Page 48 of The Lost and the Found

He smiled. “It is that. I know this can be a lot to take in. But I promise you, I won’t leave your side.”

“What if I have to use the bathroom?” I asked jokingly.

“Then I’ll stand outside,” he answered seriously. And I knew he would do it if he thought it would make me more comfortable.

“I’m fine. Don’t worry.”

“Okay.”

We got to the entrance of the ballroom, and I was taken back a little. It was exactly as I imagined it to be, with servers dressed in white carrying trays of champagne and smiling people dancing and talking. Everyone looked so happy.

It was a prime example of Americans living in excess, yet the cause was for teen homelessness.

Logan watched me as I took the scene in. “So what made you decide on this cause?”

“What makes you think I picked it?”

“I don’t know. It was just the way you looked when you were explaining it to me. You seemed very passionate about it.”

There was a brief pause before he spoke. “You’re not the only one who has been homeless before.”

I looked at Logan then, surprise evident in my eyes. “You?”

“Me and my sister.”

“I didn’t know you have a sister.”

“Yeah. Younger than me by four years. Our parents were… terrible people. And they were the worst parents. By the time I turned fourteen, they had left us and drove across the country, and because I didn’t know we were supposed to pay rent for our shitty apartment, we were evicted. Veena and I were on the streets for a couple of months.”

He looked at me then, and I didn’t know what he wanted, but I moved my hand up and down his arm in comfort. That must have been the right move, because he continued.

“I know it’s nothing compared to how you lived, and I met someone who took Veena and me in. He provided for us, and I owe him everything.”

“This isn’t a competition to see who’s got it worse. I’m glad you got off the streets when you did, especially since you had Veena with you.”

“Me, too.”

“So that’s why you picked this.”

He nodded. “Yeah. We try to put something together for a couple of charities a year. And this is one of them.”

“I like it. And I’m glad you told me. We have more in common than I originally thought.”

“And that’s a good thing, right?”

I smiled. “Yeah. It is.” It didn’t make the distance between us seem as far away.

“Good. Come on, let’s get in there. I’ll introduce you to some people, and then when this night is done, I’m hoping you’ll spend the night with me.”

“Logan, I don’t know.”

“What’s there to know? We won’t do anything you’re not ready for. But I just want to spend the night with you in my arms. Does that sound okay?”

My heart softened a little then. Maybe it was because of what he shared or maybe it was because of all that he had done for me, but I found that I no longer wanted the wall up around my heart. I wanted to let him in, even if he might break it… or break me.

Would that be such a terrible thing? Because right now, I couldn’t think of why that was. So I did something daring.

I said, “Yes.”

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