The Hometown Hoax (The Hoax Series) (8 page)

“So when you and Richard meet for dinner after work, do you usually meet him uptown for dinner? There’s this great little place I used to go on the Upper East Side called Frieda’s. It’d be close to his office building.”

Her gaze darted from the fire to his and around to the rest of their group. “Um, yeah. We eat up there a lot actually since it’s easier for me to come to him than for him to pick me up. I don’t think we’ve ever had Frieda’s though.” She giggled as if she was nervous.

“You should ask him. They have great lunch specials for cheap and service is fast. I bet he’s eaten there with his colleagues before. I’m curious if he likes it as much as I do.” Hearing the words he knew he wasn’t talking about liking a restaurant. It was Tessa he liked.

“I’ll do that,” she said quickly with a smile.

“I thought Richard worked on Wall Street,” Mary said, chiming into the conversation exactly how Logan hoped someone would.

“Me too. Wasn’t that why he couldn’t take the week off? That big important finance job?” Sally asked.

“Oh, did I say Wall Street?” She giggled again and this time it definitely sounded nervous. “I guess I wasn’t clear. I should’ve said he works on the Upper East Side but often has to travel down to Wall Street for meetings and whatnot.” She thought fast on her feet. Apparently she was no stranger to getting herself out of a tough spot with a little creative fiction.

When her gaze locked with his this time, he could tell she was hiding the truth—there was no boyfriend in the city. Maybe the rest of her family hadn’t figured it out yet, but he’d caught her in the lie.

He smirked when she shook her head so subtly he almost missed it. He nodded once, a silent communication—saying he knew her secret and he’d keep his mouth shut. For now.

Later he’d find out why she lied, but for now he’d let her secret linger. Honestly, he didn’t give a damn why she’d made up a boyfriend. All he cared about was what this meant for him and the rest of his vacation, in a cabin, alone with her.

Tessa was single.

Chapter Eight

T
essa didn’t know how Logan figured out she’d lied about Rich—or Richard or Dick, or whatever the hell she’d said his name was—but however he’d managed it, it didn’t matter anymore. He knew she’d lied. Now the question was, why had he kept her secret? And if he did agree to keep his mouth shut, would he expect something from her in return? What would make him stay on her side when he could so easily confide the truth in his friend Travis?

Tessa had no idea. Thankfully, her family didn’t seem any more aware of her fictional romantic life than they had earlier, and Logan seemed content to drop the subject. He’d been the one who’d brought up her fake boyfriend to begin with and now that he caught her in her lie, he’d moved on to other topics.

“I’m looking forward to working with the kids, but it’ll be different for me,” he said. “I’m used to working with adults who can make the choice for themselves about whether or not they want to live a healthy lifestyle. Now I’ll be encouraging kids to make good choices on their own while being able to show them how much stronger, faster, and more flexible they can be if they apply themselves in my class.”

“Sounds like you’ll be a positive influence in the school,” Mary said, smiling. It wasn’t her flirting smile, but the fact that she was paying so much attention to Logan suddenly annoyed Tessa.

Hands off, sis.
She shook her head.
Whoa. Where did that come from?
Shocked at her own thoughts, she focused on the fire again and tried to ignore their conversation.

“Thanks. I hope to start a program for the faculty while I’m there too. I know it’s only for six months, but I feel like I could leave a lasting impression if I can get them motivated to make some positive changes too.”

“What did you have in mind?” her mom asked.

“I thought I’d start with a walking program during lunch or even before school if there was interest. And since I know the students usually only get physical education once or twice a week, I thought it might be fun to start a daily break where everyone in the school pauses to do a short, easy guided exercise routine. Simple stuff, like stretching and jumping jacks and maybe even an easy yoga move or two. Everyone can do mountain pose, can’t they?”

“Tessa probably can’t,” Sally piped up from somewhere in the darkness.

“I
can
do the mountain pose.” Tessa jutted her chin out.

“Do it. I dare you,” Mary said.

“Fine. I will.” She stood with her shoulders back and her eyes focused on Logan and acted as if staring at him intensely didn’t make her knees weak. “What’s the mountain pose?”

They all laughed, except for Logan who stood on one leg with the other knee bent and at an angle while his foot rested against the knee of his straightened leg. As if that wasn’t enough, He raised his arms above his head and brought them down in front of his chest in a sort of prayer pose. And he did it all without a single wobble, flinch, or sway.

Sure. I can do that too. No problem.

As she attempted the same pose, she locked her eyes on his, refusing to be intimidated by his stability. She successfully balanced on one foot with only a mild wobble, sliding her opposite foot up her leg until her knee was bent and at an angle similar to his. Maybe it was a little lower, but whatever, close enough.

“I did it.” She continued to balance with her arms outstretched to the sides, while her toes gripped the insides of her shoes as if they alone could make her stay upright.

Logan came to stand in front of her. “Now you need to raise your arms above your head, like this.” He resumed the yoga position with ease and she tried to mirror his arm movements.

As soon as her arms were above her head, it was as if her ankle forgot how to do its job. The wiggle of instability started up her leg and before she could put her hands into the proper prayer pose, she fell toward the fire, her leg shooting out to the side in a feeble attempt at counter-balance. But it wasn’t her extended leg that saved her from the flames.

It was Logan’s strong arms wrapping around her torso and pulling her back to safety.

Her skin felt fifty degrees hotter as she found her footing, all the while with his hands on her back, squeezing her gently against his broad chest. His biceps were large and firm in her hands as she clung to him, not even having realized she’d grabbed him. Now that she’d noticed, she couldn’t focus on anything but his taut skin beneath her fingers.

“I’m fine. You can let go of me.” She made her voice as confident as she could, hoping none of her family would hear her nervousness and perceive it to be because of being in Logan’s arms. Because it wasn’t. Feeling his strong arms around her like she was getting a hug from a buff teddy bear who smelled like a mix of campfire and sex had absolutely no effect on her whatsoever. None.

“You’re welcome.” He smirked. “I think you should do yoga with me some time. You could use the practice, and learning some basic balance would be beneficial too.”

“What makes you a yoga expert?”

“I teach yoga.” His eyebrows scrunched together a little making a crease between them. “Actually, I used to teach yoga at my gym before I had to close the doors.”

The sadness in his voice created a pit in her stomach. She hadn’t expected that kind of response to his emotion, but it was as if her body knew he was hurting and instinctually wanted to comfort him. She wanted to pull him close, wrap herself around him, and let him pour his heart out to her. Instead, she took a step back and out of his arms. She wouldn’t get caught up in his world, not if his world was in Cutter’s Creek.

“Sorry to hear about your gym, but I don’t want or need yoga classes. Thanks, but I’m fine the way I am.”

He leveled her with his gaze. “I’ll remember that the next time you’re headed for the fire.”

She stared right back, unblinking. “Please do.”

Her mother brought out ingredients to make s’mores and Tessa eagerly grabbed a marshmallow, skewered it, and stuck it in the fire. As she sat back in her chair, she shivered. It had been warmer standing so close to the fire.

And in his arms.

Shut it.

“Well, I think your idea sounds fantastic. I hope the school goes for it,” Mary said.

“Thank you. I hope so too.” The smile he sent toward Mary sent a fire bolt of jealousy shooting through Tessa’s chest.

No. Not jealousy.

Mary needed a strong talking to if she planned to keep flirting so blatantly with Logan. He wasn’t right for her. He was a muscle head while Mary was a sensitive, caring girl who needed someone else equally as kind. Not someone who loved to push buttons and irritate the people around him, like Logan. No. Logan needed someone strong and feisty who could stand up for herself, someone who wasn’t afraid to speak her mind. Someone like Tessa.

No. Not like me.

Tessa pulled her marshmallow from the fire when it turned a golden brown, trapped it between the two graham crackers and chocolate she’d pre-assembled and squished it gently until the gooey white fluff threatened to spill out the sides. The sticky fluff was sweet on her tongue as she licked the edges.

Taking a bite, she sighed and let her eyelids flutter closed as she chewed. Crisp crackers mixed with melted milk chocolate and creamy marshmallow rolled around on her tongue, tantalizing her taste buds. Each bite made the flavor in her mouth stronger, richer, more satisfying. Was there anything better?

She missed being able to do this any night of the week now that she lived in a tiny apartment. Growing up, they’d often light a small fire in a fire pit in the back yard throughout the week and would sit out there to watch the sunset over the mountains, have drinks, and make s’mores. But that wasn’t something she could do in the city.

Licking her lips clean, she debated having another.

Her gaze fell to Logan. He held a s’more in his hand, but it was as if he’d forgotten it was there. Instead, he stared at her so intensely she could almost feel his gaze raking over her entire body. She pulled her lower lip between her teeth, gently scraping off a tiny bit of chocolate. As she did, Logan’s mouth fell open slightly.

Something about the way he looked at her made her pulse pound in her limbs, making them tingle with excitement.
Get a grip.
She would not let her body’s chemical response overrule what she knew in her brain she wanted. Clearly, she was tired from the long day and needed to put her overreacting body to bed before it made decisions she didn’t agree with.

Like licking her lips again to see if Logan noticed.

If his eyes widening and his tongue touching his lips was any indication, he did.

But that shouldn’t matter. She had a fake boyfriend, and Logan was a dangerous temptation that threatened to drag her back to town if she let her libido make decisions for her.

Stop it. Bed. Now.

“I’m beat,” she said standing. “I’m off to bed for the night. See you all in the morning.”

Gathering her sketchbook and pencils, she quickly made her way back to the cabin. Once safely inside, she flopped down on her bed and buried her head in her pillow. She wasn’t one to run and hide in her room, but with Logan around eyeing her constantly, she didn’t see any other place to be. Every time he looked at her like that, she felt something inside come to life, which was exactly the last thing she wanted to happen with a guy from town.

Eventually she did want to meet someone, fall in love, and live happily ever after. First, she wanted to focus on her art and establishing herself in her career. Then she would worry about finding someone and settling down. By then she’d be in the social circles in the city and that’s the kind of guy she wanted to meet. Not someone who’d left the city to move to Nowheresville.

Why couldn’t her body listen to reason and stop getting all tingly and gooey every time Logan so much as looked at her? God help her if he decided to touch her again. She’d barely been able to think straight the couple of times it had happened so far, but her reaction seemed to be getting progressively worse. At least she had her fake boyfriend to fall back on, since there was no way a stand up guy like Logan would cross that line. Her boyfriend might be fake, but he provided a real buffer between herself and Logan and all the temptation that went along with him.

“A few more days then Logan will be out of my space for good.”

“Sorry. I didn’t realize I’d been in your space. Thought I did a pretty good job of staying on my side of the room actually.”

She groaned into her pillow, wishing it could swallow her whole so she wouldn’t have to turn and face the man in question. Why couldn’t he stay at the fire tonight like the rest of her family? Why did he have to keep following her back to the cabin? She wanted to have a little time for herself where she didn’t have to pretend to be anything: in a relationship, successfully pursuing her art, blissfully happy and fulfilled.

Reluctantly, she sat up. “I didn’t realize you’d followed me.” She didn’t apologize for her words since there was nothing wrong with what she’d said. Not to mention that the bigger bitch she was, the less likely he was to stick around.

“I didn’t follow you. This is my cabin too, remember?” He sat on his bed and slipped his shoes off then leaned back against the wall looking casual, but not at all like he had a purpose for coming back to the cabin so early.

“Yes, and I can see why you were in a hurry to come back here and relax. There’s no way you could unwind around a soothing campfire.” Why was he here exactly?

“True, but I could say the same about you.”

“I came back because I’m tired and I planned on going to bed,” she said.

“I thought maybe you’d come back here to chat with your boyfriend since I haven’t seen you call him once since arriving.”

She swallowed. There was that look in his eyes again, the one saying he might not believe her boyfriend story as easily as the others did.

“I planned to call him, but I guess privacy was too much to hope for, wasn’t it?” Maybe he’d leave her alone to make her supposed call and she’d conveniently be in bed with the lights off and “sleeping” by the time he got back.

“Don’t let me stop you. I’ll go wash up.” He said the words, yet made no motion to actually move.

Sighing, she picked up her phone. “I’ll text him instead. I wouldn’t want to disturb your beauty rest.”

She quickly typed out a message to Mary asking if she wanted to join her for a hike to lookout point tomorrow. It would be fun to spend time hanging out with Mary, and as an added bonus, it would get her away from Logan for a few hours. She hit send.

Clicking on her email while she got a good signal, she held her breath when she saw the name of a gallery pop up. Her pulse raced as she opened the message, then slowed when she saw the one paragraph rejection. It was the same as the others—too similar to other artists, not unique, missing that something special. She still had one more gallery to hear from, and surely they would give her a chance.

Sighing, she tossed her phone upside down on the bed as if she wasn’t hiding something, then got up to go brush her teeth. “Sometimes it takes Richard a few minutes to return my texts if he’s busy working. I’ll wash up now so you can go in there.” She looked at him pointedly as she moved across the room.

With the water running in the sink, she brushed her teeth and tried not to read too much into Logan coming back to the cabin early. Surely he hadn’t come back to annoy her. It was entirely possible he was finding it awkward to spend so much time with her family when he barely knew them. Or he might be genuinely tired since he was used to the city life and not so much fresh mountain air. By the time she’d finished with her teeth, she was completely convinced she was overreacting to him being in the cabin. It was simply a product of their rocky relationship.

Not that they had a relationship.

She pulled open the bathroom door only to find Logan leaning against the doorframe, a smirk gracing his face. If she hadn’t been paying attention, she would have walked right into him. As it was, she barely stopped before making contact with his chest.