Reaching for the Moon by ThePekingNoodle

AN: Do I need to do this for every chapter? Thanks to those who reviewed! I wasn't sure how much interest there still was in Max and Logan fics but China Doll insisted there was so that's why I'm posting this.  Don't worry Dark Phanton there's lots of this coming. I won't leave you hanging. I hate that myself.

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Chapter Two: The Eyes Have It

In which our hero and heroine meet for the first time…

Logan and Nathan walked leisurely up the steps and into the cool entrance hallway of the house. After the bright sunshine outside, the hall seemed dim, despite the crystal chandelier that hung above and sent sparkling flashes of light off of the travertine marble floor. 

A tall slender woman walked forward to greet the two men as they entered. She was elegantly dressed in beige silk pants and a cream silk blouse, with expensive but discreet jewelry around her neck and wrists. Her dark auburn hair was pulled back into a French twist showing off diamond studs that sparkled in her ears. Holding out both hands she smiled warmly, "Mr. Cale. It's a pleasure to welcome you to our home. Nathan has spoken so much of you, that I quite feel that I already know you."

Logan took her hands in his and leaned down to kiss her lightly on both cheeks in the continental fashion.  "Please call me Logan. Mr. Cale is much too formal."

"And you must call me Annette; I know Nathan would like that."

Nathan stood by beaming as his wife and young protégée clearly hit it off. "Our guest is surely in need of some refreshment, my dear," he hinted broadly.

Annette smiled at him and replied calmly, "There are refreshments waiting outside on the patio. If you hadn't delayed him on his way in, we would already be there."

Nathan just smiled and followed as Logan walked by his wife's side, following her lead to the patio. "Where is our daughter, Annette? Is that lazy little minx still lying in her bed?"

"Nathan, please. What will Logan think?" Annette scolded gently. Turning to Logan she explained, "Our daughter arrived home yesterday from summer session at her boarding school. You know young girls. They like to stay up all night listening to that noise they call music, and talking on the phone to their friends, and then they sleep all day. I'm sure she'll be down to join us shortly."

Despite her words and Nathan's, it was clear the pair doted on their daughter. Logan privately thought that the girl was probably completely spoiled and impossible, but mentally shrugged since she wasn't his problem.

When they arrived on the patio, Annette gestured to Logan to have a seat. The round table shaded by a large umbrella, was set with sparkling glasses filled with ice and a platter of fresh fruit and assorted cheeses. A maid arrived with a tray bearing sweaty pitchers of lemonade and iced tea, along with small dishes containing sprigs of fresh mint and slices of lemon.

Nathan looked at the tray and a brief frown touched his forehead. "Logan, would you prefer some wine or spirits?"

Logan shook his head, "Not at all. The lemonade looks wonderful. You know me, Nathan. I've never been a hard drinker."

"No, you haven't my friend. Unusual for a man of your upbringing I would say." Nathan responded thoughtfully.

Once more a flash of darkness passed across Logan's face. "The examples my father and my Uncle Jonas set were enough to make me think twice about that. One thing I have to thank them for, I suppose."

Annette looked curiously at him, detecting the slight tinge of bitterness in his voice, but before either she or Nathan could respond, there was the sound of heels clicking across the patio. All three of them turned to see a vision bearing down on them.

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Max heard the sound of a strange male voice speaking to her parents as she descended the curving staircase. She focused in a bit more on that voice, but instead of catching the words she was suddenly keenly aware of the voice itself. It was calm and had a husky quality to it that she found intriguing. Her father always spoke in a hearty bluster, and the instructors at her school all had dry pedantic voices suited to the old men that they were. This voice was…sexy. It almost sent shivers down her spine. She wondered briefly why her father had this man here, in their home. For as long as she remembered, he had never invited a business colleague to stay with them. This one was not only staying, he was going to be there for a week. She had teased that information from the young servant who had carried his bags upstairs.

Max smiled. The guest was older than she was, probably in his late twenties but she didn't care. Boys her own age, at least the few she had met, were silly and boring.  Max was only fifteen but she felt much older than even her closest friends at school. They were all about the latest rock star hot boy, giggling and gossiping when the school gardeners looked their way. Max didn't know exactly what she wanted in a male but it was something more than good looks and hulking muscles. This friend of her father's looked like a good candidate to test her newfound female skills on. Keeping that thought firmly in mind, she took a breath and stepped out onto the patio, the full skirts of her sundress flaring around her.

A tall handsome man rose from his chair and turned to face her. She looked up and she stopped, frozen in her tracks as her eyes met his. If her father hadn't come forward to envelop her in a hug, she thought she might have stood there forever staring into those eyes while the world came to a grinding halt around her…

End of Chapter Two …TBC…