Big Girl Panties (23 page)

Chapter Twenty-One

I
t was the Kings' extravagant end-of-season party, being thrown at an exclusive uptown hot spot. Invitations were even more sought after than usual after the team's World Series win. Logan and Holly were already at the aptly named Bases Loaded when Amanda and her MVP husband arrived. The club was crawling with people, some Holly had met before, but most of them new faces. As Chase and Logan mingled dutifully with fans and clients, Amanda settled close by Holly's side and pointed out the famous and the infamous.

Holly and Amanda stationed themselves at a bar along the back wall. The perfect spot, Amanda called it; they could see everyone and they were close to the drinks. Holly spied Logan across the room, head cocked in conversation, eyes narrowed in concentration. She didn't think she would ever tire of watching him from afar.

“Hi, Holly.” She heard the voice in her left ear and turned.

“Hi, Troy.” She smiled at Troy Miller before saying, “Congratulations on a great season.”

“Thanks.” He smiled shyly back. “It's my first championship. It feels pretty good. I saw you at game three.”

“You did?” Holly asked, surprised. She had met him several times but never thought it was memorable to either of them.

“Yeah,” Troy said quietly, toying nervously with the straw in his glass. “I was going to talk to you afterward, but you got out of there pretty fast.”

It was true; she had left right after that game. Logan had a six o'clock the next morning and they had made a hasty departure.

“Sorry I missed you,” she told him, thinking it was the right thing to say.

“I was hoping you would be here tonight. Are you having a good time?” Troy asked politely, taking a sip of his drink.

“I am,” Holly replied. “I mean we just got here a few minutes ago, but so far so good.”

“Just wait. A few hours from now things should start to get interesting.” He laughed.

“Are you trying to warn me about something?” She joined him with a giggle. “Should I be looking for you under a lampshade?”

“Not me,” he rushed to tell her. “Club soda here. Been a twelve-stepper for the last four years. These are the kinds of nights I can't wait to be over.”

You and me both,
Holly thought.

“Still, it will be nice to have a little time off,” Troy said. “I'm a Southern boy and by October, I'm usually longing for home, even if it is only for a few months.”

“Not to mention you get to escape the cold winters here,” Holly added. “I thought I recognized your twang.”

“Is it that bad?” He chuckled.

“Not at all,” she told him honestly. “Hadn't you heard? Most girls find Southern accents irresistible.”

“I'll try to remember that.” He smiled.

“The whole being-a-baseball-player thing probably isn't hurting you either,” Holly teased.

Troy hesitated a moment, gathering his nerve. He took another sip of his drink, then asked, “I was wondering, though, if before I left, maybe you would like to join me for dinner one night.”

Holly blinked, taking a quick look around. Was he talking to her? She looked back and figured that he was by the way his gaze remained on her; he was obviously waiting for her answer.

“I'm sorry, Troy. I guess you didn't know. I'm seeing Logan,” she told him gently.

His look of surprise was palpable. “Logan Montgomery?”

Holly didn't know whether to feel flattered or offended. “I guess you hadn't heard.”

Troy tried to recover from his error but still looked shocked by her statement. “No. I hadn't.”

Holly couldn't help feeling defensive. “It's sort of new.”

“I understand,” he told her quickly, embarrassed. “I really should've known. I'm sorry if I offended you with my invitation. But listen, if it doesn't work out, my offer stands. I'm here till the end of the month. You can get my number from Amanda.”

“Thanks,” Holly said stiffly. Obviously Troy wasn't seeing Holly's relationship with Logan as long-term. It wasn't the first time she'd had to deal with that attitude and she realized she would probably never get used to it. “I'll keep that in mind.”

Troy promptly excused himself and walked away, leaving Holly to stare after him.

While the exchange between Holly and Troy was taking place, Amanda was craning her neck in their direction to nonchalantly get a better listen. She congratulated herself on her ability to bring people together. It was apparent that if things hadn't turned out with Logan and Holly, Troy would have been the correct choice. She was scanning the room when in her peripheral vision she caught sight of potential trouble. A group of three women were clustered together, a trio of Versace wearers on the prowl. At the center was Natalie Kimball, Logan's last serious girlfriend. They'd lasted four months at the most. As soon as Natalie caught sight of her, she broke away from her friends and floated up beside Amanda in all her supermodel glory, flaxen mane flowing, lips perfectly glossed, fingernails as long as her arms. She ordered a drink.

“Hi, Amanda. Another year, another party.”

“Nice to see you again, Natalie.” Amanda tensed. If Natalie was going out of her way to say hello, Amanda was pretty sure what would follow. “I heard you were in California awhile.”

“I was. I don't stay long. I get in and get out. It's too weird out there,” Natalie replied, then got right to the point. “I thought I saw Logan when I got here.”

Amanda had a choice to make. Natalie was not your average bimbo. She hadn't been happy when Logan called her bluff and ended the relationship. Too proud to try reconciliation on her own, she'd called Amanda for days on end in the hopes of getting Amanda to plead her case, something that Amanda politely but steadfastly refused to do. The calls finally ceased and Amanda made a mental note to never again give her cell phone number to any of Logan's women. And for a while, Natalie remained persistently in the background, readily available, as she waited for Logan to come to his senses. And then he fell for Holly, the kind of woman who could make someone like Natalie go ballistic.

Amanda glanced over to Holly, taking note of her exchange with Troy. She wondered whether she should even introduce Holly and Natalie. The better plan would be to get Natalie's questions answered so that Natalie would move on. If Logan was unfortunate enough to encounter her, he could deal with her himself.

“He's here somewhere,” Amanda replied casually.

Natalie didn't waste any more time on formalities. “Rumor has it he settled on one of his protégées. She with him?”

“I don't know that I'd call her a protégée,” Amanda said, keeping her voice as low as possible.

“What magazine did he first see her in?” Natalie snickered, scanning random faces around the club.

“You make it sound like he picked her out of a catalog,” Amanda snapped, a feeling of dread taking root. “He does have a life, you know. Why don't you just get over him, Natalie? Move on.”

Hearing the distinct edge in Amanda's tone, Holly turned her attention to her. She instantly recognized the woman standing next to Amanda. It was the woman in the pictures with Logan in Fiji, she was certain.

“Amanda, relax,” Natalie said, giggling. “Why so uptight? I realize Logan's your favorite big-brother charity case; I was just making conversation. She must be really something if you're making this much of a fuss. I bet part of you isn't ready to see him settled down either.”

Holly felt as if she'd just been handed her cue. Refusing to be spoken about like a figment of someone's imagination and almost itching for the altercation that would follow, she piped up. “He settled on me,” she said. “Hi, I'm Holly.”

Natalie's mouth dropped open, unbelieving, even though she had heard the rumors. Nobody had ever been outright rude in describing Logan's new girl, but the word “hot” was never used either. Natalie didn't know how to compete with a woman like this, a chubby, average kewpie doll. And this was what the woman looked like after seven months of his tutelage. Natalie could only imagine what Holly must have looked like when Logan first got hold of her. There was no way it could have been love at first sight, nor could it be a passing fancy. There was also no way for Natalie to compete. What was she supposed to do? Gain sixty pounds, abandon her makeup bag, and stop wearing heels? It took her a nanosecond to size up the situation. If this brood mare was Logan's choice, he had to be one step from going down the aisle. She no longer had anything to lose, did she? With a dazzling smile and a calculated risk, Natalie smoothly extended her claws.

“So it's true then. Hi. Or shall I say, ‘quack'?”

Amanda paled and her eyes grew wide, confirming to Natalie that the risk had paid off. Logan had used his “beautiful swan” line on her, too. Holly turned toward Amanda to share a look that said, “I just blew this bitch's mind,” and saw that Amanda was shooting daggers with her gaze at Natalie. Holly felt the hair on the back of her neck rise. The look on Amanda's face indicated there was surely a hidden meaning to the word that only she and Natalie knew about. Holly was the butt of some inside joke. She just knew it. Holly grabbed Amanda's arm before turning briefly back to Natalie.

“Pardon us. I have to go blow my beak.”

Holly weaved Amanda through the crowd to the ladies' room and rounded on her before the door closed. “Why did that woman just quack at me?”

“How should I know? She's crazy.” Amanda was never good at pretending under pressure, especially without Chase as her wingman.

“I'm the one who's crazy if I believe that. I saw your face. Tell me.” Holly could feel her insides beginning to twist into knots.

Amanda's teeth bit into her lower lip. It was painfully obvious that Holly knew nothing of Logan's favorite comparison. Logan had really dug a hole with this—it was so unlike him to let such a disparaging remark get out. “It's not a big deal. Really it isn't. When you first started training with Logan, he just gave you a nickname, that's all.”

“A nickname? About a duck? Tell me. Now.” If it wasn't so bad, why was Amanda making such a fuss to conceal it? Holly was sick to her stomach. Unless the next word out of Amanda's mouth was “Daffy,” her heart was about to break. Amanda could only shake her head, her lips tightly drawn together, and then she became unreasonably fixated on the hand dryer. It hit Holly like a painful brick wall falling down upon her. Holly whispered it herself. “It's ‘ugly,' isn't it?” She swallowed hard, her throat feeling as if it had been filled with concrete. “He called me an ugly duckling.”

As soon as Amanda heard it, she hastened to soften the blow, panic-stricken. “He says it about all the women he trains. He tries to motivate them by getting them to imagine themselves as the swan, you know, the ‘after' picture. He even said it to me when I started training with him. But look at you now, Holly. You really
are
a beautiful swan.”

Calling Amanda an ugly duckling was like referring to that diamond from
Titanic
as costume jewelry. Besides, if what Amanda was saying was true, Holly would have heard Logan use the term during their workouts, even once. She wouldn't be hearing it for the first time at a party full of his friends. But clearly, that's what she really was to him. She would never be beautiful enough to be his equal. She would always be the duck. It certainly explained why he'd begged off from her side as soon as they arrived, to leave her to be ridiculed by his prior conquests.

Holly smiled a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. “Oh yes. You're right. That really is nothing. Knew about it all along. That nasty bitch just threw me. We better get back out there before the boys think we've left.”

Every face Holly saw after that seemed mocking. The eyes of every person Logan introduced her to held insinuation. Natalie kept her distance from them and left early, but not before spending quality time staring at her smugly from across the bar. She watched the whole night unfold as if she was looking through the lens of camera. She was present but detached, pleasant but monotone. What she didn't realize was that while she was indeed being stared at, it had very little to do with her. It had everything to do with the fact that Logan Montgomery, the most aloof, standoffish opponent of public displays of affection, was spending more than half the night with his hand securely holding hers.

She told him on the way home she had a headache, hinting that she needed to take some Tylenol and lie down. Logan admitted that she seemed off but didn't push it, although he conveyed his disappointment that he wouldn't be spending the night. He dropped her off at the house. As soon as she got through the front door, she went to the phone and dialed.

“Hello?” Tina answered sleepily.

“You were right.” As soon as Holly heard her voice, the tears started to fall.

“Holly? Right about what? Are you okay?” Tina asked, instantly recognizing the emotion in Holly's voice and waking up immediately.

“About Logan, about everything,” Holly choked out.

“That rotten snake. He dumped you?”

“Worse.” Holly sniffled loudly, hating the fact that she was crying at all. “He made a fool of me, a complete and utter fool of me.”

“Holly, calm down. You're not making any sense. You told me things were going fine with you two. What did he do?”

Holly took a deep breath, grabbing a tissue out of a box on the counter and wiping her nose with it. “He's been calling me his ugly duckling. I found out about it from some bitch he used to date. At a party we went to tonight. Can you imagine? If she knew about it, everyone must know.”

“What is this, some kind of joke?” Tina was virtually speechless. “Are you sure?”

Holly felt fresh tears starting to build and she impatiently dashed at them with a new tissue. Tina's quiet astonishment only served to drive home just how despicable it sounded. “I wish it was a joke. Even Amanda couldn't deny it.”