Wish Upon a Christmas Star Read Online Free PDF Page A

lip.
“I’m not certain I can take them back. You did order them.”
    “Then just leave everything on the table,” Logan said. “We’ll
be here for a little while longer.”
    “Great!” Her enthusiasm was out of proportion to the situation.
“Hope you enjoy!”
    “Didn’t mean to step on your toes there, but she doesn’t seem
real experienced,” he said when the waitress was gone. “Besides, I can always go
for a piece of cheesecake.”
    He’d always had a sweet tooth. In high school, when they were
dating, Maria used to make it a point to have home-baked chocolate chip cookies
on hand when they studied together at her house.
    “By all means, dig in,” she said.
    He took a bite of cheesecake, and her eyes arrowed straight to
his mouth. With lips that were slightly full for a man’s, he had a gorgeous one.
She shifted in her seat, feeling decidedly uncomfortable. They hadn’t been alone
since they’d broken up, senior year of high school. In all that time, she’d seen
him only once, at her brother’s memorial service. If, that is, she didn’t count
the time she’d spotted him at the mall and ducked into a children’s clothing
store to avoid him.
    “How long are you home for?” she asked.
    “Just a few days.” He’d never had much of an accent—most people
who lived in the Lexington area didn’t—but any trace of Kentucky in his speech
was entirely gone. “My parents are leaving for a cruise on Wednesday and I’ve
got to get back to work.”
    Ah, work. It defined him. If not for his insistence on going
out of state to the University of Michigan to get a master’s degree in business
so he could make the almighty buck, they’d still be together.
    She’d wanted him to stick closer to home—and to her—by pursuing
his dream of becoming a painter at an art school in Louisville. They could have
moved into an apartment together, with Maria getting a job that would have paid
the rent.
    He’d called her proposal too risky, refusing to consider art
school and declaring that he needed to be financially secure before he’d live
with anyone.
    The fact that he hadn’t loved her enough to take a chance on
them still stung.
    “Are you at the same firm in New York?” She didn’t know why she
asked when she already knew the answer. The financial giant had hired Logan
right out of college, where he’d managed to get both his bachelor’s degree and
MBA in four years. If he’d changed jobs, Annalise would have mentioned it. She
and her husband still used Logan to manage their finances. Since the firm where
he worked was such a powerhouse, Maria was sure Logan kept them on as a
favor.
    “The same one,” he answered.
    “And still conscientious, I see.” Maria couldn’t hold back the
rest of her thought. “You’re rushing to get back to work when most other people
are going on holiday.”
    His shoulders stiffened. “It’s a good job.”
    “I’m happy for you, then.” She wanted to know if he was still
painting, except that was another volatile topic of discussion. Better to leave
it be.
    “How are things with you?” he asked.
    “Can’t complain.” She picked up her fork, then put it down.
She’d barely been able to choke down dinner. She wouldn’t be able to eat the
dessert Annalise had talked her into ordering. “I quit the police force four
years ago to go into private investigation. I’m a one-woman show, but I like it
that way.”
    “I heard you got divorced,” he said.
    She was probably imagining the edge to his voice. He hadn’t
cared enough to hang on to her, so why would her ex-husband be a sensitive
subject?
    “That was a while back,” she said. Before she’d left the
sheriff’s office but after she’d made the decision to quit. “We weren’t a good
match.”
    Logan nodded, saying nothing, and added two creams and two
sugars to his coffee.
    “How’s the family?” he asked before he took a swig.
    She avoided looking at his mouth, determined not to