Chapter 10

MAGGIE

~FIVE YEARS AGO~

It’s a few weeks after my eighteenth birthday when my dad has to go on a business trip, and there’s only one person he would trust a teen like me with.

I’m dropped off at Logan’s house to stay for the week. Of course, I’m ecstatic about the idea that I’m going to spend more time with him, which isn’t easy because he went abroad and took up his father’s business.

Logan babysitting me is a rare occurrence.

My father has a brief conversation with him, which I’m sure is about how he shouldn’t let me have any boys over or allow me to throw parties.

My dad thinks I’m a heathen, that I might do drugs or alcohol only because he caught me trying a cigarette with my best friend’s boyfriend when I went to the movies last week.

It was just a one-time thing, but my father will not listen to excuses. According to him, I’m mingling with the wrong crowd.

Good for me, he thinks Logan is the best influence.

Logan easily picks up my luggage and leads me upstairs. “I’ll usually be in my study. If you need something, just holler or text me, okay?”

“Surrre…,” I say.

Does he really expect me to sit in one room and do nothing? He wants me to waste my weekend in a guest room?

My idea of fun is a little different. “I’m hungry,” I complain.

He drops the bags on the bedroom floor and turns around. “Should we order pizza?”

“Yup. Sounds good.” I pick up a magazine from the counter and unconsciously flip through it. “We’re going to share.”

“I just had lunch.”

“We. Are. Sharing.”

He rolls his eyes. He is thirty-six and gorgeous AF. He looks at least ten years younger than his age.

I mean, look at that black T-shirt stretching over his broad chest, and those slim ripped jeans that highlight his very fine ass.

I’m eighteen and hormonal. Give me a break.

I’m also very immature, so I don’t miss any opportunities to touch him. I go up on my tiptoes and whisk his thick hair.

He touches his hair. “What’s wrong?”

I shake my head. “There was something stuck in there, but it’s gone now.”

Logan is dense, so he says, “Oh, okay. Thanks.”

“Why don’t we go out to eat instead of ordering in?”

His blue eyes pierce right through me. He looks down at his watch and nods. “All right. Meet me downstairs when you’re ready.”

“I was born ready.”

He laughs as he descends the stairs.

I fiddle with the touch screen in his car and connect to my phone with Bluetooth.

He gives me a sideways grin that has me melting in my seat, “I didn’t know you listened to songs from the ’80s.”

“Oh, I love a blast from the past.” I enjoy listening to old songs occasionally, but I’m just saying it because I know Logan is a fan of the music. I’m doing it to impress him.

I take him to my favorite pizza place. It’s a nice, cozy restaurant with fewer people than the usual popular places in town.

I chose this place because it’s so far from school. There are also fewer chances of my classmates bumping into me here.

We order two pizzas and one soda for me. Logan is health conscious, so he doesn’t drink soda.

I’m also wearing a sleeveless white crop top over denim shorts. I recently noticed that my breasts look bigger. The girls said that, too, and the boys have been taking notice of me lately.

This top makes me look like I’m a few years older than my age, and it’s stupid, but I want Logan to see that I’m someone close to his age, and that I look better than the women he casually dates.

So far, he hasn’t given me any ideas that he’s noticed my outfit. He’s barely even looking at me.

“How’s school?” he asks as I sip onto my drink.

“Boring,” I say.

“Got a boyfriend?”

“There are a lot of boys who text and call me, but none of them that catch my interest so far. They are far too childish.”

He chuckles. “Childish?”

“They play video games all day, and that’s all they talk about. It’s boring.”

“Teenage boys have a lot of things on their mind. You would be surprised.”

I decide to tease him. “Like what? Sex?”

His eyes meet mine. He shrugs. “Mostly.”

“You used to be eighteen, too, so you know what they’re like. Please enlighten me.”

“Well, for starters, boys at that age can do stupid things. They shower you with compliments and try to get in your pants just because you’re pretty. You’ll get that a lot.”

“I didn’t know you think I’m pretty.” I laugh. “You barely even look at me.”

He smiles. “You’re a beautiful girl, Maggie.”

Before he can say anything else, the pizza arrives, but there are flutters in my belly that don’t cease.

He thinks I’m beautiful.

“Just remember something. If a guy really likes you, he’ll know how to respect your boundaries.

“He won’t push you to have sex. Most boys your age pressure their girlfriends into doing things they’re not comfortable with. You have to be careful.”

I give him a nod. “I’ll remember your advice.”

I’m not even interested in boys from my high school. All I want is Logan.

We’re almost done eating when a group of kids from my school enter the restaurant. I try to sink into the seat when one of the girls, Jennie, catches my eye.

“Maggie, hey!”

I wave at her and pray that they leave me alone, but when she approaches my table, I groan inwardly.

“Oh my god, I love that top! Isn’t it the same one we bought online together?” Jennie says, and then she notices Logan. “I’m sorry, is this your dad?”

Logan doesn’t react, but I don’t like how she’s assuming things. People have misunderstood and called him my older brother, and that infuriated me, too, but calling him my dad outright should have been a criminal offense.

“He’s a friend. Logan, meet Jennie. Jennie, this is my best friend, Logan.”

“Best friend?”

“Yes.” I plaster on a fake smile. “Looks like your buddies are waiting for you.”

She says goodbye and walks to her table. They all sit down at a booth, and I’m tempted to bolt because the group is taking turns looking at us.

Thankfully, Logan calls for the check, so I leave this place as fast as I can.

Logan laughs when we climb into his car. “You should have played along.”

“And let them think that you’re my dad? No thanks.” I’m clenching my fist so hard I might break my nails.

“People assumed that when you were eight, remember?”

“That was when I was a kid, and I’m not a kid anymore.”

He still sports a teasing smile but nods. “You’re a woman now.”

He calls me a woman, but I think he only does it to make me feel better. He’s more into those sophisticated women that he usually dates.

When we get home, Logan tells me he has to head back to his study to do some work.

“Can I get a kiss first?”

He doesn’t even bat an eye when I ask him that. It’s like old times, when I used to kiss him and tell him I loved him. He’s standing a few steps below me.

“Sure, Mags.”

He’s expecting a kiss on his cheek, but I’m feeling daring today, so I go for his lips. They are warm when I press mine to his, but there’s nothing sexual in it. It’s just an innocent kiss.

I pull away, smiling at him. “Thanks for lunch.”

He stares at me with surprise written all over his face, but nods. He thinks nothing of it because that’s how it used to be when I was younger.

By dinnertime, I know I’ve screwed up, as Logan doesn’t show up at the table.

The cook makes a delicious meal, and I’m left alone to keep myself company, which is not so bad since I’ve gotten used to being on my own.

What bothers me the most is Logan avoiding me, and this time I’ve come here on a mission.

The mission is for Logan to acknowledge me as a woman and not a bratty kid he used to babysit.

Well, technically, he’s still babysitting me, according to my father, and that’s the whole reason he left me here, because he doesn’t think Logan is a threat.

At around midnight, I sneak into the dark hallway that leads to his room and knock on the door.

“Maggie?” His voice sounds gruff, like I just woke him up.

He’s sitting up. I can see in the dark that he’s not wearing a shirt. He’s massive and gorgeous.

I enter the room and cross the distance to his bed. “I’m having trouble sleeping.”

He rubs his eyes and doesn’t respond.

“Can I sleep here with you?”

He doesn’t answer for a moment, then says, “Okay.”

I hop into his bed and snuggle close to him, pulling the blanket over us. I press my chest against his, and I feel the warmth emanating from his skin.

He brushes my hair in soft caresses, just like old times. “Good night, Mags.”