Simply Scandalous (Simply 2)

Logan nodded slowly. Catherine was right. He hadn’t exhausted every avenue toward peace. When his father had turned pale and grabbed for the wall, Logan realized how badly he’d wanted the judge to come around. The idea of losing him permanently had frightened him. But the older man had recovered quickly, both his pallor and his temper.

He crunched on a chip. Catherine was busy stirring and ignoring him. He dug into the bag once more, thinking as he ate. Until he’d told his father he intended to marry Catherine, he hadn’t realized that was exactly what he planned. In his gut, he’d known it all along.

Not that she’d take well to the idea. Not yet. She needed time, which was fine since it would give him more time to get to know her as well.

Without warning, Catherine reached through the pass-through and touched his arm. Her soft gaze settled on his. “Family’s family. Don’t you think your mother would want to help you and your father reach a compromise?”

After the way his father had treated Cat, he was amazed she could still push for him. But she had no father to speak of and less family than he did. She obviously felt the loss and wanted to prevent him from suffering the same emptiness. Emptiness he wanted to fill for her.

And he would, his family be damned.

“I’ll think about everything you said. But unless he stops interfering in my life, there can’t be any compromise. Now, can we stop talking about a mayoral race that isn’t happening?”

She shook her head. “I thought we were talking about your need for family.”

He met her gaze and his mouth twisted into a smile. “I guess we were.” He propped his elbows on the bleached wood counter. “So, let’s talk about us.”

Her reluctant grin pleased him. “You never give up, do you?” she asked.

“Nope.” And he wouldn’t. Not until she looked at him with trust and love shining in those green eyes.

He’d put the old man in his place. Regaining Catherine’s trust couldn’t be nearly as tough—as long as no other outside forces interfered again.

* * *

Catherine glanced at Logan and shook her head. It wasn’t fair, that charm and charisma he possessed. He could twist her around his finger so easily. Too easily, she thought with chagrin. She spun the whisk back and forth between her palms.

“So, tell me why you’re so afraid to let yourself go, Cat.”

She was suddenly grateful she had something to do with her hands and began beating the mixture in the bowl without meeting his gaze. “Because I can’t. Did I tell you my father ran out on my mother?” she asked, unsure why she was revealing such personal information, why she’d chosen this particular time.

She’d never discussed her childhood with any

one but Kayla. Yet with Logan, it seemed right.

He leaned forward in his seat. “You alluded to it.”

“Well, he took off on her and two kids.”

“And you think any guy you’ll get involved with will do the same?”

She shook her head. “It’s not that. But life comes with obstacles. It doesn’t matter if you’re poor and have a hard time paying the bills or the happiest couple with everything in common, life will throw you a curve.”

She shrugged, finding the explanation more difficult than she thought. She took some time to compose her thoughts and he seemed to understand, granting her the silence she needed. Another special thing about Logan was his ability to listen and the comfortable silences they were able to fall into together.

She shook her head. She was supposed to be explaining their obstacles, not finding things they had in common. “If you’re different people to start with, or have problems on the horizon, you’ve already got the deck stacked against you.” She let out a heartfelt sigh. “We have the deck stacked against us.”

On the surface, Logan supposed her explanation made sense. To her at least.

He didn’t agree. They had more in common than she wanted to admit, and few problems on the horizon that he could see. He’d already taken care of the biggest one. If his father had to choose between his beliefs and his son, he’d choose his pompous ideals. It hurt, but Logan had already accepted that reality many times in the past.

So, now his family didn’t stand in their way. Nothing did but Catherine herself. She had her reasoning all twisted around so that she believed she had logic on her side. But the core of her fear lay in being abandoned. And because of their differences, she probably thought the risk of him leaving her was too high for her to take a chance on.

He met her green-eyed gaze and held it fast. “The deck’s only stacked against us if you choose to believe it is.”

“Are we back to dreams again?”

He shook his head. “We’re back to reality. To the fact that, yes, life can intrude on the best of couples. But if they work hard enough, if they stick together, they get through it together.”