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

Chapter 23

Tess watched Dylan and Logan make themselves at home in the café's kitchen. They'd made sure the reporters stayed outside, which was just as well considering Logan had been part of the reason they were there.

She now had a fan club of about twenty customers sitting inside the café, waiting to see one of the women involved in the Senator Gibson scandal. The fact that her grandparents had lived in Bozeman for more than seventy years gave her story more local appeal. But it didn't make her any less of an idiot for trusting Logan. He'd sucked her into his life, made her think he wasn't so bad after all. She might even have thought he was pretty amazing.

She'd been blinded by his brown eyes and lethal smile, hoodwinked by his sense of humor and kind heart. It was just a pity he had the instincts of a shark and the morals of an alley cat.

Then she felt mildly disturbed that she'd discredited alley cats by comparing them to Logan. They couldn't help the circumstances of their existence, but he could.

Trying to get rid of the frustration simmering inside of her, Tess beat a bowl of butter and sugar to within an inch of its life. While she struggled to find the good in anything that had happened, Logan flipped pancakes and Dylan ate a bowl of Annie's homemade granola.

Two pancakes slid toward her on a plate. "You'll wear a hole in that bowl." Logan's voice might have been slightly amused, but his face was wary.

At least he wasn't stupid. He'd point blank denied taking the photos in the paper. After everything that had happened, Tess didn't believe him, and he knew it.

"It's better than using the spoon on you," she said sweetly.

Dylan made a sound that could have been a snort of amusement or a dry cough. He walked across the kitchen and left his breakfast bowl in the dishwasher. "I have to go to work. Call me if you need anything." He sent Logan a pointed look before leaving.

Tess didn't know what the look meant and she wasn't about to ask. Logan had already annoyed her more than once. She wasn't about to prolong his presence in her café.

He'd insisted she call her two part-time staff to help with the early morning rush. She'd come up with every excuse she could think of to keep them at home. But as soon as she'd mentioned reporters, media, and scandal in the same sentence to Lizzie and Samantha, there'd been no stopping them. They'd practically flown through the back door, checking their lipstick and hair before descending on the circus in the front of the café.

It was the type of day no one expected to see in Bozeman. But if you were going to be part of it, a solid coat of lipstick, a tight, but not revealing dress, and the perfect hairstyle were essential.

Lizzie and Samantha, like the people around them, hadn't come to Angel Wings Café for the coffee they were drinking or the food they were eating. They'd come for two reasons—to see Tess and try to get their faces in front of a television camera.

Annie pushed open the kitchen door. "We need three short stacks of pancakes. One stack of blueberry, one plain, and one with lemon and ginger syrup."

Logan ladled pancake mixture onto the hot griddle. "Coming right up."

"Do you need more toasted sandwiches?" Tess asked as she added flour to her cake mixture.

"Cheese and tomato are running low."

"I'll get more out to you in a couple of minutes."

Annie nodded and looked around the kitchen. "Where's Dylan?"

"Left for work," Logan answered. "How's everything going out there?"

"Busy. A few of the regulars have gone home. They said it was too noisy for them and they'd see us tomorrow."