Page 126 of The Lost and the Found

Logan nodded toward a man coming our way. A very large man, probably in his fifties, with wide shoulders and a flat stomach. He was carrying our drinks in his hands, and he wasn’t smiling. I assumed this was Mathew. He was nothing like how I imagined him to be. With bright blue eyes and the same shade of blonde hair as me, he was a very attractive man. A man who aged well.

He set the glasses down and I almost jumped from the loud bang. I was surprised they didn’t break on impact. “Did you forget this place exists, boy?”

Logan didn’t appear put off by the mean scowl or the deep voice. “How could I forget, old man, when you call every day?”

Mathew’s scowl intensified. “Then why the hell are you just visiting now? I see your sister at least twice a week.”

Logan was the first to look away, and I knew he felt bad about not seeing Mathew more often. He grabbed his glass of ice water, fidgeting with the straw. “Ah, I’m sorry, Uncle Mathew. Things has just been really hectic lately. I promise to visit more in the future.”

That seemed to placate Mathew, because his broad shoulder sagged a little, and then he was smiling at Logan, the same smile I imagined a father would give his son. It was endearing, and I was happy that Logan had him in his life.

I shifted a little in my seat, debating whether or not I would draw attention to myself if I reached for the orange juice. Just when I placed my hands on the table, Mathew turned to me, and I froze.

“And what’s your name, sweetheart?”

“Uh, Hayden. It’s nice to meet you, sir.”

For a split second, a look of what seemed like shock came across his face when I told him my name, but the look was gone before I could blink, and then that sweet smile he gave Logan was back on his face. I relaxed a little. Perhaps I misread his face before.

“Hayden, huh? What a beautiful name.” He said it so softly, I almost didn’t hear him. “Tell me, what’s a sweet thing like you doing with a grouch like him?”

My smile widened a fraction. “A grouch, huh?”

“Oh, yeah.” Mathew took a seat across from us. “Took years for me to get this one to even smile at me.”

I bumped Logan’s shoulder. “Who knew you were such a moody teenager?”

Logan winked, and I didn’t know what the mischievous glint in his eyes meant, but I had the sudden urge to kiss him then, right in front of Mathew.

I looked away and turned to Mathew, only to find him watching us, the soft smile back on his face. Feeling a little awkward, I blurted out the first thing that came to mind. “I like your restaurant. I can already tell the food is great just by the line you have out front. I feel bad that we cut ahead of all those people.”

Mathew looked at me with a serious expression, his eyebrows raised in a way that I thought I might have said something wrong. “You cut through the line?” he asked, and I couldn’t tell what the tone of his voice meant. Was he angry?

I looked to Logan for help, but he wouldn’t look at me. He was staring at Mathew with a severe look on his face, and… we were in trouble, weren’t we? “Um, yeah?”

A tense silence followed, and I wanted to kick Logan under the table, hoping he would say something, anything at all, just to diffuse the tension.

Then Mathew threw his head back and laughed, and Logan’s broad shoulders shook against mine. I looked at the two men as if they were crazy, because in that moment I was convinced they might be.

“What?” I asked.

Mathew wiped away a stray tear. “I’m just messing with you, girl. Of course you should have cut through the line. I’m never going to make my family wait at my restaurant. Veena knows this, and so does Logan. And you should, too. In fact, I’ll tell the hostess to put your name down, too, just in case you ever want to come back and visit me without this one.”

I tried to smile, but it probably looked more like a grimace, and I still wanted to kick Logan under the table for playing along, so I did just that, just as he was taking a sip of his water. He choked a little, and I patted his back, a little harder than necessary.

Logan put his water down and glared at me. I adopted an innocent look, and when I smiled at him, his eyes softened. I knew he couldn’t stay mad at me for long.

“How long have you two been together?” Mathew asked.

“Almost two months,” I said, and it felt strange even saying it. It felt like I had known Logan all of my life. It felt as though I couldn’t have fallen for him in such a short period of time, but I had. And sometimes, I was scared of how strongly I felt for him. That since our feelings for each other were so strong, so passionate, at the beginning of this relationship, the burnout would be just as fast.

Could he un-love me just as quickly as he loved me?

Logan wrapped his arm around my shoulders, pulling me close, as if he could sense my doubts coming to the surface. I moved closer to him.

“I see you kids have gotten very close in such a little time.”

“Is that a bad thing?” I asked Mathew, before I could think better of it.

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