Mad Enough to Marry - By Christie Ridgway Page 0,32

Elena. I want to know you again. Know you."

Elena shook her head. *'We can't be friends. You know how ridiculous that is."

If not friendship—^because she was right about that—^what did he want from her? Peace, he thought, and simpUcity. Not that he'd ever have either with Elena buzzing about, bringing up old memc«ies and past regrets. Not with her beautiful face and stubborn heart as a constant source of howling frustration.

*lt's just as ridiculous to think we're going to keep avoiding whatever we akeady are," he said slowly. **And what we never became. I think we should play out what's between us this time. Finish it, once and for all."

*Tinish it once and for all," she murmured, as if trying out the idea.

He saw the surrender on her face and his heart kicked into high gear. This made so much sense.

Then she bit her bottom lip. **Let me.. .let me think about it."

God, could she never do anything the easy way? The wolf howled again and he clung to control by his fingernails. **Fine." He was on his way out of her apartment before he did something stupid like punch a hole in a wall...or beg. **Let me know when you've decided."

Chapter Seven

Jjy late afternoon the following day, though Logan's body was exhausted he continued working, hoping to tire out his brain as well. He'd made progress on stripping the paint from the wainscoting in the dining room. Now he was positioned at the far end of the first-floor hall, replacing water-damaged floorboards.

He measured the length he needed to cut, then measured again as a double check, scribbling the number on a scrap of wood. Normally he could keep something so simple in his head until he reached the well-lit location where he'd set up his chop saw, but he was too preoccupied today, thinking of Elena.

She'd gone ghost on him again. Even though he'd risen with the sun, she'd already left the Victorian by the time he'd made his bleary-eyed way out of his

own apartment Though he'd caught Gabby before she'd left fw: school, she hadn't been much help in Elena mood-analysis.

There had been a mischievous spark in her eyes, however, when she'd shared her sister's schedule for the day. Elena would be back around 6:00 p.m.

Logan planned on being showered and irresistible by then. He'd greet her with a smile and insist on taking her out to dinner. They had important matters to discuss.

The latest whine of blade cutting oak was just diminishing when he heard a knock on the front door. He'd left it propped open to diss^)ate some of the fumes from the paint-stripper he'd been using, so he just yelled, **Come in," and then headed in the direction of the foyer.

Jonathon Chase stepped over the threshold, looking as freshly pressed and as tightly necktied as...as Logan had looked for too many years. Conscious of the coating of sawdust on his forearms and hands, he grinned to himself as he reached for his father's outstretched palm and shook it.

Handshake over, Jonathon looked down at his gritty fing^x, perplexed.

'*Sorry, Dad." Logan bit back another smile and reached for his handkerchief. It came out of the back pocket of his jeans in a flurry of more sawdust '*Oops."

*'Never mind." His father had already found his own and was wiping his hand clean. "How are you, son?"

'*Busy." Avoiding looking at the sheaf of papers under his father's arm—^Jonathon was continually trying to draw him back into the family business with new proposals or projections—^Logan shoved his handkerchief away. "Would you like to see my progress?"

The question seemed to throw the older man off his stride. "Well, uh, sure."

Logan took him on a brief tour of the downstairs rooms. "I'm hopscotching around, trying to determine exactly what needs to be done and how long it will take to do it."

"It looks like a hell of a mess to me," his father said, staring at the half-peeled wallpaper in the parlor.

Logan shrugged. "Yeah. More mess to come if I'm going to turn this floor and the third into more apartments. But now I'm thinking of scrapping that idea."

Jonathon pressed his lips together and nodded with satisfaction. "You want your desk back at Chase Electronics."

Logan half-smiled. "No, Dad. I'm thinking of turning this house into my company headquarters. Business offices on the first floor, living quarters on the second and third stories."

"You need business space?"

Logan nodded, holding on to his pleasant expression. "I've got an architect coming on board with me in