Page 33 of Bittersweet

He took some paper towel in his hand and began gently wiping over the skin of her ankle, the top of her foot, her shoes. There was no possible way for her to hide the goosebumps that covered her leg. His eyes followed his hand as it moved over her foot, so focused on cleaning her up.

When he had finished, he wiped his boot, stood, and looked into her eyes.

Her stomach flipped at the intensity she saw there.

“I’m sorry I snapped at you before.” His closed mouth curved up at the corners.

She gave him a weak smile. “What I was going to say before was that I just want you to be safe. But you’re right. It’s none of my business.”

He took her hand in his, and every nerve in her body focused on the point of contact. She almost thought she felt the ridges of his fingerprints rubbing against hers.

“I want it to be your business.” His voice was low, like it had been the other night in her bedroom, and her insides turned to mush.

This was what was missing with Brett. This feeling right here. The feeling that nothing else in the world mattered in that moment but her hand in his and the incredibly loving way he was looking at her.

Harper let out a slow breath.

“Kiss her!” Darlene cried from across the room.

“This is more romantic than the book we’re reading right now,” Sandy added.

Harper lowered her forehead to Logan’s chest and started laughing again. She felt his chin connect with the top of her head before he stepped out of her space.

She looked up at him, and he leaned closer. At first, it seemed like he was going for her lips, but he changed direction at the last second until his mouth was close to her ear, and spoke quietly so the women couldn’t hear.

“I’m not kissing you for the first time after all these years in front of a bunch of voyeuristic book club women.”

She started laughing again until he leaned even closer, his lips brushing her ear, and whispered, “But I will kiss you again. If you ask me to.”

He pulled away and smiled sweetly at her.

Had her heart stopped? Because she felt light-headed at the moment. Her thoughts were a jumbled mess. When the bells on the door jingled, she couldn’t seem to register whether he’d said anything else before leaving the shop. He’d said things she’d longed to hear from him for years. But when the fog began to clear and she was back in her right mind again, her thoughts turned to one person.

Brett.

14

She’s getting out?” Logan’s chest suddenly felt tight, his breathing constricted. “When?”

“If all goes as planned, she’ll be out within the month.” Naya’s attorney, Mr. Riley, was a nice man, assigned by the court, because she couldn’t afford to pay for one.

Logan dropped his head to the steering wheel of the food truck. “I can’t believe it. She has over a year left.”

“She’s served five years of a six-year sentence. With prison overcrowding as it is, if a prisoner has demonstrated good behavior and the parole board believes they have shown remorse for their crime and are rehabilitated, then they could approve early release. Naya has a very good chance of that.”

The breakfast taco he’d eaten from his buddy’s Mexican food truck was suddenly threatening to come back up. He couldn’t believe it. He thought he’d have more time. He and Naya had barely talked about what would happen when she got out.

“I’ll be in touch when I know more.”

“Thank you, Mr. Riley.” Logan could only imagine how many cases this man dealt with on a regular basis. He appreciated being kept in the loop, despite not being her husband or family.

Naya didn’t have much of a family, really. No dad—he’d run off with another woman when Naya was three. No mom—she’d been in and out of prison Naya’s whole life and was currently serving twenty years for multiple drug possession and distribution convictions—like mother, like daughter. Her only real family was two older brothers, who had pretty much raised her, but with mile-long rap sheets of their own, they weren’t exactly ideal role models.

Her brothers lived on the east side of the state, south of Detroit, and Logan liked it that way. When he’d lived closer to the prison, they had stopped by once to see the baby, and Logan had felt sick to his stomach. Not knowing what kinds of illegal activities they were involved in had put him on edge. He didn’t want Kayla around them, and he was happy to live two hours away from them now.

But if Naya got out early, what would happen? He knew she’d want to see her daughter. Would her brothers want to see Kayla again too?

Maybe he’d been in denial that it would always be just him and Kayla. Part of him hoped Naya would never get out of jail or want to be part of Kayla’s life. But that wasn’t reality.

---