Wish Upon a Christmas Star Read Online Free Page B

shrugging into
her jacket, which looked too thin to keep her warm. She headed for the exit but
turned before she reached it. “Almost forgot to tell you, I drove. Maria’s car
is at her office. You can take her back, right? Thanks!”
    She whirled and fled, leaving Logan to gather his courage for a
conversation he should have had in the aftermath of the terrorist attack.
    There was something about that day he’d never told anybody,
something that had been eating at him ever since.
    If the information would help Maria, it was time he got it off
his chest, even if it made her dislike him more than she already did.
    * * *
    A NNALISE WAS TAKING AN awfully long time
in the restroom. If Maria had insisted on them both driving, she could have
jotted down an apology on a napkin and sneaked out.
    She regretted coming to dinner at all. She itched to be at the
computer, squaring away her flight, or on the phone working the case instead of
listening to Annalise tell her not to go to Key West.
    At least she’d gotten it through her sister’s thick skull that
she had no intention of meeting with Logan Collier.
    The text tone on her cell phone buzzed. She rummaged through
her voluminous leather purse on her lap, annoyed at herself for not putting the
phone in the zippered compartment. The text was from Annalise and consisted of
one word: Sorry.
    “Hello, Maria.”
    Logan. She jerked her gaze from her sister’s apologetic text to
the man she’d once loved with her whole heart. The breath left her, exactly as
if she’d been punched in the stomach.
    He wasn’t quite six feet tall yet seemed taller because of his
excellent posture. He was nearly as lean as he’d been as a teenager but more
muscular. His thick brown hair was shorter, although it still sprang back from
his forehead and the strands at his nape still curled. Age lent his regular
features character and added fine lines that bracketed the hazel eyes she’d
always thought were so pretty.
    Maria had to consciously tell herself to stop staring and start
breathing again. “Hello, Logan.”
    “Mind if I join you?” He nodded to the chair Annalise had
vacated after their waitress had cleared away the dinner dishes. Despite the
apologetic text, Maria didn’t want to believe her sister had cut out on her.
    “Annalise is sitting there,” she said.
    “Was sitting there,” he corrected. “She’s gone.”
    “I can’t believe it.” Maria shook her head as it sank in that
her sister had abandoned her. “I told her I didn’t want to talk to you.”
    “For the record, I thought you knew I was coming.” He indicated
the chair again. “So can I sit down? You might want to say yes, because I’m your
ride.”
    Maria’s pulse skittered. It was all her sister’s fault.
Annalise was going to pay.
    “By all means.” She worked on composing herself while he took
off his black wool car coat. Underneath he wore a burgundy long-sleeved shirt
that made him appear vibrant and engaging. He settled across from her.
    Before either of them could say a word, their young blonde
waitress arrived with two cups of coffee and two slices of chocolate cheesecake.
Annalise had remarked earlier in the evening that the girl looked as if she was
having a bad day. Not anymore. A smile stretched across her pretty face.
    “Well, hello there,” she said to Logan. “You must have just
arrived. I couldn’t have missed you.”
    “You’re right. I just got here.” One corner of Logan’s mouth
lifted in a way that used to make Maria melt when they were teenagers.
    The half smile appeared to have the same effect on the
waitress. It had been that way in the old days, too. Females found Logan
attractive. Maria had always thought it was because he didn’t seem to realize
exactly how good-looking he was.
    “My sister left,” Maria announced to get the waitress’s
attention. “We won’t be having dessert and coffee, after all.”
    “Are you sure?” She tilted her head and chewed her bottom