Chapter 11

"What bug crawled up your ass?" Mike, the lead electrician on Hope's job, nudged Logan in the back with the blunt end of a screwdriver. "You're never this moody."

"Leave me alone, dickhead," Logan growled, snapping his fingers at two apprentices who were dillydallying over measurements. "Get a move on."

"Shit, you're in a foul mood, boss, and it ain't pretty." Mike jerked a thumb towards the open door. "Hopefully the foreman can get you to lighten the hell up."

Logan scowled and glared at the door where Rick stood, sporting a giant shit-eating grin like he knew exactly what had precipitated his mood. He strode to his mate and jabbed him in the shoulder so Rick had no choice but to back up.

Once they were outside, Logan slammed the door. "What the hell are you doing here? You're supposed to be resting."

Rick's grin broadened at his overt rudeness. "I came straight from a physiotherapy session, thought I'd check the job out."

"You're not supposed to be here so fuck off."

Rick mock winced and held up his hands. "What's up with you?"

"Nothing," Logan said through gritted teeth, mentally counting down the minutes until his head carpenter would arrive so he could get the hell out of here.

If arriving early to see Hope had been a bad idea, sticking around afterward had been worse.

When he'd heard her play that song on the piano…he'd been blown away. He'd never heard anything so beautiful and he felt as if she'd reached a hand into his chest, wrapped her fingers around his heart, and squeezed. He'd been so choked up that for a horrifying second he thought he might cry, and he'd been out of sorts ever since.

He didn't do deep and meaningful conversations, especially not with women who knew the score. But she'd been so damn vulnerable he couldn't help himself. He'd wanted to reassure her that he wasn't the kind of guy to break her heart, yet that's exactly what he would do.

He could see it playing out so clearly. Despite telling her he would move on shortly, he saw the gleam in her eyes: she wanted more. More than a guy like him could give any woman.

So he'd taken his foul mood out on his workmen, something he never did. For all he knew, Mike had probably called Rick and ordered him here to calm him down. He'd fire Mike's sneaky ass if the guy wasn't a shit-hot electrician.

"Is Hope the woman I spied through the front window of this place?" Rick smirked, annoyingly smug. Yeah, he knew exactly why Logan was edgy and out of sorts.

"Yep."

"Try using bigger words next time."

Logan flipped Rick the middle finger.

"She's pretty, in that English rose kind of way," Rick said, oblivious to the minefield he tread.

Logan was all talked out for today. "Leave it alone—"

"You like her." Rick studied him, appraising and shrewd, nothing like his usual jocular self. "I've never seen you like this on a job, so it has to be about her."

Logan knew he'd have to give his friend something or he wouldn't let up. Rick didn't tolerate bullshit, yet another thing they had in common. "We're hanging out. No biggie."

Rick guffawed and slugged him on the shoulder. "Never thought I'd see the day, the great wanderer falling for a woman."

"We're fucking, that's it," Logan said, instantly regretting the declaration, feeling disloyal to Hope for belittling the sensational physical connection they shared.

"Yeah, right." Rick shook his head. "You're such a schmuck. What's wrong with admitting you like her?"

"Because we're not in grade school, dickhead."

Besides, if he admitted it out loud to his mate, it made this strange, out of control feeling to spend time with her beyond the sex all the more real. And he was in enough of a funk since hearing her sing and would prefer not to exacerbate it.

She'd said all the right things about continuing their sexcapades yet keeping this casual and he should be rapt. Instead, he couldn't shake the feeling he'd taken on too much with this one.

"Heard from your dad lately?"

And just like that, Rick transformed a bad situation into a shitty one. Logan knew why his friend had changed the subject and what he was alluding to: that Logan had never had a serious relationship with a woman because of his past, tangled up in a big ball of resentment toward his dad.

So what if he never wanted to foster ties that always ended in disappointment? To have a woman wait around for him while he travelled, her discontent and frustration growing until their relationship inevitably imploded? Or worse, bring a kid into the situation, the kind of kid he'd once been, hero-worshipping his dad only to be consistently kicked in the fucking heart by the constant letdowns.

No, he didn't want any of that. Besides, he was happy. He had a kickass company, enough work to keep him busy for decades, and a bank account that ensured he didn't have to work if he didn't want to. Longterm relationships bred nothing but unhappiness and heartbreak. Not for him.

"No, I haven't see him," Logan said, his voice clipped. "I really need to get back to supervising the guys—"

"They've done a thousand of these jobs without you standing over them, I'm pretty sure they'll cope for another few minutes." Rick folded his arms, disapproval radiating off him. "Doesn't he live in Melbourne? Why don't you—"

"Rick, you're my best mate, but if you keep spouting this drivel I'm going to have to deck you."

Not that he would; Logan had never hit anyone in his life. But if talking about Hope wasn't high on his list of discussion topics, talking about dear old dad fell into a definite no-go zone.

"You need to see him some time," Rick said, with a shrug. "It might put the rest of your life and this warped view you have about relationships into perspective—"

"That's it, I'm done." His hands curled into fists as he pushed open the back door to Hope's property so he could escape into a world of hammering and sawdust and drilling. Familiarity with his work would ease the confusion courtesy of his friend's too-accurate assessment of why he didn't do relationships. "Go rest at home and I'll see you soon."

Logan didn't wait for his mate's response. He'd had enough.

If thinking about his earlier reaction to Hope had him reeling, mulling over Rick's unwarranted advice regarding his dad had the potential to send him into a tailspin.

Time to focus on work like he always did. And a few stolen hours here and there with Hope when he could. Keep things simple. Uncomplicated.

Just the way he liked it.