Always having assumed that her boss was as cold-hearted as he was rumoured to be, she was moved to discover once again that, at least where his brother was concerned, he was anything but. ‘I’ll keep that in mind,’ she said, her tone softening as she added, ‘That was really nice of you...to stay with your brother, considering how you must have been feeling at the time.’
‘It wasn’t nice.’ As if rejecting her sympathy, his voice turned hard. ‘It was necessary. My parents were unavailable to give him the care that he required. Someone had to step up and I was glad to do it.’
‘I understand completely.’
And she did. She’d stepped up many times since Peta had become pregnant and she wouldn’t change a thing either.
Something passed between them as he looked at her. Some level of understanding that went deeper than anything they’d ever shared before.
‘Do you think you should take a seat for landing?’ she offered, unsure how to deal with the unexpected connection between them, as well as being aware that they were perilously close to landing.
Logan glanced out of the window and surprised her by resuming his seat again. When the plane lightly touched down on the tarmac Cassidy felt a whole new bundle of nerves jump around inside her stomach.
In a short time she would be meeting Logan’s family and she’d never felt her small-town roots as keenly as she did right now.
‘So when I greet your brother I curtsy and call him Your Majesty—is that right?’
‘Yes.’ He stood up and straightened his shirt cuffs. ‘Though you needn’t worry about mucking up your greeting. I think my brother has bigger issues to face.’
‘I know. But I don’t want to get it wrong.’ The last thing she wanted to do was draw attention to herself. ‘And I curtsy to your mother as well.’
‘Yes. And since she was Queen she is still referred to as Your Majesty.’
‘Okay,’ Cassidy said, a look of concentration on her face.
Logan gave her a faint smile. ‘It’s not like you to be nervous. You weren’t when you met me.’
‘Of course I was nervous.’ She shot him a quick look. ‘It was a job interview and I really wanted the job.’
‘You hid it well.’
‘Another of my superpowers.’
He gave her a bemused smile. ‘How many do you have?’
‘Not many. I think that’s the last one.’
He shook his head as if there was something about her he couldn’t fathom, and placed his hand in the small of her back to indicate that she should precede him toward the doorway.
Flustered as much by the small gesture as the warmth of his hand, she barely registered when two imposing men in sharp black suits stepped into the plane. For a moment she thought they were being hijacked and then they nodded at Logan.
‘Your Highness.’ They greeted him in unison and Cassidy’s eyes widened. Should she be calling him that now? ‘The car is here.’
‘Thank you.’ Logan gestured for her to precede him and as
soon as the bright sunlight blinded her she came to a dead stop. She hadn’t realised he had followed so closely behind her until she felt his breath fan the nape of her neck when he spoke.
‘What is it?’
‘Just...the sun.’
Feeling gauche again, she sucked in a deep breath, her eyes following the cavalcade of black SUVs lined up on the tarmac like hyphens on a page. Aware that she hadn’t moved and that Logan was waiting, she collected herself and descended the stairs as if she did this sort of thing every day of the week and twice on Sundays.
Cool, Cassidy, she reminded herself. Remember to be cool and to not look like Dorothy straight out of Kansas at everything you see.
Highly attuned to her boss’s every movement as the cars headed off in formation, Cassidy saw Logan’s jaw harden as he read an email on his phone.
‘More problems?’ she asked quietly.