Through Jenna's Eyes. KRISTI GOLD

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СКАЧАТЬ she lowered the rag, Logan lifted her chin and brought her face toward him.

      Okay, so she had soft skin and a really nice mouth. So did a lot of women. She probably had a hefty trust fund and an overblown sense of self-worth, too. Logan refused to head down that sorry road again.

      “It’s stopped bleeding, so you can take it off,” he said as he returned his hands to the steering wheel and his mind back on business, where they belonged.

      He drove back to the loft at a sluggish pace behind the weekend traffic and ill-timed lights. During the trip, Jenna kept her sunglasses in place and her gaze centered straight ahead until they pulled into the parking garage. Aside from a muttered, “thanks,” when he helped her out of the Hummer and into the elevator, she remained silent. That was okay with Logan. He intended to keep their relationship on a strictly professional level. He also planned to keep his distance, but he didn’t feel he could do that until they reached his apartment; the reason why he continued to hold on to her until he had her seated on the club chair in the living room.

      “This seems like a nice place,” she said, finally breaking the silence.

      Searching for much-needed space, Logan dropped down on the sofa across from the chair. “I bought it from my sister and brother-in-law after they moved into their new house.”

      “Then you have one brother and one sister?”

      “Actually, four brothers and a sister.”

      She smiled. “Wow. I’m an only child, so I can’t imagine having such a large family. What are your parents like?”

      Small talk was good. He could handle small talk. “They live in west Houston in the same middle-class neighborhood where I grew up.” Heavy emphasis on “middle class.” Logan wanted Jenna Fordyce to know up front that he hadn’t originated from her side of the society divide, even if his financial situation had changed with his success.

      When she made no move to take off her sunglasses, he said, “Feel free to get rid of the shades. I’ve been there before, so I’m not going to judge you.”

      She wrung her hands together several times. “The light bothers my eyes.”

      Man, he wouldn’t want to be her in the morning. “If you think it’s bad now, wait until tomorrow.”

      “Why’s that?”

      Obviously she’d never visited hangover central before, whereas, at one time, he’d been a frequent guest. “I take it you don’t drink too often.”

      “No, I don’t. I’ve never cared that much for alcohol. I only have a glass of wine on occasion.”

      That could explain her current state if she’d had more than a few tonight, but something still didn’t quite ring true for Logan. Her speech didn’t sound the least bit slurred. In fact, she sounded coherent. Probably one of the lucky ones who could drink and drown and still be able to fake sobriety.

      When she grew silent again, Logan considered turning on the TV to watch the baseball game he’d recorded, but decided Ms. Fordyce didn’t look like a baseball fan. He suspected tennis was her game, if sports interested her at all. For that reason, he should probably ask what she preferred, and right when he was about to pose the question, the doorbell rang, indicating help had arrived.

      Logan pushed off the sofa, strode to the entry and opened the door to his brother who had a duffel bag hanging on one shoulder and a wide-eyed toddler wearing red superhero pajamas braced on one hip.

      He stepped aside to let them in. “You made good time.”

      “The advantage of learning the fastest route when you’re on call,” Devin said. “Where’s the patient?”

      “Right down the hall.”

      When they reached the living room, Logan gestured toward his guest who had yet to acknowledge them. “Devin, this is Jenna Fordyce.”

      When Devin moved in front of the chair, Jenna offered her hand and a smile, something she hadn’t done with Logan back at the bar. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Devin. I hope I’m not wasting your time.”

      “Not a problem,” Devin said as he handed off Sean to Logan before taking Jenna’s hand for a brief shake. He pulled up an ottoman in front of the chair and set his bag in his lap. “Now, let’s take a look at that cut.”

      Logan hooked a thumb over his shoulder. “While you’re doing that, I’ll take the kid into the kitchen and see if I can find him a cookie.”

      Devin sent him a hard look. “Don’t give him more than one. If I bring him home on a sugar high, you and I both are going to have to answer to my wife.”

      Logan had always considered his sister-in-law to be a reasonable woman, but he didn’t want to test her. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

      After he entered the adjacent kitchen, Logan held Sean high above his head, eliciting a laugh from his nephew. “You’re getting heavy, bud,” he said as he brought him back down and set him on the counter. “I only have a chocolate-chip cookie, so I hope that’s okay.”

      Sean answered with the single word, cookie, and a wide grin, indicating Logan was definitely speaking his language.

      When he opened the cabinet, withdrew the cookie from the package and handed it to Sean, the kid squealed. One thing about it, toddlers could be easy to please, unlike several of the women Logan had known. One in particular. He wasn’t sure why he kept thinking about his former fiancée tonight. The answer to that was sitting in the next room, undergoing an exam by his brother. But aside from Helena’s and Jenna’s similar backgrounds, he recognized several differences between the two, at least when it came to the physical aspects. Then again, he didn’t plan to explore those differences. Once Devin was done doing his doctor thing, Logan would have Ms. Fordyce back at the family mansion in record time.

      Sean finished the last bite of cookie and held out his hand, palm up, and wiggled his fingers. “More.”

      “Not a good idea, bud.” Logan looked around for another form of entertainment and selected a wooden spoon sticking out from the jar holding utensils he rarely used. “How about practicing your batting swing with this? Just don’t hit me.”

      Sean decided the spoon worked better as a drumstick and began pounding the cabinet without the least semblance of rhythm, spewing words that made little sense. But as long as it kept him happy, then that made Logan happy.

      Remaining close to his nephew to prevent him from taking a spill, Logan leaned back against the counter and glanced at the pass-through opening that offered a view of the living room. Devin had taped up the cut with thin white strips and right then he was shining a penlight in her eyes. Logan could tell they were discussing something, but he couldn’t make out a word with Sean now pounding the metal canisters.

      A few minutes later, his nephew grew tired of playing musician and insisted on being held. Logan scooped him up into his arms where Sean rested his cheek on his shoulder. At least Devin could go home and tell Stacy that Uncle Logan had succeeded in wearing the kid out by giving him a spoon.

      A few minutes later, Devin walked into the kitchen, sporting a somber expression. “I don’t think she has a serious head injury, but someone needs to watch her tonight, in СКАЧАТЬ