Читать книгу Love by Design - Lisa Watson - Страница 13

Chapter 4

What am I going to do about Logan?

By Thursday, Dakota was exhausted for two reasons. The first was that she had worked late every night on her St. Charles project. There was still no luck finding the sought-after Rothschild sheets, and so far Susan’s sources yielded no results. She had tried to steer Nancy’s tastes in another direction, but her client wasn’t having it.

“Darling, did you hear? Bootsie Ellerby has a set of Rothschilds!”

This was not what Dakota wanted to hear. “Really?”

“Yes! It’s true! I saw them for myself. My manicurist knows her manicurist, and she told me that Bootsie actually went to Rothschild’s home and refused to leave until he agreed to sell her a set. Can you believe it?” Nancy exclaimed. “Apparently, he’s loaded. Comes from old, old money. Why he’s designing sheets is anyone’s guess. Maybe it’s some type of hobby. I don’t care what it is, I just want those sheets. Bootsie’s set was gorgeous. Much nicer than the one I saw at Roger’s store. I hope you weren’t planning on getting them from him. I think you’d do better going to the source, don’t you?

“Wouldn’t you know, Bootsie had the gall to refuse to give me his address? She just wants to lord them over me, but we’ll show her, won’t we, Dakota? I’m sure with your contacts, you’ve got him on speed dial.”

I wish. Relieved that Nancy had come up for air, she wrote down what information she could gather from her client’s monologue so that Susan could pursue the lead. Dakota reasoned that Bootsie loved to talk as much as Nancy did, and if that was the case, it was time to get a manicure.

After seeing her client to the door, Dakota left a note for Susan to stop in when she returned from lunch. Needing a break from sheets and Bootsie Ellerby, she focused on Belle Cove—and Logan.

It was not her intention to pique her friend’s interest to know more about the past, but as far as Dakota was concerned, their history was ancient.

Still, things had progressed better than she expected. Their last meeting had gone very well. Pictures were great, but Dakota was looking forward to seeing the resort firsthand. She had received a call from his travel agent with instructions for their trip. A car was coming to pick her up and take her to the airport. From there, she would fly to Ocho Rios on the Montagues’ company jet. Dakota could not contain the thrill she felt. It would be her first time on a private plane, and she looked forward to the experience.

Dakota’s doorbell chimed. Susan. Her friend had agreed to help her pack for her trip. When she opened the door, she greeted her bag-laden office manager with a smile.

“You’re late. I’m just about finished with the packing.”

“Sorry, but now we have more time to socialize.”

Dakota shook her head, but stood aside to let Susan enter. “What’s all this?”

“I’m sorry I’m late, but I figured with all the packing and worrying you’d be doing, you wouldn’t have time to make yourself dinner, so I brought it with me.”

She followed Susan to the kitchen and helped her unload the cartons of Chinese food.

“I’m not worrying.”

“Uh-huh.” Susan moved around Dakota’s kitchen with ease. She retrieved two wineglasses and a corkscrew out of the cabinet while Dakota set the table.

“Thanks for this,” she said after Susan poured the wine.

“You’re welcome.”

“So, are you ready to begin this project?”

Dakota was thoughtful while she chewed. “As ready as I’ll ever be. Who knew after all these years that I’d see Logan again, much less have him for a client.”

“I’ll admit, the timing is…interesting,” Susan replied.

Dakota let out an unladylike snort. “Don’t read too much into it. I wrote him off once before…and after this is over, I’ll do it again.”

“You think it’ll be that easy this time?”

“Sure, why not?”

“Why not? Dakota, it’s obvious that the two of you have unfinished business. I’ll hand it to you, up until this point, you’ve done a very good job of acting like he doesn’t exist. The fact that I didn’t know about him, or how deep the history runs between you two, is proof enough.”

There was a light hint of censure in Susan’s voice that Dakota did not miss.

“I know. I’m sorry, Suzy. I just… It was hard enough living through that time in my life without having to relay what happened to anyone else.”

“What did happen, Dakota?”

She sighed and sat back in her chair, absentmindedly swirling the wine in her glass. “It all started with an argument. From the moment I began spending summers at my grandparents’ house, the neighborhood kids made fun of me for being the outsider. I was getting teased badly by a group of girls one day, when Logan Montague walked past and heard them. He stood up for me. He was my champion that day. Eventually, we became inseparable, and I spent every summer in Chicago. My parents thought it was better for me to branch out and get to know more kids, but I didn’t want to. We played together, spent long hours reading our favorite books, talking about the future, or being knee-deep in some adventure. Logan was my best friend for five years. One day he betrayed me by ruining my relationship with Michael. Not to mention leaving, and breaking my heart—after we kissed, of course.”

Susan sat back and crossed her legs to get comfortable. “Whoa, wait. Who’s Michael?”

“He was my first boyfriend. Logan didn’t like him from the start, and always razzed me about him. He never missed an opportunity to point out how Michael was lacking in some way. I was livid at his interference in my love life, but I was torn because he was my best friend. In the end, I thought him very high-handed to assume Michael wasn’t right for me.”

“Well, did you talk to him about it?”

“Constantly, but it always ended in arguments, so I ignored his remarks about Michael. I thought I was in love. And pow, just like that, it was over. He broke up with me. I was devastated. Later…I found out the extent of Logan’s dislike for him.”

“How?”

“Michael admitted that he’d been talked into breaking it off with me—by Logan.”

Susan gasped. “No way!”

Dakota nodded. “He’d scored courtside seats for a Bulls game, but that didn’t stop him from telling me all about Logan’s machinations to bust us up. I’m sure Logan didn’t factor that into the deal. Sadly, that incident made me realize that in order for Logan’s attempts to be successful, it meant Michael wasn’t as committed to me as he’d claimed. Years later, I considered myself lucky that it ended.”

“Lucky why?”

“By seeing how the love of my life turned out. Michael is as big a jerk now as when we were teenagers. Why I didn’t see it then is beyond me. Regardless of how angry I was at Logan, I have to admit that his butting in where he didn’t belong saved me a lot of heartache later.”

Too bad he didn’t stay around to find that out. At first, she missed Logan so bad, Dakota thought she would never recover. It was during that time she realized that her attachment ran deeper than mere friendship.

“Hello?”

Dakota snapped out of her reverie. “Sorry. You know, it took me a while to get over it, but after retracing the events in my head, I convinced myself that Logan acted out of jealousy. I suspected that deep down, he loved me.”

“And did you feel the same?”

She nodded. “Especially after that kiss. It felt like we had shared such a connection when it happened. That hope prompted me to go see him at college. He’d written me several times, but I didn’t respond. Months passed before I realized I had to tell him how I felt, but that idea blew up in my face.”

“Why?”

“Long story short, I went to see him and he was…he was with another woman. With her,” Dakota stressed.

“Oh,” Susan said sympathetically. She reached across the table and squeezed her friend’s hand. “I’m so sorry, Dakota. I know what a rough time that was for you. I can’t imagine having to face everything alone, and then to decide and declare your love just to have it—”

“Blow up in my face?”

“Not work out,” Susan finished. “I know it must’ve been hard.”

“You have no idea. Anyway, I returned home disillusioned, embarrassed and just plain numb. And that’s the end of the story. I was stupid to think that Logan felt that way about me. I’d lashed out at him after learning the truth about Michael, and it was the worst argument we’d ever had. I told him to stay out of my personal life. We made up weeks later, and then out of the blue, he left. Each time he returned, it was tense between us. In retrospect, how can I fault him now for doing exactly what I’d asked?”

“Still, you should’ve told him about your visit and how you felt—among other things.”

“What good would that’ve done? It wouldn’t have changed anything I was struggling with at the time. No, it was better he didn’t know I was there.”

“But you’d have had the support you needed. A shoulder to cry on. You were heartbroken, Dakota. I’m convinced having Logan by your side would’ve helped you cope. Now there’s a huge what if cloud hanging over the two of you.”

“Oh, no, it’s not.” Dakota got up and began clearing the table. “There’s nothing hanging between us, Suzy. Me and relationships don’t work out. It’s been a painful lesson, but one I’ve learned in spades.”

“I disagree. I think you two should’ve cleared the air years ago. If for no other reason, it would ease the tension between you now.”

“There’s no tension.”

Susan tilted her head to the side. “Were you not in the same room I was?”

Dakota placed the remainder of the Chinese food in the refrigerator while Susan wiped off the table.

“Look, there’s nothing between us but a very lucrative contract, and I plan on upholding my end of it.”

“If you say so.” Susan walked over and hugged Dakota. “I’d better head home now.” She grabbed her purse. “Have a safe trip, and call me the moment you land, and be sure to take plenty of pictures.”

Dakota returned the hug. “I will.”

She walked Susan to the door and watched as she got into her car and drove off.

Back in her bedroom, Dakota went over their conversation. She meant what she said. She had tried to mend her heart and find love again, but after a string of bad relationships, Dakota had decided that enough was enough. She would never give another person the power to devastate her again, and so far that plan was working.

Having to recount the details to Susan had been harder than she expected. It had left her a bit apprehensive about being in such close proximity with Logan again. Susan was right; they did have unfinished business that would need to be addressed at some point. How long could she put it off? They had never had a conversation about what went wrong between them. Each time Dakota got up her nerve, Logan was not around, or he had a girlfriend. The timing had never seemed right.

You need to relax. Being organized and having things “just so” usually did the trick, so she double-checked her luggage and travel documents. When that did not work, Dakota got into bed and turned on the nature-sounds app on her cell phone. The soothing sounds of babbling brooks, wind blowing through the trees and birds chirping always made her feel better. Taking deep breaths, Dakota closed her eyes and sank against her pillows. Tomorrow she would be meeting Logan in Jamaica, and her job would really begin. It would not bode well if she arrived at her assignment a bundle of nerves with bags under her eyes.

“Come on, girl, you’ve got this,” she whispered. “Logan Montague is just another client, and you have a job to do.”

By the next morning, Dakota was singing a different tune.

“Oh, no, I can’t do this,” she muttered to herself, but it was too late. She was already stuck, and being on a plane moments before it took off was too late to get cold feet. The little exercise she did last night to ensure that she could handle herself had gone south really quick. She was up for hours trying to convince herself that she could treat Logan like an ordinary client. By the time she drifted into an exhausted slumber, she was certain that everything would go off without a hitch.

The driver arrived to escort her to the airport, and now she was on board awaiting takeoff on a very impressive Gulfstream jet. She was very sleepy, but from the outside, she looked flawless. She was used to working with clients, traveling and long hours. Dakota always carried makeup and other provisions so that she looked pulled together.

She ran her fingers over the diamond Mickey Mouse pendant she was wearing beneath her blouse, rubbing it as though it were a good-luck charm. She scanned the inside of the plane. It was all about comfort. The plane’s interior was a rich buff color with black accents throughout the cabin. Her club chair was plush leather with a table separating the chair across from her. There were two divans with small pillows flanking either side of the plane. A glass partition separated another area that had recliner chairs and television monitors. She saw a door beyond and wondered if it was a bedroom.

“Good morning, Miss Carson. My name is Angela, and I’ll be attending you this morning. Would you care for something from the galley while we’re waiting to take off?”

“Yes, some tea if you have it.”

“Of course. Is there a specific kind you’d prefer?” Angela recited her choices.

“I’ll take the breakfast blend, with cream, no sugar. Thank you.”

“My pleasure, Miss Carson.”

She wished she had a book or something she could read to occupy her time and calm her nerves. Maybe she could read an ebook from the Kindle app on her cell phone while they waited to take off. Dakota was scrolling through her selections when she heard Angela’s voice again.

“Good morning, Mr. Montague.”

“How are you, Angela?”

Dakota almost dropped her cell phone. What was he doing here?

“We’re right on schedule, sir. Captain Tanner will be out shortly. Can I get you anything?”

“No, thanks.”

Logan walked past Dakota’s seat and sat down across from her. Dakota did her best not to look surprised when she gazed at him with what she hoped was a welcoming smile.

“Good morning, Dakota.”

“How are you, Logan?”

“Well, thanks.” He got settled, and then said, “Surprised to see me, aren’t you?”

“A little. I thought you were at the resort.”

Logan handed his briefcase to Angela and then fastened his seat belt. “I decided to wait so that we could travel together. Gives us a chance to talk before you get dropped into the thick of things.”

She could not argue with his logic. She shifted in her leather seat. “Sounds good.”

Dakota shut her cell phone off and placed it in her purse while Captain Tanner spoke to Logan about the flight plan and arrival time. He introduced himself on the way back to the cockpit, and assured Dakota that she was in good hands.

As she served Dakota her tea, Angela leaned in to whisper, “He says that every time.”

“It’s true every time,” Captain Tanner called over his shoulder.

Angela blushed at being overheard. Dakota wondered if that was the real reason her cheeks turned pink. She could have sworn there was a lingering look between the two flight crew members. Dakota was surprised to look up and find Logan staring at her.

“I’m sorry,” she said quickly. “Did you ask me something? I was lost in thought.”

“No, you’re fine.”

When he made no move to elaborate, Dakota turned her attention to her cup of tea. She inhaled the strong aroma and cautiously sipped the hot liquid. Eventually, she began to feel more alert. She was almost done when the captain announced that takeoff was in a few minutes. Dakota busied herself with adjusting her seat belt while Angela carted away her cup and trash. Moments later, they were taxiing down the runway and were airborne.

She enjoyed the thrill of taking off. The sudden jolt of speed, the way she felt right before it left the earth. Landing was the same. When they had reached their cruising altitude, Angela came out to ask if either would like any refreshments.

“I’m good, thanks,” Dakota said.

“I’ll have a Pellegrino, Ange.”

Dakota glanced over at him after Angela left. “So, what do your parents think about all the changes you’d like to make?”

Logan shrugged. “They’re interested, but willing to let me run things as I see fit. I guess they’re just happy I’m back in the fold.”

“What have you been doing with yourself…besides taking over your family’s business?”

He tilted his head to the side. “Are you really interested or just trying to make small talk?”