He dropped his fork on his plate and slid off his stool. “What helpful neighbors we have.”

An awkward silence fell.

“Uh… Sharon, this is my daughter, Maia, and my friend Grace. Guys, Sharon.” He walked over to her and leaned in to her to ask quietly, “What are you doing here?”

“Well” – she put her hand into her large handbag and pulled out a device – “you left your iPad at my place this afternoon, and I thought you might need it.”

“Fuck. I was looking all over the office for that. Thanks.” He took it from her.

I felt sick.

All this time, he’d been seeing the American after he said he wasn’t.

I felt… betrayed.

I knew that wasn’t fair to Logan because that wasn’t what we had, but still… I guess you can’t help how you feel.

“Dad, who is this?” Maia demanded snottily. It also happened to be the first time she’d called Logan “Dad.”

He stared back at her a little dazed. “Uh… a friend, Maia.”

“Well, we’re having dinner. She’s interrupting.”

“Maia.” His voice lowered with warning. “Don’t be rude.”

“I’m not the one being rude,” she muttered, and turned around on her stool, pushing her food around her plate with her fork.

She was glaring at that plate with a fierceness that concerned me. Logan was really going to have to be careful when it came to introducing women into her life.

“Sharon —”

“I better go,” she said, throwing me an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry to interrupt.” She leaned in to kiss his cheek. “It was nice seeing you again.”

Logan walked her out, and I felt my frustration mount every time one of her heels clacked against my floorboards.

When Logan returned, Maia looked up at me. “Can I be excused?”

I stared over her shoulder at Logan, and he nodded wearily.

“Sure.” I smiled patiently at her and took her plate away.

Without another word, Maia got up and left the flat to go next door.

Logan rubbed the back of his neck, uncomfortable. “That wasn’t supposed to happen.”

Feeling dread at the fact that I was the one he wanted to talk to about this, I turned my back on him and began emptying mine and Maia’s food into the bin. “If you have a woman, I think it best you ease her into your life with Maia. For future reference.”

“But I don’t… Sharon… I haven’t… Look, Sharon and I haven’t been together. I did break it off with her. Today was a slip.”

I didn’t say anything.

“I’m saying I spent two years in prison, and when I got out, I may have been trying to make up for the fact that I hadn’t had sex in two years. When you get used to it regular… She called me, and I went to her place on my lunch break and —”

“I don’t need to know the details.” I shot him a look over my shoulder, trying to hide my fury.

“We’re friends, but we’re not that close.”

“I’m just saying it happened. It’s not serious, and it won’t happen again.”

I started loading the plates into the dishwasher now. “Does she know that?”

“She’s here on a six-month visa. We both knew it was temporary. Would you turn around? I hate talking to your back.”

I braced myself and spun around, leaning against the counter for support. “Unless she’s dreaming of the rough-around-the-edges Scotsman popping the question.”

Logan stared at me like I was nuts.

I gave a huff of unamused laughter. “What? You don’t think women think like that? Many women have romantic fantasies and notions, and as much as we understand the reality of a situation, there’s always these little things called imagination and hope, and they make us think crazy things such as wanting a manwhore nightclub manager to marry us and give us a permanent visa.”

Logan processed this. “No?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, well, it’s definitely finished, then.”

“The horror. However will you find your next booty call?”

Logan burst into laughter and got up off the stool. Still laughing, he took his empty plate and put it in the dishwasher. When he stood up, we were way too close for my liking. He grinned. “Thanks for dinner.”

I watched him walk away, thinking perhaps I hated him a little, and I hated myself for hating him when it wasn’t his fault I had feelings for him.

“Oh and, Grace.” He glanced over his shoulder. “Don’t ever say ‘booty call’ again.”

CHAP TER 12

“D o I know you?” Chloe dragged her gaze down the length of me and back up again with exaggerated attitude.

“Don’t.” I sighed and slipped onto the stool next to her at the bar. After Logan had left, I’d called Chloe to arrange an emergency night out. I needed a drink and I needed my friend. I did not, however, need her to be snarky. “I know I’ve been preoccupied lately and I’m sorry, but…” I trailed off. The truth was, I really hadn’t been the greatest friend. “Actually, I’m just sorry.”

Chloe made a face. “You got yourself a life, Grace. There’s nothing to be sorry for. I was just teasing.”

The bartender interrupted. “What can I get you?”

I slumped, leaning my elbow on the bar and my chin in the palm of my hand. “Talisker and ginger ale, please.”

Chloe sucked in her breath beside me. “You’re on the whisky? Okay, whose head do I need to be cracking?”

“Mine.” I groaned and squeezed my eyes closed. “Shit, Chloe. I’m letting myself fall for Logan MacLeod and I need you to help me stop.”

“I knew it!”

My eyes popped open to glare at her. “No gloating.”

She hid her smile behind her glass and took a sip of the fruity-looking cocktail she was drinking.

“Stop smiling.”

She huffed. “Right, you grumpy cow. Tell me why I’m stopping you from falling for Mr.

MacLeod. I saw a picture of him on Facebook. Can I just say… wow.”

My brows puckered. “Facebook?” How on earth did she find him on Facebook? Logan had a Facebook account? That didn’t sound right.

“I friended Maia after we talked on the phone the other day and —”

“You talked to Maia?”

“Yes. When I called you, she picked up. We had a wee chat. She’s a cutie.”

Trust Chloe to make friends with Maia after one conversation. “So you added her to your Facebook? You do know you’re thirteen years older than her?”

Chloe made a face. “I didn’t friend her to friend her. I friended her for the purpose of snooping, and it paid off.”

“Ed really needs to get a job closer to home,” I murmured.

She ignored my dig. “Maia posted a selfie of her and Logan.”

I perked up. The thought of Logan posing for a selfie with his daughter made me feel all warm inside. “Let me see.”

Grinning, Chloe reached into her clutch and pulled out her phone. She played around with it for a few seconds and then passed it to me. She had brought up Maia’s profile on Facebook, and sure enough, her profile pic was a selfie of her and Logan.

It was adorable.

Maia was grinning widely into the camera, her cheek pressed to Logan’s as he gave that little smirk of his that was sexy even when he didn’t mean it to be. I scrolled through the comments and started to frown. “Look what these children are saying about Logan.”

“They’re fifteen and he’s hot.”

“It’s Maia’s father, not…” My mouth hung open. I pushed the phone in Chloe’s face, pointing to a comment. “Where did she learn about that? That is inappropriate. That… Bloody hell, that’s Layla.” I was aghast. “Okay, I think I need to curb how much time Maia is spending with that little dirty-mouthed… girl.”

“Ooh nice, Grace. You really got vicious there.”

“I’m not going to be vicious about a fifteen-year-old, even if she is cruder than porn.”

“Is it possible to be cruder than porn?”

“Depends on the porn,” the bartender said with a cheeky smile as he put my whisky in front of me.

“Tab?”

I thought about Logan and Sharon. “Yes, please.”

“Back to the subject at hand,” Chloe said. “I don’t want to stop you from falling for this guy.