Page 111 of Whenever You Call

It wasn’t the right time to make any kind of declarations or place any kind of label on what Hannah and I had. Especially not with Bella in the room. But damn it if my heart didn’t pinch and demand that I cry out that maybe I did have a girlfriend, and there she stood at the back of the room, looking at me, waiting to hear my answer for herself as though her life depended on it.

“I think any woman would have to be extremely understanding and patient to be in my life, Paisley. The life of a paramedic with the LAFD is hectic. There are long shifts to contend with, hard days, even harder nights, and a lot of pressure.” I paused, unable to stop my eyes meeting Hannah’s. “Sometimes we walk away from a callout without getting the result we wanted, and that’s a hard pill to swallow. It’s not like turning off a computer and going home for the day without thinking about everything that happened. We can carry a lot of guilt and questions around with us that we’ll never find answers to. But then there’s the other side of the job. The one that brings people into your life you never expected to meet, and that’s when you know the hard days were worth it because there’s nothing quite like the feeling of walking into someone’s life as a stranger and knowing you’re walking out as something more. Someone that mattered for a while.”

Hannah stared back at me, captivated as she worried a small silver necklace between her fingers.

I had to look away before it became obvious to everyone in here that she had been the best surprise I’d ever had.

I turned to Paisley instead. “So, any girl that wants to be my wife or girlfriend in the future has their hands full, Paisley, and maybe one day someone will come along and think I’m worth the waitandthe weight,” I said with a smile, while some of the young girls began to mutter between themselves and whisper in each other’s ears.

“I bet my mommy would,” Paisley said proudly.

The class erupted into fits of laughter, and I had to hold back one of my own.

The teacher called order on the class, and I took the opportunity to look at the other parents around the edges of the classroom, only to see a few of them leaning into each other and whispering, too. But when my eyes landed on Hannah, she seemed oblivious to all of them, and her contented smile forced me to look away again because she was the kind of woman you couldn’t hide your feelings from… and I didn’t want to be the one to land either of us in trouble again.

I answered another handful of questions from the kids, including one that asked what to do when you got a piece of Lego stuck up your nose. By the time it came to an end, I found Bella staring up at me with a look of pure wonder on her face when the teacher encouraged a round of applause from the other kids.

Following my instructions from the class teacher, I thanked the children for listening and walked to the back of the room to stand by Hannah’s side. On my way, I passed Bella’s desk, only for her to stick out her closed fist for me to bump mine to the end of it. A simple gesture that saidgood job, Logan.

That shit filled me up with more pride than any rescue ever had.

An hour later, after listening to a few talks from an NFL agent, a scriptwriter, a lawyer, and a stuntman, everything came to an end, and the children were allowed to go to their parents at the back of the room. Bella rushed toward us in a hurry, her long hair its usual un-styled frenzy, which only she could pull off.

I stepped aside for her to fly into Hannah’s arms, only it wasn’t Hannah she wanted.

Her little body came against mine, crashing into my legs with such force, I had to reach out to the wall for balance while she clung on, pressing her cheek against me.

“Thank you, Mr. Logan. Thank you. You were thebest.”

I glanced at Hannah, who looked like she was trying to hold back her emotions, before I pried Bella’s hands off me and knelt down so we were eye to eye. There was so much happiness pouring out of her, even I found it hard not to crumble.

“You’re welcome, Bella.” Leaning in, I narrowed my eyes, faking uncertainty. “YousureI didn’t embarrass you?”

“I’m sure. I even heard Violet Evans tell Lilli Hyde that she thought you were cute, too.”

My brows rose, unsure what the hell to say to that. I glanced up at Hannah, only for her to shrug as though she couldn’t argue. Pinching the bridge of my nose, I groaned and turned back to Bella. “And you don’t think that’s embarrassing?”

“For you,” she said, chuckling. “I think it’s funny because you’re old.”

“Hey, now, wait a minute.”

She laughed some more. “Old and rubbish at hide and seek.”

I was about to argue when two young girls tapped Bella on the shoulder, pulling her attention away completely so she turned her back on me, no longer interested in anything I had to say. I rose back to standing, falling in line next to Hannah. Our shoulders brushed together, and I glanced her way, desperate to place a kiss to her lips, cheek, neck… anything, instead having to pretend that I was nothing more than a family friend with no interest in the stunning woman beside me who turned me into a fucking schoolboy myself whenever I was around her.

“Thank you for being here, Logan,” she said as quietly as she could as she fiddled with that chain around her neck. “For doing this for Bella. It means a lot that she has someone besides me there for her.” Her eyes rose to meet mine.

“Anytime,” I whispered, staring into those pools of light green I would willingly drown in. “Thank you for trusting me with her.”

“I trust you with both of us.”

Without thinking, I reached up with the intention of cupping her cheek and bringing her to me, only for my hand to freeze halfway there once I remembered where we were and what I should and shouldn’t be doing. Hannah noticed, and her cheeks blushed on cue while I ran my wandering hand through my hair, and the two of us turned away from each other, trying to create some obvious distance so we didn’t raise any suspicion.

Not that it mattered in the end.

Because in those moments shortly after I’d almost messed up, the room fell silent, just as Bella decided to lean into her friends and say, “I’ve already told you, Violet, he’s not my daddy, but he doesn’t need to be. Mommy’s smile has come back now, and I think it’s because of Logan and those kisses he gives her when he thinks no one is looking.”

Chapter42

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