Last night, she’d avoided speaking to him over the dinner table while Jenny acted as a buffer between them. This morning they didn’t need a buffer. He was pretty much ignoring her, and after ten minutes, she could sense Jenny’s puzzled glances between the two of them. This was what she’d worried about: that any altercations between her and Logan would spill over on Jenny. Their daughter wasn’t stupid.
But this morning she didn’t have the strength to fight it or make it better. She gulped down the coffee, burning her mouth in the process, and stood up. “I need to go to work.” She crossed to Jenny and dropped a quick kiss on her head. “You have a good day, and I’ll see you tonight.”
“Okay, Mum.”
Logan followed her out into the hallway, and her heart sank. She didn’t need this right now. Grabbing her bag, she made for the door. He halted her with a hand on her arm, and a shiver ran through her. A simple touch and her body came alive. She stopped and turned slowly.
His expression was cool. “I just want to say you can relax. I’ll back off. You’ve made it clear you want nothing to do with me. We’ll need to pretend to be friends for Jenny’s sake, but I won’t push you for anything else.”
She bit her lip. She should be happy, but heat was rolling through her, and her eyes pricked. She had to get out of there before she made a total fool of herself. This was what she wanted. Accept it and get out.
“Thanks,” she muttered.
For a second, she thought he might say something else, but he nodded and turned away. Abby let herself out of the house, blinking away the tears.
She never cried.
It was messy and uncontrolled and just not her. But she drove the car out of the drive, around a corner, and pulled up on the edge of the road.
And bawled her eyes out.
After five minutes, she sniffed and pulled the tatters of herself together. She had her mum, Jenny, a great career, and maybe a new job to look forward to. There was no reason to feel like everything was over.
Chapter Twelve
Logan pulled up in front of the house and sat for a minute, fingers drumming on the steering wheel. He hadn’t seen Abby for a week. Not since the disastrous night he’d asked her to move in with him.
He missed her.
And it wasn’t only the sex, though God, he missed that. He missed her company. He liked her, and he’d spent an inordinate number of hours trying to work out why. What was there to like? She was uptight, screwed up, and thought he wasn’t good enough.
Maybe he wasn’t good enough.
Not for her and her impossibly high standards, anyway. And he never would be. So there was no point in trying. He’d save himself a whole load of pain if he accepted that now. Because if he got in any deeper with her, and she turned her back on him…
The muscles in his gut tightened. Christ, it wasn’t as though he had a good track record; his own mother had dumped him in exchange for a paycheck. However crappy a mother she had been, he’d loved her, and he never wanted to go through that again. There was probably something about him… Shit, he was getting maudlin.
The one thing he could do was offer his daughter unconditional love. She would never feel the way he had.
He hadn’t seen Jenny since the sleepover, either. Today they were going out for lunch, but he was hoping he would get a few minutes with Abby first. Not that he had any clue what he was going to say to her. He just wanted to see her, hear her voice.
Was he losing it?
Probably.
He got out of the car and headed up the drive, but when the door opened, Rachel stood there, and his heart sank.
“Hi, Logan, you want to come in? Jenny is getting her things.”
He followed her into the lounge and stood shifting from foot to foot, feeling like a teenager in front of his girlfriend’s mother. Except Abby wasn’t his girlfriend. Finally he could hold back the question no longer. “Is Abby around?”
Was that pity flashing across her face? Was he so fucking obvious?
“I’m afraid she had to go in to work early.” She smiled brightly. “So how are you and Jenny getting along?”
“Good,” he said, but was saved from any more polite conversation by Jenny appearing at the door.
He couldn’t believe the extent of his disappointment. He’d done such a great job of not seeking her out this week, and he’d looked on today as his reward for good behavior. But it wasn’t Jenny’s fault, and he forced a smile. “What would you like to eat?”
“Pizza.”
“Pizza it is.”
“Dad?” she asked as they drove through the city.
He cast her a quick sideways glance. He recognized the tone now—she was about to ask him something and wasn’t sure what sort of answer she would get. “Yeah, sweetheart?”
“Before we go to lunch, can I see where you work?”
He hesitated. What was the right answer? While he was proud of what he’d achieved with the clubs, he didn’t think they were a suitable place for a ten-year-old. On the other hand, he didn’t want her to think something bad went on there, or that he was hiding something.
Christ, it was difficult knowing what was right. Maybe it was all about finding a balance. He took a deep breath. “It’s not a place for children, but how about we park the car there and you can take a look from the outside.”
“Okay.”