Love by Design. Lisa Watson

      “May be?” Dakota retorted. “You destroyed our friendship, Logan. You left abruptly—and you didn’t look back.” She left out the part about when she needed him most.

      Susan glanced between the two of them. “Uh, I think I’ll let you two catch up.”

      She stood up and bolted from the room.

      The lofty reply got under Dakota’s skin in record time and spurred her to action. She was across the room in seconds.

      “What are you doing here?”

      Logan sat down on the couch. “Are you going to stand here hissing at me like an angry kitten, or are you going to welcome a good friend home?”

      “There’s that word again,” she replied. “I haven’t seen you in how many years, Logan? I’d hardly call us friends—good or otherwise.”

      “We were inseparable once.”

      “Yes, we were…and then you ruined it.”

      He nodded. “Fair enough, but it’s not like I’ve changed much, Koty.”

      “Nope, still the selfish jackass you’ve always been,” she quipped. “And it’s Dakota. Nobody calls me Koty…not anymore.”

      “How about we call a cease-fire, and you ask me why I’m here?”

      “How about you explain why you stayed away in the first place? Better yet, why you didn’t level with me if your feelings had changed, and why you’re sitting here like I’m supposed to run into your arms and give you a big welcome-home hug. I can tell you right now, that ain’t happening.”

      “Can you please sit down and let me explain?”

      With an exasperated sigh, Dakota took a seat across from him. “I’m sitting. Now why are you here? I thought Chicago was the last place you wanted to be?”

      He winced at the not-so-subtle reminder of words spoken long ago that she had overheard. “For a long time it was…but things change.”

      Her expression was guarded. “I know that better than anyone.”

      He sighed. “I did come back, often, if I recall.”

      “Yes, you did, but nothing was ever the same. Tell me I’m wrong. Each time I saw you things were…awkward between us.”

      “I don’t expect you to understand, but I stayed away to make a name for myself.”

      “Last time I checked, you were a Montague. How many names do you need?”

      “You know what I mean. I left at my father’s insistence to learn the family business, but I also went in search of life on my own terms…without all the baggage—and the money. It was important to me.”

      “Obviously more important than our friendship.”

      His expression turned remorseful. “You know that wasn’t the case.”

      “Do I?” She stared at him. “What was I supposed to think, Logan? You spouted some gibberish about going off to work at Montague…something you said you’d never do.”

      “It was at my parents’ insistence, Dakota. I didn’t exactly have a choice in the matter. I never wanted to leave Chicago—or you.”

      “But you kissed me…we kissed, Logan. You literally ask me to wait for you, and then you leave and go to New York, but that’s not the best part. Then you go to California to attend Stanford instead of Georgetown University like we planned. You didn’t tell me about your decision until it was too late to stop you. Which I’m sure you bargained for.”

      Logan glanced up. “Dakota, nothing during those years turned out the way I’d hoped. It was wrong of me to ask you to put your life on hold for me, but…I thought we had something developing between us that we should explore.”

      “So did I, but then things changed.”

      “I know. I’m sorry, Dakota.”

      When she remained quiet, he continued. “So you did end up going to Georgetown?”

      “That was the plan,” she said pointedly. “I kept my end of our promise. And to add insult to injury, you didn’t keep in contact.”

      The bitter censure in her words was not lost on Logan.

      “So what about you?”

      She looked confused. “What about me?”

      “You didn’t bother to visit. You knew where I was, and you didn’t come. Not once.”

      “Are you kidding, I—”

      Dakota clamped her mouth shut. She was about to confess that she had come to visit, but stopped before she could humiliate herself by telling him the truth. She would never admit that she did go to see him, but that when she reached his dorm room and a friend let her in, she discovered Logan in bed with another woman. That’s when her heart had shattered into a heap at her feet, and she realized that she had loved Logan—and lost him. She swore he would never know the extent of her pain, or heartbreak. That one kiss they shared before he left was their first…and last.

      “You what?”

      “Nothing,” she said quickly. “You’re right. I’m the bad guy here.”

      “I never said that.”

      “I didn’t come see you when I could have. Truth is, I found myself very unmotivated to travel across the country to see a man who didn’t want to be in the same city with me.”

      It bothered her, being so affected by their busted-up friendship. It should have been water under the bridge—too many things had occurred since he left. He was absent when she needed him most. To see him now after so many years of silence was like a well-placed chisel chipping away at a wall of ice.

      “It wasn’t that, Dakota. I…wanted to see you. I never stopped wanting to see you.”

      “Yeah? Well, your actions spoke way louder than words, Logan.”

      He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his legs. “Koty, I know that I hurt you…terribly, and that I can never fix what I…threw away. And I get that you don’t want to see me, but I’m here to make things right between us.”

      “How do you propose to do that, Logan?” she scoffed. “A time machine?”

      “I’d use it if I had one. Since I don’t, I need you to hear me out. I’ve got an idea that could be advantageous—to both of us.”

      Dakota crossed her arms in front of her. If she was going to be fed a line, she wanted to be good and comfortable. “Fine, Logan, let’s hear it.”

      “I want to hire you to renovate my resorts.”

      “Your resorts? I thought your parents were still at the helm.”

      He shook his head. “They stepped down a few months ago and put me in charge. Dad still runs Montague, but I’m the new CEO of Belle Resorts.”

      “Great for you, but why do you want me?”

      “You’re the only one I’ve ever wanted.”

      Her eyebrow arched upward. “You could’ve fooled me.”

      “For this job,” he explained. “Your caliber of expertise is just what Belle Cove needs to introduce her to a whole new demographic. She has to change with the times, Dakota. Right now we’re viewed as too elitist, and unapproachable. If we’re to prosper, we need more overall appeal. While still remaining luxurious, of course.”

      She shook her head. “I can’t believe you want me to work for you.”

      “I do, but more important, given our history…can you work for me?”

      Dakota