The Real Thing Read Online Free PDF

the privacy she wanted, if not the company. But i f she and Logan stayed out of each other’s way, they should be able to make it through the snowstorm without killing one another.
    She set her mug on the coffee table and dug in her bag for her eReader , eager to get back to the romance novel she’d been readin g . She was so immersed in the drama between the hero and heroine she didn’t realize it was mid-afternoon until her stomach growled, reminding her she hadn’t eaten anything but that small bowl of oatmeal.
    Setting her eReader on the table, she unfolded her self from the couch and stretched her arms over her head. Of its own accord, her gaze strayed to the door of Logan’s studio. Except for the time he’d come out to put more wood on the fire, he’d been in there all day.
    She picked up her empty mug and walked into the kitchen. Filling a small pot with water, she set it on the stove to heat, then opened a packet of cocoa and dumped the powder into her mug. While she waited for the water to boil, her gaze went to the door of Logan’s studio again . On impulse, she took a clean mug from the cabinet and emptied a second packet of cocoa into it. Hoping there was something to eat in the cabin other than beef stew and tuna fish , she opened the cabinet closest to her and was relieved to see a box of cookies. Quickly stirring hot water into the mugs , she tuck ed the box of cookies under an arm and he ad ed for Logan’s studio.
    She knocked, then walke d in without waiting for an answer. Logan was hunched over a table, a paint brush in his hand, and he looked up with a frown.
    Raine gave him a small smile. “I got hungry and I thought you might be, too. ”
    She set his mug down on the table and took the bo x of cookies out from under her arm. It was as close to a thank you as he was going to get for coming out to get her.
    Logan hesitated, then picked up the mug and took a sip. “Thanks . ”
    She opened the box of cookies and took out two , then handed one to him. She nibbled on hers as she studied the watercolor painting he was working on. It was a snow scene with a wintry sky and a stream that was partially frozen. In the foreground, there was a rabbit , his ears perked as if listening .
    “ This is really good, ” she said.
    His eyes narrow ed. “You sound surprised. ”
    “ I am. ” She gave him a sheepish look. “When you told me you were an artist, I had a hard time picturin g it, but you’re very talented.”
    Raine looked around the room. There was an easel by the window, and another off to the side, as well as several blank canvases leaning up against the wall.
    “ D o you only paint in waterc olor?”
    “Oils mostly . I just s tarted using watercolor .”
    You’d never know it. The painting he was working on was beautiful. “But you only paint landscapes, right?”
    “And wildlife.”
    “Do you show in a gallery?”
    “Up in Seattle.”
    She nodded. Maybe she’d stop by next time she wa s in the area and check out the rest of his stuff. It wasn’t the type of artwork she hung on the wall, but her parents would love one of his paintings. She hadn’t sent a peace offering in a while, and since they weren’t going to get those grandchildren they wanted from her marriage to Cameron, an expensive original by a talented artist would have to do.
    “ I saw a package of noodles in the cabinet,” she said. “I thought I ’d throw them together with that can of tuna and make a casserole for dinner, if that’s all right.”
    Logan looked surprised . What, did he think she couldn’t cook because she made movies for a living? Admittedly, she didn’t do it often, but she knew her way around the kitchen when she had to. Besides, if she didn’t take the initiative and make something for dinner, they’d end up having beef stew again.
    “That sounds good,” he said.
    “I’ll let you get back to work . ”
    Giving him a smile, she grabbed two cookies from the package , then turned and left