Page 62 of Tattered (Lark Cove 1)

“I’m sorry, Logan.” Her arm slid farther across my stomach. “You said on the phone you had a change of plans, and I assumed that meant you weren’t coming here. I shouldn’t have cut you off.”

“Next time, I won’t try and surprise you.”

She closed her eyes and sighed. “How long can you stay?”

“A week. I’ll have to work during the day, but I should be able to free up my evenings.”

The last two weeks had been brutal. With the new client I’d taken on at the firm along with everything else, I couldn’t spend my days here chasing Charlie around and playing outdoors. This hotel room would serve as my office during the day, and I’d be Dad after five. The only thing working in my favor was the time difference. I was hoping that if I was up and working at four each morning, by the time quitting time rolled around on the East Coast, I’d at least have my evenings free.

Tomorrow would be the exception. Because for the first time, I was spending the day with my daughter to celebrate her birthday.

“I’m going to look at a house tomorrow morning,” I told Thea. “I’d like to bring Charlie.”

“That’s fine. Her party isn’t until three.”

Just then, my phone buzzed. “Sorry.” I reached to the end table and muted the incoming call.

“It’s fine. You’d better get it. Someone has been trying to reach you for a while now.” Thea tried to roll away, but I pinned her close.

“I’ll call them back in a minute.” I wasn’t sure who had been calling for the last hour, but my phone had gone off a handful of times. It hadn’t been hard to ignore with Thea in my bed. “I—”

My phone rang again. I rolled to mute it but saw it was the firm. At almost midnight in New York, something had to be wrong. “It’s work. I’d better call them back.”

“Okay.” Thea took a long breath, holding it for a second before letting it out across my skin, then pulling away. “I should go.”

I frowned and held her close. “I thought you had questions. Stay the night and you can ask them all. Just let me call them back.”

“I can’t.” She pushed harder, rolling away and tossing her legs over the side of the bed.

“You mean won’t.”

She didn’t respond, scooping up clothes and rushing into the bathroom.

“Damn it,” I grumbled, running both hands over my face. The day wasn’t

going to end as well as I’d hoped.

I grabbed my phone and listened to one of five voicemails with an urgent question from an associate on my team. Apparently, some new tax regulation was coming down the pike and one of our larger clients was worried about the legal ramifications for a contract to be signed on Monday. I quickly shot him a text, letting him know I’d call him back in thirty minutes. Then I whipped the sheet off my legs and climbed out of bed to pull on my jeans. I was buttoning my shirt when Thea came out of the bathroom.

She kept her eyes on the carpet as she crossed the room to slide on her flip-flops. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“What’s the hurry? Slow down for just a second.”

She shook her head, going for the door. “Tomorrow is a big day. I need to go home and get some rest.”

Bullshit. Something had happened to put her off. But what? Was it the phone calls? It wouldn’t take me more than fifteen minutes to deal with them and then she’d have my undivided attention.

My palm pressed against the door before she could open it and I trapped her right in my space. “Thea, talk to me.”

“I just . . . I don’t know if this was smart. You and me.”

My jaw clenched. “I disagree.”

Being with Thea had felt nothing but brilliant and I sure as hell didn’t have regrets. The way the two of us connected was unlike anything I’d ever felt. She touched me and I came alive. With my lips on hers, everything made sense. When our bodies were linked, the stars aligned.

I wasn’t going to let her regret tonight either.

“Look at me and tell me you didn’t feel the same thing I felt.”