While she tried to get her heart to stop racing at the prospect of luring Logan back to her room, she let her eyes scan the other montage. Big mistake. The Kady collection included photos of the lovely bride-to-be, in college, surrounded by her equally lovely sorority sisters. There was one of Kady and the girls on the beach in Mexico, looking like Sports Illustrated swimsuit models. A younger but no less authoritative Tyler stood behind them, warning every male in the vicinity off with a proprietary gaze that, interestingly, seemed particularly focused on Christine.
She homed in on a photo of Kady, in bikini and chaps, standing in front of a mechanical bull. Christine stood beside her, laughing as she placed a silly, sparkly crown on Kady’s head. Julie, in denim shorts and cowboy boots, beamed down from astride the bull. Regan held court on Kady’s opposite side, aiming a sly, sideways smile at a group of frat guys while she pretended to smack the bull on the butt.
Not an awkward phase to be found. These fun-loving, extroverted girls attracted men simply by breathing, and seeing them reminded her that even if she
were tipsy enough to try to seduce Logan, she’d have to get in line since Julie and Regan had basically rock-paper-scissored last night to decide which one of them went after the best man. Her eyes drifted back to her picture, and then to Logan’s, and her heart sank. Who was she kidding? She didn’t stand a chance.
Her sinking heart reversed course and nearly leaped out of her throat when Reed and Brock materialized out of nowhere and flanked her. Holy smokes, had they noticed her drooling at Logan’s picture? Please no. She’d never hear the end of it if they suspected she had the hots for the best man.
…
Logan leaned against the wall in the alcove leading to the restrooms and listened with half an ear while his CFO, Peter Pinderski, droned on about the target’s new list of concerns. Sophie claimed the better part of his attention by wandering over to the corner of the lounge where someone had set up the obligatory “The Story of Colt & Kady” photo boards. He watched her peruse the snapshots and found himself smiling.
“The target wants to review all these issues with you personally before they’ll proceed. The board wants the acquisition agreement signed before quarter-end. We’re between a rock and a hard place. I hate to say this, Logan, but we need you back here ASAP.”
His smile disappeared. “ASAP is after the wedding.” He stated it firmly, because he’d made commitments to Colt when he’d agreed to be best man, and he intended to honor them. While he watched, the most interesting of those commitments jumped like a kid caught with her hand in the cookie jar when Brock and Reed sidled up to her. Though he’d only just met the guys, he wasn’t worried about their intentions. The two groomsmen knew Sophie from way back—back to the summers Colt and Sophie spent in Tennessee with their dad. They no doubt shared his view of her as Colt’s shy, adorable, strictly off-limits little sister. Then again, he was having a real problem remembering the “strictly off-limits” part. Who’s to say the other guys weren’t having the same difficulty?
Peter’s voice cut into that disconcerting thought. “After the wedding might be too late. I’m telling you, the target is having second thoughts, and this deal has hit the skids. We need you here to grease them, like, now, because they don’t want assurances from me, or the accountants, or the lawyers. They want them from you. They’re not feeling your commitment.”
Brock moved into Sophie’s personal space, directed a shit-eating, Southern-boy grin at her, and…tapped her on the nose. What the hell was that? Sophie blinked up at him like a baby fox unaware she was playing with a wolf. Logan took a step forward and prepared to intercede if Brock made another move on her.
“They’re not going to get anything from me until next week. Look, I’m on vacation. I haven’t had one in two fucking years and I’m taking five lousy days for my best friend’s wedding, so anyone questioning my commitment to the deal is out of line. But there’s stuff happening here that requires my attention. We have a whole team assembled back there to manage every facet of the transaction. If we can’t ink this thing without me doing a command performance every time the target needs a hug, then our deal team is a waste of time and money, and we’re not ready to execute.”
“The deal team is solid. I’ve already rallied them, reviewed the issue list, and we’re working to resolve as many as we can while you’re out-of-pocket. The problem is all the apparent and actual authority at Defy Gravity resides with you. To investors, analysts, and everybody else, you are Defy Gravity…founder, president, and CEO. You’re the man, and people want to deal with the man. I wholeheartedly agree you need to be able to get away every now and again to recharge. But if you want a life, you’re going to have to officially delegate some of your control. Appoint someone else as CEO. Hire a VP of strategy to spearhead acquisitions. Find a spokesperson to represent the brand.”
Logan pressed his thumb to the bridge of his nose to try to block the pressure building behind his eyes, and silently admitted Peter was right. He’d constructed this prison for himself, and he held the keys—which made him his own worst enemy. But the thought of relinquishing control over something he’d built from the ground up, something his friends and family had sunk their savings into, not to mention an entity that now employed hundreds of people, seemed tantamount to admitting he couldn’t handle the demands. It made him feel like a slacker, or worse, a failure. “I know,” he said quietly. “I’m still thinking about it.”
“Think faster. In the meantime, we’ll continue moving things forward as best we can. Hopefully by the time you’re back, we’ll have whittled the target’s concerns down to a handful, and you can put those to rest in time to get the deal signed before the quarter closes.”
“Great. That sounds great. Thanks.” Some of the stress rolled off his shoulders, though he couldn’t say whether it dissipated because Peter had, for the moment, stopped yanking on the Defy Gravity choke chain he’d been wearing for far too long, or because Sophie had turned away from Brock, and his c’mon-you-know-you-want-to grin, to focus on Reed. Had to be the former, he realized, because she said something to Reed, smiled up at him while batting her long eyelashes, and all the tension came rolling back.
He took another step toward them. “I have to go.”
“Wait! What about the board? Are you going to call the chairman back? If he calls me, what do you want me to tell him?”
Jesus. He closed his eyes, counted to ten, and reminded himself he’d wanted all this, once upon a time. “Tell him…” He glanced back to the corner of the lounge just in time to see Sophie zigzag out the nearest exit. “Shit. I’ve got to go.” He hit disconnect and headed after her, pausing long enough to swipe a bottle of champagne from the host bar on his way out.
Chapter Three
Sophie had a head start, but Logan didn’t have any problem catching her. Partially because her shorter strides couldn’t eat up as much ground as his, but mostly because she meandered the paved path connecting the restaurant and the resort like a butterfly in a breeze. A tipsy butterfly in a stiff breeze. He felt a smile tug his lips. Sophie was a lightweight.
“Hey, wait up.”
She spun around, and weaved a little as the move challenged her balance. He hurried over and put a steadying arm around her waist. The full moon and lamps along the path illuminated her deer-in-headlights expression. “I thought we were partners in crime, Soph. I can’t believe you ditched me.”
Those big doe eyes looked up at him, but instead of contrition, he detected a hint of suspicion in their depths. She straightened to her full height and raised her chin with all the cautious dignity of the mildly inebriated.
“I didn’t ditch you, I liberated you. I appreciate you talking me into coming, and hanging out with me, but I’m sure there are people you’d like to spend time with besides your best friend’s little sister.”
He made a show of looking around the otherwise empty path. “Nope.”
“Come on, Logan.” She slipped out of his hold and faced him down. “The party’s in full swing back at the restaurant. Why are you out here with me?”
“Hey, I’m not the kind of guy who lets his date stumble back to her hotel alone in the dark. I’m funny that way.”
She stared at the bottle of champagne in his hand, and then back at him. Her eyes narrowed. “Did my brother bribe you to babysit me?”
Now would be the time to admit Colt had asked him to keep an eye on her, but, clearly, she’d be pissed if he confirmed her suspicions, and Colt wouldn’t appreciate landing on his sister’s shit list days before his wedding. A good best man knew when to finesse a situation. He didn’t have to lie, exactly, just offer her a different truth than the one she’d asked for.