Page 48 of Whenever You Call

I wouldn’t be able to stay away.

And as much as I knew I should have made an excuse, I found my own stupid smile growing at the thought of spending time with her, and I dropped my forehead to the steering wheel in defeat. “What time shall I be there?”

Chapter20

HANNAH

He showed up at my door the next morning, tall, handsome, with eyes that seemed to penetrate my skin and an awkward smile that showed me he felt about as comfortable around other people as I did. He wore dark jeans and a short-sleeved white Henley shirt that highlighted every muscle he’d put under strain for the last two days.

He was gorgeous, and he didn’t even know it.

“See,” I said, blinking up at him. “This isn’t so hard, is it?”

With a soft smirk, Logan rolled his eyes and followed me as I led him into the kitchen. Whatever cologne he wore enveloped me until I imagined laying against his chest, soaking it in. But then Cole’s face appeared in my mind, reminding me that mere months after his death was far too soon to be thinking of another man that way.

I pushed those dark thoughts away and strapped on a smile when I turned back to Logan.

“Do you want anything to drink? Coffee, water…?”

He shook his head, looking around the place like he hadn’t already seen it before. “I’m good, thanks. Is Bella here?”

“She’s upstairs. Liv’s watching over her while she cleans her bedroom.” I chuckled, the memory of my daughter looking aghast when Livia and I had told her she had to take pride in her own space, and just because Livia and I could clean it, didn’t mean we had to. “I’m trying not to raise a Beverly Hills brat. Starting with the small things and all.”

“I doubt that’s just a Beverly Hills thing. No kid wants to clean their room at six years old.” He grinned, and that smile on his face almost took my breath away. I had to busy myself by turning around to open the refrigerator and start pulling things out.

“True, but in this environment, it would be easy for her to get lazy. Hell, it’s easy for me. I have to argue with Liv daily about helping her out. She insists she enjoys her job.”

“Does she live here with you?”

“She has her own place, and she has a room here.” I grabbed some bits for a salad and turned to drop them on the kitchen island. “The last few months, since… you know… she’s stayed here more than before.”

“That’s good. The thought of you and Bella being alone in this big house doesn’t sit well with me.”

I chanced a glance up at him. “I’m a big girl.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay, big girl, how about we do something different today, then?”

My hands stilled, not moving from a pack of fresh spinach and a red pepper. My heartbeat raced. “Different?” I asked, arching a brow.

Logan rested his hands on the island, pressing his weight down on them, making the muscles in his arms pop as he studied me. “You may have been onto something yesterday when you said we could help each other.”

I searched his eyes, not sure where this was going.

“I thought about what you needed from me the most, and I think it should start with you getting out of this house.”

“Today?”

“Today.” He nodded.

“Logan, I—”

“—will make a million excuses as to why you can’t, I know. I understand the fear, too, but you can’t live like this, stuck indoors, waiting for my phone calls to be your only connection to life.”

I scowled at him, hating the way my heart was racing. Was that really how he saw me?

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