When You’re Ready (Ready #1)(27)
Author: J.L. Berg

~Clare~

“What the hell was that?” I screeched as I burrowed my body further into Logan’s firm chest.

“Uh, thunder?” he uttered.

“Well, duh. But holy shit, that was close. It couldn’t have been more than a mile away.”

One thing I noticed right away…okay, two things. The first thing, Logan smelled really good.

Like really, really good. I don’t know if it was cologne or a scent that was just uniquely Logan but I wanted to bury my face in his shirt and take a deep breath so I could have a memory of it permanently stored in my olfactory senses.

The second thing. It was dark. Like pits of hell dark. Having lived in the South my entire life, I had learned to endure strong storms. But they still freak me out, which is why I was currently curled up like a five-year old child in a grown man’s arms. Well, it probably wasn’t the only reason. My only saving grace was the fact that when the power went out in a suburban neighborhood, it was never completely dark. You still had neighbors that ran backup generators and headlights from cars passing by.

But the Thompson Plantation Bed and Breakfast?

It was pitch-black, make-you-wanna-scream-for-your-Mama dark.

“Are you all right, Clare? You’re shaking,” Logan asked, his voice full of concern.

“Sorry. That scared the bejesus out of me. I don’t like when the power goes out,” I confessed.

“I’m actually really enjoying the lack of power,” he said, squeezing me tighter.

“Oh man!” I suddenly wailed.

“What?” his voice alarmed and full of sudden concern.

“The desserts! I can’t see the desserts! I want my desserts!” I whined.

He chuckled. “That took all of thirty seconds!”

“Don’t make fun of me, I’m in agony here. There’s sugar over there, and I can’t see it. If Ms. Thompson doesn’t come with a candle soon, I’m just gonna wing it and dive in with my hands.”

He thought I was kidding, but I was totally serious. I never mess around when it comes to dessert.

Just as I was contemplating exactly how to get into the dessert without ruining my dress, Ms. Thompson nosily bumped into the room with a candle in hand.

“Well, that was exciting, wasn’t it? You two okay? Didn’t scare you too bad, did it?” she asked as she began lighting candles scattered about the room.

“No, we’re fine. Just a little startled. We were just admiring the dessert table when the power went out. You did an amazing job,” Logan commended her, causing our host to become embarrassed under his praise. As she lit the candles, everything started to come back into view, including the desserts.

“Well then, continue on. Don’t mind me. I’m going to look for a radio and see if I can get any updates on the weather,” Ms. Thompson said before marching out the room with determination.

I scurried up to the table, grabbed a plate and started taking a bit of everything and a lot of the tiramisu. It was such a thoughtful gesture to have her include my favorite dessert. And the jelly beans during our picnic…

And now I was thinking about the picnic again. Every time I looked at him, I remembered the way his hands felt moving over my body and how his mouth moved against mine. I had no idea what came over me, but if he hadn’t yelled stop, I’m not sure I would have. The heat and chemistry between us had awoken a part of me I thought was gone. Something raw and real. I didn’t know where our path together would lead, but tonight I felt like anything was possible.

Logan fixed his much smaller dessert plate and we both took a seat on the comfortable sofa in the parlor. He poured two cups of coffee from the carafe Ms. Thompson left on the coffee table, and I snuggled into the feather pillows, angling my body toward Logan as I dove into my plate piled high with desserts. I moaned in delight as the sugar and chocolate melted in my mouth. I felt contented and happy.

“So, what do you think she’s going to do with all those leftover desserts?” I feigned innocence.

He laughed, “Don’t worry, she’s sending all of it home with us. I made sure of it.”

“Yes!” I shouted but then said, “Geez, how much did you pay this woman?”

He just rolled his eyes so I continued to eat.

“You have chocolate, right there,” Logan said, leaning forward and motioning to my mouth. His eyes zeroed in on my lips, full of heated intensity.

“Oh.”

I opened my mouth, reaching out with my tongue to catch it, but he beat me to it, licking the chocolate from my lip, before kissing me long and slow.

He eased back; his eyes alight with fire and grinned, looking very smug.

“I think I got it.”

“You know, I think I could have taken care of that myself,” I snickered.

“But my way was much more fun. And besides, Maddie told me I could kiss you, so I plan on doing so. A lot,” he assured me.

“She did?” I asked, surprised.

“Yes. When I got to the house today, she gave me her permission to kiss you. I politely said thank you, and then chased her around the room while she squealed. Good times,” he grinned.

“I really have no idea why she’s feels so safe around you.”

“Hey!” he cried, dejected.

“No,” I giggled, understanding how that could have been misunderstood.

“I didn’t mean it like that. I just mean I don’t understand why it was so instantaneous. You walked into that exam room and she trusted you immediately. She’s never treated another person that way,” I explained.

“I felt it, too. With her. With you, too,” he paused before saying, “I always feel that need to care for my patients, but when I leaned down in that hospital bed and she curled up in my arms as I examined her, I don’t know…something inside of me clicked. I’ve never felt so fiercely protective over a patient before. If that’s even one tenth of what you feel as a parent, I don’t know how you do it. I suddenly couldn’t imagine the thought of her in pain. And then I saw you. Even in those vomit soaked clothes, you had me on my knees. When I mentioned the CT and you panicked? I saw that fear in your eyes and all I wanted to do was make it go away.”

I’ve never told him why I panicked in that hospital room.

“Ethan,” I explained, “He kept getting these horrible headaches. His doctor ordered a CT first. It came back normal. Months went by and we thought everything was fine. But he kept getting headaches and I got more and more nervous. But Ethan swore it was fine because of that CT. Finally, I convinced him to go see someone else. His new doctor ordered an MRI, and that’s when they found the tumor which hadn’t shown on the CT,” I said in a low voice, still hating myself for not pushing harder. If I had been more adamant, sent him to a doctor sooner, would he still be here?