Page 56 of Whenever You Call

“Jesus.” Logan ran his free hand over his mouth before dropping it back into his lap and leaning forward. He held the stem of the wineglass in both hands, twirling it around as he looked right into my eyes. “So, you really have done these last few months completely alone?”

“It’s what I wanted.”

“That’s not what I asked.”

“I’ve had Liv—”

“Apart from Livia,” he cut me off. “There really isn’t anybody else you trust?”

“Nope. Although I suppose there’s you now.”

Logan searched my eyes a moment longer before he stared down at his feet. “Damn, Hannah,” he whispered. “You live like an island out here, stranded with no one to keepyouafloat because you’re the one doing all the work.”

“Don’t you dare feel sorry for me.”

His head snapped up again. “Sorry for you? I’m admiring the shit out of you right now, and I’m goddamn angry that there are far too many people having kids just to hate them, pressure them, use them, fuck them up, and then abandon them.”

“Not me,” I said with a sad smile. “I had my daughter to love and raise for the rest of my life. Even if I have to do that alone now, I’ll do it. Just watch me. She’ll be the most cared for girl in the history of daughters. She’ll have so much love, she won’t know what to do with it.”

“You’re an incredible woman, Hannah Moore.”

“I happen to think you’re pretty incredible, too, Mr. Logan.”

“Hey, that’s my name for him,” Bella said behind him, her little body coming into view as she stepped out of the kitchen, rubbing a sleepy eye and yawning out the rest. “He’s just your friend Logan, Mommy.”

My friend Logan. She wasn’t wrong.

The guy slowly saving my life without even realizing it.

Chapter23

HANNAH

“How do you feel about heading back to work tomorrow?” I asked Logan, my phone pressed to my ear while I lay on my side in bed. It had already turned midnight, yet we’d been speaking for the last hour.

Just like we’d done for three nights in a row since the night we’d drank wine and shared truths before he’d eventually left, even though I’d found myself wanting him to stay longer.

Logan made a noise in the back of his throat, and I imagined him running his hand through his hair while he lay in his bed and stared up at the ceiling. I tried to imagine what his bedroom looked like, but I quickly pushed it away because thinking of that made me think of the other things I was trying to avoid.

“Don’t remind me about it,” he grunted.

“I thought you’d be happy.”

“Turns outnotliving to work isn’t as bad as I thought it would be.”

“Look at you, finding a life.”

“I hardly call going to the Farmer’s Market once or twice or spending my days in the gym, a life,” he said with a gentle laugh.

“You don’t know how lucky you are.”

He let a heartbeat pass before saying, “You know you’re going to have to let them get that first picture of you sooner or later, don’t you? People only chase what tries to run. If you stop running, they’ll have no need to chase.”

“All of that sounds good in theory, but you’re either made to be on the cover of a blog post or you’re not. And I… am not. Whatever’s printed, it’ll be a lie. There’s no profit in truth, and I’m sick of being the scandal that gets other people rich while turning me into a walking, talking ball of anxiety.”

“What scandal could they possibly have on you?”

You,I thought. They’d twist that up into something juicy and make a three-course meal out of it, painting me as the heartless woman bringing a man into her life so soon after her husband’s death because they didn’t know the truth. How our marriage had been quietly falling apart before it even really started. They didn’t understand how you could love someone with your whole heart, but also need to run as far away from them as you could possibly get for the sake of your own sanity.

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