He arched a brow. “Are you saying I’m a rude sonofabitch?”
She quirked a smile. “Sometimes.”
“How much longer do you have to stay here?”
“I’ve put in the appropriate amount of time.”
He took her hand. “Good. There are some things we need to settle between us.”
They got into the limo and took it back to her hotel. Des opened the door.
He stepped into the spacious living room, complete with fireplace, two sofas, and multiple chairs. The living room doors opened onto a balcony that overlooked Hollywood. “Fancy. Very you.”
“Not really. You should see my condo. You’d be very disappointed. It’s not movie-star quality at all.”
“I’d like to see it.”
“Maybe I’ll invite you over, once you tell me why you flew all the way out here. Surely it wasn’t just to watch a movie.”
“No. It wasn’t. Not that kind of circus, with all the media that seems to follow you everywhere.”
She walked up to him. “Then I hope you have good security at the ranch, because it’s going to be like that if I come live with you.”
“I don’t recall asking you. Yet.”
She put her hands on her hips. “Really. Then what the hell are you doing here if you aren’t here to tell me what a colossal ass**le you’ve been, what a mistake you made by letting me go, and then to tell me you love me madly and ask me to come live with you?”
Logan sighed. “Goddammit, Des. You are the most frustrating woman I’ve ever known. Mind if I do things on my own timeline without you telling me how I’m supposed to feel?”
“Fine. You do it.”
He pulled her toward him and kissed her, that melt-her-panties kind of kiss that never failed to explode a few brain cells in the process. And when he pulled away, he said. “I love you, Des. I flew out here and put on this stupid tux because I love you. I stood in front of all those cameras and answered dumb questions because I love you. Because I sure as hell wouldn’t do it for any other reason than love.”
Her heart melted. “I love you, too, Logan.”
He pulled her down on the sofa, then sat next to her. “I’m sorry. You’re right. I acted like a complete moron and I let you go. I hurt you and I hurt myself in the process. But when I saw you the night of the wrap party, dressed up and looking fancy, it made me feel like we were too far apart to ever end up together. And instead of talking to you about it, I backed away.”
She sighed. “You know there’s nothing you can’t talk to me about.”
“I do know that. But you know where I come from. And I’m scared of making the same mistakes my parents made. Every goddamn day I’m afraid of the past repeating itself.”
She swept her fingers through his hair. “I know you are. But I’m not going to hurt you.”
“I know you’re not. It’s taken me a long time to come to grips with that reality, but I’ve finally let go of the past and I’m ready for the future. And that future doesn’t mean anything to me unless you’re in it. Please come to the ranch and live with me. Even if that means you have to live there only part-time when you’re not making movies, that’ll be enough. We’ll figure out a way to make it work, but I need you in my life.”
Des felt as if she were soaring three feet off the ground. “I love you and I love the L&M. I loved that ranch the minute I stepped foot on it. And like it or not, Logan McCormack, I’m moving in with you. Me and all my girlie things and my scripts are going to be a part of your life. I’m going to take some time off and learn this whole ranching thing.”
He cocked a brow. “Is that right?”
“Yes. It’s high time I take a vacation, kick back and relax a little.”
“You do realize that ranching is not relaxing.”
“To me it is.”
“Well, I’ve been giving some thought to this whole vacation thing. I’ve never taken one, and the Caribbean sounds good. I’d like to see you in a bikini. Or out of one.”
She grinned. “I can arrange that.”
He leaned in, but she laid her hand on his chest. “One more thing.”
“Okay.”
“And occasionally, when I go on a location shoot, you’re going to have to learn to let go a little and take some time off, because you’re coming with me.”
He looked at her, then nodded. “Okay.”
She stared at him. “Just like that? Okay?”
“It’s the new me. I’m learning to bend a little.”
She threw her arms around him and kissed him, so filled with love and joy and the prospect of making a life with him that it overwhelmed her. And when he kissed her back, she felt the love in his kiss.
She pulled back and gazed into the eyes of the man she loved.
“Take me home, cowboy.”