The Real Thing (6 page)

“It obviously worked out for you.” He helped
himself to more tuna casserole.
“You’re famous, right?”

“I just didn’t realize what that fame was going to cost me.” She said it almost to
herself
. As if suddenly comprehending she hadn’t, she gave him an embarrassed smile, color tinting her cheeks. “I can’t believe I told you all that stuff.
I didn’t mean to unload on you like that.
”

He returned her smile with a grin. “What can I say? I’m a good listener.”

She laughed. “Yes, you are. But now it’s my turn. Tell me about yourself. W
hy do you come up here to paint when you have a place in Seatt
le?”

He
’d rather hear more about her—and what fame had cost her—but he didn’t think she’d tell him if he asked.
“I come
down
here to think more than anything else, I guess
.
This place
is kind of a retreat for me
when I want to get away from the craziness of it all
.”

Her lips curved. “
I hear that.
There’s this diner in LA called Joe
’s Place that I go to
when I need some time to myself
.
”

Logan couldn’t picture her in a greasy spoon.
“A diner doesn’t
seem
like
the
kind of
place you go
to be alone.”

“Okay, well maybe not alone then. B
ut
I feel comfortable there.
Joe and his wife Emily gave me a job waiting tables when I first got to LA. They knew me before I made it big, and don’t
treat me differently now that
I’m famous
. It’s the one place in LA
where
I can be
a regular person
. N
o one bothers me or hounds me for autographs.
” She grinned. “Plus,
it’s the only
restaurant
I know of that serves pumpk
in pie all year round. It’s my
favorite
and Emily’s tastes just like my mom’s.
”

“Why don’t you get your personal chef to make it for you?”

Raine
rolled her eyes. “The first time I asked, he said something in French and made
me his version of it, which was more like a puff
pastry
filled with apples and pumpkin.
It tasted k
ind of like those fruit pies you get at a fast food restaurant. Don’t tell him I said that, though.” She laughed. “And we’re talking about me again, aren’
t
we?”

Logan laughed
. “Fine by me.”

She waved her fork. “No, no. I want to hear about
you and this sister of your
s
who
talks too much. I want to know why you switched from
painting in oils to watercol
or,
too.”

So, instead of locking himself in his studio with his paintbrush, he spent the rest of the night telling Raine about his life in Seattle. Though she smiled when he
mentioned his parents, there was sadness in her eyes, too. Was
losing
her family one of the things being famous had cost her? He wanted to ask, but she was al
ready talking about his artwork
again.

He was usually the type of guy who kept things to himself, but at her prodding, he found himself telling her about what a debacle his most recent gallery show had been.

“Well, I haven’t seen your oil paintings, but I think your watercolors are beautiful,”
she said.

Maybe she was just blowing sunshine up his
ass
, but
his ego didn’t give
a crap
. She was good for it, and right then, that’s all he cared about. That wasn’t the only reason he opted to hang out with her instead of paint, though. As shocking as it sounded, he a
ctually enjoyed talking to her. When she wasn’t being a diva, she was fun to be with. Not only did she laugh at his jokes—which could be lame at time
s
, he had to admit—
but
she knew how to laugh at herself, too. He liked that in a woman.

It didn’t hurt that she was
absolutely beautiful. He’d gotten so lost in t
hose big, blue eyes of hers he almost forgot
what he’d been going to say a few times. And when she talked, all he could focus on were her pillow soft lips and fantasize
about kissing her. Which made him think about running his hands all of that gorgeous body. And yeah, that made sleeping a couple feet away from her pure torture.

Logan
was up before her again the next morning.
Only this time, he was in the kitchen making coffee. Without a shirt. And damn, wasn’t that a nice sight to wake up to?
Raine could have lay there gazing at him all day. She probably would have if he hadn’t turned around and caught her staring.
She tried to look away,
but his chisele
d
chest and six-pack abs were mesmerizing.

“I didn’t mean to wake you,” he said.

She pushed her hair back from her face. “You didn’t.”

“Coffee should be done in a minute.”

“Great.
”

Stifling a moan, Raine dragged her gaze away from all that glorious muscle and went into the bathroom. When she came back out, Logan had put on a shirt.
Bummer.
After a quick breakfast, he
went into his studio
, leaving her to ponder last night’s conversation.

She couldn’t believe she’d told him all that stuff about
herself.
It was like talking to
a therapist, only easier.
Maybe because she didn’t know
Logan.
Or maybe because she instinctively knew he
was
so
un
-
H
ollywood she
’
d never have to worry about
any of
the stuff she’d told him showing up in the
tabloids. She couldn’t remember the last time she
’
d talked
to a guy
about
something that didn’t involve
her
—
or him
—
attempt
ing to
get a part in a movie
.
While confiding in Logan had brought up some painful memories, it had also been cathartic. Once or twice, she’d been on the verge of telling him about her upcoming wedding, but every time she tried, she found herself asking him to reveal something about himself instead.
She didn’t want to think about the wedding right now.

Her gaze went to
Logan’s
studio.
She would’ve liked to watch him paint, but the closed door probably meant he didn’t want to be disturbed, so she curled up on the couch and read in between watching the snow fall outside the cabin’s big window.
It might not be the pampering she would have gotten at the thousand-dollar-a-day spa in Mountain Ridge, but it was pretty dang close.

Logan came out of his studio around noon for lunch. As they talked over peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, she had a hard time
reconciling
him
to the
guy who’
d spanked her the
first
night
. Then again, she
was acting differently now, too. She hadn’t said
a snide word to him
since
he’d warmed her ass.
That would have been a record for her back
in
Hollywood. She wouldn’t have thought it possible, but somehow
the
spanking
he’d given her had helped he
r
de-stress.
Who knew?
Maybe spanking would catch on
as a new therapy trend in Hollywood.
She
would have laughed at the thought
,
if the idea of going back to LA didn’t make her rebel inside. Getting snowed in with Logan had given her a bye, a time-out from her life there
. When the snow stopped, she
was going to have to go home and marry Cameron, like it or not.

The reminder put her in a pissy mood for the rest of the day, so it was probably a good thing Logan spent most of it in his studio or she probably would have gone off on him if he looked at her wrong.

If he noticed how quiet she was during dinner he didn’t comment on it.
When he gave her a curious look as they were cleaning up afterward, she thought for sure he was going to as
k
what was up, but he only stared out the window above the sink as he
washed and she dried.

“It stopped snowing,” he said.

Raine looked
out the window
. In the early evening dimness, the final flakes of snow fluttered down. Her hands suddenly shook, a ridiculous sense of panic taking hold of her. With the blizzard over, there was nothing to keep her here.

She finished drying the plate and put it back in the cabinet with the others. “Good.
I
can finally get my c
ar out of that stupid ditch. I’ll go change.”

His brows drew together. “
You want to go now?
”

Five minutes ago, she’d dreaded the idea of leaving, so why
was she in such a hurry to go
? Because the longer she stayed, the
harder it was going to be to go back to her life.
And as much as she hated the direction it was headed at the moment, she did have to go back. Her poor assistant Chloe was probably
compl
e
tely
freaked out because she
hadn’
t checked
in.

“Yeah.” She folded the dish towel and placed it on the counter. “I mean, there’s no real reason to wait until morning when I can leave now.”

“There isn’t? How about waiting for them to plow the roads?”

“You have four-wheel drive.”

“But you don’t.”

He had a point. Dammit.

She sighed. “Okay. I still need to go into town, though. And not
that pitiful
place
we drove though the other night—the other one.”

He frowned again. “What for?”

“I have to call my assistant and let her know where I am.”

He dried his hands on the towel she’d just folded. “You’ve already waited two days to call her. One more day won’t hurt.”

Probably not, but it was the longest she’d gone without talking to the other woman. And if there was one person in Hollywood she could talk to, it was Chloe.
She wasn’t just her assistant, she was her best friend. And talking to her
was what she should have done instead of running off to the spa. If she had, she wouldn’t be stranded in this cabin where she had way too much time to think about
how much
more simple life would be if she
could stay
here forever.

“I have to call her tonight.”

She walk
ed over to where her bag sat on
the floor beside the couch and rummaged through it for her jeans. Then
she
remembered they were still hangin
g up in the
bathroom. She hoped they were dry.

“Forget it,” he said from behind her. “I’m not talking you anywhere tonight.”

She didn’t know why his answer bothered her, but it did.
She whirled around to glare at him. “Why do you always have to be so damn difficult?”

“Me?” He folded his arms across his chest. “I’m not the one demanding we go out there in two feet of freaking snow and risk our lives just so I can talk to my assistant.”

Raine knew from the way
the muscle in
his jaw worked that she was
on the verge of royally pissing him off. Considering that had gotten her spanked the other night, she probably should have let the issue drop—especially since he was right. It was insane to go out before the roads were plowed. But she couldn’t back down. So, she mimicked his
pose and glowered back at him.

“I may be the actress, but you’re the one being dramatic
. If you won’t drive me, I’
ll
borrow your truck and go myself.
”

“The hell you will. I’ve seen the way you drive.”

She lifted her chin. “That was the car’s fault, not mine.”

He shook his head.
“I thought
you learned something from that
spanking I
gave you the other night
,
but
I guess
not.
”