Twenty Two
Logan walked back and forth along the length of the walk-in closet, looking for just the right attire to wear for the second leg of his date with Callie. Brunch down on the dock had been a great success, and Logan had even managed to make Callie’s omelet exactly the way she had requested. He liked cooking for her. He liked providing. It made him feel good. It made him feel whole. Just seeing that look on her face when he brought her out to the table and set everything down for her had made his day. Of course, now it was time to make hers, if only he could find that damn shirt. He had a whole mansion at his disposal, and he barely used it for more than a glorified closet. Finally, he spotted the lightweight, summer suit at the back of the closet and pulled it out. Callie better appreciate this, he thought. He’d rather have been wearing a pair of jeans, but this day wasn’t about him. If he was right, Callie would be ready in a few minutes, and they’d be all set to head off in time for the workers to come in and transform the house for that night.
As Logan tossed the suit onto the bed and started to change, his phone lit up. Expecting Callie, he picked it up and answered without looking. “Hey, are you ready already?” he asked.
“I was born ready, son,” the voice drawled on the other end of the call. “You know that.”
Logan froze. “Dad?”
“The one and only.”
“What can I do for you?”
“I was calling to let you know that the legislation I’ve been working on finally passed.”
“I know,” Logan said.
“I know you know,” Hank replied. “I heard through the grapevine that someone paid a visit to Jack Coburn a few days back.”
“Oh yeah, who?” Logan asked.
“You didn’t have to do that,” Hank said.
Logan hated doing this back and forth with his dad. Nothing was ever good enough. If Hank didn’t get it done on his own, then he would rather it hadn’t gotten done at all. “He’s a good friend. You know that. I was just checking in. Was there anything else? Or should I go?”
“Hows the house guest doing?” Hank asked, the slight hesitation in his voice revealing the true reason for his call. He wanted to know why Callie wasn’t checking in. He wanted to know if his precious bill was still slated to go to vote.
“I know why you sent her here,” Logan said. “And I’m letting you know that I don’t need a chaperone.”
“What are you talking about?” Hank asked. His indignation at the question rang through even clearer than his words. Damn he was good at lying. Maybe that’s where Logan had learned that skill.
“I like her, dad. I like her a lot. And if you care at all about me, you’ll drop all of this crap now.”
“Logan,” Hank said, as if the name alone were enough to voice his disapproval.
“We’re dating? Okay?” Logan said. “I don’t need your permission to see her. I’m not a kid anymore.”
“You think bringing a girl out a few times means you’re dating? I mean, for you, that’s progress, but it’s far from a serious relationship. At some point, you have to take responsibility for yourself and for others. She quit her job this morning. Did she tell you that? She called up her pregnant sister and quit, just like that. She has commitments, responsibilities. She has a future Logan, and she doesn’t need you getting in her head. When I heard that you two were consorting, I had hoped maybe she’d be a good influence on you. It looks like the opposite happened.”
Callie quit her job? Logan felt a hollow shock inside. This is what he had wanted, what he had pushed for, but for some reason, it didn’t make him happy at all. In fact, it just made him feel guilty. She was going to give up everything for him, and he was hiding the truth from her, lying about what he was doing, trying to cover up what he had done in his efforts to be with her. No. He wasn’t going to let his father make him feel bad about this. This was Callie’s decision, and Hank would have to respect it. “She’s an adult too,” he said. Logan never actually thought Callie would go through with it. It had been a taunt, a tease, a way of reminding her that their situation wasn’t permanent, but it was more than that too. It was his way of asking her what their relationship really meant. Now that she had answered that question, her response terrified him.
“She has a job, Logan. She has a family.”
“This again? You could have just asked me to talk to Jack. You could have admitted for once that I could help you. I don’t need you cleaning up my messes for me. I’m a grown man. And I’m fully committed to taking responsibility.”
“Like last summer, when you ran off with that pop singer? Or this year, when a sex tape popped up? All while you were too busy partying to pay attention to anything else. Last time I checked, you were living on my boat and using my mansion as your personal function hall.”
“I spent the past year trying to forget what happened with Nikki, and trying to make something of myself, trying to make you proud, but it’s never enough,” Logan shouted. His voice echoed through the room. It was never enough. Nothing was ever good enough for his father. Not the first business, not the second, not the repeated attempts to become something more than a party boy.
Hank’s voice softened. “Logan, you know I’m proud of what you’ve done, but at some point, you have to acknowledge reality. Think of the man she thinks you are, and think of the man you know yourself to be. Are they the same?”
“I love her, dad.” Logan swallowed hard and waited for the barrage to come, a lecture about true love, a speech about Hank’s decades and decades of marriage and dependability.
“True love requires sacrifice, son. Ask yourself what you’d give up to make her happy.”
“Everything, the house, the boat, the money, I’ll do whatever it takes.”
“Hopefully it will never come to that,” Hank said.
Logan snorted. “You just can’t believe that I’m capable of being happy, can you?”
“That’s not it at all, son,” Hank said.
“Dad, I have to go. Hopefully I won’t screw everything up for you.” Logan ended the call and stared out the window. Callie was down in the guesthouse, getting ready for their big date. The sun beat on the windows, and everything, from the lush, green lawn, to the perfectly manicured trees and gardens to the gently rolling bay, everything looked picture perfect. Callie had quit her job. He had won. She was his, and he felt sick to his stomach about it. He was leading her down a bad He should have been able to forget the phone call and go on with his day, but he was so worked up that his blood practically boiled in his veins. True love requires sacrifice. Logan knew what his father had meant: you’re not good enough for her. You’ll never be good enough for her. What was worse was that he knew that his father was right. True love requires sacrifice.
You have no idea, dad.
***
Callie looked across the sea of pastel dresses and seersucker suits as Logan led her to their seats. The dead heat of August had lifted for the afternoon, and she was glad to feel the cooler air for a change. She had told Logan that she wanted to see some traditional Newport before she left, and he hadn’t disappointed. Everywhere she looked, everyone was impeccably made up. Most of the men wore suits, and the women wore sundresses and party dresses. Here and there, there were even entire bachelorette parties decked out in matching attire, but the real draw was the wide field before them. As Callie followed Logan to their seats, she watched the field stretch off into the distance, a yawning expanse of grass larger than any sporting field she had ever seen.
Logan stopped just short of the sideline and pointed to two cloth lounge chairs set up on the grass. Between them sat a picnic basket and a bottle of champagne on ice.
“I was inspired by your picnic at the vineyard, but I figured I’d add a little bit of my personal touch to it.”
“Is that where the five hundred dollar bottle of champagne comes into play?” Callie asked.
“I know they say horse racing is the sport of kings,” Logan said, “but polo and day drinking has been the sport of the Newport elite since long before I was born.”
“This sounds like a sport I could enjoy,” Callie said as Logan popped the cork. After the plume of fizz settled down, he poured her a glass.
Logan raised his glass in a toast. “To us,” he said.
“To us,” Callie replied, clinking her glass against his before taking a long, slow sip. As the bubbles tickled her tongue and rolled down the back of her throat, she thought back to Logan’s speech about feeling like the only two people in a crowded room. Sure they were outside instead of inside, but that was exactly how she felt with him, like everything else was just background noise, like he was the only other person in the world, like there was no place she’d rather be than right there with him.
She stared into his eyes and felt an urge to kiss him, but he leaned in and kissed her instead, sending a rush of warmth and excitement through her body as he slid his tongue against hers. She closed her eyes as their lips parted. The sun warmed her face and the breeze gently flowed over her, but she felt nothing but Logan’s soft kiss as it lingered on her lips. Damn, she wanted to lean in and kiss him again. Maybe she could sneak another kiss in when everyone was looking in the other direction.
As the match started, Logan explained the basics of the sport, the teams and the layout of the field as well as the rules and the periods, which she refused to believe were called chukkas until she heard the announcer say it over the loudspeaker.
Soon, something else caught her attention, something off to the side of her field of view. She couldn’t help but stare off to the side at the couple sitting across from her at the tent. Henry and Evelyn leaning against each other, watching the match from inside the VIP tent. Apparently Henry had lived up to his promise of giving Evelyn a honeymoon to remember. She was surprised that they were still in town. As far as she knew, they had only been planning to stay for a little over a week. Callie had been in town for close to a month, but she couldn’t deny that they were there. And they were there in style. Even Logan hadn’t been able to score seats that good.
“Ahem,” Callie said, elbowing Logan in the side. “I think it’s time for you to admit defeat.”
“What in the world are you talking about? The match just started, Callie.”
“I’m not talking about polo. I’m talking about them.” She pointed over to the old couple. They were holding hands as they watched the match flow back and forth across the field before them.
“Oh,” Logan said. He scratched his chin and squinted a bit, feigning confusion. “Hey is that that old couple you wanted to introduce me to?”
“You know exactly who they are,” Callie said.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Logan said. He was either a terrible liar or he was enjoying letting Callie know he was playing dumb.
“You’re going to lose our bet, just admit it. They’re completely in love, and nothing could make them happier.”
“I still think I could easily make them both happier,” Logan said.
“And you’re wrong,” Callie shot back.
Logan grinned. “Why don’t you bring me over, and we’ll ask them together?”
“I’m not letting you anywhere near them. I don’t want you to taint their perfect honeymoon.”
Logan shrugged. “Have it your way. You should at least go over and say hi. Don’t worry. I’ll stay here and mind my manners.”
Callie gave him a suspicious look and looked down at the champagne. “This isn’t some kind of trick, right? Either there’s something in this champagne, or you’re actually being considerate. Promise me you won’t bother them.”
“Not until you call me over,” Logan said. He struggled to hold back his smile.
Callie laughed and shook her head. “I don’t see that happening any time soon.”
“Go say hi,” Logan said.
“I’m sure they won’t even remember me.” As Callie spoke, a group of riders thundered past on their horses, pulling her attention away from the conversation. The horses were beautiful and frightening from such a short distance, and they seemed perfectly attuned to their riders who were lunging and positioning themselves to knock the ball back and forth across the pitch. She watched in awe as they rumbled past again and again.
Logan elbowed her, breaking her concentration. “Ahem,” he said, “I don’t want to distract you, but I think your friends are waving.”
Callie turned and waved back to Henry and Evelyn. “I guess they do remember me.”
“How could anyone forget you?” Logan asked.
“Not everyone wants to sleep with me, you know.”
“You don’t know that,” Logan said. “You really do assume the worst of my intentions, don’t you?”
“Would you expect anything less?” Callie joked.
Logan laughed. “Of course not. Now go over and say hi. The half is almost over. I’ll meet you out on the pitch for the divot stomping.”
“The what?” Callie asked.
“The divot stomping. At the half, everyone goes out onto the field and stomps down all of the divots that have been kicked up during the match. Think of it as a chance to do some of that dirty work you like so much.”
“That’s more of a figure of speech,” Callie said.
Logan waved his hand, as if to dismiss her. “Yeah, yeah, go on. Your fan club is waiting for you. I think you should give me a kiss before you go though.”
“Oh do you?” Callie asked.
“Unless you want me to kiss you,” Logan said.
“What if I don’t want either?” Callie replied.
“Skipping right to the good stuff instead?” he asked.
Callie leaned in and kissed hm on the cheek. “We’ll see about that later. Once you admit I’ve won our bet.”
“Sounds perfect,” Logan said.
When Callie reached Henry and Evelyn, they both stood up and wrapped their arms around her in a hug. The old couple was beaming. They were both tanned, and energetic and seemed much younger than they had the first time Callie met them. “We don’t know how to thank you,” Evelyn said.
“It’s really beyond anything we could have dreamt of,” Henry said.
“What are you talking about?” Callie asked.
“Our honeymoon. What you’ve done for us was so above and beyond anything we could have imagined.”
“I let you move to my seat. It wasn’t a big deal.”
“No big deal?” Evelyn asked. “Little did we know on the plane that we were rubbing elbows with someone of influence. Oh, the sunset dinner cruise, the upgraded suite and extended stay at the hotel, the guided tours of mansions, it’s all been a dream. I don’t know how we could ever thank you.”
Callie looked back up the sideline toward Logan, who seemed like he was purposely avoiding looking over to her. “You said there was a note left for you on my behalf?”
“Yes,” Evelyn said. “It, like everything else, was very kind.”
“I think I know what’s going on here,” Callie said. “I’ve been set up.”
Evelyn crossed her arms and looked around. “What do you mean?”
“I didn’t arrange all of that, but I know who did.”
“Who?” They both asked in unison.
“A friend of mine. I might have mentioned how sweet you and your husband had been on the flight,” Callie said. “How he tracked you down, I don’t know.” Despite all the teasing and taunting, Logan had gone out of his way to ensure that Henry and Evelyn had a wonderful, extended stay in Newport.
“Who is he?” Evelyn asked. “We’d love to thank him.”
“I don’t know if he’d really want to be thanked.” Callie looked over at Logan. She had to introduce him, right? Would he go through all of that effort for some stupid bet? Of course he would. But why would he ignore her when he was finally about to win?
***
As the half ended and the crowd spilled out onto the field, Logan knew he’d been caught. Callie had waved him over twice, before he finally relented and started to head over. He had been looking forward to this moment since the morning he had placed his bet with Callie. He had wanted to see the look on her face when she realized that he could, in fact, do nice things for other people. Winning the bet was just going to be a side benefit. But, as he walked over, he felt no excitement. Instead, he dreaded talking to the old couple. He dreaded hearing Callie say nice things about him.
He’d probably tell her that he had set it all up so he could win his bet with her, but that wasn’t completely true. When they had made the bet, Logan hadn’t intended to do anything, but he had been able to tell that it meant a lot to Callie to believe that people really could be happy. And if it only cost him a few calls to a concierge service to set everything up for Henry and Evelyn, what was the harm? They reminded him of his parents in a way. Henry bore no more resemblance to Hank than their shared name, but Evelyn, from a distance reminded him of his mother. Probably any woman her age would, but the way Henry and Evelyn held their arms around each other on Thames Street that morning had been exactly the way his parents leaned against each other whenever they had a moment alone. Logan knew that Hank would have given anything to have one more week or day with his wife.
In truth, both Logan and Hank had been mad at each other for years for not spending enough time with her at the end. They didn’t talk about it, but it was a grief that had kept itself wrapped around Logan’s heart for years, and he knew Hank had been even more shattered by his loss. Even though they barely spoke, Logan wished he could ease his father’s pain. Helping Henry and Evelyn have the honeymoon of their dreams wasn’t going to change that, but Logan figured he could at least give them the happiness his own parents had known. The bet aside, he just wanted them to be happy. He wanted to reassure himself that not every story ended in tragedy. The rest, the bet and all, was a bonus. Callie’s belief in true love would be upheld and he’d find a way to get her to admit he was right.
He watched Callie, down the sideline, smiling and happy. As soon as he reached her, he’d have to pretend to be happy too. Maybe his problem was that he still held out hope that things would work out. If he knew for sure that Callie would be better off without him, this whole thing wouldn’t have been so bad. If it all had been doomed to fail, he wouldn’t feel so bad about sending her away. As he headed over to her, his confidence in his plan started to wane. Maybe he just needed a sign that things were meant to work out, that he and Callie were meant to be together no matter what. Logan scanned the field looking for a sign, and, sure enough, within a minute, he had one. It just wasn’t the one he wanted.
Instead, Veronica Jones was heading straight for him. Logan recognized her the instant she entered his peripheral view. You’ve got to be kidding me, he thought. Veronica was smiling and waving to him as if he were her favorite person in the world. Well, she sure wasn’t his. If it wasn’t for her and her goddamn sex tape, maybe he’d have been able to believe that he could change, that he could be the man Callie needed him to be. Just the sight of her made his brain boil. If he had wanted a sign, here it was. His past was inescapable. Logan walked out onto the field toward Veronica, careful to keep her out of earshot of Callie and the old couple. “What do you want?” he asked.
“A number one album. And, I’m taking the steps to make sure I have it, but that’s not the question. I upheld my half of the deal. I waited until your bill passed. Now it’s time to have some fun. Come on, you love having fun.”
Logan gritted his teeth as he held back from shouting at Veronica. looked over at Callie who was laughing and helping Henry and Evelyn stomp down divots by the sideline. “I can assure you, what I love is so much more than having fun.”
“Honey,” Veronica said reaching out her hand and placing her index finger over Logan’s lips, “you’re so much better when you’re being bad. Can’t you see that?” Veronica smiled as she watched the look on Logan’s face. “I think this is an opportunity for you, one you’d be foolish to pass up.”
“How could that possible be true? I know exactly what I want, and it doesn’t involve you and your plans.”
Veronica slid her hand over Logan’s shoulder, and he involuntarily tensed at her touch. She squeezed his bicep. “So strong,” she said, “but you lack a different kind of strength.” She winked at him. “Trust me on that one. You’ve never worked for anything in your life. It’s part of your appeal.”
“I will do whatever it takes to make sure you leave her out of this,” Logan said. He pulled Veronica’s hand off of his arm and scowled at her. He didn’t know whether to feel angry or defeated. He knew Veronica was right. He didn’t deserve Callie. He hadn’t earned her love or affection or whatever it was they were calling their connection, and he wouldn’t be able to keep it.
Veronica leaned over and looked around Logan to get a better look at Callie. “That’s so cute. You really think that the two of you have a chance. I’ll give you one thing, she’s cute. Not beautiful. Not sexy, but cute. You never struck me as one to settle. Maybe her whole uptight Washington thing is the appeal. If that’s the case, just think of how things will be once you’re famous for your exploits. Think of all the stuck-up Washington types you could have tripping over themselves to try to tame you, to fix you. Why settle for this one when you can have all of them? And why do you care about your image all of a sudden?”
“I don’t. You can make everyone in the world hate me, for all I care, but leave her out of this.”
Veronica smiled. Usually her smile looked fake, rehearsed, thin, but this smile was genuine, spread wide across her face as she looked on at the mess she had made with complete pride. “Sounds like I have you sufficiently motivated.”
“Why do you even need me for this?” Logan asked. “You have a tape. I have no say. Do you want money, is that it? I can give you money.”
“I don’t want your money. I want my money. Unlike you, I don’t need the handout.”
Logan clenched his jaw. “Leave. Now, before I make a really dumb decision.”
Veronica reached out and patted his cheek. “Tut tut,” she said. “Down, boy. I don’t need you beating me up in front of all of these cameras. The whole thing works better if you play along and we build to our scandal. A few tabloid articles, a picture or two on TMZ, and we’ll have primed the pump for the video. I won’t be a sweet little thing anymore, and my record sales will skyrocket.”
“Again, I’m not seeing any benefit for me in this deal,” Logan said.
“Well, I guess it matters on what you want most. Do you want to play house with goldilocks over there, or do you want to save her from, how did you put it, public and professional disgrace?”
“Nikki, I’m warning you. Leave her out of this.”
“I hadn’t planned on screwing her over, but I think I’m going to enjoy that part the most,” Veronica said.
“Do you enjoy stabbing people in the back?” Logan asked.
Veronica grinned again. She reached down and started fiddling with Logan’s collar. “I enjoy twisting the knife,” she said. “She got in my way, and now I’m getting her out of it. Play ball, and maybe she survives the whole thing.”
“How do I know you’re not bluffing?”
Veronica pursed her lips and batted her eyelashes. “Logan, I don’t know what I’d do without you,” she said, channeling her inner Callie as sweetly as possible and holding back her laugh until the last word. “You think you’re in love with her, don’t you?”
Logan closed his eyes for a second. He didn’t want to look at the venomous glee in Veronica’s eyes, and he didn’t want to turn around and look at Callie’s happiness behind him. He just wanted to find some way to fix things. “If I do this, will you leave her alone?” he asked.
“That’s more like it,” Veronica said, turning and smiling toward Callie. She waved to her. “My advice: enjoy the next few days together. It was never going to last between you two anyway. You and me, we are what we are. Even if you think you’re going to be all noble and save her, it doesn’t change the facts. Sooner or later, you’re going to break her heart, and I might as well be the beneficiary.”
“Get out of here, now,” Logan said.
“Don’t worry, lover,” Veronica said sarcastically, “I’ll be in touch soon. We’ll see if my news is good or bad.”
***
“So Callie tells us that you’re the wonderful young man responsible for our vacation here in Newport,” Henry said holding his hand out to Logan.
“It’s nothing,” Logan said. He quickly shook Henry’s hand. He shifted his weight back and forth and looked down at the ground, avoiding eye contact with the old couple. Wonderful. He had spent the past week lying to Callie. He had threatened to end the political career of one of his closest friends. He had gotten in a shouting match with his father, and these two wanted to call him wonderful? He was anything but wonderful. He was bad. He was lowly, and he was worse than he had ever been. Just two days ago, he had almost gotten Callie arrested, and now this old couple, who really did seem like wonderful people themselves, wanted to praise him just because he was rich and wanted to win a bet with a pretty girl?” Logan felt sick to his stomach. His run-in with Veronica had convinced him that he had no way to make things work. The past was past, and now he needed to face the truth. “I’m just glad that the two of you were able to enjoy your time in Newport as much as I’ve enjoyed having Callie here.”
Callie slipped her arm around her waist and pressed her cheek against his shoulder. Don’t do that, Logan wanted to say. He didn’t want to feel her comfort. He didn’t want her to tell him that he was good at heart, and that all he needed was to believe in himself. It was bullshit, all of it. All of this was spinning out of control because of him. The bill was going to become a law in a matter of hours, and Callie was going to either leave him or ruin any chance she had at building a career and a life for herself. Logan just wanted to go home and forget about all of this. As soon as the bill passed, Veronica would pounce into action and release the sex tape. God, he had a sex tape and these people wanted to shake his hand. If they only knew what he was really like, they’d turn and flee.
“Logan, is everything ok?” Callie asked.
“Yeah, it’s good. I just wasn’t expecting to run into Nikki. That’s all.” He studied the expression on Callie’s face. Did she believe him? Maybe it would be better if she didn’t. A dull pain throbbed behind his eyes. This was supposed to be a good day, the day where he gave her everything she wanted. Instead, his past was butting in at every turn. “Maybe we should go,” he said. He looked over at the far sideline to see which, if any, photographers had focused in on him. Nikki was famous for picking favorites among the paparazzi and getting them to do her dirty work for her.
Logan tried to piece everything together. A few photos of Logan and Veronica, paired with the tape, would be enough to get everything started, and if Veronica wanted to keep things going, a few photos of Logan and Callie would only help fuel the fire. “Maybe we should go,” he repeated. He turned to Henry. “Would you mind coming with me?” he asked. “I need to check on something back at the car. You wouldn’t happen to like vintage convertibles, would you?”
“I’ve liked them since they were new,” Henry said with a smile. “Although, I never had much of an opportunity to see them up close. We were a station wagon kind of family. A little two-seater wasn’t exactly in the cards for us.”
“If you excuse us, Ladies, we’ll be right back,” Logan said. He and Henry cut through the crowd and started heading to the car. Logan looked back and forth across the crowd, looking for anyone who might be in league with Veronica. Once he got back past the concession tent and over to the stone wall that separated the spectator area from the dirt road down to the field where he had parked, Logan found what he was looking for. Two men, cameras in hand, were camped out next to his car. So that was her plan, a paparazzi ambush as he and Callie left?
“Well, Henry,” Logan said. “Today is your lucky day. How would you like to trade your rental car for that vintage corvette right over there?” Logan pointed out the car and watched the old man’s eyes light up.
“That’s too much,” Henry said, but his eyes showed his true excitement.
“You’d be doing me a favor,” Logan said. “See those men? They’re waiting to snap pictures of me for some gossip magazine.”
“Why would they want to do that?” Henry asked.
“Someone is trying to create a story about me, and I think they want pictures of Callie and me leaving here together to help finish that story.”
“Well, from the sounds of it, your girlfriend would be the one to take care of a situation like that,” Henry said.
“I’d like to keep her out of it,” Logan replied. “And it’s a bit difficult to explain our relationship.”
“And all I have to do is leave in that beautiful car?” Henry asked.
“Well, that and you have to bring it back at the end of the night. I’ll make sure you have the address.”
“You have a deal,” Henry said, handing over the key to his rental. “It’s the silver Chrysler over there past the next stone wall.”
Logan looked down to the other parking lot and nodded. “Looks, um, nice.”
“If you’re looking for inconspicuous, it’s the car for you,” Henry said. “I’ve driven cars like that for forty years, and no one’s ever noticed me.”
Logan laughed. “Except your wife, of course.”
“And she’s the only one who ever mattered,” Henry said. “Tell the girl how you feel. None of the other stuff matters. The cars, the clothes, my Eve and I never needed any of it and neither does your Callie.”
Logan looked back at his convertible. “Should I take the keys back, then?”
“I said we never needed any of it. Wanting is a different story.”
Logan laughed again. “Come on,” he said. “Let’s get back.”