Luck Be a Lady - Cathie Linz [29]
“That seems to be a personality trait of yours. Yet you took a risk and left the Venetian with me.”
“Yeah, and look how well that turned out.”
“What, you don’t like our plush accommodations?” He swept his hand around the room. “You don’t think they’re quite as grand as your room back at the Venetian?”
She looked around. The drapes had large hearts on them and the painting over the bed was of dogs playing poker. “Not even close.”
“You don’t like the way they’ve ‘rehabbed’ the place?”
“I had no idea orange shag carpet was coming back,” she said.
“This carpet looks like it never left.”
“At least there are no stains on it.”
“That you can see.”
“I prefer to be an optimist,” Megan said.
“How’s that working for you?”
“It’s gotten me this far, but I am starting to rethink that approach. It’s true that I’ve always been the optimist in the family, but ...”
“But?”
“I don’t know.” She shrugged. “I’m tired of always being the one to find the silver lining.”
“Hey, it’s a tough job ...”
“But someone has to do it. Yes, I know.”
“Finding the good in a bad situation is a special talent,” Logan said. “I wouldn’t knock it if I were you.”
“I’m guessing you’re not an optimist yourself.”
“You’ve got that right,” Logan said. “I come from a long line of pessimists. If you think your family is strange, you should see mine.”
“I haveseen yours. Your grandfather Buddy.”
“He’s only the tip of the Irish iceberg. And then there’s the Polish side. Between the two branches, I have enough cousins and other relatives to fill a couple tour buses. I’m not kidding.”
“What’s strange about coming from a large family? Growing up, I thought it would be nice to have a lot of relatives. Do you have a lot of brothers and sisters?”
“No sisters. All brothers.”
“How many?”
“Two brothers and two much younger half brothers still in middle school. My dad married three times and got divorced three times.”
“Wow.”
“He’s a cop. As you said, the profession is tough on a personal life.”
“What about you? How many times have you been married?”
“Just once,” he said.
Megan’s heart stopped. Had she been lusting after a married man? Had he been flirting with her? He didn’t wear a wedding ring, but that didn’t mean anything.
“I’ve only been divorced once too,” Logan said. “And before you ask, no, it wasn’t because of any abuse. I came home from work one night and found her in bed with another man.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Yeah, well, shit happens.”
“Yes, it does. But I wish it didn’t.”
“That’s what makes you an optimist.”
Her eyes met his and the visual connection was incredibly intense, making her quickly look away. Or maybe it was the fact that he looked incredibly hot sitting in the bed, shirtless.
What had they been talking about? Wishes. Right. The thought flashed in her mind that she wished she was in bed with him, nestled against that bare chest, running her fingers over the impressive definition of his muscles . . .
Okay, she needed to stop that train of thought before it turned into a train wreck. She had to stop drooling and say something sensible. They’d been talking about his siblings.
“I wish I’d had siblings,” she said, rather proud of how calm she sounded.
“Be careful what you wish for. My sibs are hell on wheels. But they’ve got my back.”
“My dad had my back. At least, I always thought so. Now I don’t know what to think. Why would he tell me my mother is dead when she wasn’t?”
Logan shrugged. “You’re asking the wrong guy. You need to ask him.”
“I will. As soon as I get my head together.”
“And we get out of here. If we ever get out of here.”
“What makes you say that?”
“They don’t seem real eager for us to leave, have you noticed that?” he said.
“They’re just lonely. They don’t get many visitors.”
“That’s an understatement.”
“But they seem like nice people. Pepper showed me some wonderful vintage clothes. She offered to give them to me, but I insisted on paying for them.”
“Of course you did.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I don’t trust them,” he said.
“They’re a bunch of senior citizens who