The Promise of Us (Sanctuary Sound #2)(79)

“Yes, I remember.” Claire smiled, extending her hand. “Nice to meet you, Karina.”

Karina shot Logan a curious look and returned Claire’s smile. “You too, Claire, although I confess I’m at a slight disadvantage, having not yet heard about you.”

If Logan could’ve stomped on Karina’s foot without drawing attention, he might’ve. “I’ve known Claire since middle school. She’s redecorating my apartment, which is going to be fabulous.”

“I can’t wait to see it.” Karina smiled. “Will it be finished by the time we get back from Lesbos?”

He felt Claire stiffen and assumed it was because he hadn’t yet told her about his decision to leave for Lesbos in another week.

“It might even be finished before you leave,” Claire tentatively replied.

“So soon?” Karina laughed before knocking back most of her drink. “You must be a miracle worker. Maybe I’ll hire you next.”

To Claire’s credit, she didn’t quiz him about when they were taking off. Her smile didn’t slip. For all intents and purposes, she looked completely unaffected by his impending plans. That should please him. He’d never liked a clingy woman. Still, he surveyed the heaviness in his chest and knew it didn’t feel anything like relief.

“No miracles, sadly. I do try to understand people so that their home reflects something about them.” Claire’s expression suggested she might’ve bit back a snarky remark—about what, exactly, he’d never know. Perhaps she thought Karina was the woman with whom he’d painted his bedroom wall. “Of course, compared with what you two do, my job must seem rather ordinary.”

“Actually, it sounds really nice. Logan and I expose ugly environments in the hope that horrifying others will force change. You create environments designed to make people feel good. Must be nice to bring a smile to someone’s day.” She elbowed Logan, laughing, and polished off her martini. “At the very least, people are happy to see her coming. Us, not so much.”

Logan needed to occupy Karina with someone other than Claire, for everyone’s sake. He caught Ben eyeing them again and waved him over. “Karina, I want to introduce you to another friend. A good-looking, single one who’s here alone, like you.”

She narrowed her eyes at him before pasting a smile on her face and turning to greet Ben just as he arrived.

“Ben Lockwood, this is my colleague, Karina Báez. Karina, Ben . . . an old friend.”

Karina’s smile turned genuine in the face of Ben’s rugged good looks. Sandy-colored hair, hazel eyes framed by dark brows and lashes, and a strong, square jaw. All cleaned up he looked sophisticated, unlike when in jeans at the hardware store.

“Nice to meet you, Karina.” Ben shook her hand.

“Same.” Karina took Logan’s hint and, after handing her empty glass to him, threaded her arm through Ben’s. “So, Ben, how about we hit up the bartender for another round and you tell me a little about this town.”

Logan would feel bad about foisting her on Ben except that Ben didn’t look particularly unhappy about having Karina glued to his side. She was quite striking and somewhat of a guy’s gal in terms of her interests.

He wound his arm around Claire’s waist. “Sorry about that. I forgot she was coming.”

“Then you owe her the apology, not me.”

“I didn’t invite her as a date, Claire. I only meant that I forgot to tell you about our trip to Greece. We recently finalized plans to take off next Tuesday to try to get ahead of an upcoming legal decision about the refugee situation.”

Claire’s smile thinned. “How long will you be gone?”

“As long as it takes to get the story. Hopefully, no more than a month.”

Her brows rose. “I didn’t realize . . . that’s quite an adventure. Will you be able to communicate with us so we know you’re safe?”

“I’m not usually good about checking in. Truthfully, no one’s ever asked me to before.” A sad truth.

She sighed, resigned. “So it’s the ‘no news is good news’ policy?”

He gently touched her jaw and kissed her in the middle of the party, enjoying the blush that immediately flooded her face. “Thank you for caring so much. It feels nice.”

“My caring is nothing new, Logan. We both know that much.” Something over his shoulder caught Claire’s eye. She squeezed his hand, her voice a little too bright. “Will you excuse me for a minute? I’ll meet you at the table.”

Before he replied, she turned and disappeared into the crowd just before his sister came to his side.

“Well, she sure can move fast when properly motivated,” Peyton said in a self-deprecating tone.

“You look smashing, sis.” He put his arm around her and kissed her temple. “This wig is perfect on you, but one day I want to boldly display our short hair together.”

“Not until mine starts to look like hair instead of fuzz. I think it might be coming in curly. I heard that could happen.”

The event photographer—a middle-aged mother he didn’t recognize—stopped them. “I need a photograph of the youngest Prescotts. Do you mind?”

“Sure,” Logan said, turning himself and Peyton toward the lens before she had a chance to beg off. He whispered, “Smile.”