Her Soldier Protector

Candace started walking even slower, a smile spreading over her face that he couldn’t miss as they passed a couple who didn’t even look at them.

“You have no idea what it feels like to just walk along the street and not be noticed. I’ve missed this for so long now.”

Logan looked up, taking comfort in the bright stars twinkling in the dark sky—the same stars he’d looked at every night when he was on tour even though he’d been on the other side of the world. When he was at home in the Outback, they always seemed brighter, but they were still just as pretty to look at in the city.

“When I was on my first couple of tours, white soldiers were pretty easy to notice. I remember the first time we went through a village, and the women were screaming out to us, begging us to help them. I couldn’t understand what they were saying, but the pleading, desperate looks they were giving us told me that I was their last chance. That that’s how they thought of us.” Logan took a deep breath, wondering why he was even telling Candace all this. He hardly ever spoke about his tours, except with Brett, but for some reason he just needed her to know. “These little children were hanging on to us, grabbing us as we walked through on patrol, and we gave them all the food we had. It wasn’t until the next day that we found out all the men had been killed by local insurgents, and the women were left to fend on their own, terrified that they’d be next, and with no way to provide for their children.”

Candace had almost stopped walking now, her eyes like saucers, filled with tears as she stared at him. Her hands were clenched into fists at her sides.

“What happened to them?”

Logan shook his head. “I don’t know. But I can tell you how awful it was to be recognized, as someone who those people thought could save them, when in reality all I could offer was some dried snacks and a candy bar. And it happened to us over and over again.”

“So, what you’re saying is that I need to stop caring about being recognized for who I am?” she asked, her voice soft.

“No, what I’m saying is that sometimes being recognized for the right reasons is okay. The people who want to see you just want a smile and an autograph, and they’re things you can give them. It’s when you’re powerless that being recognized is something to be scared of.”

Candace shook her head, a sad look on her face. “I sound like a selfish, self-centered idiot for even saying all that, when you compare it to what you went through. But I guess it’s just that I struggle with the whole fame thing. I’m a singer and I love what I do. It’s just the publicity that I find really difficult.” She sighed. “Unfortunately one doesn’t come without the other in this industry.”

“No, Candace, that’s not what I meant,” he said as they started to walk again. “I guess I just want you to know that I probably understand some of what you go through on a daily basis, even though our worlds are light-years apart.”

They walked in silence for a minute, almost at the restaurant. She knew what he meant, but she still felt stupid for moaning aloud about being recognized. She was lucky and she knew it, but lately being surrounded by fans had turned from flattering to downright scary.

“Have you ever tried Morton Bay bugs?” Logan asked, changing the subject.

Candace gave him a look like she was trying to figure out if he was joking. “I have no idea what you’re even talking about, but they sound revolting.”

He laughed. “Definitely not revolting, I promise you. They’re kind of like lobster, but different. Better.”

“You’re serious, aren’t you?” she groaned as he opened the door. “You’re actually going to make me eat something called a bug as punishment for the sashimi.”

“It’s a stupid name for what they are, but yeah, you’re definitely going to be eating them.” Logan chuckled as they stood and waited to be greeted. “Grilled with garlic butter, fresh bread on the side and...”

“Logan?”

He spun around, taking his eyes off Candace and her cute smile. “Hey, Jimmy.”

His old friend raised his eyebrows, looking from him to Candace, before his eyes widened. Logan gave him a look that he hoped he understood, not wanting their night ruined before it even started.

“The kitchen’s closing soon, but I can squeeze you two in if you order quick,” Jimmy said, grabbing two menus. “How you been, anyway? I haven’t seen you in ages.”

Logan motioned for Candace to follow, touching his hand to her lower back and guiding her forward.

“I’ve been okay, can’t complain. Especially since I’m back for good now.”

Jimmy walked them through the restaurant and waved toward an alfresco table, complete with low candles on the table and a view out over the water. Even though it was dark, the water was twinkling under the lights from all the restaurants and the luxury yachts moored nearby. The night air was warm, slightly muggy still after the hot day.

“Do you even need these?” Jimmy asked with a grin, gesturing at the menus.

Logan grinned straight back at him, pulling out a seat for Candace. Jimmy obviously knew exactly who she was—maybe he was just too starstruck to remember his manners, or his job.

“Let’s start with two buckets of prawns and sourdough bread, then Morton Bay bugs for two, and maybe a Caesar salad.”

Jimmy was nodding, but he was also spending most of his time glancing at Candace, who was looking out at the water, her body turned away from them.

Logan leaned in closer to his childhood friend, giving him a playful whack across the back of the head.

“Don’t you breathe a word of this to anyone until we’re gone. No tipping the media off, no telling your girlfriend.”

Jimmy made a face like his head hurt, but he was still grinning. “Can I at least get an autograph before you leave?”

“Keep everyone else away from us and I’ll make sure you get one. Deal?”

Jimmy’s smile grew wider. “And a big tip, too, right?”

“You do know I have a dog that could eat you in a few mouthfuls, don’t you?” Logan said in a low voice, smiling as Candace turned to face them.

Jimmy just laughed. “I’ll get your order in and bring you some drinks. Champagne?”

Logan sat down and glanced at Candace. “Bubbly or beer?”

She made a thoughtful face before one side of her mouth tilted up into a smile. “Let’s have a beer. Why not?”

Logan didn’t let the surprise show on his face, even though he’d never have picked her choosing beer over champagne in a million years. “You heard the lady. Two beers, bottles not glasses.”

Jimmy shook his head and walked off, leaving Logan to burst out laughing. Candace seemed to be finding the entire thing as hilarious as he was.

“He knew who I was the moment we walked in, didn’t he?” she asked in a soft voice, like she wasn’t in the least bit surprised.

Logan wasn’t going to lie to her. “Yeah, he did. But there’s no way he’s going to make a fuss or say anything, okay?”

She nodded. “So you don’t think it’ll be in the papers that I was spotted out with a mystery man, knocking back beers? Knowing the paps, they’ll probably say I was out of control and ready for rehab.”

“You missed the part about us digging into two massive buckets filled with prawns, that we’ll be eating with our fingers like barbarians instead of fine dining.”

Candace dipped her head when she laughed, looking up at him like she wasn’t entirely sure whether he was ever being serious or always joking. “And here I was thinking you’d brought me to a classy restaurant.”

“Believe me, nothing in the world is better than fresh seafood eaten with your fingers, washed down by an ice-cold beer. We don’t need five forks and silver service to eat incredible food.”

“Well, I’ll have to reserve judgment until I’ve experienced it, but I’m guessing you’re probably right.”

He leaned back in his chair. “See the beautiful super yachts out there?”

She nodded, following his gaze.

“When you come here earlier in the evening, there are waiters running back and forth from the restaurant to the boats, carrying silver trays of seafood and champagne. It’s crazy, but a lot of fun to watch.”

“I was right going with my gut feeling on promoting Australia to the world,” she said with a laugh. “Next time I’m ready for a vacation, I’m heading straight back here.”

CHAPTER THREE

CANDACE LOOKED BACK out at the water to avoid looking at the man seated across from her. There was something exciting about being out somewhere different, on the other side of the world, and with someone she hardly knew. And for the first time in forever, she actually felt like herself, like the old her, the one she’d started to slowly lose a few years earlier. When her marriage had started to crumble, so had her self-confidence, and then when her mom had died...she pushed the dark thoughts away and focused on Logan.

“Is this somewhere you come often?”

Logan leaned forward, both hands on his beer bottle. She took a sip of hers while she waited for his response.

“I’ve been coming here for years. Every time I came home from deployment, this was the first place I headed to for a meal,” he told her. “There were three of us with a standing date.”

“As in three soldiers?” she asked, curious.

Logan twirled his beer bottle between his hands. “Yeah.”

Candace could sense there was something else going on, something unsaid, but she didn’t know him well enough to pry. She knew what it was like to want to keep some things private.

“It must have been a relief coming here for the amazing food after what you had to eat over there,” she said, wanting to give him an out if he needed it.

Logan looked up and met her gaze. “It was. There’s only so much dried jerky and dehydrated food a guy can eat, right?”

She laughed, but it died in her throat as their waiter approached the table with an enormous amount of food.

“No way.”

Logan grinned and leaned back as two large silver buckets filled with prawns were placed in front of them. She’d never seen so much seafood in her life.

“You’re telling me that this is just for starters?” she asked, groaning.

The waiter returned with two dishes of some kind of sauce and freshly quartered lemons, as well as a bowl of warm water, which she guessed was for them to dip their fingers in to after eating.

“In Australia, we have a saying that you can’t eat enough seafood,” Logan told her.

“You do?” Candace watched as he picked up one of the prawns and pulled the head off, before peeling the shell.

“No, I just made that up to make you think this was a good idea.” He gave her a wink that made her heart thud to her toes. “If you don’t want to get your hands dirty I can peel yours?” he offered.

“I appreciate the gesture but I think it’s about time I got my hands dirty.” She was sick of people running around and doing everything for her, and tonight was about her just being her. “You show me what to do and I’ll do it.”

“You just have to grab your beer bottle between your palms so it doesn’t get all greasy. Like this,” Logan explained, demonstrating with a quick swig of his beer before dipping his prawn into the sauce.

Candace just shook her head, finding it hard to believe that she’d been performing live in front of twenty thousand people only an hour earlier, and was now sitting at a restaurant, tucking into a meal with the man who’d been assigned her personal head of security. Add to that the fact she hadn’t been asked for even one autograph...it was insane. She shouldn’t have trusted him so easily, but she hadn’t been so relaxed in a long time. Maybe she’d wake up and realize it had all just been a dream, but if it had been, at least it had been a nice one.

She peeled her first prawn and dipped it in the sauce.

“Good?” he asked.

“Amazing,” she murmured, hand over her mouth as she spoke. “You were right.”

They sat in silence for a while, both eating their prawns and sipping beer. Something told her that Logan wasn’t usually a big talker—that he was comfortable not saying anything at all, and she liked it. Where she’d grown up, the men had a motto of speaking only when they’d had something worthy of being said, but her adult life had been filled with men who couldn’t say enough to make themselves sound important.

“So have you always lived in the city?” she asked.

Logan looked up, finishing his mouthful and dipping his fingers in the lemon water to clean them. She watched as he dried his hands on the napkin.

“I actually grew up in the Outback,” he told her, finishing his beer before leaning back in his chair. “I’m based here a lot of the time, but when I’m not working I head straight back there just to be away from the city and out in the open air.”

So, that’s why she felt so comfortable around him. It had been a while since she’d hung out with a country boy.

“Your family all ranch out there?”

He grinned. “We call it farming here, but yeah, it’s my family property.”

Candace paused, slowly peeling a prawn. “So your dad runs the place or a brother?”

Logan took a deep breath, she could see the rise and fall of his chest, before he waved to a waiter and gestured for another beer. He glanced at her, but Candace shook her head—hers was still half-full.

He cleared his throat. “My parents both died a few years ago, and my sister lives on a farm with her husband,” Logan explained. “The property has been in our family for generations, so I’d rather die than sell the place, but I’ve had to have a manager employed while I’ve been serving so the place can continue to run smoothly.”

Candace sighed. “I shouldn’t have been so nosey, Logan. I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. Sometimes it’s just hard to say out loud, because admitting it makes it real, as stupid as that sounds.”

She knew exactly how that felt. “My mom died a couple of years ago, and if I’m honest, that’s why I’ve put up with my management team for longer than I should have. She was the one who dealt with all that stuff so I could just focus on singing, and I’m still pretty lost without her. She was the business brains and I was the creative one, and it had always been just the two of us. We made a good team.”

Logan took the beer that arrived at their table, his eyes leaving hers to look out at the water. She did the same, because it seemed wrong to keep watching him when he was obviously troubled about what they were talking about. He was silent.

“I didn’t mean to just unleash all that on you,” she apologized. “I don’t usually spill my thoughts so easily, but...”

“It’s nice to tell someone who actually gets it, right?” he finished, gaze meeting hers again.

“Yeah,” she murmured, “something like that.”

“Losing a parent is tough, and it doesn’t get easier, so don’t believe anyone if they try to tell you otherwise,” he told her. “But you do learn to live with it.”

Their table was cleared then and within minutes two large white plates were placed in front of them.

“So these are the bugs, huh?”

Logan nodded, but he was more reserved now than he’d been before—his enthusiasm dulled.

“You just scoop the white meat out of the shell,” he told her. “It’s incredible.”

Candace spread her napkin over her lap, smoothing out the wrinkles, before picking up her fork and following Logan’s lead. He was right—again—the food was great.

“Thanks for a lovely evening,” she told him when she’d finished her mouthful. “It was completely unexpected and I appreciate the gesture.”

He gave her a weird look. “Sounds like you’re ready to leave.”

“No, I’m just grateful that I’ve actually enjoyed a night in someone else’s company. You’ve given me some perspective at a time when I needed it.”

Logan went back to getting every last piece of meat from the shellfish, and she forced herself to stop watching him and just eat, too. There was something so refreshingly real about him.

“Another beer?”

She looked at her bottle and was about to say no, before she changed her mind. “You know what? Yeah. I’d love another. Why not?”

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