Logan's Blind Date Curveball Read online

  Logan’s Blind Date Curveball

  Hot Hunks Steamy Romance Collection

  Angela Stevens

  Copyright © 2020 by Angela Stevens

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Created with Vellum

  For RoryLynn, Tashia, Katie, and Lori who won a competition to appear as characters in this book. Thank you ladies for lending your bubbly personalities to Harriet’s adorable friends.

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Other Hot Hunk Titles

  Also by Angela Stevens

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Logan

  Friday Night…

  Jesus Christ, it’s like watching puppies being kicked.” Logan Jackson rolled his eyes at his newest staff member, who was standing before a table of women, trying to take their orders. The poor kid was out of his depth, his face the same shade as the Pink Squirrel cocktails Logan had just poured for the bachelorette group hanging out at the end of the bar.

  The women at the table giving Andy the runaround had been regulars at the bar for years, and they were a fun crowd. Unfortunately for Andy, they were also merciless on the new staffers.

  He flung his bar towel over his shoulder and headed around the bar and across to the table.

  “Mmm, I’d like Sex on the Beach,” Katie, a green-eyed, dark-blonde woman said, as she leaned across the table, a hint of flirtation in her voice. Andy flushed an even deeper shade of pink at her request.

  “Oh, me, too.” Tashia, whose top was a little low-cut, batted her eyelashes at Andy. He took one look at her voluptuous cleavage and hourglass figure, and his knees started quaking. “What about you, Andy?” Tashia purred. “Would you like to have sex on the beach, too?”

  “I-um… is that a real drink? Because, um, I’m new here, and…” Andy couldn’t decide where to put his eyes and they nervously darted between Tashia’s chest and Katie’s flickering eyelashes.

  Logan placed his hand on Andy’s shoulder. “Why don’t you go clear the tables over there, and I’ll take care of these ladies.”

  Andy almost cried with relief and scurried off across the bar. Logan cast his eyes around the table of five women before pointing directly at the curvy blonde who’d tortured Andy with her flirting and cleavage. “Tashia, you are bad. Jeez, do you know how hard it is to get bar staff? Honestly, every time I get a new one, you ladies devour them. Give the poor guy a break.”

  Tashia laughed and flopped back in her chair, unrepentant at her teasing of Andy. “Aw, come on, Logan, it was like shooting fish in a barrel.” She had a trace of a southern accent that always had a seductive tone.

  Logan shook his head. Tashia was sassy and outspoken, but she had a big heart. He pulled out his notebook. “Right, what are you all drinking next round? Why don’t we start with Harriet?”

  Harriet was the quietest of this bunch of girls, and she also happened to be his new tenant. She had taken the spare room in his apartment over the bar after she split up from her boyfriend three weeks ago. At the moment, she was even quieter than usual, swishing what was left of her drink around her glass.

  “Hey, why so glum? Bad day at the office?”

  “She’s still pining over Nigel.” RoryLynn winked at him, and when he winked back, the auburn-haired woman giggled, blushed, and began fiddling with her hair. The woman had a stunning smile that lit up the room, but she could be a little shy.

  “I am not!” Harriet didn’t sound very convincing in her denial. “Logan, these guys have been nagging me to get back into the dating scene. I was just saying it’s not that easy to meet someone, anymore. The thought of starting again scares the crap out of me.”

  Harriet stirred an ice cube around her glass with a twizzler. “Honestly, I can’t even be bothered trying. I am so off men.”

  Lori, sitting to Harriet’s left, reached out and patted her hand. “It gets easier, honey.”

  Logan laughed. “Well, on behalf of my gender, I apologize. But honestly, not all of us are like Nigel.”

  Harriet smiled up at him. “Yeah, I know. I just picked a bad one. But, huh, dating is a crap-shoot. Everything starts out rosy and then before you know it, they are cheating on you behind your back or they have turned into someone you don’t even recognize.”

  Logan glanced back at the bar just as his girlfriend pulled out a stool. Now why was Cassandra here? She knew he was working tonight. The last thing he needed was her hanging at the bar distracting him from his customers. He immediately felt guilty. Seeing her there should have really lifted him, but he felt the opposite.

  Harriet was right, things did seem rosy at the start of a relationship, but then something always changed, and as the fun went out of things, you began to wonder what you were clinging on to. He had a sneaking suspicion he was at that point with Cassandra, because this past week or so, he couldn’t muster up much enthusiasm for spending time with her, and for the life of him, he couldn’t think why.

  He sighed. Okay, maybe that wasn’t strictly true. Logan knew exactly when things started to sour with Cassandra. It was three weeks ago—the day he gave his spare room to Harriet.

  “You have to get back on that horse, sweetie,” Lori continued. “Tell her, Logan, she can’t just decorate your couch night after night.”

  “Hmm, I dunno, Harriet looks cute on my couch, and, besides, Marlow loves her. She gives him ear tickles when I’m not there.”

  Harriet mouthed, “Thanks,” at him, and he winked back at her.

  The girls meant well, but Logan knew Nigel had hurt her a lot. She’d only just moved in with the guy, when she found out he’d been cheating on her. The poor girl had been in a terrible state when she came to him. Harriet had given up her apartment and had nowhere to live. Logan had been able to help with a room and provided a shoulder to cry on, and he continued to help as he tried to boost her bruised confidence.

  “You won’t be single for long, Harriet. Any man would be lucky enough to date you. Enjoy your freedom, have some fun. Mr. Right will show up when you least expect it.” Logan turned his attention back to the others. “Okay, Lori, you want the same again?”

  The curly-haired woman lifted her glass and nodded. “Thanks, Logan.”

  “I’ll have the same again, too.” RoryLynn pushed her glass towards him as that blush reappeared on her cheeks.

  When Logan had all their orders jotted down, he collected the empty glasses and went back to the bar.

  “Hi, Logan.”

  “Hey, Cassandra, give me a minute to do this order.” Logan didn’t look up at his girlfriend as he gathered what he needed. Truth be told, he was a little irritated she was there. He didn’t have time to give her the attention he knew she’d want.

  Logan lined up five distinctive shaped cocktail glasses for his regulars and began mixing the drinks. As busy as the bar was, he found his eyes wandering back to the table of women. Maybe he should have been a better friend to Harriet when she first met
that no-good cheating boyfriend of hers.

  Nigel was a tall, cocky, rich stockbroker type. The guy strolled into Jackson’s with his brash and loud buddies just over a year ago. Logan kind of felt guilty that Harriet met Nigel at his bar, and he hadn’t put a stop to what he was certain would be a train wreck. That damn guy saw Harriet across the bar with her friends, and Mr. Flashy Suit and I-have-my-own-portfolio moved in on her before Logan served their first drinks. From the moment Logan saw him, he had that guy’s type pegged. But then he’d always had a dislike for Harriet’s boyfriends, so he kept his mouth shut.

  For some reason, Logan had always been protective of Harriet. Still, he knew right away that guy wouldn’t be right for her, and as one of Harriet’s oldest and best friends, he’d also known it was prudent to keep his mouth shut. To make matters worse, the way Harriet’s eyes twinkled when Nigel moved in on her told Logan it was most definitely the time to stay quiet.

  It turned out Logan’s gut had been right, and he really did wish he had said something and saved her the heartache. But there was nothing he could do about that anymore; all he could do now was help her pick up the pieces.

  Logan had been the first-person Harriet told when she decided to move in with Nigel, and the first person she ran to, sobbing, when she found out Nigel had been screwing his secretary in their bed.

  “Was that girl flirting with you, Lo?”

  Logan looked up from the drinks he was preparing and into the dark brown eyes of Cassandra. “Which girl?”

  “The Chubby one.”

  “Don’t be a bitch, Cassandra. It’s Tashia, and she flirts with everyone.” He sighed, not wanting another argument.

  That’s all he and Cassandra seemed to do these days. For the last few weeks, his six-month-long girlfriend had been picking away at their rocky relationship. Of course, he knew why. When his previous tenant had left three months ago, she’d had her eye on moving in with him and setting up home. But they were only three months into things, then, and as much as he liked Cassandra and was having fun with her, he was not sure she was the one. He’d been even less sure the last three weeks, because as soon as Harriet moved in, Cassandra’s green-eyed monster revealed itself.

  “You don’t have to flirt back.” She glared at him.

  “I didn’t.”

  He hadn’t. Tashia needed no encouragement, and Logan always played it cool around her. She was a huge flirt, and from what he’d seen, she’d swallow him whole and spit out the bones.

  He placed all five cocktails on the tray. “Why are you here? You know I’m working tonight.”

  “I wanted to hang out with my boyfriend. I hardly ever see you, Lo.” The whine in her voice made his hackles rise.

  So, there they were, back to that old chestnut. “He worked too late,” “too many hours in the week,” “was never able to take her out Saturday nights…” Jeez, what did she want him to do? He owned a freaking bar for God’s sake! He couldn’t very well close up at five o’clock because she wanted a nine-to-five guy.

  “Why don’t you go home. I’m short-staffed, and Andy isn’t much help as it is. I’m going to be done-in by the time I finish.”

  She narrowed her eyes at him, but Logan ignored the animosity and carried the drinks over to the women’s table.

  “Here we go, ladies. Now, who ordered the Kinky Orgasm?” He held up the highball glass filled to the brim with Bailey’s, Amaretto, and Kahlua.

  “That’ll be mine,” Tashia’s voice dropped to an even huskier tone, and she reached around him and pinched his ass.

  “Jesus, would you stop, already.” He laughed, removing the hand which was now fondling his butt cheek.

  “Bitch!” The tray of drinks flew out of his hands and landed on top of Tashia, who blinked through the fruity-colored concoctions as they dripped down her face.

  Cassandra glared at Tashia. “Keep your filthy hands off my boyfriend!”

  “Oh, my God!” Katie swiped up napkins off the table and jumped out of her seat to help her friend.

  As the glasses toppled over the table and to the floor, Logan grabbed Cassandra by the arm and shoved her away, as he pushed his body in front of her so she couldn’t get any closer to Tashia. “God, I am so sorry. Let me get you something to clean up with.” He waved his hand at Andy. “Bring some bar towels, and a pan and brush as fast as you can.” Andy dipped behind the bar to collect them.

  By now, RoryLynn was on the other side of Tashia picking lemon slices out of her friend’s hair as Lori and Harriet looked on in stunned silence.

  Logan closed his eyes briefly. What the fuck was up with Cassandra? He opened them and ignored his girlfriend, who was yelling something over his shoulder at Tashia. “Excuse me, ladies, I’ll be back in a minute.”

  Logan frog-marched Cassandra across the bar and bundled her out the back, and into a corridor. “What the hell did you do that for?”

  Cassandra crossed her arms over her chest. “To remind that bitch I’m your girlfriend. That slut…”

  “Seriously, Cassandra? This is my fucking livelihood here. We’ve been over this before. I am a bartender, women flirt with me. All. The. Fucking. Time! Get over it. It doesn’t mean a damn thing, and I don’t take it seriously. Neither do they, and neither should you.”

  “It looked like you were enjoying it to me.”

  Logan went to open his mouth and then closed it again. It wasn’t worth arguing with Cassandra when she got in this mood. He shook his head and turned to go back to the bar, but before he reached the door, Logan decided he couldn’t do this any longer.

  He looked over his shoulder at her. “You know what, Cassandra, I’ve had enough of your drama. You don’t need to worry about me flirting any longer, because we are through.”

  “Lo?”

  He cringed at the abuse of his name. “And that’s another thing, my name is Lo-gan. I hate that you try to shorten it. Go home. We’re done.”

  This time, Logan did walk away. He had nothing more to say to that woman. As he entered the bar area and went back to the women’s table to do damage control, he wondered why he hadn’t finished things between them weeks ago.

  At the table, Tashia was standing up while her friends mopped her down with the bar towels Andy had brought. Andy hovered on the outside of the circle of friends, unsure how to deal with the situation.

  Katie glared at Logan as he arrived. “You need to keep her on a leash. Your girlfriend is a menace.”

  “Not my girlfriend. Well, not anymore.”

  Harriet put her hand to his arm. “Oh, Logan, I’m sorry…”

  He shook his head. “Don’t be. Truth be told, I should have ended things weeks ago.”

  “Tashia, why don’t you come upstairs. I’ll lend you something to wear. You can’t sit around soaking wet,” Harriet suggested.

  Tashia shrugged. “Not sure I’m in the mood to stay after that.”

  Logan put his arm around her. “There’s free drinks until closing time.”

  Katie grinned up at him. “For all of us?”

  Logan took a deep breath. Fucking Cassandra was going to bankrupt him. “Yeah, for all of you.”

  Harriet

  Sunday Morning…

  Harriet was the last to arrive at the brunch place. Her four girlfriends were already sipping coffee when she got there. “Sorry, I’m late. I had to get Logan to drop me off, my battery was dead.”

  “Ooh, is Logan here?” Tashia looked across the restaurant searching for him.

  “No. He has to open the bar in an hour.”

  Tashia shrugged. “Damn, there goes my fun.”

  “You know, you shouldn’t tease him so much. Didn’t you learn anything from his girlfriend dousing you in cocktails?” Katie rolled her eyes at her friend.

  “He knows I don’t mean it. Besides, Logan is not my type.” Tashia handed Harriet the menu. “Hurry up and choose, I’m starving.”

  Harriet quickly glanced over it. “Mmm, I’ll have the huevos rancheros.” She
handed the menu to the waitress. “And coffee, please.”

  Lori giggled. “See, I told you we should have ordered for her. You always choose that here.”

  Harriet smiled back at her friend. “But I always like to look, you never know, I may not have been in the mood for it today.”

  After the food arrived, Harriet noticed an exchange of looks between RoryLynn and Tashia. She frowned at them. “Okay, what’s going on?”

  Lori gulped back a piece of waffle. “Um, well, we’ve been thinking…”

  “Thinking? Now why don’t I like the sound of that?” Harriet looked around the table, and her girlfriends put down their cutlery in unison.

  RoryLynn cleared her throat. “We think you need to find a new man.”

  Harriet groaned. “I don’t know, I’m not sure I’m ready. It’s only been a couple of weeks.”

  Katie clasped Harriet’s hand. “It’s almost a month, girlfriend. You have to wash that man out of your hair.”

  Harriet tugged her hand back and looked up at Tashia. “Please back me up, and tell them I don’t need this.”

  Tashia shook her head. “Sorry, sweetie, but I agree. It’s our solemn duty to make sure you don’t turn into an old maid.”

  Now, Harriet loved that her friends cared, but… “Why me? Lori isn’t dating anyone, so why don’t you help her?”

  “Um, actually, me and Mark got back together.”

  “You did? When did that happen?” Harriet’s heart sank as she realized she was the only one in their group without a man. Now, they’d be like a dog with a bone. She was doomed.

  Lori blushed. “After Logan’s girlfriend threw the cocktail over Tashia, I got a little tipsy after all those free drinks Logan gave us, and I might have texted him…”