ones with their purchases in a way that made them feel comfortable and at ease. While he was impressed by her obvious success, he was curious to know what had prompted her to open up a business in an industry that provided adult products and erotic toys that ranged from the mild to triple X-rated.
As soon as she sent off her email and set her phone back on the table, he posed the question. “What made you open up an adult boutique?”
She eyed him guardedly, as if debating whether or not to have this discussion with him. It was the same hesitant response she’d had when he’d asked her yesterday where she worked and she’d at first been defensive about her shop. He supposed it was a knee-jerk reaction, because she probably dealt with narrow-minded people who didn’t hesitate to criticize or condemn her.
“I’m not judging you, Raina. Remember, I’m the guy with a membership to The Players Club that features more kink and fetish items than your store,” he teased good-naturedly and watched as her stiffened shoulders relaxed. “Everyone has a motivating factor in life that leads them down a certain path, whether it’s planned or not, and I’m genuinely curious to know what the catalyst was for how you ended up in the business.”
“Opening an adult toy store wasn’t something I’d planned on doing with my life,” she said with a too-casual shrug. “It just happened out of necessity.”
He tipped his head, refusing to let it go at such a vague answer. “What was the necessity?” He was no longer just curious…he had this burning need to know everything about her. She fascinated him on so many levels and drew him in ways no woman ever had with her combination of feminine strength, independence, and determination.
Which shocked the hell out of him. At one time in his life, he would have sworn he preferred a more passive, docile type of woman, the kind who would be happy to stay at home and be a wife and mother to their kids. The kind of soft, gentle woman he could take care of and she’d want for nothing because he would provide everything. Just as his father had treated his mother.
Except his everything hadn’t been enough for the woman he’d thought he’d marry.
He pushed those thoughts from his head and watched as Raina reached out and toyed with her fork, mulling over the question he’d just asked her. Then she gave him a half-hearted smile. “It’s actually a pretty depressing story.”
The shadows he glimpsed in her gaze made his chest squeeze tight. “Doesn’t matter. I want to hear the story. All of it.”
Raina stared at Logan for a long moment, completely swayed by the genuine sincerity in his voice and eyes. She couldn’t recall the last man who’d been interested in knowing about her past, about her personally, or beyond the woman who owned an adult novelty store. Not even her fiancé had known the gritty, painful details of her family’s dysfunctional dynamics—he’d never asked, and she’d always been too ashamed to bring it up herself.
Looking back, she should have seen that as a huge red flag, but she’d truly wanted to believe that Derek was different. Instead, he’d proved that he was no better than the other man in her life, her father, who’d judged her, condemned her, and ostracized her.
She exhaled a deep breath, and before she changed her mind, she spoke. “The summer after I graduated high school, about two weeks after I turned eighteen, my father kicked me out of the mobile home we lived in at a trailer park with nothing more than the clothes on my back.”
“Why?” he asked, looking as appalled as he sounded.
“Because he caught me making out with my boyfriend on the living room couch.”
She saw Logan’s confusion and went on to explain, because her father’s illness had led up to that dark, horrible night when her entire life had changed. “My dad was bipolar, but he never stayed on his meds for long, so he was constantly going through severe
As soon as she sent off her email and set her phone back on the table, he posed the question. “What made you open up an adult boutique?”
She eyed him guardedly, as if debating whether or not to have this discussion with him. It was the same hesitant response she’d had when he’d asked her yesterday where she worked and she’d at first been defensive about her shop. He supposed it was a knee-jerk reaction, because she probably dealt with narrow-minded people who didn’t hesitate to criticize or condemn her.
“I’m not judging you, Raina. Remember, I’m the guy with a membership to The Players Club that features more kink and fetish items than your store,” he teased good-naturedly and watched as her stiffened shoulders relaxed. “Everyone has a motivating factor in life that leads them down a certain path, whether it’s planned or not, and I’m genuinely curious to know what the catalyst was for how you ended up in the business.”
“Opening an adult toy store wasn’t something I’d planned on doing with my life,” she said with a too-casual shrug. “It just happened out of necessity.”
He tipped his head, refusing to let it go at such a vague answer. “What was the necessity?” He was no longer just curious…he had this burning need to know everything about her. She fascinated him on so many levels and drew him in ways no woman ever had with her combination of feminine strength, independence, and determination.
Which shocked the hell out of him. At one time in his life, he would have sworn he preferred a more passive, docile type of woman, the kind who would be happy to stay at home and be a wife and mother to their kids. The kind of soft, gentle woman he could take care of and she’d want for nothing because he would provide everything. Just as his father had treated his mother.
Except his everything hadn’t been enough for the woman he’d thought he’d marry.
He pushed those thoughts from his head and watched as Raina reached out and toyed with her fork, mulling over the question he’d just asked her. Then she gave him a half-hearted smile. “It’s actually a pretty depressing story.”
The shadows he glimpsed in her gaze made his chest squeeze tight. “Doesn’t matter. I want to hear the story. All of it.”
Raina stared at Logan for a long moment, completely swayed by the genuine sincerity in his voice and eyes. She couldn’t recall the last man who’d been interested in knowing about her past, about her personally, or beyond the woman who owned an adult novelty store. Not even her fiancé had known the gritty, painful details of her family’s dysfunctional dynamics—he’d never asked, and she’d always been too ashamed to bring it up herself.
Looking back, she should have seen that as a huge red flag, but she’d truly wanted to believe that Derek was different. Instead, he’d proved that he was no better than the other man in her life, her father, who’d judged her, condemned her, and ostracized her.
She exhaled a deep breath, and before she changed her mind, she spoke. “The summer after I graduated high school, about two weeks after I turned eighteen, my father kicked me out of the mobile home we lived in at a trailer park with nothing more than the clothes on my back.”
“Why?” he asked, looking as appalled as he sounded.
“Because he caught me making out with my boyfriend on the living room couch.”
She saw Logan’s confusion and went on to explain, because her father’s illness had led up to that dark, horrible night when her entire life had changed. “My dad was bipolar, but he never stayed on his meds for long, so he was constantly going through severe
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