She swallowed. “I won’t try.”
“Just as well. Because you’d fail.” He gave a curt nod. “I’ll be in touch.”
Dizziness washed over her, and she forced herself to hold it together. It wouldn’t do for him to see how much he affected her. But his words had shaken her to the core. She touched her lips as the door closed behind him. Her mouth tingled. If she was honest, more than her mouth. Just the brief touch had lit little fires inside her, bringing her recalcitrant body to life. For a minute, she rested back against the wall, breathing evenly. When she was pretty certain she had herself under control, she straightened and headed back into the living room. Jenny and her mother were at the window, and she joined them there. Together they watched as Logan slung his leg over the Harley and pulled on his helmet. He gave a brief wave in their direction, the engine rumbled to life, and he vanished off down the road.
They all let out a sigh in unison.
“Well, that was intense,” her mum said. “But I like him. He’s…different.”
“He is indeed.”
Jenny turned to her. “Mum, can I have a tattoo?”
She looked at her daughter through narrowed eyes, but knew well enough not to give an outright no. “Maybe when you’re older.”
“How much older?”
“About sixty-five. Now, why don’t you go read for a while? We can talk later.”
She watched as Jenny pouted then wandered off to her room. Sinking onto the sofa she exhaled loudly, the tension drained out of her, leaving her weak and wobbly. Her mother gave her one look then disappeared into the kitchen, coming back a minute later with two glasses of wine.
“Here,” she said, handing Abby one and sitting down beside her. “You look like you need this.” She took a sip and grinned. “So, Logan. He’s…stunning.”
“I know.”
“Well, don’t sound so depressed about it.”
Abby shrugged. “I’m not looking for a boyfriend. And if I was, he’d be way out of my league.”
“Yet you slept with him the other night.”
“Mum!”
“That’s not a criticism. I’ve been worried about you. You need more fun in your life.”
“Ha. Bad things happen when I have fun.”
“Jenny happened.”
That stopped Abby in her tracks. She’d always thought of that one-night stand as a disaster that should never have happened. But if she could turn back the clock now, she would do it all over again. Jenny was worth everything that had happened. The only bad thing had been her mother and father splitting up—she’d always hold herself responsible for that. Even losing the chance to study law was a secret blessing. Deep down she’d only done it to please her father, to follow in his footsteps. Really, from an early age all she’d wanted to be was a detective, and she was close to that now. Hah, how would Logan feel about the fact that she’d only joined the force because of him? She must remember to tell him sometime.
“I know, and I wouldn’t have things any other way. But getting involved with Logan is not a good idea. I get the impression he’s not really into relationships—more a one-night stand sort of guy.”
“Or a two-night stand in your case”
“Thanks for reminding me. But my point is, a relationship between us won’t last, but hopefully his with Jenny will. If we start something and break up, it will make things awkward. Better if I keep my distance from the start and keep things between us on a sensible footing.”
“Good luck with that. But sweetheart, I have to be honest, I don’t look at that man and think ‘sensible’.”
“No.”
“Just ask yourself one thing—do you trust him with your daughter’s happiness?”
“I hardly know him.”
“You know him well enough. Otherwise he wouldn’t be here.”
Her mum was right. If she hadn’t trusted Logan, she would never have told him. She would have walked away. Her work had given her a good insight into character, though, honing a natural instinct. And strangely, despite his bad-boy appearance, she did trust him. And she was glad he hadn’t tried to turn himself into something different to impress them today. She’d probably have been less trusting if he’d turned up in an estate car and wearing a suit. This was Logan; he wasn’t going to magically turn into perfect father material overnight. Jenny would have to accept him as he was and that looked as though it was happening.
“Yes, I trust him.”
Trouble was, she wasn’t so sure she trusted herself.
Chapter Seven