It was too late.
No amount of space was going to stop what I was feeling.
I was fucked.
DAY 3
ELLE
Clementine cooed in the early morning light.
I panicked, wondering if Logan was still in bed with me.
Uncertain, I opened my eyes and peeked.
He wasn’t.
I should have been relieved, but I wasn’t sure I was. Logan was messing with my mind. I’d never met anyone like him. He radiated sex appeal but could turn it off in the blink of an eye. I shouldn’t have cared—but I did. He’d opened something in my mind that had me thinking that way. He turned me on. He’d awakened something in my body that had me wanting him. That worried me.
Clementine was still babbling and I rolled over to see her cute little face staring at me through the rails of her crib. She was a good sleeper, but as soon as the sun came up, so did she.
Forcing myself out of bed, I took the few steps toward her. “Good morning, silly girl. You ready to get up?”
“Up,” she said, the strange environment not bothering her in the least.
I smiled at her. She was so easygoing. She was also parroting back more and more words. When I reached for her, she let out a loud cackle.
“She’s happy in the morning.” His voice was smooth like honey and made me shiver.
I turned with her in my arms to see Logan leaning against the doorframe with a cup of coffee in each hand. My pulse quickened at the mere sight of him. He was showered and dressed in another pair of black cargo pants and a long-sleeved white T-shirt. He looked rakishly rogue. My hands itched to glide under his clothes and touch his naked body. Such an odd feeling. His hair was still slightly damp and I remembered how soft it felt under my fingertips. I wanted to feel it again. He’d shaved, but I’d never forget how good his stubble felt against my skin. Really good.
Clementine reached for him and my heart fluttered.
She found him irresistible too.
Shaking the feeling off, I gave a slight laugh and told him, “I think she likes you.”
Logan strode my way with the swagger back in his step that had been missing last night when he left me in the bathroom. “You think?”
I reached for the cup of coffee he offered me. “You’re afraid of her.” It wasn’t a question. “You don’t have to be.”
He sipped from his cup. “I wouldn’t say I was afraid. It’s just that I’ve never been around babies.”
“I see.” I looked up and right into his eyes.
Out of nowhere, his lips pressed to mine.
The kiss he gave me was unexpected. It was sweet. I liked it. Clementine seemed to like it too, because she grabbed for his lips.
Shock tore through him and I had to laugh again as she twisted her fingers in his mouth.
Logan gently pulled them away. “She probably shouldn’t do that.” He wrinkled his nose. “You know, germs and all.”
I chewed on my lip to stop from laughing. There were two ways to look at it, after all, and I didn’t want to tell him but I was certain worse things had been in her hands.
He pointed his finger at me. “Don’t say it,” he said, grinning.
With a shrug, I set my coffee down and walked into the bathroom to grab the diaper bag.
“Does Clementine eat regular food?” he asked. “I ordered eggs, pancakes, and toast.”
I glanced over my shoulder. “Yes, she does. Let me change her and we’ll be right out.”
He nodded. “There’s a whole pot of hot coffee, too.”
I smiled at him. He smiled back. When I turned around with Clementine on my hip, he had just reached the door.
His smile widened when we appeared back in the bedroom and he gave a slight wave before walking out. It might have been for Clementine, but I returned it.
I don’t know why.
He slid his tongue around his lips in a heated response.
And my heart skipped a beat.
Logan disappeared into the next room and I set the baby down, all the while my pulse aflutter. Before I changed her, I took a few deep breaths and then sipped on my coffee to try to calm it down.
What was this thing between us?
I wasn’t about to overanalyze it, but I knew we needed to eventually talk about it. Something was causing him to war with his emotions, and he should know that he didn’t have to worry about me.
I wasn’t looking to attach myself to him.
I wasn’t looking to attach myself to anyone.
Once I’d changed Clementine, I decided to at least brush my teeth, but then I looked at myself and thought a comb would be a good idea too.
The mirror had a crack down the center and I wondered what had happened, but not for long as Clementine led the way into the living room. I had her bag, which contained her sippy cup, the fail-safe Cheerios, and her toys, so she was all set.
Logan was sitting on the couch with what I could only call “old school” Vans up on the table, reading something on his phone. A cart of overflowing food was next to him, along with one of the small cartons of milk he had ordered last night.