‘Hello! Welcome!’
A petite dark-haired woman and the mouth-watering aroma of homemade bread and tomato sauce greeted them. Elly’s brown eyes were open and friendly and she was dressed as casually as he and Cassidy were. Score one for Elly, he thought, and then caught the cynical thought before it could progress any further. Possibly he was still a little jaded from his past, and possibly he did need to let that go and move on at some point.
‘It’s so nice to meet you both.’
Cassidy greeted the other woman with a natural exuberance he just didn’t have, kissing her warmly on both cheeks. This in turn seemed to relax Elly and Logan masked his scowl and tried to play nice.
Fortunately Leo came up behind the woman and placed a hand on her shoulder.
‘Right on time,’ he said, easing the rising tension between them all with grace and aplomb.
It was a trait he was going to have to cultivate in his new role, Logan thought grimly.
And then a small ray of sunshine stepped out from behind Leo’s legs with large unwavering eyes in a small fey face surrounded by clouds of dark hair.
‘I’m Skylar,’ she said, sticking out her hand for him to shake. ‘I’m six years old. Are you Leo’s brother?’
‘Yes.’ He found his throat had closed over and had to clear it before he could go on. Leo had sent him a text explaining that Skylar had no idea that they were from the royal family and would he mind playing along with that. Having wondered if that had been a ploy of his new girlfriend’s, Logan felt a wave of shame flood him.
If the colourful array of flowers in the well-loved garden hadn’t served to convince him that he was using a crooked lens with which to view the world, then this intelligent eyed child had finished the job.
Feeling unmoored for the first time in his life, he was at a loss as to how to proceed when Cassidy tucked her hand into his.
‘Yes, his name is Logan, and I’m Cassidy,’ she answered. ‘What grade are you in at school?’
‘One.’
‘And what’s your favourite subject?’
‘Reading.’
‘Ah, mine too.’ Cassidy laughed. ‘Ever read Fantastic Mr Fox?’
‘Yes, twice.’ Skylar beamed under Cassidy’s warm interest.
‘That’s one of my favourites too,’ Logan said, vaguely remembering that he had enjoyed the antics of the wily fox raiding Farmer Boggis’s hen house. ‘What?’ He gave Cassidy a superior look when her eyes went wide. ‘You’re not the only bookworm in the house.’
Skylar giggled and ran off, muttering about books, and Elly warned them that they had started something they might regret.
Leo stepped back for them to enter the house and Logan followed everyone into the cosy cottage awash with multicoloured cushions on the sofa and quirky prints on the walls.
Elly moved to the table set with a candelabrum and ceramic bowls filled with olives and dip and picked up a bottle of wine just as a timer went off in the kitchen.
Slightly flustered, she glanced around and Leo gave her a nod. ‘I’ll do the wine...you check the chicken.’
Elly’s face immediately softened and she let out a slow breath of relief.
Leo touched her face so briefly that if Logan had blinked he would have missed it, but he hadn’t and he felt a tug inside his chest at having witnessed the tender moment.
Cassidy shifted beside him, a dreamy smile on her face, and he realised with a pang that this was what she most likely wanted from a man.
Love.
Probably a family too.
The whole concept was so foreign to him that he was relieved when Skylar danced back into the room with an armload of books and readily sat down to view her offerings.
Slightly embarrassed that he was using a child to mask the raw emotions that seemed keen on piercing his skin, he soon got caught up in the relaxed atmosphere and started to enjoy the afternoon.