Conviction (Club Destiny 1)

“Really? Like what?”

“The rumor mill is churning about you.”

Logan was speechless. He hadn’t heard any rumors going around about him so he wasn’t at all sure where she was going with this. He could only pray that the waiter would hurry back with his drink. He didn’t fall for the trap; instead, Logan watched Heather as she seemed to get nervous.

“Mother says you’ve met someone.”

Logan could feel her eyes on him. He didn’t know if he should be pissed or flattered. She had brought him all the way to California to ask him if he was in a relationship. What was her motive? He knew honesty would probably blow up in his face, but that was the route he was going to take.

“I have met a lot of people, Heather. What’s your point?”

“Not just anyone, Logan. Mother says you have someone in your life. As in a woman.”

He owed it to his relationship with Sam to be truthful. “There is a woman in my life.”

“Is it serious?”

Of all of the places, in all of the world, this was the last place he wanted to be. Logan didn’t want to have a conversation with Heather about anything, much less about Samantha.

Then he thought back to the situation he’d found himself in with Cardio Barbie. Shit. Bridget. He meant Bridget. Logan smiled as he remembered Sam’s reference to the other woman.

Instead of dodging the question, he looked her right in the eye and told her the honest truth. “I don’t know how you define serious, Heather. I have met someone, and I’m enjoying what we’re establishing between us. If you are asking if I love her, I don’t know that yet. If you are asking if I’m getting married, the answer is no. I don’t have any plans at this time.”

Thank God the waiter decided it was time to deliver their salads. He needed a distraction.

“Tell me about her.” Heather prompted as she picked up her fork.

“There isn’t much to tell. If I wanted to share her personal information, I would have invited her here. I didn’t because this is a business meeting. I would prefer we get down to business so I can return home as soon as possible.”

“How is Luke?”

Heather was obviously not ready to talk business, but Logan was past caring.

Unable to be a total asshole just yet, Logan answered. “Luke is fine. Now, can you tell me why it was so urgent to come out here this weekend? We probably could have handled any issues over the phone.”

“I didn’t call you out here for business, Logan. I gave Jim the impression there was an issue so he immediately contacted Xavier. I was going to offer to come to Texas. I needed an opportunity to talk to you.”

Oh hell. Logan didn’t know what to say to her. For once, he was at a total loss for words. Had it been business, he could have dealt with it. Apparently this was personal and as far as Logan was concerned, there was nothing personal left between the two of them.

“I flew all the way to California, under the impression you were going to pull out of the deal, spent all of Saturday working on a backup plan because you wanted to talk to me. Heather, this better be damned important, or you just might see me lose it.”

“Logan, it’s about us.” Heather began but was quickly cut off.

“Us? There is no us. Our relationship ended years ago, and from my point of view, it was for the best.” His voice was raised, and his hands were fisted at his side.

He hadn’t meant to come across so harsh and as soon as the words came out of his mouth, Logan saw the way she jerked back as though he had slapped her.

“Logan, I know I made some mistakes, and I know it has been a long time, but to be honest, you’re the only man I have ever loved. I think if you would give it just a little consideration, you would realize we could be extremely happy together.” Heather paused to take a deep breath. “The two of us would be a force to be reckoned with if we were together. I have become successful over the years, and I think if you’d just give me a chance, we could get back what we had.”

Logan’s teeth were grinding together as he sat there, completely floored by Heather’s explanation. Had she lost her damned mind? Maybe she honestly did believe some of the things she was saying.

It was a shame that she possibly believed he would sacrifice love for business. It was quite possible that until he met Sam he would have believed you could handle a relationship like a business transaction, but since meeting her, he knew that wasn’t the case.

He took a deep breath and willed himself to calm down. “Heather, you don’t love me, and I don’t love you. There isn’t anything between us that would make me believe that a relationship between us would be of the forever kind.”