The one thing he’d discovered about Des was that she asked a lot of questions, wanted to find out about people, and she was a great listener. She wasn’t at all the Hollywood type person he’d expected.
And he still didn’t know what the hell he was doing with her, or why she was interested in him, when a young stud like Colt was there to share the movie with her, and Colt’s trailer was only twenty feet or so from hers. She and Colt spent a lot of time with each other and had known each other for years. He certainly was good-looking. And young.
Logan shrugged and stopped trying to figure it out. Maybe it was just like she said, and she and Colt were just friends.
“Enjoying the view?” Bash asked, handing him a cup of beer.
Logan took it and nodded. “Yeah.”
They walked together, finding seats on the porch. “She’s pretty amazing, Logan. She’s fun to be around and has a great sense of humor. She’s also young, beautiful, and loaded with talent. A real rising star.”
He took a long swallow of beer. “Yeah.”
“So what the hell is she doing with you?”
“No idea.”
Bash laughed. “That’s what I’ve always liked about you. No ego. Maybe she’s the lucky one, being with you.”
“I don’t think so.”
“Come on. She gets to spend time on the ranch, and who wouldn’t enjoy that? You know she’s bombarded all the time with media and people who want a piece of her. With you, she can just be herself. You offer her something no one else can. You don’t ask anything of her, and she’s free to walk away, knowing you’ll never put strings on her.”
Logan had never thought of it that way. “I guess that’s true.”
“Because if anyone is a no-strings-attached kind of guy, Logan, it’s definitely you, right?”
Everyone knew him so well. Including his best friend. “Yeah, that’s me all right.” He tracked Des through the crowd, his gaze settling on her. She looked so pretty today—hell, just like every day. She was smiling with a group of people, some she knew, some he knew she didn’t. She gave equal attention to everyone, listening to them talking, answering questions, and putting her arm around Emilia Gray, one of the ladies from church who had to be well in her eighties. Emilia’s husband, Dale, whispered in Des’s ear and she laughed.
Something tightened within Logan whenever she laughed.
“Or maybe that’s changed?” Bash asked.
He pulled his attention away from Des and onto Bash. “What are you talking about?”
“I always wondered if you’d stay single, if there’d be no one in your life who’d make you crave settling down and raising a family.”
“You of all people know how I feel about that.”
“Yeah, I do. But I also see the way you’re looking at Des, and I’m wondering what makes her different from the rest.”
“She’s no different from anyone else.”
Bash’s lips curved in that knowing, smart-ass way that always irritated Logan. “Isn’t she?”
“No.”
“You know, Logan, one of the things I’ve always liked about you—actually, the reason we’ve always been friends—is because you’re a no-bullshit kind of guy. You don’t lie to me, and you’ve never lied to yourself. You’ve always been straight with me about everything, including how you feel.” Bash inclined his head toward Des. “So what’s up with her?”
Logan zeroed his attention in on Des. The way the breeze blew through her hair, and how she didn’t fuss with it. The way she paid attention to Emilia and Dale as if they were the most important people at the picnic. The way her lips curved, and how he remembered the taste of her. “I don’t know. I guess maybe she is different. Sexy, ballsy as hell, really honest with her feelings and her outlook. I like her. She’s actually a very nice person.”
“You’ve been with nice women before.”
“That’s true.”
“So, again, why is she different, because I’ve never seen you so riveted to another woman the way you are with Des. And I know it’s not the Hollywood thing.”
“No. It’s not the Hollywood thing.”
“It’s just her, isn’t it?” Bash asked.
“I guess so.” He looked at Bash. “But you and I both know she’s not going to stay here. She’s not going to make a life here. And that’s not the kind of woman I’m looking for.”
“Okay. So what happens if you fall in love with her and she heads back to Hollywood?”
“Not gonna happen. I don’t fall in love.”
Bash snorted. “Do you know how many times I’ve heard that same song and dance from the people I serve beers to? ‘She doesn’t love me. I don’t love her. I don’t need a woman in my life. I like being alone.’ It’s all bullshit, Logan. Everybody needs someone.”
Logan shot a direct look at Bash. “Do you? Because it seems to me you don’t have someone standing beside you.”
Bash shrugged. “I’ve been down that road, and have the scorched earth of a broken marriage and the battle scars to show for it. But at least I tried. You haven’t even given it a shot.”
He’d never let anyone talk to him the way Bash did. But he and Bash had been friends since they were six years old, and Bash knew everything about him, about what he went through with his mother, and after his dad died. His friend knew about his reluctance to repeat the mistakes of the past, and had never judged him for it.
Until now. “You know how I feel, Bash.”
“I do. I just don’t want you to die alone.”
Logan laughed. “Come on, man. I’m hardly alone. I have a whole family on the ranch.”
“That’s not the same thing as having someone in your bed at night and a house full of kids to pass on your legacy to. And you know what the hell I’m talking about, so don’t shine me on with your bullshit about being happy with the way things are. Believe me, if anyone knows about the kind of crap a woman can rain down on you, it’s me. I’m more aware than anyone you know, including your brother, who had his own past nightmares with a bad marriage. But even Luke got past it, despite the hell of your mother, and found himself a good woman. So maybe you can stop using her as an excuse and move forward with your life.”