by Claire Adams
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.
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.