children as we want.”

“Logan…I
don’t know what to say.”

“Say
you’ll live here with me.”

Melody
looked into Logan’s eyes, saw the hope there, his love for her…and saw her
future.

“Yes,
Logan. I will. I’ll live here with you.”

* * *

The
Iron Works was packed. Logan had escorted her to the front, to a table reserved
just for her. He’d kissed her full on the lips in front of everyone, to a few
cat calls and whistles from the band, and clapping from the crowd, before
taking the stage.

She’d
settled back in her chair, watching him perform, watching him interact with the
crowd and the band. He was animated, telling jokes, gently chiding a smiling
Angus for dropping his drumstick. They’d asked for requests from the audience
and played song after song beneath the hot lights, until Logan was dripping
with sweat.

He
finally pulled a stool to the center of the stage, taking a long drink from a
bottle of water.

“I
want to thank all of ye for coming out tonight to hear us. We thought the last
time we were here would be our last, but we’re back. And we’re together.” He
looked at each man in the band in turn, getting broad smiles and nods in
return. Melody thought she saw Angus duck his head, swiping a hand across his
face.

Logan
turned back to the crowd, looking out over them, nodding to familiar faces.

“And
to all of you, you’re the reason we play. You’re not just our fans, you’re our
family. And this is home.”

He
took another drink of water, setting the bottle on the floor. The stage lights
dimmed, leaving Logan in the center spotlight, and Melody expected the guitar
player to join Logan for the last few songs. But Logan remained standing alone.