Page 114 of Risky Game

He removed the plug, then led me to the bathroom where he took the time to help me shower before showering himself. He washed every part of my body methodically, barely teasing me, and didn’t let me touch him before he dried us off.

It was after we were dried off and he’d gone to grab my bags from the car and we were sitting on his bed, covers a wrinkled mess, when he kissed my cheek.

“My parents took Amelia to the zoo, so they won’t be back until dinner.”

Reality returned. I couldn’t help but ask.

“What’s really going on with Vanessa?”

“She broke up with Renaldo and she’s coming back to the States.”

“Here?”

“I talked her out of it. She thinks she might move nearby because she hates being away from Amelia, but I convinced her to go back to LA. She doesn’t need to make any major decisions yet, so I told her to go home and give it time.”

“It would be good for Amelia to have both her parents close.” That was what he’d been talking about, and I felt like a fool. “I really am sorry for yesterday and for not trying to talk to you sooner. I didn’t realize anything was really bothering me until Dawson proposed in that room and all I thought was, ‘Logan can’t even hold my hand,’ and that sucked. And then I got inside my head, and everything spiraled…”

He kissed me. Slipped his tongue into my mouth and curled his hand around the back of my neck. “I know, and I have a few calls to make later, but we don’t have anything to be concerned about. I’ve talked to the team. I made calls to the captains last night when Jassen was here. None of them give a shit who I’m dating, even if it’s Jassen’s sister. There’s no clause in my contract that says anything. At this point, the only gossip between us might be our age difference and the fact you’re still technically Amelia’s nanny, but we can deal with that. Right?”

“I can deal with anything if it means I get to be with you.”

He grinned, a panty-melting, body-heating grin that could have turned me into a puddle of want and desperation for him right there.

I meant it, too.

I’d do anything to be with Logan. And I’d definitely work on my own communication skills.

“I promise you I won’t run again either when there’s something we need to talk about. I’m sorry I did that.”

The storm returned to his iron eyes and his brows arched. “I don’t know. I kind of like the way I get to punish you for it.”

Of course he did.

Epilogue

LOGAN

This might go down as the strangest, but best Christmas I could ever imagine having. A year ago, if someone had told me I’d be celebrating Christmas with my ex-wife, my girlfriend, my daughter, and my parents at the Westhaven Country Club at a wedding reception for Dawson Butler and his new wife, Hailey, I would have demanded my money back from that fortune teller.

Yet, that was exactly what was happening. Ruby was at my side, glass of champagne in hand, sleek and sexy black dress highlighting every single one of her curves and making her olive skin even more beautiful in the muted chandelier light.

When Dawson’s wedding and reception invitation came in the mail, I’d originally put Ruby and Amelia and myself down for attending both. But then I talked to him and tried to back out of the wedding. News of my parents and Vanessa coming into town changed the plans. It was Hailey who called Ruby the next day and said, “It’s a party and it’s Christmas. Bring whoever wants to come.”

Vanessa was staying at a hotel, still living in California, but she’d found a virtual assistant job at a social media marketing agency that allowed her to work remotely, so she traveled to see Amelia frequently. She also recently talked to both Ruby and me about moving to Nashville. When she returned from Italy, she went back to California and after a week there, still hated being so far from Amelia. So, she’d been here several times, renting an Airbnb to see Amelia on the weekends whenever her schedule allowed it. At first, Ruby was hesitant.

I could understand. But we’d come a long way in the last couple of months, and she’d finally admitted that due to all of Paulie’s lies, it’d taken her a while to believe I wouldn’t race back to Vanessa.

That wasn’t going to happen, and now Ruby, Amelia, and Vanessa sometimes spent days together, out shopping, getting pedicures. Less than a year ago, I was hoping my wife and family would move to Nashville with me when I got the coaching job out here, and now my girlfriend and that ex-wife were friends.

It was strange, but we all agreed it was best for Amelia and above any hard feelings, any hurt, and any pain between Vanessa and me, we would always put our daughter’s needs first.

That morning, we’d all trekked over to Jassen’s house, and opened Christmas presents before we had to get ready for the wedding. It was the most chaotic morning of my life and one I would never forget. My parents took both Jassen and Ruby in like they’d always been in their lives, and they fell in love with Molly too. It was one large mess of a twisted family scenario and somehow, we made it all work.

“I love this,” Ruby said next to me. “Your dad is the best.”

We were standing off to the side of the dance floor, watching him twirl Amelia and then Vanessa around the dance floor. My mom was spinning Luke in circles like he was her own grandchild.

“I think you’re the best.”

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