His answer was to haul me into his arms, cuddling me close. “Grace, I know that. I knew it then too. But it all worked out. I met Juno and my feelings for you changed. I love you, but I’m not in love with you anymore. And the point is… you’ll meet someone, too, and you’ll get over Logan.”
I nodded, getting his point, but I was still reeling from his revelation. “Do Chloe and Juno know how you used to feel about me?”
“Yes.”
Juno knew? I would never have guessed. She didn’t treat me with jealousy or anger or any feeling that would be completely understandable. I huffed in disbelief. “Juno is a very special woman.”
Aidan chuckled. “Don’t I know it.” He gave me a squeeze. “Someone will come along who loves you back, Grace, the way you love them, and it will change everything. You just have to be open to loving someone new.”
I pulled back from him to stare up into his face. “How very wise you are, Dr. Aidan,” I teased. “And thanks for dropping that bombshell on top of the destruction Logan caused.”
He grinned. “I was trying to help, believe it or not.”
I sighed and nodded, feeling a little kernel of something familiar start to bloom inside of me.
Hope.
“I know. And believe it or not, I think you helped.” I slumped against the sofa and felt the ache still throbbing in my chest. “But if you don’t mind, I’m not done with the whole broken-heart bit yet.”
“Finally,” I snapped as Chloe picked up her phone. “I have tried calling you all day.”
“I know,” Chloe huffed down the line. “Jeez. I was at work. Give me a moment, will you?”
“Aidan was in love with me and you didn’t tell me.”
There was silence.
“Chloe?”
“How did you find out?” she asked incredulously.
“He told me!” It took everything within me not to throw my phone at my kitchen wall. “Why didn’t you?”
“Because he asked me not to.”
“You should have told me.”
“And what would the point have been in that? You didn’t feel that way about him.”
“No, I didn’t, but… Chloe, I slept with him years ago.”
“I know,” she said softly. “I was there to pick up the pieces.”
“Oh God.” I sank onto a stool. “It’s awful of me, but I wish he hadn’t told me. I don’t think my emotions can handle it today.”
“Why did he tell you?”
I sighed, letting the ache fill me up as I started to blubber down the phone to her about Logan.
“Oh, sweetheart.” Chloe sighed. “I’m so sorry. And as for Aidan, he was just trying to help. I mean, look at him. Seven years ago he was a mess over you, and now he’s mad about Juno.”
“True.” I sniffled. “It does make me hopeful.”
“I get exactly where he was coming from telling you. However, I’m going to come at it from a different point of view, so don’t kill me.”
“All right,” I said in trepidation.
“Back then you had no clue Aidan was in love with you because your low self-esteem and insecurities make you absolutely oblivious when it comes to the opposite sex.”
“Thank you for that dismal analysis.”
“You’re welcome. Anyhoo, what I’m saying is… if you didn’t know how Aidan really felt about you, who is to say you know how Logan feels about you? You’re clueless.”
“What are you trying to say?”
“I’m saying I wouldn’t give up all hope on Logan yet. A man doesn’t have sex with you against a kitchen wall because you happen to be the nearest woman in the vicinity. Well… not a man who looks like him anyway.”
“He has admitted to being attracted to me, but attraction and love are two very different things.”
“You’re right. But when they come together, they can be explosive… say… like hot, possessive sex against a kitchen wall.”
I dropped my head, banging my forehead against my kitchen counter.
“What are you doing?”
“What are you doing?” I groaned. “Aidan was more help with his ‘I used to be in love with you’ story. I do not need hope where it pertains to Logan MacLeod.”
“Ugh. Being in love makes you a grumpy cow.”
I glowered even though she couldn’t see me. “You owe me for keeping Aidan’s feelings a secret. I’ll let you know when I think of something for you to do to make it up to me, but right now I’m getting off the phone before I kill you.”
“And how, might I ask, would you kill me down a phone line?”
“The power of wishful thinking.” I hung up on her and threw my phone on my counter. “I need to get more pessimistic friends,” I muttered.
The following Saturday evening I let Maia into my flat. She grinned at me and then turned to smile at her father, who was hovering in my front doorway rather awkwardly.
“Thanks again for doing this,” he said, referring to the fact that Maia was staying with me for the night because he had to work at the club for some big deejay event.
“Of course.”
We stared at each other – me trying to think of something to say next and him probably trying to think of a polite way to get out of having to say anything else.
“I hope you have a great event.”
“Thanks. You too. I mean… do you have anything fun planned for tonight?”
“Oh, aye,” Maia chimed in. “Grace is taking me to get a tattoo, and then we’re going to get high and crash this party she’s been talking about all week.”
I threw her a look. “You’re funny.”
She wriggled her eyebrows at me. “I know.”
Smothering my grin, I turned back to Logan, who was smirking at his daughter. “Just make sure you go to Cole for the tattoo.”
Her eyes widened. “Are you serious? I can get a tattoo?”
He cocked his head, his eyes bright with affection. “Of course… when you’re fifty and old enough to know better.”
Maia scowled. “You have a tattoo.”
We all looked at the sword on his arm, and Logan’s face darkened. “You can blame Cole for that one too.” He glanced up into my inquisitive face and gave me a sharp nod. “See you later.” He looked past me to Maia. “Be good.”
I shut the door on his retreating back and followed Maia into my sitting room.
“That was weird,” she mumbled.
I guessed she was referring to Logan’s comment about his tattoo. “Hmm.”
“I mean, what’s going on between you two? That was beyond awkward out there, and it hasn’t escaped my notice that Dad and I don’t have dinner here anymore.”
Until this moment I had assumed we were getting away with it. Why I assumed that when Maia was intelligent and observant, I don’t know. Call it wishful thinking.
“There’s nothing going on.” I walked into the kitchen, hoping that was the end of the matter.
Idiot.
“I don’t believe you.”
“That’s your prerogative,” I said as I picked up the bowls of snacks I’d set out. “Get some of these, please.”
Maia followed me into the sitting room, where I was laying out snacks on the coffee table. Although we weren’t getting tattoos and doing drugs tonight, we did have plans. Shannon had arranged a girls’ night in and had invited Jo, Joss, and a few of their other friends to my place.
“Grace, just tell me one thing.”
“Hmm?”
“Are you and Dad okay?”
I looked at her concerned face and paused for thought. I didn’t want to lie to her. As a duo we were not okay. Technically, however, I was going to be okay and Logan was okay. “Yes.”
Although she didn’t look completely convinced, Maia let it go and helped me put more snacks out.
Half an hour later my doorbell rang, and I blinked as a stream of attractive women of different ages moved past me into the sitting room.
Shannon grinned at
me as she stood among the crowd. “So you’ve met Jo.” She gestured to Cole’s sister, and we smiled at each other. “And the first person I’m going to introduce you to is Joss.”
A woman around my height with long dark blond hair and tip-tilted eyes took a step forward from the group. She had an arresting, pretty face and a chest I was envious of. She also did not look thirty-five. I’d assumed someone had just done a really great job on her author picture, but nope, the mother of three was young and gorgeous in real life too. “It’s nice to finally meet you, Grace,” Joss said in her husky voice as she held out a hand to shake mine.
“Uh, you too.” I shook her hand. “I told you I’m a big fan, right?”
“She has all your books,” Maia piped in. “Maybe you could sign them.”
“I can do that.” Joss grinned wryly and stepped back.
“I love it.” A leggy, curvy brunette grinned. Another American, by the sound of her accent. “You’re such a rock star to book geeks.” She flushed, her unusual eyes growing round as she stepped toward me. “I didn’t mean to be insulting.” She shook my hand enthusiastically. “I’m Olivia. You can call me Liv. Fellow book geek. I work at the University of Edinburgh Library.”
I was momentarily hypnotized by her. On first glance her face seemed almost plain, but then she smiled and it transformed her. Plus, she had the most stunning hazel eyes. They were so light they were almost gold. That, combined with all her curves and the riot of dark hair tumbling around her shoulders, and I was beginning to feel plain. “It’s lovely to meet you.”
“I’m Ellie, Joss’s sister-in-law.” As I shook Ellie’s hand I found myself looking up. She was just as tall as Jo, and just as pretty as the other women, but in a far more subtle, girl-next-door kind of way.
“And I’m Hannah, Ellie’s sister.” Despite the difference in eye color, I could see the similarities between them in their features. However, whereas Ellie could have been a fashion model with her tall, slender figure, Hannah was just slightly taller and had a lot more in the way of curves. She had the kind of figure women all over the world would die for.
“I’ve heard lots about you from Maia,” I said. “It’s lovely to meet you.” I gestured to the snacks. “Please help yourself. Can I get anyone a drink?”
After taking their orders, I went to the kitchen, where Maia and Shannon helped me put together the drinks. We found the women seated in the living room, laughing over something.
“What’s funny?” Shannon said as we settled in among them.
“I just got a text from Nate,” Liv said. “My husband,” she explained to me. “We left the men with the kids approximately half an hour ago and I’m already getting texts. It would seem that Belle and January are fighting over Sophia.”
“Tell Nate to tell the girls that Sophia is not a doll,” Hannah said.
“That’s exactly what I’m texting to Nate. You’d think between him, Braden, Marco, Cole, and Cam, one of them would be able to deal with an argument between two girls.”
Jo snorted. “Especially Nate.”
Liv threw her a dirty look. “Not funny.”
“What am I missing?” I said.
“Nate was a manwhore,” Hannah supplied helpfully. “Before Liv, of course.”
“I’d rather hope so,” I said, making Joss snort.
“Should we be saying the word ‘whore’ in front of Maia?” Ellie asked, her brows puckered in concern.
“Well, you’ve done it twice now, so I reckon the question is redundant.” Maia shrugged.
Shannon grinned at us all. “Did I mention I love my niece?”
We laughed, and I felt something warm bubble up inside me as I saw Maia’s eyes brighten. This was the person she was always meant to be. Being with Logan was changing her, giving her confidence to be herself. Which was proving to be a smart-arse, sarcastic, hilarious, sweet kid who had a habit of making everyone around her fall in love with her.
I watched as Maia settled in with us, not caring she was a fifteen-year-old among women whose ages ranged from twenty-six to thirty-six. She was comfortable and happy listening to the ladies joke about their jobs and their husbands and kids, and I understood why. These women were more than friends. They were all a family. And their warmth drew people like Maia and me in. We were helpless before it. The very definition of a moth to the flame.
We’d gotten onto the subject of movies when Jo said, “I don’t think I’ve been to the movies in about two years. That’s ridiculous.”
“That is,” Liv agreed. “Nate and I have a date night every two weeks, and we go see a movie once a month. We just went to see that new one with that hot real-life ex-marine. Bad movie but yum to the male eye candy. Nate had to wipe the drool off my chin.”
Joss wrinkled her nose. “Oh, I rarely get to see movies like that. Braden refuses to watch movies where the men think they’re prettier than the women.”
“No. Braden doesn’t watch those movies with you because he takes possessiveness to a whole other level,” Ellie teased.
Joss rolled her eyes. “Look, if your brother is happy pretending that I find no man but him attractive, we’re going to leave him to his denial. Although the truth is, no one does it for me like Braden does it for me.” She raised a finger and pointed at us. “That does not leave this room. I like to keep him on his toes. Ego in check.”
“Like they don’t find other women attractive,” Hannah huffed. “I swear I’ve heard Marco growl – yes, growl – under his breath if I so much as share a smile with a good-looking guy, and yet I’m supposed to believe he watches reruns of Dark Angel for the plot? I don’t think so.”
“Hey, Dark Angel is one of the most underappreciated TV series of all time,” Liv argued.
“For a reason,” Hannah argued back.
“They’re all the same,” Jo interjected. “Cam has this new colleague. I happened to mention he was good-looking, and he suddenly felt the need to” – she glanced at Maia and then back at us, giving us a knowing look – “prove himself.”
“You mean have sex,” Maia said.
Jo curled her lip. “Well, there’s no getting anything past you, is there?”
“Believe me, I’ve seen and heard a lot worse.”
The humor in the air dissipated, and an awkward silence fell over us all. Maia’s cheeks were reddening, and I was just about to open my mouth to change the subject for her when Jo beat me to it. “Actually, I mentioned this guy was good-looking because I was thinking of you, Grace. You’re single, right? He’s single too. I was just saying to Cam how it might be fun to set you up on a date. I’ve never played matchmaker before.”
“Ooh.” Ellie nodded, eyes glittering. “Do it. And then you can update us on every date. It’ll be fun.”
“Have you forgotten what it’s like to date?” Joss said wryly. “And you want her to share that excruciating time with all of us?”
Ellie made a face at her. “It was just a thought. And anyway… you’ve only ever dated one man.”
“And he was enough, believe me.” Joss turned to me. “You can tell Jo to stick the cute single guy up her ass. I’ll back you up.”
“That didn’t sound right at all.” Liv was choking on laughter.
“Get your mind out of the gutter.” Shannon gestured with a nod of her head to Maia. “Impressionable minds are present.”
But Maia wasn’t paying much attention. Instead she was staring stonily into her empty glass for some reason.
I frowned, wondering what had been said to upset her.
“Uh, thanks for the thought, Jo, but I’ve been on six incredibly bad dates in the past few months, and I’m feeling a little gun-shy. Maybe some other time.”
“Aka never.” Hannah grinned. “Poor Jo. That career in matchmaking didn’t last long.”
“You’re all shits,” Jo said in response to their teasing, but her voice was filled with laughter. “Now, where is the loo, Grace?”
I showed her the way and then wandered i
nto the kitchen to get more drinks. I wasn’t in there but two seconds before Shannon sauntered in. She sidled over to me and smiled. “They’re great, aren’t they?”
I nodded, understanding she was talking about the women. “They’re wonderful. They love one another a lot, don’t they?”
“Fiercely,” Shannon agreed. “You know, I thought finding Cole made me the luckiest woman alive until I met his extended family and realized it was more than that. He’s a freaking miracle. They all are.” She glanced out the door. “They’re how family should be. They’re a tribe.”
I thought of Logan and how in all of our conversations he hadn’t discussed his parents or his other sister much. I already knew they hadn’t supported Shannon when she needed them, so I guessed their family wasn’t a close one. “You and Logan are close. But just with each other?”
Shannon looked back at me. “My parents and my sister, Amanda, are kind of selfish. Logan was the favorite, and he hated the way I was treated differently. He tried to make up for it as we grew up. He’s always been there for me. When he found out how they’d treated me while he was in prison he wasn’t happy, but he wanted us all to be a family. I’ve been trying… So has he… But then they reacted the way they did to Maia, and he’s had enough.”
I frowned, feeling my heart rate pick up. “How did they react?”
“Logan didn’t tell you he told them about Maia a few days ago?” Shannon seemed surprised.
I shook my head.
“He wanted to wait until she was settled. He’s been putting off my parents for weeks.” She sneered. “Now they’ve done what they always do and are acting like judgmental shits because Logan has disappointed them.”
I felt anger start to burn in my blood. “Does Maia know?”
Shannon shook her head. “No, and as far as Logan’s concerned, she doesn’t have to know. She hasn’t asked about them in a while. Hopefully, she still won’t, and that will give him time to cool his own anger. He wants to explain it in the least hurtful way possible. She needs to know that it’s not about her. Our parents are just like this.”
I looked down at the counter and saw my fingertips were digging into the wood. I felt awful that Logan had had to deal with that and I hadn’t been there to help him. “I should have known,” I muttered.
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