A/N: I know sometimes its frustrating when it takes forever to get to the good stuff (the kissing and the LoVe and all) but trust me, it'll happen, and a lot more besides... especially in this chapter! Massive thanks to my readers and extra thanks to my reviewers ;-)

(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 10

"Wow" Veronica's genuine astonishment meant no acting was required as she and Logan stepped into the house that Duncan Kane called home, "This place is... huge" she settled on eventually.

Though so many other words were bouncing around in her head right now, she had gone with the most obvious. Veronica was pretty sure her whole apartment would fit in the just the entrance hall of this place, and yet a glance at Logan reminded her he lived in a very different world. This felt more than a little like home to him, she was certain, though she couldn't say a word. That would not only give the game away about her knowing his identity but also ruin the facade they had in place for Mr Kane.

"I guess it is a little big for just three" sighed Duncan, "but Mom and Dad like their space and it at least means I can get some privacy from them without too much effort" he smiled, "Ah, Lesley" he turned to a maid type person as she appeared through a door and quickly instructed her that he'd brought home some friends that needed a room preparing.

"We don't want to be any trouble to you, Mr Kane" said Veronica from the safety of her place under Logan's arm still, after all, she was supposed to be a nervous little runaway newlywed or whatever.

"Please, call me Duncan" he insisted, "Mr Kane makes me feel too much like my father, and honestly, I doubt I'm that much older than you" he explained.

"Thank you, anyway" said Logan genuinely, "It's cool that you'd let us into your house and everything"

"It's really not a problem" Duncan assured them, his eyes lingering a little too long on Veronica for Logan's liking.

Okay, so she wasn't really his wife or even his girlfriend, but this guy didn't know that. They were supposed to be newly married, and yet this rich dude look ready to swoop in and take Logan's girl right out from under him. The base instincts of the caveman came through just as soon as Logan realised what he was seeing in Duncan's eyes - jealousy and attraction. He wasn't standing for that, no way.

"The lilac room is being aired, sir" said Lesley as she appeared on the stairs suddenly to inform Duncan of progress made, "Shall I run a bath for the young lady?" she asked, her eyes shifting between the man of the house and Veronica.

The blonde wasn't dumb, she'd seen what Logan had spotted too. Duncan liked her looks and though she didn't think for a moment he was some kind of predator, she was wary of the fact that if she hadn't made it clear she and Logan were together, he might've tried his luck. It was bugging her, that was for sure, maybe even more so than it was bugging Logan, and she aimed to make it very clear that she had no interest at all in Duncan Kane, in spite of his wealth and status and his getting then out of a jam today.

"Well, I'd love a bath, if that's okay?" she said almost shyly as she looked to the man of the house and he nodded it was fine, her eyes then shifted to Logan's own as she moved to put her arms around his neck and pushed her body up close to his, "What do you say, honey?" she said in a sultry tone that ought not to be heard outside of a bedroom, "Wanna come scrub my back?" she asked, not entirely surprised that she succeeded in turning him on with such an act but not thinking too much about it as she pulled his head down til his lips met hers and kissed him with a passion.

It was play acting, it didn't matter much, and his body's reaction to what she was doing was inconsequential to Veronica. He was a teenage boy after all, it was just what happened when they got up close and personal with girls, it didn't mean anything in particular. This she told herself, not only about Logan, but then about herself as the moment went on perhaps a little too long. The warm tingly feeling that went right through her being was just a consequence of the acting. They played their roles too well, she'd got lost in a moment, it wasn't as if she had feelings for Logan, not that kind of feelings anyway, of course not...

"Okay" said Duncan, feeling more than a little awkward as the couple finally stopped macking in the entrance way of his house but remained close, "Well, Lesley will show you the way and... I'll make sure someone calls you when lunch is ready" he smiled awkwardly before walking away.

Veronica grabbed Logan's hand and practically ran up the stairs with him in tow. Seriously, he didn't know what to expect when they got where they were going. Either Veronica's acting skills were Oscar worthy or she felt something real when they kissed. Either way, Logan was impressed right now.

Neither Logan or Veronica had expected part of this wild adventure of theirs to include staying in a fancy house such as this. She noticed he made no mention of the fact he probably lived in something similar, perhaps even larger and fancier, but that was okay. On her part, it didn't take much acting to look impressed by all the finery. It was a good long while since she'd been inside a house this grand and it made a refreshing change from her own modest apartment.

Veronica was pretty sure she could have swum lengths in the tub, though she didn't bother to try, just took a nice long relaxing soak alone. She had noticed that Logan looked just a little disappointed when they got upstairs and she reminded him they were acting and she wouldn't need any help in the bathroom. He treated it like a joke, but she suspected that was only to cover for the fact he liked the idea of assisting her a little too much.

Of course, it hadn't really occurred to Veronica yet that Logan might have any real feelings for her, no more than friendship anyway. Any guy his age would jump at the chance of getting a woman naked, that didn't mean anything, at least that was what she told herself at the time, and afterwards when she emerged from the bathroom to find the adjoining bedroom that had been assigned to them was decidedly double in nature.

They hadn't had the conversation about that yet, though it was inevitable. Instead they'd gotten dressed and gone down to have lunch with Duncan, their newest friend. Veronica expected things to get awkward when he started asking questions about where they were from and how they had met and all. She spun tales better than spiders spun webs, but she worried constantly that Logan would say something to mess with her story, or would say nothing and appear suspicious for doing so.

She got a surprise when he joined in easily, tagging his own comments onto her fictional backstory for the two of them. Duncan ate it all up as if it were real, so they must have been playing their parts pretty well. Still, it was a blessed relief when he excused himself, saying he had work to do.

Before departing, he had assured Logan and Veronica they could use any of the facilities of the house they wanted to as guests of his, including the swimming pool, the games room, and so on. It seemed whether they had planned to or not, the fake couple were spending both the rest of the day and the night in the Kane House, because their host just wouldn't have it any other way.

"Duncan?" Veronica called behind him as he made to leave the dining room, "I'm sorry, but I have to ask" she said with a nervous smile, "Why are you helping us? I mean, you don't even know us, we could be anybody" she shrugged her shoulders, knowing what she said was true, after all they really weren't what they seemed, not even to each other, nevermind their oblivious new friend.

"Young love needs all the help it can get" he told her with a smile that appeared decidedly sad to her somehow, "And I guess... well, you remind me a little of my sister, Lilly" he went on to explain though only briefly, "If she were still alive, I know she would've liked you" he told them, reminding them once again to make use of all the house had to offer and that he'd see them later for dinner.

"Kind of harsh about Duncan's sister" said Logan as he picked up a framed photo from the cabinet in the hallway and stared at it, "She can't have been very old" he said, showing Veronica the supposed vacation picture, Duncan with his arm around a pretty blonde on a beach somewhere.

"Bad things happen to good people" said Veronica too seriously, immediately forcing a smile before Logan asked her to elaborate on what she meant by that - she really couldn't without revealing way to much about her profession and identify, "Hmm, let's try door number two" she picked one out of the row before them, opening up said door to reveal what appeared to be a games room of some kind with a large pool table in the centre, "What do you say, Logan?" she asked as they went inside, her back to the table and hands running along the wooden edge as she challenged him, "Think you can take me?"

Ten different responses ran through the poor guys head that he was pretty sure would get him into all kinds of trouble if he verbalised a single one. She was talking about a game of pool and he knew it, and yet when a hot blonde like Veronica asked a question like that, it was all a teenage boy could do not to just throw her down on the green baise and prove himself to be a man.

"How hard can it be to beat a girl a pool?" he said instead, deciding it might be easier to make her mad at him than continue down the road his vivid imagination was taking, though there was no malice in his remark and it was not taken a such, proven by the smirk on his own lips and the smile that grew on hers.

They both saw this as a challenge, albeit a friendly one, and were soon circling the table in opposite directions, planning their next shot. Logan was gallant and let Veronica go first. It turned out to be a little too kind of him apparently as she proved to be a better pool player than he suspected she would be. She won the first game quite easily, it seemed, and not content with being brought down by anyone, much less a woman, Logan demanded a rematch. The blonde agreed, though she knew she was running almost entirely on luck. One of her ex's had taught her the finer points of the game, but she and Troy had been several years ago and since then Veronica hadn't really played a whole lot of pool.

Leaning over the table to make an awkward shot, she jumped a little when she felt a hand on her back, but stopped herself from reacting as she usually would to being snuck up on. After all, it was just Logan, he didn't mean any harm, in fact it seemed he was trying to be helpful.

"You're never going to get it like that" he advised, leaning over her to reposition her arms and the cue in her hands, "Aim to the left some more" he told her, helping her to line up the shot and staying with her as she made it, the ball sailing effortlessly into the pocket on the other side of the table.

"Thanks" Veronica smiled, just a little uncomfortable about him being so very much in her personal space.

What confused her was why he hadn't moved yet, though when she turned her head and found his face right in front of hers, strangely she didn't mind so much. She didn't feel threatened or in any way pinned down, in spite of the fact she practically was. Logan was a nice guy, her instincts told her that and she'd learnt to trust those. Unfortunately, a voice in the back of her head was soon reminding Veronica that whilst she could probably trust him, he should not be believing in her at all.

"Logan, what are you doing?" she breathed, wondering why her own voice sounded so oddly quiet to her own ears.

"I know this is all acting" he told her, looking too serious for this to end well, "but, Veronica, I just wanted to..."

It was as far as Logan got with whatever it was he wanted to say, as suddenly he found his arms holding on tight to Veronica.

She all but threw herself into his embrace, her lips on his in one very hot kiss. Sure, he wanted to kiss her, he was about to tell her that all this play acting at being a couple was driving him crazy because he really liked her and all he wanted was to get close to her for real. It seemed she might feel the same, Logan realised, as Veronica's tongue slipped into his mouth. She was just starting to make him lose his grip on reality, and then she was gone.

"Oh, I'm sorry" said a voice from the doorway at the same moment, though in his heady daze of lust, Logan honestly couldn't have identified who was there.

Veronica was not similarly afflicted and though she appeared slightly embarrassed by what had just occurred, she was entirely alert still. She accepted Duncan's apology with ease, hopping down off the edge of the pool table where Logan must have put her a moment before, though he barely remembered it. Apparently dinner was almost ready, and their company was requested. Logan turned around as Veronica followed Duncan out of the room, beckoning for him to follow. He would've moved faster if he could, but after that he could use a minute to calm down!

Logan was pretty quiet throughout dinner. Honestly, he was confused for the most part. He'd been so sure that he and Veronica were just playing parts in all of this, that the whole Romeo & Juliet thing was purely a cover story. Though he had started to realise that his feelings for her might run deeper, it hadn't really occurred to him she might feel the same, not til today in the games room when, part way into some kind of confession about his own feelings, she had thrown herself all over him. Who knew what might have happened if Duncan hadn't walked in when he had?

Speaking of the great Mr Kane, he certainly had plenty to talk about to Veronica, wanting to hear about her life to a certain degree, but mostly all for waxing lyrical on his own wonderful life. If he was trying to make Logan jealous, it might have worked. After all, he couldn't start telling Veronica he too had a house like this with all its facilities and luxuries, not without blowing his cover and risking wrecking this whole trip. It wasn't that he didn't trust her, because he really did, it was only that Logan didn't want to spoil the developing relationship between them. If she knew he had money and was the son of famous movie stars, it had to change her opinion of him, it just had too.

For herself, Veronica was eager to get out of here. Duncan was sweet in his way, but watching paint dry might actually have been more interesting than listening to him talk. She wasn't certain whether he was trying to make Logan feel jealous or if he was just this genuine friendly but lonely guy who was glad of some company. Either way, she tried to make it as clear as possible that she was grateful for his help today and happy to be his friend, whilst pushing home the point that she and Logan were for keeps.

It was suprising how easy it was to pretend, and more than once when she looked his way with a smile, eyes sparkling with fun, Veronica had to remind herself that she and Logan were only ever to be friends, probably not even that if and when he found out the truth about her.

It was getting late and she started faking yawns, not that they took much faking given how bored she was fast becoming. Veronica knew she was making problems as big as those she was solving since going up to bed meant facing the issue of her and Logan sharing a room with one bed in it. Still, he understood the way things were, and they had shared a hotel room on their first night together, albeit twin beds were available then. She trusted him, however crazy that was, and besides she had Mr Sparky on standby if it turned out her instincts were wrong - somehow she knew they wouldn't be.

Everyone having said their goodnights, they retired to their bedrooms. Veronica walked in, followed by Logan, sighing as she looked around the room and made a choice.

"Okay" she said, pulling the comforter from the bottom of the bed and tossing it towards the couch across the room, "You can take the bed, if you want" she offered, glancing towards Logan who was smiling in the strangest way.

"That doesn't sound all that chivalrous on my part" he told her, as she turned her back on him to reach for a couple of the many pillows at the head of the bed, "Besides, I was thinking... maybe we'd share?" he said as he reached for her, just at the moment Veronica turned around.

Her eyes widened when she realised his shirt was already off, a wall of tanned muscle greeting her as she gazed at him. It was reason enough to swallow hard before she could speak.

"Logan, please tell me this is a joke?" she checked, chuckling nervously under his intense gaze that never wavered.

"I'm not laughing" he told her, his hands going to her shoulders as he pulled her in closer and put his lips to hers.

It wasn't like before when she'd kissed him, all passion and lust. This was sweet and tender, a little tentative like he was testing out if it was okay. Veronica knew she should stop him right now and tell him he was crazy, but it felt too good. The boy could kiss, she had to admit that and for a moment she let herself just fall into the moment without a thought in her head. When his hands crept down her body and prised her shirt free from her pants, his fingers brushing over her skin pulled her free from a moments madness and Veronica slipped out of his embrace fast.

"No, this is not happening" she said as she put a few paces of distance between them, very deliberately tucking her shirt back in, "Logan, you can't just... We're not really a couple" she reminded him, perhaps a little too harshly, "It's just acting for Duncan's sake"

"Duncan wasn't even there before" he argued, feeling mostly embarrassed right now and covering for it with anger, "When you threw yourself at me by the pool table?" he reminded her, when she continued to look at him with incredularity written on her features.

"Logan" she sighed, running a hand back through her hair, "He was there, or he was about to be" she explained the situation she had hoped he already understood, "I heard Duncan coming and I needed to stop you from talking about how we were faking our relationship" she told him, feeling kind of bad that she may have inadvertently duped him somehow, "It didn't mean anything" she ended much more quietly than she'd begun, hoping to avoid an argument and yet bracing herself in anticipation of one anyway, just in case.

"Okay, that is bull!" yelled Logan, making Veronica glad she had been half expecting it as he pointed an angry finger her way, "You felt something, I know you did" he implored her to admit it, but there was no way she was going to.

"No, I didn't" she all but exploded, knowing she had to make this very clear to him, "For God sakes, Logan, you're just a kid!"

The moment the words were out of her mouth, Veronica regretted them. It wasn't fair to treat him that way, to put him down like that, and she knew it. Once it was said nothing could take back those words or mend the look of hurt that had settled in his eyes. Her hand went to her mouth as if she was trying to ensure no further hurtful words spilled out, but it didn't matter now, it was all too late.

"Logan, I..." she began, almost too quietly to be heard even though she had moved her hand from her face.

"Thanks, Veronica" he cut her off with a nod and a sad smile, as he pulled his top back over his head, "You really know how to make a guy feel special" he told her, sarcasm evident as he brushed past her, gathering up the blanket and pillows she had been going to use and storming out, slamming the door behind him.

Veronica consider going after him but couldn't imagine for a moment it'd do any good. She really hadn't meant to hurt him, but by the same token she also knew she couldn't lead him on. Letting them have anything more than friendship would be irresponsible at best. Of course, the biggest problem in all this was that her lies were catching up to her. She could pretend to be Logan's girlfriend, wife, whatever and quite easily fool a hotel receptionist or Duncan, maybe even the Sheriff. What was becoming harder to fake was the way she acted towards Logan in moments of truth. They were supposed to be friends and she was supposed to mean it when she said she felt nothing more than that for him, but it wasn't true. When they kissed in the games room, she had felt way more than she should have done if she were really acting, and just now when Logan had made a move for real, it took every bit of strength she had to say no.

"What've you gotten yourself into, Veronica?" she asked herself in a whisper, sitting down on the edge of the bed, a hand to her head as it began to ache.

This whole trip was turning into a disaster.

To Be Continued...