Chapter Thirteen

EMILY

I shouldn’t have cared about Lionel and his date. My head told me that. My heart just didn’t want to hear it.

I sighed. We’d been divorced for years now. Even if he decided to show up with every skank in Nashville on his arm, it wasn’t my business. After all, there was no love left between us to destroy. When I signed those divorce papers, the last part of me that cared about him died.

Yeah. I knew all that, but it still hurt. This was the sixth twenty-something girl that bastard Lionel had shown off since we’d divorced. He couldn’t even manage enough decency to bring the same girl from the fundraiser dinner.

How did he even find so many young girls to date him? I wondered if he went to some seedy hook-up app to find them. Maybe he bragged a little about his money. It’s pretty easy to impress a young girl who doesn’t know that much about life.

I spared another glance over at his latest girl. Her skirt was a thin flap of fabric, and her top a glorified bra. Plus, petty as it was to notice, her boobs were too big given the rest of her body. She’d obviously had work done.

A kids’ function at my daughter’s school was not the place to bring some half-naked Playboy Playmate-looking girl. More than a few other parents nearby were giving the couple some side-eye, so I knew it wasn’t just me being a petty bitch. Well, not completely anyway.

My stomach tightened over a sudden thought, and I had to stop myself from gagging. Lionel might have paid for her boob job. Just because this was the first time I was seeing this girl didn’t mean they’d just gotten together. After all, he’d slept with more than a few women when we were married, so for all I knew, he was cheating on every woman he dated.

I sucked in a breath, enjoying the warmth of Logan’s hand on mine. I could have sworn my lips still tingled from the surprise kiss. Another thing I should have been mad about, but I couldn’t bring myself to be. Not only because of the glares Lionel kept shooting our way after the kiss, but because the truth was, I liked the kiss, as sweet and restrained as it was.

Reaching up with my other hand, I gently brushed my lips, then tensed and dropped my hand, hoping Logan hadn’t noticed. I looked to the side without turning my head. He was staring right at me.

“It’s okay to have liked it,” Logan said. “I did.” He shrugged.

“I’m just happy it made Lionel mad,” I offered back, not wanting to lead him on and make him think we had more going on.

Yes, this time I wasn’t drunk, and I’d remember it, but that didn’t mean we were together. I mean, yes, we were sitting together in the audience, but I’d tell anyone around us I was not dating Logan Hawkins.

A bit of disappointment played across his face, making me feel awful. I kept pushing and pushing and pushing him away.

I’d told myself it was to protect my daughter, but now I had to face that it might be more about protecting my own heart.

Logan gave me no indication he was anything more than he appeared, a handsome, successful man who was interested in me. There I sat, still stewing over my ex-husband and ignoring the man right next to me.

For the first time in a long time, I let my mind wonder, “What if?” I let my heart open a crack and entertain the idea that a great guy might be interested in me.

I smiled warmly at Logan. He smiled back.

“Excuse me,” said the principal over a microphone. We both looked toward the auditorium. “Ms. Johnson’s class will now sing ‘The Spring Song.’”

I reluctantly pulled my hand away from Logan’s to clap as my daughter’s class filed out on stage, each dressed in a different cute costume of flowers, bees, and butterflies. Juniper came out almost last, doing her part as the most adorable blue flower in all of Tennessee.

The kids lined up across the stage. Their teacher moved to the side, and then a bouncy tune started playing in the background. A few intro measures passed, and then the kids all raised their voice in song.

Like most young kids, they weren’t exactly the kings and queens of harmony, but they sang loudly and proudly, doing a little spinning dance at the same time. The whole performance wasn’t all that long, over in a couple of minutes.

I blinked, realizing I hadn’t recorded it. I sucked in a breath and resisted a curse. I’d let myself get so caught up in the drama with Lionel that I hadn’t even thought about it. Sighing, I glanced over at Logan. He was holding his phone, recording the whole thing.

Happiness flooded back through me. I jumped to my feet to clap, earning a few stares from people at first, but then Logan joined me, and then other parents did until we had a standing ovation for the class.

I smiled as Juniper’s class headed offstage, trying to get her attention with a wave. She didn’t look my way, so I assumed she’d not seen me.

“Parents, just as a reminder,” the principal said, after moving back to the microphone, “the performers will be backstage with their teachers until after the entire program is over.”

Logan snickered, and I sighed. So much for my brilliant back-row escape plan. I settled in for the next performance.

 

* * *

 

About forty minutes later, we’d successfully escaped out the back. Lionel stood with his skank not that far from the door to the auditorium. I muttered some very unkind and unchristian things under my breath about both of them.

Other parents emerged from the auditorium, quickly filling the area with bodies and the sound of conversation.

I moved toward the back door of the stage, careful to walk to the other side, so I wouldn’t be close to Lionel. Logan followed.

“That was cute,” Logan said. “My first time really going to that sort of thing.”

“Thank you for recording it,” I said, my cheeks heating. “I didn’t even think to do it.”

Logan pulled out his phone and tapped away. A few seconds, later my phone buzzed.

“Sent you the video.” He smiled.

“Thanks again.”

I watched him for a moment before tearing my gaze away, so it wouldn’t seem like I was staring at him. One of my big fears about getting back onto the dating scene was over men not liking my daughter, especially since her father was still in the picture. Logan seemed surprised a few times when dealing with my little sweet pea, but he’d never been mean or annoyed.

Even if he were putting on a show for me, he’d gone out of his way to get her special LEGOs. I understood he’d been in Denmark for business already, but it wasn’t like he had to make a side trip to buy toys for my daughter.

The door to the stage opened, and kids filed out. A good half-dozen ran out until Juniper appeared. She stopped a few feet in front of the door. She looked over at Lionel and his woman and then over to me and Logan. She ran straight for me.

Lionel scowled at me, and I offered him a friendly wave. It took everything I had in me not to laugh. Winners should always be gracious. That’s something Mama taught me from an early age.

I leaned over and put out my arms so I could sweep up Juniper into a hug. After a little hug and kiss, I set her on the ground again.

She spun around, giggling. “Did you see me, Mama? Did you see me?” She wrapped herself around Logan’s leg, bringing an amused smile to his face.

“Oh, sweet pea,” I said. “I saw you, and Logan even took a video. You were the prettiest flower in all of Tennessee.”

“And the nicest sounding,” Logan added with a grin, patting her on the head.

Juniper grinned.

I let out a sigh. I might not like Lionel, but Juniper was still his daughter, and he deserved to see her. I turned to wave him over, only to find him not where he was. Looking around, I spotted him rushing toward the parking lot, yanking his date along.

I rolled my eyes. It was one thing to be annoyed with me, and another to take it out on our daughter. One of the few good things I’d been able to say about my ex was that he was always sweet to his daughter, regardless of what had been going on between us. And then, there he was, running away because she chose to run to me first.

No. Not me. I looked down at my daughter. She was still hugging Logan’s leg.

I’d never thought about that sort of risk to Lionel’s pride. After all, he had no problem introducing Juniper to whatever girl of the month he was dating. He must have assumed he’d never have to face it himself, that smiling at my daughter would be enough to keep her attention on him.

Letting out a long sigh, I shook my head. I couldn’t know what he really felt. Out of all the bimbos my husband had introduced to my daughter, she’d never taken a real liking to any of them. They just would never be a replacement for me.

Watching Logan smile down at my daughter, I could imagine Lionel realizing the same might not be true. I wasn’t getting ahead of myself. It wasn’t like I’d fallen for Logan already. It was more that I accepted it wouldn’t hurt my daughter if I did date the man. Well, maybe.

“Logan,” I said softly. “Thank you for coming. It really means a lot to me.”

“You’re welcome, Emily. It was my pleasure.” He stroked Juniper’s hair. She still was connected to his leg. No irritation or anything like that was on his face. For a man with no kids, he sure was a natural with my daughter.

Those dark eyes of his watched me, summoning a pulse of warmth from my center. I swallowed and fanned myself for a moment.

“Maybe… maybe we could go out to eat again sometime, all three of us,” I said softly. “Not tonight,” I added quickly. Logan’s face dropped.

I regretted it as soon as I said it. It was true. It was a school night, and I didn’t want to set up bad habits in my daughter, but when I replayed the comment in my head, I knew it sounded like a brush off.

“I’ll give you a call here in a couple of days,” Logan said. His grin from before was gone, replaced by a guarded smile. “I’m sure we can work something out.”

“Mama, why can’t we go out tonight?”

“School tomorrow, sweet pea.”

“I promise to go to bed right away when we get home.”

I stared down at my daughter, her wide, innocent eyes pleading with me to go out. How could anyone say no to that kind of look?

Logan’s sweet kiss from earlier drifted to the top of my thoughts. I didn’t know if it was that or my daughter’s pleading that made me say what I said next.

“There is a nice little diner near here.” I shrugged. “If we go right away, I guess it wouldn’t be a big deal.”

Juniper jumped off Logan’s leg to let out a squeal of delight. Logan’s restrained smile turned into a wide grin.