“Are you always this deliberately irritating?” I huffed, mirroring his stance by crossing my arms over my chest.
To my surprise, this caused Logan’s lips to twitch, and his eyes started dancing with humor. “I only seem to irritate you.” He cocked his head to the side. “I wonder why that is.”
“Because,” I whined, my head lolling with exasperation and tiredness, “I’m sleep deprived, and it’s all your fault, you bloody wretched manwhore.”
“Well, this is a whole other side to you. It’s quite unpleasant. I may have to speak to the landlord about it. I can’t take this kind of abuse.”
My head jerked upright and I glowered at him. “I swear if you don’t start taking this seriously I will push you down those stairs.”
“Now you’re threatening my life.” He tsked. “That won’t do at all.”
“Now!” I yelled. “Now you decide you have a sense of humor?”
“Uh, excuse me.” A soft, young voice interrupted our argument.
Standing a few steps down from our landing was a girl. A very pretty girl with dark hair and olive skin. She was dressed in a school uniform, and she looked a little pale – when she swallowed hard, I realized she was nervous.
I glanced at my watch. The girl should be in school. Concerned, I took a step toward her, but she was staring up at Logan in scared awe. “Can we help?”
Instead of answering me, she took a shaky step up toward us and light flooded over her face. I drew in a gasp. Behind her glasses, she had the most beautiful eyes. Violet eyes surrounded by thick black lashes.
My gaze jerked to Logan, who was staring at the girl in stupefied confusion.
“My name is…” She gulped, her chest rising and falling in shallow, fast movements. “I – I’m Maia.” Maia licked her lips and clutched tighter to the strap of her shoulder bag. “You’re Logan MacLeod, right?”
He nodded dumbly.
“Well, I think… I think I – I’m your kid. I’m your daughter.”
I sucked in a gasp, never taking my eyes off Logan. His expression shuttered.
“I don’t have a kid.” But he sounded uncertain.
Agog that in seconds my argument with him had turned into a life-altering revelation for him, I took a moment to shake off my curious stupor. I was intruding on an incredibly private situation and I needed to leave. “I should leave you to talk.”
Logan’s hand wrapped around my upper arm, drawing me to an abrupt halt. “Grace. Stay.”
Since there was really nothing else I could do, considering he was holding me physically hostage, I nodded and tried to relax so he’d let me go. He didn’t.
Maia appeared near tears, but I watched her throw her shoulders back despite her fear. Her voice trembled. “Maybe we should go inside to talk.”
I didn’t even know the girl, but for some reason I felt a surge of pride toward her for her bravery. A sense of kinship, actually. “I think that’s a good idea.” I pressed against Logan until he looked down at me. “Let’s take this inside. Or do you want every one of your neighbors to know your business?”
As he continued to just stare at me, I knew he was in shock.
“Come on, Logan,” I joked, trying to draw him out of it. “If we stay out here, I’ll start to feel less special about being the only neighbor to be a part of this.”
He blinked out of his daze and nodded. He pulled me with him to the door as he opened his flat and nudged me inside first, releasing my arm only once I was in.
I glanced over my shoulder to see him gesture to Maia. The girl strode inside still wearing bravado as a mask. Not a very good mask, but I admired her all the same for trying. I gave her a reassuring smile. “Would you like a cup of tea?” I offered, not even sure if Logan had tea.
“Um…” She licked her lips nervously. “Water, please.”
“I’ll get it,” Logan said immediately. “Grace?”
“Oh, I’ll have a coffee if you’ve got it. Milk, one sugar.”
He nodded and waved a hand at us. “Living room is straight ahead.”
Turned out Logan’s flat was a mirror image of mine, which would explain why his bedroom wall abutted mine. There were still boxes lying unpacked. There was nothing on the walls, and the only major piece of furniture in the sitting room was a massive L-shaped black sofa.
“It’ll be okay,” I said to Maia as she stared around the room, looking terrified. “We’ll get this all sorted.”
“Um… who are you?”
I sat on the sofa and waited for her to join me. She did so slowly, staring at me with those wide, beautiful eyes of hers. Her glasses were a little too big for her delicate features. I swore I could see Logan’s sister Shannon in her face though. “I’m Logan’s next-door neighbor. Grace.”
She frowned. “I thought you were his girlfriend.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Why would you think that?”
She shrugged. “You seem close.”
Now it was my turn to frown.
“Here we go,” Logan said as he came into the room carrying two mugs and a glass of water. He handed the water to Maia, giving her a kind smile.
It occurred to me what a sweet thing that was. This girl had just arrived on his doorstep, announced herself as his daughter; he was in shock, probably petrified, and yet still he was trying to reassure the girl.
Inwardly I grumbled as I took the coffee from him. He was such a complicated bugger. “Thank you,” I muttered.