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  He snorted in frustration at her use of Emma’s tactic and hung up the phone, his stomach in twisted knots.

  “You are going after her, aren’t you? Because I have an idea. We can…”

  “Forget it, Gran. I’ll handle this myself.”

  “Fine, leave an old lady out of the fun. Deny me my enjoyment in life.” She let out a long-suffering sigh.

  He rolled his eyes. “You’ll survive.”

  “Well then, I have a car waiting for me outside.”

  “I’ll walk you to the elevator,” Logan said.

  “No need. I’d like to hang by the water cooler a while first.”

  Logan grinned. “I do love you, Gran.”

  Emma smiled. “I love you, too. And so does Catherine.” His grandmother kissed his cheek. “Even if she didn’t say it back.”

  He shook his head. “You’re too perceptive, smart and nosy for my own good.”

  “Ah, but I spice up your life.”

  “That you do.”

  He watched her regal retreat and heard her voice as she mingled with the office staff. Knowing she was occupied not meddling in his life gave him time to think about Cat.

  Then think about this. I love you, he’d told her. Logan didn’t mind giving her his heart, but if she wanted to accept it, she was going to have to come to him.

  KAYLA AND KANE had a baby boy. Catherine stretched her feet out in front of her on the plasticlike couch in the hospital waiting room. She hung her head backward, breathing deeply for the first time in what felt like hours.

  Her sister had a family of her own now. One that didn’t include her. Oh, they’d never exclude her, and she planned to be the best aunt in the universe to that child, but she wasn’t a part of their immediate family.

  Not in the ways that counted. Why did that bother her so much? When had she begun wanting more out of a life she’d thought made her happy?

  When she’d met Logan. He’d dredged up her old class-difference insecurities, then set out to overcome them. To make her believe she could have everything in life, even a man from a wealthy family.

  She sat up in her seat, realizing she was up to the challenge. The entertainment show, and she used that term loosely, had opened her eyes to a lot of things. So had the birth of this baby.

  A new life meant new possibilities. New directions. Catherine could learn from that. She wasn’t defined by her past. So she’d come from a poor background. She’d gotten beyond it. The judge would have to as well, because Catherine wasn’t going anywhere.

  She wanted all the things in life her sister had found and she was determined to get them. Her heart still fluttered when she remembered his unexpected words.

  I love you.

  Well, she loved him too and she was darn well going to show him.

  “…THE CHARGES AGAINST the defendant are dismissed. Court is adjourned.” The judge banged his gavel and strode from the room. After a brief handshake with his ecstatic client, Logan heaved a groan of relief. The case from hell was over.

  He tossed his pad, pen and other things into his briefcase, grateful it was only Tuesday and he was looking forward to a quiet end of the week. Not surprisingly, his thoughts turned to Catherine. He hadn’t heard from her. Not one word.

  Logan was as understanding as the next guy, but he’d discovered something about himself. His desire to be her lapdog only went so far. He’d extended himself as much as he could without compromising his integrity.

  I love you weren’t words he said idly or to every woman he’d dated. In fact, he’d never said them before. And he wouldn’t be saying them again, unless she decided to get in touch with him.

  But that didn’t stop his concern, and he’d called Kane yesterday to check on Catherine’s sister and had sent a bundle of balloons to celebrate the birth of their baby.

  “Mr. Montgomery.”

  Logan turned to face the bailiff who ran the courtroom. “How’s it going, Stan?”

  “Fine. I have a message for you.” The burly man passed Logan a white, sealed envelope.

  He loosened his tie and examined the generic envelope. “From whom?”

  “Pretty lady. Blond. Five foot three or so…Smelled like Opium,” he said, naming a popular feminine fragrance.

  Logan grinned. “Ever think of going into detective work? You’ve got a hell of a memory.”

  “Nah. She’s just too much to forget. I’ve gotta get home or the wife’ll kill me. Have a good one, Montgomery.”

  “You, too, Stan.”

  Curious now, Logan opened the envelope. As he pulled out the folded sheet inside, a sprinkling of what looked like confetti fell to the floor at his feet. He unfolded the sheet and read aloud. “Come Home.”

  Logan’s heart sprung into action, beating too hard and too fast—as if it had been lying dormant, waiting for Catherine’s return. He glanced toward the doorway, but the courtroom was empty.

  Still, he understood the message. She’d put aside her doubts and her fears. She was ready to place her faith in the unknown. He knew what that leap of faith cost her. He intended to make sure she never regretted it.

  He grabbed his briefcase and headed out the door into the dwindling heat of the day.

  What was it he’d said the first time he’d taken her to the beach house? It’s humble but it’s home. She’d glanced around the run-down cottage, the idea of which had sent other women running, and greeted him with an approving gleam in her green eyes. Home. It is that, she’d murmured.

  He’d probably fallen in love then and there.

  Logan slid into the Jeep and turned the ignition. What felt like hours but could only have been twenty minutes later, he finally walked up to his cottage. The Pot Luck company van sat parked in the driveway.

  He turned the knob. Not surprisingly, the door was open. After days of uncertainty, the adrenaline rush felt damn good. Knowing she was inside, but not knowing exactly what awaited him left him breathless with anticipation.

  He wanted her and she was here. He stepped inside and shut the door. Placing his briefcase on the floor, he glanced around. The spring weather was still cool and a fire crackled in the hearth, the scent of fresh-burning wood enveloping him.

  “Cat?” he called out, but she didn’t answer, so he walked in farther, pausing in the kitchen. Though she wasn’t inside, she’d made her presence known. His old table had been transformed.

  A beige tablecloth draped his wooden table, hiding the old scars and nicks. Candles burned in holders he’d never seen before and a bouquet of spring flowers sat low in the center. A heavenly smell hit his nostrils and he realized she’d been cooking.

  Wondering what else she’d been doing, he backed out of the dimly lit kitchen and headed for the bedroom. He didn’t need a map to guide him to a room he’d been in dozens of times before. But Catherine had been thoughtful, leaving him a trail to follow.

  A sexy, seductive trail, he thought, as he bent down and picked up the first article of clothing at the end of the hall. Leopard sandals dangled from his fingertips. Need kicked in, intense and strong.

  He took a step farther and retrieved a black skirt. Another step and he’d reached the bedroom door. Hanging from the doorknob was an emerald-green-and-black lace teddy. His body tightened in response to the seductive garment.

  His heart pounded and his groin throbbed with intense desire. Anticipation had become his partner, as he turned the knob and entered the room. Although Logan was certain he’d find Catherine waiting for him, certain she’d come back to him, he refused to succumb to her seduction until she made it clear she’d committed for good.

  The room he entered was the stuff of fantasies. Mood lamps and candles and burning incense were scattered around the room, setting an undeniably sensual mood.

  He glanced through sheer curtains hanging from the bedposts. Catherine lay waiting for him, covered by a single sheet, her pale skin glowing in the candlelight…She was the stuff of his fantasies. And all he had to do was step across he
r leopard print rug…

  Catherine met his gaze. Determination to explain and set things right warred with the need to rush into Logan’s arms.

  Before she could decide, Logan had come up beside her and lowered himself onto the bed. “I told you that rug would go well in the cottage.” He treated her to his most endearing grin and his eyes—those cocoa-colored eyes—stared into hers, filled with the most amazing emotions. Honesty, sincerity and love.

  “When you decide to come around, you do it in style.” He let out a long breath. “I’d counted you out, Cat. I figured there was nothing that would convince you we weren’t a disaster waiting to happen.”

  She reached a hand out to cup his cheek. “I grew up lonely, Logan. Always waiting for my father to come back. Relying on a mother who wasn’t ever there—not emotionally anyway, and later on, not even physically. I was always prepared for the worst.”

  “And it always happened.”

  She nodded.

  “Even with us,” he continued. “The press conference, the media frenzy…”

  “Happened for the best. It showed me what I could handle and forced me to go after what I want.” She looked him in the eye. “And I want you.”

  He propped himself up on the bed and wrapped his arms around her. A combination of easy warmth and heated sexual need raced through her. It was always that way with Logan, the intense mix of desire and comfort.

  “You know I want you, too. But want isn’t enough. Not between us.”

  “I know.” She lay her head against his chest. The rapid beating of his heart told her he wasn’t as relaxed as he appeared. Which was a good thing considering she was nowhere near composed. “At first the scandal gave me an excuse to run. Embarrassment was an excuse. And later, being without you, it made me take stock and realize I’m worthy of anything or anyone, including Logan Montgomery.”

  “I’ve known that all along.” His fingers tangled in her hair, tugging with urgent insistency. “And the way you faced down the judge, I can tell you, he knows it, too.” He tipped her head back to meet his gaze. “I’ll spend the rest of my life making sure you never forget it.”

  “I love you,” she murmured and met his lips for a scorching kiss, all the more heated because of the emotions involved. To her shock, her eyes filled with tears. Because she’d finally gotten everything she’d ever wanted in life—and never dared to dream of. The plastic ring would remind her, should she ever forget.

  A salty drop of water slipped between their lips. Logan lifted his head. “You’re crying?” He swiped at the stray tear with his hand.

  Catherine shrugged, then forced a laugh. “What can I say? I’m a sucker for a happy ending.”

  He held her hands tight, never wanting to let her go. “I thought you didn’t believe in happily ever after.”

  “I didn’t…until you.”

  “This might come as a shock to you, but I didn’t believe, either.” For all his posturing and attempts to convince Catherine they had a future, Logan wasn’t certain he’d possessed the faith in happily ever after that he’d claimed to have.

  “What changed your mind?” she asked.

  “You. You’re my happily ever after, Cat.” He looked into her green eyes.

  She rolled back onto the bed, holding out her arms for him, and whispered in her most seductive voice, “Then come home.”

  EPILOGUE

  A SMALL BAND PLAYED in the background while the sun shone overhead, basking the beach in warmth. Catherine grabbed Logan’s hand and squeezed hard. “Would you mind giving up this dance with me?” she asked.

  “Are you tired?” He pulled her close, and placed his hand over her still flat stomach. “We could make excuses and go inside to lie down.” A wicked grin touched his lips.

  “Not at our own wedding we can’t.” She laughed. “Besides I’m fine. Just a little pregnant.” She smiled. “I just wanted to ask someone else to dance.”

  His eyes narrowed. “Who?”

  “Your father.”

  “He’s here, he’s drinking a glass of champagne, he’s grudgingly accepting life, but that may be taking things too far.”

  A light gust of wind whipped her hair around her face, bringing with it the salty smell of the ocean. “You don’t think he’d want to dance with his daughter-in-law?” she asked, mock hurt in her voice.

  “Of course he would. At least I think he would. Between you and my mother, he’s come around. Sort of. But dancing on the beach? That may be below the judge’s standards,” he said wryly.

  Remembering his face when they’d told Logan’s father they would be married on the beach and not at the Montgomery Estate, Catherine had to agree. “He’s got to realize what he’s been missing in life, and twirling around the sand barefoot is one of life’s grand experiences.”

  Logan laughed. “Okay, Cat. Do your best.”

  A loud shriek interrupted them and Catherine whirled around in time to see Kayla being carried off by Kane. “At least they’re having a good time,” she said.

  “They’d have a good time anywhere they were together.” Logan nuzzled her cheek. “Like us.”

  “Who’s got Ace?” Catherine asked, using Kane’s pet name for his son, Tim.

  “I do.”

  Catherine turned to see Grace standing beside them.

  Logan’s sister had arrived last week and she’d been staying in Catherine’s apartment in the city. Both Catherine and Logan had wanted her to stay at the beach house, but she didn’t want to intrude and the mansion had been out of the question. Catherine couldn’t help but notice her strained relationship with her parents, along with the longing in Grace’s eyes. Like Logan, she desired more out of her family. She probably needed it more, too.

  Catherine’s eyes narrowed. If she could convince Grace to stick around, she could work on the entire Montgomery family dynamic. She grinned. If she could bring Judge Edgar Montgomery around with Logan, Grace couldn’t be all that hard.

  “What are you thinking?” Logan asked.

  “How wonderful it is to have everyone together. And Grace, I was wondering if you’d consider moving back here.”

  The graceful, willowy blonde shook her head while reshifting Kane and Kayla’s bundle in her arms. “I don’t think that would work. But don’t worry. I won’t be a stranger.”

  “You’d better not, young lady.”

  “Hi, Gran.” Logan held his arm out for Emma and gave her a loving squeeze as she kissed his cheek.

  “Grace, you’re my final project. Do you have any idea how difficult it was to finagle these two together?” Emma asked. “Now it’s your turn. I refuse to leave this earth without seeing you happily settled down.”

  “You’re too healthy to go anywhere just yet,” Grace told her.

  “You never know. Now Logan, just look how perfect she looks with the baby in her arms.”

  Grace, who had been holding Ace with comfort and ease, shifted uncomfortably and the little guy let out a squeal of displeasure.

  Logan laughed. “I’ll take him.”

  His sister handed him over. “Stay out of my life, Gran.”

  Catherine laughed. They’d been down this road before.

  Emma shook her head. “I think a trip to New York City is in order, don’t you, Catherine? I haven’t been there in ages and, of course, my granddaughter couldn’t possibly turn me away.”

  Grace stiffened, but like Logan, the love in her expression shone through despite her displeasure with Emma’s meddling ways. “My apartment is small, Gran.”

  “Any cute neighbors?”

  Logan laughed and grabbed for Catherine’s elbow, leading her away. “We’ve had our turn. Let Grace handle Emma now.”

  “You’re bad, Logan.”

  “But you love me just the same.”

  She settled her lips over his for a deep, mind-drugging kiss. “You know I do.” The baby cooed in his arms and Catherine smiled. She’d have one of her own in less than nine months. Hers and Logan’s.
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  “And I love you.”

  “Then let me go dance with your father.” She gestured to where Logan’s parents stood stiffly overlooking the beach, his father in a suit, his mother, at least, in a comfortable sundress. And bare feet. Catherine laughed. Of all the things she hadn’t expected, his mother’s approval had been it. Cat actually enjoyed spending time with her, and considering she’d been instrumental in convincing the judge to accept Logan and Catherine or lose everything, Cat felt as if she owed her.

  “Go ahead,” Logan said. “But I’ll be waiting for you.”

  Just as each of them had been waiting for each other. All their lives.

  ISBN: 978-1-4268-3699-2

  SIMPLY SCANDALOUS

  Copyright © 2000 by Karen Drogin

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  All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.

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