Chapter Twelve

LOGAN

Late afternoon Wednesday, I was on my way to Juniper’s school in my car when my phone rang. I glanced at the caller ID on the display in the center of my dashboard. My mother.

I transferred the call to my car’s speakerphone. “Yes, Mother?”

Before she even spoke, my mother let out a long sigh. I didn’t expect a pleasant conversation.

“I wanted to talk to you about Emily,” she said.

I grimaced. This was not the conversation I wanted to have in traffic on my way to Juniper’s school. I was having enough trouble with Emily by myself. I sensed something in her, some sort of wall or distance. As if she hadn’t been fully comfortable with me on our last date, and I didn’t want to accept it.

No. Not just didn’t want to. I refused to accept it.

It’s not that I didn’t understand it. After the kiss, I couldn’t help but think about our great chemistry, but I still at least remembered the kiss. To her, it was some embarrassing mistake while drunk, not a great moment of passion between two people intensely attracted to each other.

But I wasn’t about to give up. She’d been hurt by her ex-husband, and she probably didn’t trust men. I’d have to prove that she could trust me.

“Are you even listening to me, Logan?”

The last thing I needed was my mother bumbling into this more, even if we were on the same side at this point. First, I needed to figure out where my mother was coming from before I could get her off my back.

“What about Emily?” I said, keeping my tone neutral. No reason to make my mother angry. The last thing I needed was another woman in my life upset with me.

“Are you still seeing her?”

“I haven’t gone blind last time I checked.”

Sometimes it’s hard to resist a little sass.

“Oh, don’t be that way, Logan. I wanted to make sure you’re going to see her again.”

“You mean her mother isn’t telling you everything?”

“Emily doesn’t always tell her mother everything, so I don’t know everything.”

I snickered and tucked that little tidbit away. I didn’t know if it’d be useful, but it was good to know.

The light turned red, and I brought my car to a stop. At least it wasn’t raining today.

“Mother, I can’t have you calling me every day asking me about Emily.”

“This is my one chance for six months, Logan. Of course, I’m going to make sure you don’t mess it up.”

My hands tightened around the steering wheel. I loved my mother, and, yeah, maybe some might even say I could be a bit of mama’s boy, but this was getting out of hand.

“Just because I’m not married,” I said through gritted teeth, “doesn’t mean I don’t know how to date women. This isn’t the first woman I’ve gone out with.”

“No, it’s not, but you’ve never gotten serious, and it’s been a while since you’ve even done much dating.”

“I’ve been busy running a Fortune 500 company and keeping our economy going.”

The light turned green, and I accelerated down the street.

Another long sigh from my mother followed. “I want grandchildren before I’m too old to enjoy them.”

I muttered under my breath. No point in fighting her when she was getting what she wanted anyway.

“I’m on my way to see Emily now. Her daughter is having a performance at her school, and I was invited.”

I could practically see my mother’s smile over the phone when she spoke. “Oh, that’s wonderful then. I’ll leave you to it. Have a good day, Logan. I love you.”

“I love you, too, Mother.”

She hung up, and I shook my head. Things had changed. Yes, I’d gone on the first date because my mother had badgered me, but after the fundraiser dinner, I couldn’t get Emily out of my mind.

 

* * *

 

After parking in the crowded lot and maneuvering through the jostling crowds, I finally spotted Emily in the auditorium, sitting in a gray metal chair near the back. Her shoulders were slumped, and her face was filled with defeat.

Her body language confused me. She was about to see her cute little daughter sing a song, and she looked like she’d swallowed ten crickets. Why would she be so upset?

My stomach tightened. I hoped she wasn’t upset because she had to spend time with me. I wasn’t going to make any assumptions right away, especially ones that put me at the center of the problem. It might have only been a few dates and a couple of hot kisses, but I wasn’t prepared to give her up, not yet, not without a fight.

I made my way through the crowd and dropped into an empty seat beside her. It took Emily several seconds to even notice I’d arrived.

“Oh, hi, Logan,” she said, barely looking my way. She sighed.

“Something wrong?”

Emily forced an obviously fake smile on her face and nodded. “Just a long day at work.” She gestured toward the stage. “It’s only a few minutes before her class goes on. At least they are the first to go.” A more natural grin appeared on her face. “I sat in the back, so I can leave as soon as Juniper’s done. I’ve heard that the kids will be in the back hall, so I should be able to grab her. The other kids are good, bless their hearts, but I’m not exactly a connoisseur of children’s singing.” She ran a hand through her brown hair. Her cheeks turned pink. “That must seem awful to you.” She let out a nervous laugh.

“Seems like a good plan to me,” I said with a shrug. “Not like I know any of the other kids here.” Leaning over, I whispered to her, “And they could all be terrible.”

Emily let out a quiet laugh. “Be careful. Lots of parents here,” she whispered back.

The sight of the genuine smile on her face warmed my heart. I don’t know what had been bothering her, but I was glad to see she was already recovering.

Her smile faltered as she looked off into the distance. I followed her line of sight and discovered the man I assumed was responsible for her earlier trouble.

He ex-husband Lionel sat on the other side of the auditorium, his arm draped over some busty redhead who couldn’t have been more than twenty. Thinking about it, I remembered he’d also had some other jailbait woman on his arm at the fundraiser dinner.

I glanced over at Emily. She was glaring in Lionel’s direction. I couldn’t blame her.

It must have been hard for her. If she just could have divorced the guy and never had to see him again, it’d be one thing, but being the father of her child meant she was constantly forced to deal with him.

I didn’t understand Lionel. He’d had a beautiful, intelligent woman like Emily, and he still slept around? Given how he liked his young girls, maybe the problem was just that he couldn’t handle a real, actual woman.

“What an idiot,” I said, shaking my head.

Emily glanced over at me. “What?”

I nodded toward her ex. “Lionel. He’s an idiot. He had you, and he wasn’t satisfied? Sounds like an idiot to me. Maybe dumbass would be more appropriate?”

“I—” Emily blinked several times and averted her gaze, her cheeks reddening. “Not like I’m going to say he’s a smart man for cheating on me.”

I reached over and took her hand in mine, running my thumb over it. She didn’t pull away. Instead, she looked at the ground. Glancing up, I spotted Lionel smirking her way. The ass thought he had the upper-hand in all of this, but that was only because he thought Emily didn’t have options and that somehow, she was pining for him. I could see it in his smug face.

He needed to understand that her being angry with him wasn’t about her wanting him. She had options. She had me, and I was sure I had a lot more to offer this world and city than the ungrateful ass sitting across the room. It was time to show him that and put in my own claim.

I leaned over. Emily blinked and looked up at me. Before she could protest, I placed my lips on hers.

It was a quick and sweet move. I wasn’t about to stick my tongue down her throat in the middle of an elementary school auditorium, even if my stirring lower-half liked the idea.

I pulled away with a smile. She stared at me, her eyes wide, gently brushing her lips with her fingers.

She stared at me, those beautiful hazel eyes wide and filled with doubt. She probably didn’t believe what I’d said. It was the truth, but she wasn’t prepared to believe it.

Heat filled me, this time from anger. I could understand everything now. That bastard Lionel had scarred her, made her doubt herself. She didn’t see me as a man interested in her but as another guy who might betray her.

Offering her a smile, I said, “I just thought he should know you’re in the game, too, and you’ve moved on to someone better than an idiot who would cheat on you.”

“Thank you,” she whispered under her breath. She didn’t bother to look back toward Lionel, but her mouth quirked up in a smile.

I grinned, delighted to see her smiling again.

A quick check of Lionel revealed he was glaring daggers at me. I couldn’t help it. I offered him a little wave. Petty, I know, but I was still a man in the end, and Lionel screwing with the woman I was interested in was a slight on me.

I leaned back in my chair, still holding Emily’s hand. She was ignoring Lionel now, focusing on the auditorium and waiting for Juniper. She didn’t pull her hand away.

This was already turning into a great date.