TAKE A CHANCE (Chance Colorado Series) (17 page)

But it was her best. She’d paid more for this than for any dress she’d ever bought just because it looked better on her than anything else she’d ever owned. And the day of the dedication, she’d worn a light sweater to cover up the skin-baring spaghetti straps and the plunge of the neckline.

No, this was what she wanted to wear tonight.

The tape must be in her underwear drawer. She was positive that was where she’d put it. It had to be there. Of course, she’d been positive about the last five places she’d looked, too.

This time she was right.

“Process of elimination,” she muttered. When you run out of places, it has to be in the last place you look.

One strategic strip of tape and her wardrobe malfunction worries were over. Thank goodness she’d found it. The last thing she needed was to have the whole town see her half-naked.

The faint notes of the doorbell sounded and she gave herself one last quick examination in the mirror. Not bad. Not bad at all.

Logan waited by the front door, chatting with her mother. He stopped speaking mid-sentence when she walked into the room, a silly grin spreading over his face.

That expression alone was worth the fuss she’d gone to over wearing this dress tonight.

“You look great.”

His words tickled down her spine and lodged somewhere near her heart. They must have, because her heart started beating a mile a minute.

“Thanks. You clean up pretty good yourself.”

Did he ever! Here she’d spent all this time thinking the world had invented jeans and black T-shirts especially for Logan, only to find that he looked equally good in a tie and sports coat.

“We’d better get going. Our reservation is for seven fifteen.”

“Great. I’m all ready.” Allie gave her mother a quick kiss on the cheek. “Dulcie is bringing your dinner over any minute now and she’ll stay here until I get home. You need anything else before I go?”

“I’m fine. You kiddos go ahead and take off. Enjoy your evening.” Susie settled into her chair in front of the television. “You two behave yourselves, you hear?” she added over her shoulder.

Allie walked toward Logan’s truck, her face on fire from her mother’s caution. After all these years of living on her own, she hadn’t expected her mother to treat her as if she were a teenager again. More than that, she hadn’t expected to feel like one.

“Your mom’s sweet,” Logan said, stepping in front of her to open the passenger-side door. “Worrying about you, and all.”

So much for any hope that he might have missed her mother’s admonition.

“Sorry about that. I guess it’s hard for her to think of me in terms of being an adult now.”

“No apology necessary. She’s your mom. They’re all like that. You’ll always be her little girl, even when you’re fifty. That’s one of the awesome things about moms. They never give up on you.”

He grinned again, just before placing one hand on her back and another on her arm to assist her into the pickup.

Her skin tingled where he touched her and her brain sizzled with his nearness, setting her heart pounding all over again. This close, the light scent of his aftershave wafted over her and she knew, without a doubt, had he not been supporting her, she would have stumbled.

It was the shoes. At least, that was what she chose to blame it on.

She had a moment to collect herself while he made his way around to the driver’s door and joined her inside the cab of the truck.

“Seat belt,” he reminded as he turned the key in the ignition.

Good Lord. She was so frazzled she hadn’t even thought about her seat belt. Maybe her mother wasn’t so far off base in treating her like an inexperienced teen.

The drive to the restaurant passed in silence, leaving Allie only a short time to wonder whether Logan might be struggling as she was to find something to say.

The parking lot at Golddiggers appeared to be only about three-quarters filled, but Logan passed it by and turned at the corner heading down Miner Road. A few blocks down, he pulled the pickup to a stop in front of the abandoned assay building and stared out the window as the vehicle idled.

“Why are we parking here?”

A walk of this distance wouldn’t be her first choice. Nor her second. Not in these shoes.

Another full minute passed before he unfastened his seat belt and turned toward her. “There’s been something weighing on my mind ever since that day out at the ranch. I don’t think I can sit through dinner with you until I’ve dealt with it.”

This was it. Ryan had reminded him of how devious she’d been in dating him to get to his brother. It was so far in the past, it shouldn’t matter anymore, but it did. It must. And if there was any chance for them even as friends, she needed to face her past.

“Then you’d best get that weight off your mind now.”

“I hoped you’d say something like that.”

She steeled herself for whatever he might say next, but he didn’t say anything. Instead, he lifted the console blocking the seat between them and slid toward her. Without a word, he slipped a hand under her hair and his warm fingers caressed her neck. Gently, he guided her forward until his lips met hers.

The unexpected kiss was exquisite. His touch was warm and caressing, and when his tongue traced the contour of her lower lip, it stole her breath and curled her toes. Only the seat belt snapping tight across her chest kept her from launching herself at him and defying her mother’s final warning.

She opened her eyes when he lifted his lips from hers, not remembering when she’d closed them.

“Good,” he said, a satisfied grin settling on his face as he slid back over behind the steering wheel. “I can enjoy my evening now that I have that out of the way. You can’t imagine how often I’ve thought of doing that for the last two weeks.”

Oh, yes, she could imagine. Two weeks? She could tell him a thing or two. Try fantasizing that move for half your life.

She still hadn’t quite recovered when they pulled into the parking lot and he opened her door for her. She fumbled with her seat belt for a moment, stopping when he reached in to help her.

She climbed down from the truck, his hands around her waist, his body blocking her from moving anywhere except closer to him.

“Are you okay with what happened back there? Are you upset?” he asked, his head dipping close to hers as he spoke.

“Not at all upset,” she answered, her gaze meeting his. “Surprised, I guess, more than anything.”

“Good surprised or bad surprised?” His words grazed over her skin as he all but whispered his question into her ear.

Though the night was unseasonably warm, chill bumps danced across her skin.

“Good surprised,” she whispered in return. “Very good surprised.”

“Excellent,” he said, backing away and taking her hand to lead her toward the entrance of the restaurant.

A riot of noise assaulted them when Logan held open the door. But neither the crowd of people yelling at the band or even the loud music itself had any chance of denting the happy bubble in which she floated. Nothing could puncture this perfect moment.

Nothing except maybe a leather-clad Shayla Jenkins-Gold slithering toward them, her sultry gaze firmly fixed on Logan like some predator homing in on its dinner.

It wasn’t until she was within touching range that Allie realized the woman held two menus in her hands. Too bad she didn’t hold them a little higher so that they might cover the over-ample cleavage that threatened to spill out through the open buttons on her black silk shirt.

“Well, well,” Shayla purred, lifting a hand to stroke Logan’s arm. “Look who’s finally decided to make an appearance at my place. I almost didn’t believe it when I saw your name on the reservation list for tonight. Let me show you to your table.”

Her
place?

Allie’s bubble burst with a huge, uncomfortable pop. Maybe that was why Logan had seemed reluctant to come here. She could kick herself now for having insisted.

Logan stepped away from Shayla’s touch and fit his arm around Allie’s waist. His movement put her squarely in between Logan and their hostess.

Shayla led them to a table in the dining room and handed over the menus she carried before positioning herself at Logan’s shoulder.

“Spencer will be your server tonight.” She lifted a hand to motion to a young man, who hurried to their table. “Take good care of my friends, Spence. Top shelf and don’t skimp. Enjoy your evening, folks, and don’t hesitate to ask for anything you want.” With a wicked smile in Allie’s direction, she leaned over Logan’s shoulder to adjust the placement of the silverware in front of him. “Whether it’s on the menu or not.”

Allie doubted that the boob Shayla brushed up against Logan’s cheek had been an accident. From the deep red stain creeping up Logan’s neck, she’d be willing to bet that he didn’t think Shayla’s move had been an accident either.

Though she didn’t usually drink, the evening's surprises just seemed to beg for a margarita, so when Spencer returned to their table, she ordered one.

“I’ll need to see some I.D.”

Great. Her purse, with all her identification, was hanging in the coat closet at home. She should have known to bring something along with her.

“She’s over twenty-one,” Logan pointed out. “You can take my word for it.”

Spencer shook his head, shifting uncomfortably from one foot to the other. “Listen, I’m sorry, but it’s the rule. And breaking the rule could cost me my job. No identification, no drinks.”

“It doesn’t matter. I’ll have iced tea.”

“No.” Logan stood up and tossed his napkin on the table. “Come with me, Spencer.”

He led the waiter through the dining room, back toward the hostess stand where, if Allie scooted her chair back and leaned at an angle, she could see Shayla standing. When Logan and Spencer reached her side, she turned immediately, a big smile on her face.

Allie might not be able to hear anything she said, but she couldn’t miss the hand that woman laid possessively on Logan’s chest. She also couldn’t miss that hand sliding inside his jacket.

Before tonight, Allie would have sworn on a stack of Bibles that she hadn’t a single jealous bone in her body. Suddenly, all her bones seemed to have taken on a jealous life of their own.

It felt as if the temperature in the building had risen by twenty degrees, and she couldn’t decide if she’d rather skip the drink altogether or make it a double.

By the time Logan dragged himself away from that woman’s roving hands and returned to their table, Allie was leaning toward the double.

Though she knew very little about what had led to Logan and Shayla breaking up, she certainly hadn’t expected them to still be on such…
friendly
terms. It was something she found herself desperately wanting to know about, but she was not quite brave enough to ask.

A few sips into what had to be the smoothest margarita she’d ever tasted, she found her courage.

“I didn’t realize you and Shayla were still so…” No, she wouldn’t say
hands-on,
even though that was the term that came to mind. “Such good friends.” She washed the question down with the remainder of her drink.

“We’re not.” Logan tipped up his beer for a sip and set it back on the table, continuing to fiddle with it as if considering what to say next.

Or how to say it.

Before he could respond, the band returned from their break and the noise level amped back up to the point where conversation was almost impossible.

Another strike against Golddiggers, although the freshly refilled margarita that had mysteriously appeared to replace her empty glass was one of the best she’d ever had, especially on a night as warm as this one.

She was just thankful the drinks weren’t very strong, especially since Spencer delivered her third to the table only moments before their dinners finally arrived.

“Do you smell that?” A frown creased Logan’s forehead as he sniffed the air.

“Smell what?”

The aroma of the food sitting in front of her was all she could smell, and, considering she’d been too nervous about this date to eat all day, it smelled fantastic.

“I’m sorry. I know that smell.” Logan folded his napkin and placed it next to his plate. “I’ll be right back.”

With Logan hurrying away from their table, Allie put her fork down to wait. She took a sip out of her drink and then pushed it away in favor of water, only to realize their waiter had never brought any water.

She’d have to ask for some. Because, although the drinks didn’t taste too strong, she was beginning to feel a bit odd. Maybe while Logan was away from the table, she should sneak in a quick visit to the ladies’ room.

Allie placed her napkin next to her plate and stood, only to find the entire room starting a slow spin around her. She fastened her hands to the back of her chair and waited, but the spin didn’t go away. If anything, the room revolved faster.

Very carefully, very slowly, she let go of the chair and threaded her way toward the back wall where the door marked RESTROOMS waited. It felt as if the floor stretched out, making the journey twice as long as it ought to have been, but, finally, she pushed through into a long, cream-colored hallway.