I didn’t care if brunch was turning into a loud affair. I loved it. Just like I loved all the people around the table who had done so much to help my daughter and me.
A contented sigh escaped my lips. This is what I’d been missing for a while. Juniper needed more than just Mama and me. Logan was the key that filled a hole that I’d not even known was there.
Honestly, I didn’t even know if I’d felt this relaxed and loved when I was still married to Lionel. We’d had our good times, but after we got divorced, I’d thought back to the early months of our marriage and the arguments we’d had.
Lionel always turned everything around on me, and I’d let him. He’d probably cheated on me from the very beginning. I’d always known there was something he was holding back, and it had always made everything very tense. The more I thought about it, the more it was amazing that our marriage lasted as long as it did.
After it’d ended, I’d believed th
at by keeping Lionel involved, I’d never have to worry about trouble with Juniper. How stupid I’d been.
I thought about that over the next few minutes as I worked on my pancakes, bacon, and fruit. Logan sneaked a glance at me every once in a while, a faint smile on his face like he knew some hidden joke.
“So that’s when Teresa walked in and asked where all the giraffes were,” Amelia said. She’d started telling a story about some of the stranger things that had happened at her fundraisers. I hadn’t really been paying attention to any of it.
“The poor woman was drunk out of her mind,” Mama said. “Bless her heart.”
They both laughed so much, one would have thought they’d been drinking themselves. I joined in the laughter, though more because of their antics than anything else.
I caught sight of my daughter being inappropriate. “Juniper!” I said. “You will behave. We are in public.”
“Oh, it’s all right, Emily,” Logan said with a wave of his hand. “I wasn’t going to eat it anyway. No point letting it go to waste.”
My little beggar of a daughter had snatched food off Logan’s plate, and that was not long after doing the same thing to “Grandma Amelia.” One time was maybe cute, but I didn’t want her to turn it into a habit, no matter how much Logan or his mother didn’t seem to care.
“Sorry, Mama,” Juniper said with a grin. “Sorry, Logan. Sorry, Grandma Amelia.”
I sighed and shook my head. I wasn’t sure how I felt about the whole Grandma Amelia thing yet. Obviously, we’d be spending a lot more time around Logan and Amelia, but his mother was getting a little ahead of herself asking to be called grandma.
Or was she? The thought struck me like a lightning bolt.
Would it be so bad to be with a man like Logan? We both loved each other. All our baggage was clear. There were no dark secrets left to scare either us off.
I took a sip of my sweet tea, hoping that drinking would cover any odd expression on my face. It seemed weird to even be thinking about marriage when a couple of days earlier I’d finally finished dealing with the fallout from my divorce.
Of course, I also wasn’t a fresh-faced woman with no life experience. I knew who Logan was, and he’d shown it through how he’d treat me, even when I’d treated him poorly. I was old enough to know what I wanted, and Logan was better with Juniper than her own father had ever been.
Then again, I knew Logan loved me, but that wasn’t the same thing as being ready to marry me. Maybe the person really getting ahead of herself wasn’t Amelia Hawkins but me.
“What’s on your mind?” Logan said, his voice low, a slight look of concern on his face.
Apparently, my attempt to disguise my feelings by drinking tea had failed. No one but Logan seemed to notice though. Our mothers were still cackling about some society parties among themselves. Juniper had decided to focus on coloring instead of trying to steal more food.
“Nothing’s on my mind,” I said, also keeping my voice low. I don’t know how long we could have a private conversation right in front of two nosy women like our mothers, but it didn’t hurt to try.
“Something’s on your mind,” Logan said, his dark eyes seeing right through me. “I can tell by looking at you.”
“So much has happened so quickly.” I shrugged. “It seems like yesterday we had that first date, and I, well, it didn’t seem like much was going to come from it.”
“That’s how life is. Does that bother you?”
I took another sip of my tea while I thought my answer over. “No, it doesn’t bother me. It’s surprising is all.”
I leaned against Logan. He put his arm around me. It was nice being able to relax into him, no worries, and knowing he loved me and cared for my daughter.
“I love you,” I whispered into his ear.
“I love you too,” he whispered back.