Page 141 of The Lost and the Found

“And instead of destroying that spark in him like so many of the adults in his life had tried to do, you nurtured it. You give yourself less credit than you deserve.”

He reached over for my hand and I let him, even if I wasn’t one for physical affection. I liked that he had big hands, that they were warm, and that they reminded me of a father’s touch, even if I didn’t know what it really meant to have a dad.

“You let me know if he doesn’t, you hear me, princess?”

“Princess?”

He looked away a little, removing his hand, seeming to be embarrassed. I grabbed his hand back and held it in both of mine. “It’s okay. I’m not usually for nicknames, but I like it,” I said softly.

Princess sounded familiar to me. Like perhaps in another time, a long time ago, my own dad might have called me that.

He smiled at me, and to my bewilderment, a wet pool of tears gathered in his blue eyes.

“Oh, gosh, are you okay? I didn’t mean to make you cry!”

He held a hand up and shook his head. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to lose it like this in front of you. I’m just… ah, I’m just glad he found you.”

“Oh.” That sounds like a weird thing to be glad about, but I wasn’t going to comment on that.

Our server came back with our food then, and Mathew took that time to wipe away his tears and compose himself. I pretended not to notice, trying to give him some privacy, though I did catch the look of confusion on the server’s face.

Thank God he didn’t comment on that.

“So, tell me, why did you come here tonight?”

I opened my mouth to tell him why, yet at the last moment, I couldn’t get the words out. Though I had been determined to find out the truth from Mathew, it didn’t feel right. Any problems I might have with Logan needed to be discussed with him, not through someone else.

I shook my head and smiled. “Nothing. I was just craving your food, so I decided to come here. And I wanted to see you again, but Logan had to work, so…” I trailed off with a shrug, as if it wasn’t a big deal.

And the way he looked so happy when I said that made me feel better about my decision to not tell him the truth.

I stayed there with him for a full two hours, and I had learned over the course of the meal how charming Mathew was. I had only ever relaxed and laughed like this with Logan, but that had taken months knowing him before I actually felt comfortable doing it.

With Mathew, it was different.

This was our second meeting, and already I had felt at ease with him.

I hoped Veena knew how lucky she was to have Mathew in her life.

* * *

By the timeI was driving home, the temperature outside had dropped dramatically. It was windy and cold, but it was clear, and that was more than I could ask for.

I was still getting used to driving at night, though I’d gotten tons of practice in because of how late I usually got home from work.

The first night driving myself to and from work was quite the experience. I made Logan stay on the phone with me, not talking, as I drove.

He didn’t utter a single complaint about it, instead, telling me he was proud of me once I got home.

That was the kind of man Logan had been with me since we first met, which made it so hard to even contemplate that this man, the one I gave my heart and body to, could be keeping something from me.

I hoped I wasn’t making this out to be an even bigger thing than it was.

By the time I pulled up to the apartment, it was only eight o’clock. Too early for me to be getting home from work now, but I didn’t want to lie to Logan about it.

I just had to go inside, and I would, as soon as I found the courage to.

I didn’t know when I had turned into such a coward. This wasn’t me. I was the girl who didn’t give two shits about other people, so why was this bothering me so much? I should be able to live and survive on my own, with or without Logan, and I knew I could—I just didn’t like the thought.

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