Page 17 of Bittersweet

Kayla peeked over at her and gave a little nod.

“Okay, I’ll get you some.” She moved to the kitchen, and Logan followed, setting Kayla down on one of the stools at the counter and her Bubble Guppies backpack and stuffed teddy bear on another.

Harper leaned across the counter and whispered, “I might have some chocolate chip cookies too, if that’s okay with your dad.”

Kayla glanced over at Logan with a little pout on her lips and her hands clasped together. Harper almost laughed aloud, remembering Logan doing that same thing when begging her to stay in the food truck the other morning.

Logan held a finger in the air. “One. You know you have bad dreams when you eat too late.”

Kayla giggled and smiled. She was the cutest little girl Harper had ever seen, with wavy chestnut brown hair and hazel eyes like her daddy’s. But her complexion had an olive tone and was darker than Logan’s, which Harper assumed she’d inherited from her mother. The thought of Logan having a baby with someone else made her stomach twist.

Harper pushed aside her train of thought and went to the turquoise cake stand she’d purchased. She lifted an upside down bowl she’d used as a makeshift cover, took two cookies from the stack, and handed them to Logan. “One for each of you.”

Her kitchen was already nearly spotless, but she was nervous and went about tidying up, feeling the need to busy herself.

She felt Logan’s closeness before he spoke. The warmth of his body radiated against her back, and she turned around to find him in her personal space.

“You have a daughter?” she whispered. Her mind was racing a mile a minute, trying to do the math. “How old is she?”

“Four.”

“Is she why you left? Because you got someone pregnant while we were together?” Harper thought she might throw up. She never believed he would cheat on her. This was far worse than anything she could have imagined.

“Before.”

“Before we were together?” she asked.

“Yes,” he answered firmly. “It was the summer before I met you. My ex-girlfriend.”

Harper stared at the little girl seated at her counter, shoving the last bite of cookie in her mouth. She had rosy cheeks and crumbs sticking to the corners of her mouth.

“Would it be a horrible imposition if I asked if we could stay?”

Her head jerked toward Logan, and her lips dropped open a bit. “Oh, Logan, I don’t think that’s such a good idea.”

“I don’t know anyone else here. I can’t take her home right now. We can sleep on the couch, and we’ll be gone by morning.”

She mulled the idea over in her head as she watched the sweet girl sitting in her kitchen. “You can have my room,” she finally answered.

“No, we don’t want to put you out. The couch is fine.”

“It’s fine.”

“Daddy,” Kayla mumbled. “I don’t feel so good.” She looked suddenly peaked.

Logan flew across the kitchen, but was too late to stop his daughter from tossing her cookies—well, cookie, in this case—all over the counter and down the front of her teddy bear pajamas.

“Oh, sweetie, I’m sorry.” His eyes searched the kitchen. “Do you have any towels?”

Harper grabbed a couple dish towels and the whole roll of paper towel. “Take care of her. I’ve got this.”

“Are you sure?”

She nodded adamantly. “The bathroom’s down the hall next to my room. Run her a bath if you want. She can wear one of my T-shirts to bed, and I’ll wash her pajamas. Second drawer.”

Logan pressed his lips together, looking a little choked up. “Thank you, Harper.”

Harper waved him away before she got emotional too. She took a deep breath and wiped up the mess from the counter. Logan has a daughter? She could hardly believe it. This was definitely not what she’d expected him to be keeping from her.

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