Page 32 of Risky Game

I made it for the next morning, she downed three pieces, and then I gently reminded her she didn’t hate French toast.

“Small mercies.” I grinned.

Her smile stretched. “She has her first gymnastics class tomorrow. We bought her another leotard this morning and trust me, she liked that.”

“Well, I haven’t met a woman yet whose attitude isn’t improved by a little bit of retail therapy.”

Ruby laughed then. “You know us so well.”

I didn’t. Not women in general. And I didn’t know everything about Ruby, but everything I’d seen from her so far?

That, I really liked.

“You two ate, I’m guessing?” I asked. Changing the subject had worked so far whenever I started thinking about Ruby.

“Macaroni and cheese, a while ago. I ate with Amelia.”

“Need something else? I’m going to go change and grill some burgers.”

“Please. And thank you.”

It wasn’t the first time we ate together, but only the second. Amelia ran to her room after I got home. I changed, made some dinner if Ruby hadn’t made dinner and left me extra. Ruby usually took off to her room to hide then, too. And I knew she was hiding. As soon as Amelia was out of my sight, Ruby took that as her cue to leave me alone, too.

But it was getting harder to want that.

It was dinner and some burgers, maybe a beer before I spent an hour with Amelia before putting her to bed.

What would it possibly hurt?

Chapter 11

Ruby

The last week and a half had been a new form of hell I hadn’t at all been prepared for. From the way Logan initially spoke of Amelia and her personality, I hadn’t expected to go from being completely ignored to being treated like I was in the middle of a hostile encounter. She was a child. I understood that. But I wasn’t sure I’d ever been around a child whose words made my heart hurt.

They were easy to brush off, but I was only seeing glimpses of the little girl Logan so clearly loved and I was beginning to wonder if it’d be best for everyone if I wasn’t around. All things I planned to bring up to Logan when I could, but considering how Amelia acted around me, I’d made myself as scarce as possible, so I didn’t upset her further.

And today’s phone call with her mom? That had been a turning point. Amelia had actually smiled at me this morning when I brought up the idea of a butterfly garden. She’d shouted “Yes!” so excitedly I thought she’d forgotten she didn’t like me, but she quickly smothered her excitement, shrugged, and went back to, “Fine, but my mom doesn’t like when I’m dirty.”

I promised to clean her up to make her mom happy and off we’d gone.

And then the call with her mom happened. The smiling happy girl decided dirt was stupid and flowers were dumb approximately thirty seconds into talking to her mom and Vanessa said, “I miss you too, honey, but I’ll be back there with you and your dad soon.”

My own brows peaked at the comment, the way she said it. It left me wondering if Vanessa was regretting not moving to be with Logan. No wonder Amelia was expecting it.

All of which was none of my business, and I forced myself to remember the money he was paying me. I couldn’t turn it down and walk from Amelia quite yet. Couldn’t go back to job hunting and not getting basic cocktail waitressing positions. None of them would pay as much anyway.

Which meant I was stuck in a house with a little girl who despised me, and her father who still made my pulse speed up every time he laughed or I caught a whiff of his campfire and cedar cologne.

Yes. A new form of hell, indeed.

Like currently having to sit across from Logan at the outdoor table where he decided he’d eat, with absolutely nothing around to distract me. I had a direct view of his tousled curls, his unshaven scruff, and those full lips. The stretch of his shirt over his chest and the low, deep rumble of happiness he made with every bite of his burger.

“So, outside the call with Vanessa from today, anything else I need to know?”

I shook my head and forced my gaze to meet his eyes, which was equally horrific to my pulse. He was so intense. So serious all the time. The few moments I’d made him laugh had felt like a birthday present.

“No. She didn’t complain about the breakfast I gave her, and at one point she asked if I’d swim with her later.”

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