Page 26 of The Runaway Bride's Vow

A slight smile pulled at the corners of his lips. “You do. Let me guess, you’re from Kansas.”

Her stomach dipped when she caught a glimpse of his dimples. “No. But close. My family has a farm in Iowa.”

“Do you have a big family?”

She couldn’t believe that for the first time, they were having a real conversation. It felt good. Really good. “There are my parents and my older sister. So not big at all.” She loved having an easy dialogue with him. They were actually talking like friends. “How about you?”

“There’s just me and my mother.”

“I’m sorry. It must have been rough losing your father.”

He shook his head. “He’s not dead.”

“Oh.” She had absolutely no idea what to say to that, so she said nothing.

They made their way down the steps to the beach. The sun was shining bright while a gentle breeze rushed past them. This stretch of beach was usually quiet with just a few people out walking.

She stopped and turned to him. “What about here?”

“It’s fine by me.”

She spread out the blanket and sat down. He sat across from her with the bag in the middle. She began pulling out the food and laying it on the blanket. As he stared down at the food, his forehead scrunched up.

Her gaze moved from him to the food and then back to him. “What’s wrong? Don’t you like it?”

He shook his head. “It’s not that. It’s just that there’s so much. Do you really expect just the two of us to eat all of it?”

The heat returned to her face. “I… I didn’t know what you like to eat, so I wanted to give you a choice.”

He smiled at her. A big smile that showed off his dimples and made his eyes twinkle. “No one has ever bought me such a large lunch. Thank you, but you shouldn’t have.”

Just seeing the smile on his face was reason enough. Oh my! When he smiled, and the frown lines disappeared, he was strikingly handsome.

Her heart beat faster. As the heat rushed to her cheeks, she glanced out at the ocean. “Do you think you’ll bring Kaylie to work with you again?”

He shrugged. “I don’t plan on it. It’s not exactly the place for an energetic four-year-old. Thank you for entertaining her last week. I really appreciate it.”

“No need to thank me. I really enjoyed spending time with her. She’s a fabulous little girl. You and your ex-wife have done a wonderful job with her.”

“I don’t know how much credit I can take. I just do the best I can.”

“You’re being modest. I’ve seen you two together, and you’re really good with her. She looks at you like you’ve hung the moon.”

This time it was he who got a splash of color on his cheeks. “Kaylie makes it easy to be her father.”

“Do you get along with her mother?” It wasn’t until the words had passed her lips that she realized her thoughts had translated into spoken words. She inwardly groaned.

Logan was quiet, as though he hadn’t heard her. Could she be that lucky? Most likely he was refusing to answer her nosey question, and she couldn’t blame him. It was just that she was so curious about him. The more she learned about him, the more she wanted to know.

“We didn’t right after the divorce, but it has been a couple of years since then. We’ve each moved on. She has a new boyfriend.”

“And what about you? Do you have a girlfriend?”

He shook his head. “I’m not ready for that. As for Margie, I wouldn’t call us friends, but we’re friendly for our daughter’s sake.”

“It’s great that you’re able to put aside your differences and make your daughter a priority.”

Silence settled between them. It wasn’t a strained silence like before. This was a comfortable pause in a friendly conversation. She wanted to ask more about his life, but she knew she’d pushed her luck as far as it would go.

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