“What do you mean?” I asked, confused. “Why would your endorsement or getting drinks with me change things?”
“My father has made some poor business decisions with regard to women.” His mouth twisted into a parody of a smile that implied it’d been far worse. “He cost the business millions before my brother and I took over negotiations and acquisitions. Dad almost bankrupted us because of a pretty face, yet he still gets to make the final call. I think my brother assumed I was following in my father's footsteps when I pushed so hard for your company.”
“Were you?” I held my breath waiting for the answer.
Logan's eyes met mine, serious and honest. “Your company was sound. I would have wanted Dream Vacations even if you were a balding eighty-year-old man.” He paused and smiled. “I just wouldn't have bought you drinks.”
“So, your father turned down my proposal because he thought you were just trying to get laid? That I was some sort of gold-digger?” It definitely wasn’t the reason I was expecting.
“Yes. And all my attempts to convince him of the contrary just worried him further,” Logan explained. “Once he saw himself in my actions, he wouldn't let it go.”
“You fought for me?” I asked quietly, gratitude blooming in my stomach. He hadn't just left me to rot like I had thought. He had tried to convince his father to change his mind. His explanation rang true with what I knew of his father; I had heard enough of Gerald Hayes' rumors to completely believe Logan's story. It would even begin explain why Gerald had cut off our communication. He thought he was protecting his son from me.
“Too much, according to him.” Logan nodded and gave me a wry smile. “I have to admit, it's been great watching you succeed on your own and getting to rub his face in it.”
“Anytime.” I smiled and he kissed my forehead. He had defended me. The thought made me melt inside. “So why does your father want my company now? What changed?”
“Your success. The board of directors is pushing him to get you on board. Concierge travel is the future and he missed his opportunity to get in on the ground floor because he didn't believe in me.” Logan shrugged. “Now, he'll do anything to fix his mistake. Otherwise, the board of directors will destroy him. As the COO, I am required to help him.”
“Ah, I see.” I nodded. At least I knew now that Logan wasn't out to get me and why he kept sending me acquisition offers. I was now ready to hear the other half of the story. “So, then, why didn't you call me?”
A shadow passed over Logan’s features. “Dad made it very clear that he would make my life a living hell if I did. My personal phone line mysteriously went down, and he sent me on a business trip to Malaysia that next day. He made his threat clear. He kept me there for three months working crazy hours.”
I frowned. All of that sounded terrible, but he was a billionaire. There had still been ways to contact me. I tried to hide the disappointment that I had apparently meant less to him than he had to me.
“I tried to call you,” he said softly. “I called you from the hotel once, but I didn't know what to say so I hung up as soon as you answered. I thought maybe a quick, clean break before we got in too deep would be easier for you. That the feelings were all on my end and you would move onto someone else.”
I remembered that midnight call. I had woken up dreaming that it was Logan calling, only to hear silence on the other line. “I was in too deep the moment I agreed to drinks,” I confessed. “I don't think there was an easy way to let me down after that.”
He ran his fingers along my cheek. I closed my eyes and leaned into his touch. “I wanted you to be mine as soon as I saw you. Until I saw you at that wedding, I didn't think I stood a chance after what I did. I can't tell you how much I appreciated Maddy being drunk.”
I laughed. “I was so ready to kill her for that.”
“I'm sorry I hurt you.” He kissed the tip of my nose, and I opened my eyes to look at him. He was so damn handsome that it made my heart hurt. This had to be a dream. Not only was I with the man I couldn't forget, but we were working things out.
I shrugged slightly. “I'm working on forgiving you.”
He leaned forward and kissed me again. His lips were sweet and sent small thrills down my spine. It blew my mind how well the man could kiss. He pulled back and examined the results of his work. “How am I doing?”
“Good.” Words were hard to come up with after a kiss like that. “Really...good.”
He chuckled. “I'll get you there eventually.”
“What about your dad?” I asked. The thought hit me like a blow to the stomach. He had already nearly ruined me once and was on track to do so again. “I can't imagine he'd be thrilled about me in your bed, especially given how he lured my employees away from me.”
“Let me worry about my father. Right now, this isn't business. This is us.” He touched my cheek again, forming a connection between us once more. I never wanted him to stop touching me. “My father has an excellent mind for business, or at least he used to. However, when it comes to his children, he is stubborn and usually wrong.”
“I'm sorry,” I said softly, not knowing how else I could respond.
“He's still my dad, and I of course love him.” He shrugged and fell away from me onto his back. His eyes focused on the ceiling, seeing memories instead of wood. “I think when mom died, he just lost the part of him that knew how to feel. His heart died with her. He buried himself in his business. My brother and I... I think we remind him of her, so he just chooses to view us as employees rather than family. It's easier for him that way.”
His voice ached with a quiet, secret sorrow. To lose a mother, and then have your father retreat because of it would be terrible. I kissed his cheek, feeling a slight prickle against my lips. “That sounds terrible.”
“Mom died when I was ten. I remember my dad as a totally different person. He never would have pulled this crap with your company when Mom was around. She was, in a lot of ways, his conscience. When she left us, she took the best part of him with her.” He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I kept thinking that if I just showed him how good Aiden and I could be, he would be his old self again. But, after welcoming three gold-digging step-mothers, graduating top of my class, perfect business records, and doing everything he has ever asked of me, nothing has changed.”