All of Me: A Small Town Romance (The Bridesmaids Club Book 1)

Chapter 8

Tess looked at her notebook, then at the sign on the building in front of her. Jay's Book and Office Supply wasn't far from Angel Wings Café. After shooing the last of the students out of the café, she'd locked the door and headed on foot to look for Connie.

"Wait for me."

Her heart skipped a beat when she saw the six-foot-five, seriously toned body heading toward her. But then being in the same room as Logan was enough to make her forget about her aversion to reporters. "You didn't come in at lunchtime."

"Didn't want to make a nuisance of myself."

A smile worked its way across her face. "That hasn't worried you before."

"It does now. Is this the first stationery store you've visited?"

"Unfortunately, yes. I was hoping to be finished by now, but a group of teenage boys didn't want to leave the café."

"It could have something to do with the pretty blond behind the counter."

Tess frowned. Kate helped her in the afternoon, but Kate had deep chestnut-colored hair. "You mean me?"

"Is there another pretty blond working with you that I don't know about?"

She crossed her arms in front of her chest. "You can't go around calling me pretty."

"Why not?"

"People will talk."

Logan seemed to consider her words for longer than was strictly necessary. "My sister thinks you're pretty. Is that more appropriate?"

"It's better," Tess muttered. "What are you doing here, anyway?"

"I've come to help. Sally gave me the names of the stores you were visiting."

"But you didn't want to help. Showing us where Connie and Dave lived was as much as you wanted to do."

"I've been thinking about Molly's idea. The one about documenting what you're doing. I'd like to do a follow-up story. If Molly's happy to provide photos, it would make a good weekend article."

"You're using us for a story?"

"I'm a reporter."

Tess was sure the smile he was flashing her had won him more friends than enemies, but she wasn't fooled. "You'll have to check with everyone else. They might not want people knowing what we're doing. And even if Molly, Sally, and Annie don't mind, your readers might not be interested."

"Are you kidding? This is one of those random acts of kindness stories that everyone loves."

"It's not award-winning journalism."

The smile on Logan's face dimmed. "My award days are over."

From her experience, reporters never gave up finding stories that would shock the world. But Logan looked sincere. Maybe she was projecting all of her trust issues on him, and maybe he didn't deserve that.

"Okay," she said. "You can come with me."

Logan walked ahead of her and opened the door to the stationery store. "After you."

At any other time, she would have been impressed with his manners. But his manners were attached to a story she didn't want to share. "I'll ask the lady at the front counter if she knows Connie."

Logan nodded and followed her into the room.

She smiled at the sales assistant and held out her hand. "I'm Tess Williams. Does Connie Thompson work here?"