Chapter Twenty-nine

EMILY

“I didn’t think you’d be so mad, Lionel,” I said over the phone. “You just got back from Mexico last night. If anything, I thought you’d be happy.” I resisted the urge to snicker, but I couldn’t resist one more little addition. “I was trying to be less selfish, that being my main problem and all.”

Of course, Lionel was bound and determined to make my Saturday unpleasant. It should have been a great day. Juniper had been discharged, and she was obviously on the mend. Instead, I had to argue, yet again, with my bastard ex-husband who seemed to enjoy nothing more than getting under my skin.

Lionel snorted. “You whined about me not rushing home, and now you’re complaining because I want to spend time with my daughter? It is my week after all. That’s what joint custody means. We share Juniper.”

I took several deep breaths. “This isn’t about you spending time with your daughter. I’m sure Juniper would love it if you came over to visit, but my little girl—our little girl—just got discharged this morning. I doubt you and your girlfriend really want to take care of a sick little girl. Do you want to risk getting sick?”

“What the hell, Emily? I thought she’d been discharged. What is it? Is she okay or not?”

I slapped a hand to my forehead and resisted a groan. I silently prayed to the Lord for strength. “Yes, she was discharged, but she’s still going to be sick for a few days. She just doesn’t need to be in the hospital. The doctors said she should be fully up and running around like a little manic in a few more days, but it doesn’t hurt to be careful, and they made it clear we shouldn’t do anything that will stress her body.”

Lionel chuckled. “You see? All that complaining, all that yelling at me, and I was right.”

“Huh? What in the devil are you talking about?”

“That I was right. I didn’t need to be there. I think you should admit I was right.”

I ground my teeth together. The only thing keeping me from yelling at him was worry that Juniper would overhear us. “Whatever.”

“I’m coming over to see her tonight. I have a gift from Mexico for her anyway.”

“Fine. I’ll tell her you’re coming. Is there anything else?”

“No. I’ll see you later tonight, maybe a little past six.”

“Okay.”

He hung up, and I thanked the Lord for ending my torture.

I stood there for a moment, glaring at my phone. Lionel couldn’t even do the right thing without being annoying.

My phone buzzed again, and I groaned. Had he called back just to taunt me?

I lifted it and let out a sigh of relief. It wasn’t Lionel. It was Logan.

“Hello,” I answered.

“Hello, Emily. I was in the neighborhood, and I was wondering if I could drop by.”

I laughed. “In the neighborhood? Seriously? That’s the line you’re going to go with?”

Logan chuckled. “It’s actually true. If I had planned to stop by, then I would have brought the boys with me for Juniper to play with.”

“Oh,” I said, my face heating. “Well, sure, we’re going to have dinner soon, but it’d be great if you can stop by. You were such a help this week. I really don’t know how I can begin to thank you.”

“Just the fact that Juniper is doing better is all the thanks I need. Okay, I’ll see you soon then.”

“Okay.”

After the call ended, I sat down in my chair and stared at my phone for a long while. The week had been hectic and filled with worry. Because of that, I hadn’t really had much time to think about what Logan and I actually shared together.

I’d thought after Tokyo that I knew what we had, a friendship that had been briefly interrupted by sex, but the week had changed all that. I’d kissed him in the hospital. I could try and chalk it up to stress, but that would be me lying to myself.

Logan obviously cared about me and my daughter. So, what was it that we had? A relationship? A friendship? All I really knew was that I was grateful for having him around all week instead of Lionel.

About ten minutes passed before my doorbell rang. When I opened it, I found Logan holding a container of some fancy chocolate ice cream.

He held it higher and smiled. “I thought it could help Juniper’s throat.”

I raised a brow. “But you were just in the area? With ice cream?”

“Well, I bought this before I called you.” He shrugged. “Worse-case scenario, I took it home and ate it by myself.”

I motioned inside. “Please come in.”

Just then, Juniper stepped into the living room. “Mr. Hawkins,” she all but shrieked. She peered at me. “And you brought me ice cream.”

“You can go ahead and call me Logan.” He glanced over at me. “If that’s okay with your mother.”

“Can I, Mama? Can I?”

It did seem a bit strange for my daughter to be so formal with a man who was quickly becoming a major part of my life. “It’s fine.”

“Okay, why don’t we get some bowls out and test out this ice cream?”

“Yay,” Juniper cheered. “Logan brought ice cream.”

 

* * *

 

After the ice cream, I heated up our dinner. Nothing fancy, only some frozen pizza. I hadn’t exactly had a lot of time to shop and prepare.

As a man with a housekeeper who also prepared his meals, Logan probably didn’t eat a lot of frozen pizza, but he didn’t seem to mind.

I was quiet during dinner, just watching him chat with Juniper about LEGOs, cartoons, and movies. I thought back to all his interactions with her, all the way back to his trip to Denmark. Even though he had been on a business trip that had nothing to do with us, he’d remembered and gone out of his way to bring her back LEGOs.

At the hospital, he thought to bring a laptop and a movie he thought she’d liked. Sure, Moana wasn’t exactly an obscure movie, but Logan was a thirty-nine-year-old billionaire who didn’t have any children. I doubted he spent a lot of time watching Disney movies, and I wouldn’t have been surprised if he had no clue about anything kid-related.

What it showed me, what every interaction he had with Juniper proved to me, was that he cared about her, that he paid attention to what her interests were. That he even valued her as a person and not just as my daughter.

“No, I haven’t seen most Disney movies made in the last… Well, a while,” he said to Juniper, a sheepish look on his face. “I don’t see a lot of movies, honestly.”

“You need to see Frozen and Zootopia,” Juniper said. “I think Zootopia is my favorite, but Frozen has better songs.”

Logan nodded, a serious look on his face. “I’ll make sure I watch them.”

I took a bite of my pizza, thinking about how the conversation had unfolded to follow my existing thoughts. The important thing, really, was that Logan just gave a damn. Lionel never did.

Sure, he would act nice to Juniper and seem happy to spend time with her, but he didn’t really pay attention to her or what she wanted.

His birthday and Christmas presents always seemed so random, like he’d gone to the store and picked out the first thing that caught his eye, and he didn’t get age appropriateness. For her last birthday, he’d gotten her a doll from some show aimed at young teens she didn’t even watch. The year before, he’d gotten her a baby toy. It even had a teething ring on it.

It’s one thing to guess wrong, but it’s not like Lionel didn’t know his daughter wasn’t a baby. I sighed.

Logan glanced over at me, concern on his face. “Something wrong?”

Juniper looked at me, too, her face scrunched in an attempt at what I think was supposed to be seriousness.

“Just been a tiring week,” I said. “Don’t worry about it. Everything’s better now.”

Logan glanced down at his watch. “As much as I love spending time with you two lovely ladies, I need to get going.”

Juniper crossed her arms over her chest and stuck out her lip. “No fair.”

“Juniper Blue,” I said. “You do not talk that way to our guest.”

“I’m sorry, Logan,” she said, hanging her head.

He ruffled her hair. “I’m sure I can visit again soon.”

Juniper lifted her head, a bright smile on her face. “Good. Maybe I can be the foreman, and you can be the worker.”

I looked over at Logan, and he shrugged. “She learned a little about the construction business in the hospital,” he said with a grin.

“Juniper,” I said. “Why don’t you go wash up and get ready for your bath?”

“Yes, Mama.” She smiled once more at Logan before scurrying off.

“Let me see you out, Logan,” I said.

We headed toward the door, and I opened it. “Thank you again for this week and for tonight. You…really helped me during a tough time, and I appreciate it. I can’t say it enough.”

Logan stared at me for a moment as if he were trying to figure something out. “I’m glad I could be there for you.” His gaze lingered for a moment, and I wondered if he was going to kiss me.

Should I tell him no? Or should I kiss him back?

I didn’t know how I would react, or even what I wanted, but the idea of him kissing me seemed mighty appealing. I half wondered if that was the reason I’d sent Juniper away.

Then Lionel ruined everything. His car pulled into my driveway.

I sighed, and Logan looked over his shoulder.

“I told him he could see Juniper today,” I said.

He looked at me with concern. “Do you need me to stay?”

“No, it’s fine.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yes, but it’s best if you probably leave now, though. I don’t want any arguing around Juniper.”

Logan nodded slowly. “Okay, give me a call.”

“I will.”

He gave me a quick hug instead of a kiss and headed toward his car as Lionel stepped out of his. My ex glared at Logan and then at me as if we’d done something wrong. At least he didn’t have his twenty-one-year-old girlfriend with him.

Lionel stomped up to my door. “May I see my daughter now?” He shot one last dirty look in Logan’s direction. “Or do I need his permission?”

“I’m sure she’ll be happy to see you,” I muttered.

Oh, why couldn’t he have stayed in Mexico?