Page 69

He closed his eyes, commanding himself not to react.

All too soon, she straightened and began to fold the wadded dress into a neat square. He exhaled, air whooshing from his lungs in a rush, making him dizzy.

Then she did the unthinkable. She leaned down again and set the folded dress neatly in the bottom of the trunk, only to pick up a black cape, probably to fold it too.

Once, he could handle. Twice, he was doomed.

As the tempting tendrils of her dark, glossy mane floated before him for a second time, he leaned into them, breathing deeply, consuming their silky texture into his very essence as they barely brushed his cheek.

Oh, God, her hair was even softer than he’d imagined.

He was so entrenched in his reverence he didn’t immediately notice how she’d frozen. He felt too drugged, too high on her nearness to care about anything else. As long as she kept letting him breathe in the scent of her hair, life was perfect.

When he realized he was making a worship-service out of the act and she was watching, he yanked himself back, abruptly returning to reality.

Busted.

A pair of startled, dark eyes slid his way, and she straightened just as quickly as he’d pulled away.

For the space of two seconds, they just stared at each other, their gazes wide with a shared shock.

“I—” He tried to apologize. But he wasn’t sorry. If given another chance, he knew he’d do the same thing again, maybe even try for more. Skin to skin contact. A kiss. Anything she’d allow.

The fact that she wasn’t running away right now gave him foolish hope. She looked so vulnerable and scared, and her bruised cheek dragged out the protective instincts in him. It all spurred him into the reckless act of reaching for her, his fingers stretching for the impossible.

“Paige.”

She jerked back before he could touch her cheek. “I should go.” Pale and trembling, she spun away and rushed from the room.

Rocking back on his haunches from where he’d been crouched on the floor, Logan sat hard on the cool tile, staring after her as she disappeared.

All that progress they’d made from the start of the school year was shattered. She was back to running away from him. He’d managed to sever the tender threads of their precarious friendship with one stupid move. She’d never talk to him again now, never smile at him, never sit by him at another group meeting.

He’d just ruined everything.

“You’re such an idiot,” he hissed to himself. After sitting there, cursing his own stupidity for a good thirty seconds, he shoved the rest of the contents into the trunk, compressing them with both hands until he was able to slam the lid closed.

He was latching the trunk’s buckle into place when the back of his neck tingled as it always did right before he saw her. Great, now it was happening just from thinking about her.

Rubbing at the irritating sensation, he muttered, “Stop it,” under his breath and picked up one end of the trunk to drag it back to its position against the wall.

He only got two feet before he realized she’d returned. Standing in the doorway of the playroom, she twisted her hands at her lap as she watched him. He stumbled to a stop, still holding onto one end of the trunk.

“I…I forgot my coat and hat.”

With a single nod, he began to turn away, but she hurried forward. “Here. Let me help.”

“It’s okay. I got—”

She picked up the other end of the chest. He drew in a lungful, telling himself to calm down. This didn’t mean anything. But after they dropped the chest back into its original spot, he couldn’t help but send her a curious glance as he brushed his hands off onto his thighs.

“Thanks.”

She nodded, not making ey

e contact as she retrieved her coat. She slipped it on, then tugged that adorable hat over her head before she turned to him, her gaze darting and wary.

“So, um…see you at the next meeting?”