“Oh no, tea means gossip.”
Midge’s forehead crinkles and she pushes up her black-rimmed glasses.
“What did she say?” the old man to her right says. “I was distracted while I was reading her shirt.”
My head swivels to Logan and he bites his lip from laughing so hard.
“Shouldn’t my husband stick up for me?” I whisper, although I’m not sure I had to for them not to hear me.
“She said she likes tea and gossip,” Midge says.
“No. Tea means gossip,” I correct, but Midge doesn’t hear me.
Logan places his hand on my bicep and pulls me back. “You can’t blame the man.”
Logan ogles my chest, and I narrow my eyes. He laughs and tears off his sweatshirt. His T-shirt is one of his own—Logan “The Pit Bull” Stone. It’s faded as if he’s worn it a million times and, damn, he looks sexy in it.
“Okay, ladies and gentlemen. I’m Logan Stone.” He gives a small wave. “I’m a professional MMA fighter.”
“We saw you earlier. Enjoy those women with the signs now because your body doesn’t stay fit forever,” the man who was talking to Midge says.
Midge smacks him over the head. “He’s a married man.”
“Married to who?” the man asks.
“Nikki. Ethel’s granddaughter.” She points at me.
“The one who drinks tea?” he asks, and I sigh, my head falling back.
“Tea means…” I wave it off. “Forget it.”
“Isaac and Midge, be quiet and let the poor man show you how to defend yourself,” Leann, the activities director, scolds them.
Isaac stands with the aid of his cane. “You want to know how I defend myself?” He pulls out the top of his cane to show a knife. A sizable one that looks shiny and sharp.
Logan instinctively moves back and throws an arm around my waist like a mom does in a car when she brakes too fast.
“We’re not young like you.” The man looks to a few men for confirmation and they all nod, holding up their canes.
I better warn Ethel and Dori to cool it with the sarcasm around here.
“Oh boy, I’m not sure you’re allowed to have those in here.” Leann steps forward.
Isaac puts the knife back, holding the cane to his body.
“This is what I do.” A woman digs her hand into her bra, revealing a can of mace. She holds it out in front of her with her finger on the nozzle.
“Oh, that’s great,” I say, inching forward to get her finger off the canister, but she presses it.
Logan tackles me to the floor, covering his body with mine.
“OOOUUCCCHHHH!” the woman screams, and Leann rushes over.
I glimpse over Logan’s shoulder and see the poor woman has sprayed herself in the eyes.
“I’ll be back. Come on, Olive, we’ll get the eye cleaner, and I’ll call 911.” Leann leaves us.
Logan’s still on top of me. The weight of his body feels too nice. Our eyes lock and heat funnels straight between my thighs.
“Thank you,” I say a little breathlessly.
“I think she likes more than tea,” Isaac says.
Logan laughs, rises flawlessly from the floor, and offers me his hand. Man, he makes it hard not to sleep with him.
“Flip her on her back again,” a woman who I think is Dori yells.
“Ready?” Logan asks, getting into position. “I won’t hurt you.”
“Okay.”
He grabs my arm, tugging me into his body, then he swipes my legs out from under me. This time he’s got me on my stomach with my arms spread above my head.
“I like that position. What’s it called? Doggie-style, right?” Isaac asks.
“Such dirty minds,” Midge says with disapproval in her tone.
“That’s not what you said last night,” he says, and Midge’s glasses fog up.
Logan helps me back up and I raise my eyebrows.
“Was I right?” I whisper.
He laughs again. “This is the most fun I’ve had since I got here.”
I tilt my head. “Why’s that?”
“Because I get to fling you around. There’s only one bad part.”
“Do I even want to know?”
“We’re fully clothed.”
I’m certain there’s no hiding my flushed face.
Damn it if I don’t feel exactly the same. And that’s a problem.
Chapter Eighteen
“Admit it to yourself at least, if you won’t to me.”
Logan
The minute I tell Nikki it’s the best night of my visit, she shuts down. I show a few moves to the seniors, but in truth, they’re probably better with their knives and mace. One woman said she carries a stun gun. By the time we’re all served ice cream as if this is a Boy Scout meeting, a small part of me thinks I should put up a sign in the community to warn would-be criminals about them.
We’re seated around a few tables, and I’m with the guy named Isaac and another guy named Earl. All they seem to care about is whether the boobs on the women who hold up the signs in the ring are real.
“I honestly don’t know,” I answer again, my gaze straying over to Nikki, who’s still trying to explain to Midge that tea isn’t actual tea. She should give up that fight now.
Earl leans in. “Come on. We won’t tell Nikki or Ethel. Look at you, you’re telling me you’ve never had sex with one of them?” He looks at Isaac. “I don’t believe this guy.”
I shake my head, scooping my chocolate ice cream out of the dish. I’m not getting into it with these two. “How about we change topics?”
“Okay, how many women do you get on a weekly basis?” Isaac asks. “Do you believe in reincarnation? Because I’d like to come back as you.”
I laugh and finish off my ice cream, leaning back in the chair. “I’m a married man.” I hold up my hand, showing off the ring I bought for myself so we can continue this charade.
So many times, I’ve wanted to tell Nikki the truth that I couldn’t care less about our deal and I’m here to see where this goes. But she’s made it clear that she can’t handle, or doesn’t want to handle, anything to do with her heart.
When I pinned her, I felt her rapid heartbeat and the way she sighed when my weight was over her. The slight movement she made underneath me like maybe it wouldn’t be the worst thing if we did this when we weren’t in front of a group of elderly people watching our every move. I want to confront her, but she’s still far from ready. Every time I think we’ve made progress, she retreats.
“Fine, you can come back by yourself some other day and tell us the real story.” Isaac winks.
I laugh. “I’m serious. I’m not the type to sleep around.”
Isaac winks again. “Sure, you aren’t.”
“I hope you’re telling the truth because if I were you, I wouldn’t want Ethel or Dori on my back for anything I did. They’re scary, especially as a team.” Earl scoops his ice cream, looking at the women in question.
Isaac waves. “Don’t listen to him, he likes Dori. If he could stay awake long enough, maybe they could get it on.” Isaac laughs at his own joke.