“Oh, of course. That’s no problem. You’re an angel.”
I smiled at him, Logan said good-bye, and we heard Mr. Jenner’s door close behind us just as we stepped out of the building.
“Do you ever say no to anyone?” Logan said.
It was my turn to raise an eyebrow at him. “And where would you be if I did?”
He blinked at my response and then threw his head back in a bark of laughter.
I couldn’t help grinning. And I did so, ignoring the swell of attraction I felt toward him.
The man could probably heal the world with that laugh of his.
We stared down into the boot of Logan’s car. It was packed with stuff, as was the backseat. It wasn’t just stuff for Grace’s room, either, but bits and pieces I’d picked out for the rest of his flat to give it some warmth. Right now it looked half-empty and unlived in. Logan needed to turn the place into a home.
“Do you think we got enough?” he said dryly.
I smirked. “I hope so, or you can say good-bye to your savings.”
“On that note.” He shut the boot and gestured to the computer store. “Does Maia need a laptop? For her school stuff? I mean, she needs a phone, but does she need a laptop?”
“Well, Logan, no one needs a laptop,” I said. “The question is can you afford a laptop?”
He frowned at my nosy question.
“You asked,” I huffed. “I’m just saying… Her birthday is in a few months. If you want to make up for unintentionally missing the last fifteen, a laptop would be a lovely way to do that. But not every birthday should be of laptop magnitude,” I hurried to add.
Logan looked undecided.
“Maia’s just happy to have you right now. She doesn’t need a laptop.”
He slanted me a look out of the corner of his eye. “Okay.”
“Okay?”
“Yeah.” He nodded and then spun around to look across at the other side of the giant retail park. “Fancy having some lunch before we hit the supermarket for Mr. Jenner?”
I should probably have been getting back. I had work to do. “Sounds good.”
We started walking toward the Tex-Mex restaurant.
“So about a phone for Maia… Do I just buy one? Or should I let her pick it?”
I grinned. He was trying very hard not to sound anxious, but I could hear it anyway. “Do what you think is best.”
He made this little growling noise that a few weeks ago would have intimidated me. Now it just made me grin harder. “I can feel you laughing at me.”
“Moi.” I stared up at him round-eyed and innocent. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”
“Aye, right.” He held open the door to the restaurant, staring me down the whole time.
I pretended to be cowed.
After we ordered, the waitress moved away and Logan and I were left just staring across the booth at each other.
He looked very serious all of a sudden.
“What?” I said warily.
“You haven’t mentioned your family at all, with the exception of that fucker who doesn’t even count as a brother.”
Uncomfortable under his sudden intense scrutiny, I shrugged. “My friends – Aidan, Chloe, and Juno – are my family.”
“What about your blood? Your parents?”
“I don’t speak to them.”
He cocked his head in curiosity. “Why?”
Why did he suddenly want to know about me? I’d gotten the impression that he was avoiding any really personal discussions between us when he threw up a wall after our outpouring and hug in his car the other day. “Why do you want to know?”
Logan shrugged and took a sip of water. When he placed the glass back on the table, he said, “You’re my friend.”
That surprised me. “Yeah?”
He gave me a lazy grin, and something rippled low in my belly in response to it. “Yes.”
Shoving away that ludicrous reaction to him, I gave a huff of laughter. “Who would have thought?”
“Certainly not me. I was pretty sure you were a shrew.”
I narrowed my eyes. “You were no picnic either, Logan MacLeod.”
He grinned again, and it occurred to me I’d seen him smile more in the last few days than I had the entire time I’d known him. “I’ve missed that,” he said.
“What?”
“You saying my full name in exasperation.”
I giggled. “I don’t think you’ll have time to miss it. I’m pretty sure you’ll be hearing it again soon.”
“Stop changing the subject.”
“I didn’t!”
“Someone did.”
“It wasn’t me.”
He gave me a low-lidded no-nonsense look. “Why don’t you talk to your family?”
Trying for nonchalant when I felt anything but, I rolled my eyes. “My mother is cold and my father is distant. I didn’t like life in London with them, so I left them behind for a real family here in Edinburgh. End of story. Okay?”
He was quiet a moment. I didn’t know if he was processing that information or gearing up for more questions… and then he surprised me again. “Thank you, Grace.”
“For what?”