Gosh, Logan saved her. It made her like him even more.
Paul directed them to sit next to each other while Danielle and Michael sat across from them with a twin on each side of them. Amy placed the bread and salad down next to the pot of pasta. Then Amy and Paul took the seats at the heads of the table.
They passed the food around in a circle, family style. Danielle broke the bread and pasta into small pieces and placed it on the twins’ trays. Brooke ate bits of her pasta.
“Brooke,” Danielle said as she buttered her slice of bread. “I know you’re a pediatrician, but please don’t judge me when I let my girls have a little bit of the chocolate cake.”
Brooke speared another pasta noodle. “I won’t.” She ate a bite of pasta. Then she wiped her face with her napkin. “I’ve seen the whole gamut of parenting in my line of work. I think there’s nothing wrong with giving them a bite of cake. I can already tell you and Michael are great parents.” Then she set her napkin back down on her lap and squeezed Logan’s thigh. “And I can see why Logan is such a fantastic person. He had wonderful parents who supported him too.” She tilted her chin toward Logan and caught his gaze and smiled.
Logan returned her smile then brushed her hair over one shoulder and kissed her right there on the tip of it. It was sweet and endearing and seemed much too real. The guy could act, because when she twisted back to face those at the table, Amy beamed back.
“We do have great parents,” Danielle commented.
“The best,” Logan added.
And although Brooke had thought that Amy’s smile couldn’t get any bigger, it did.
Paul cleared his throat. “Thank you. But I’m sure you have great parents too.”
Brooke stared down at her plate and forced herself to start on her salad. Her lips pursed together as her shaky hand speared some lettuce. Heat smeared her cheeks. She shoved the salad into her mouth to keep from responding.
These situations never became easier. How much do you reveal about your past without making others look at you with pity? She chewed and wondered how to respond.
“Umm—” Brooke attempted to explain.
“Brooke’s parents are—” Logan jumped in.
Brooke cut him off and said, “My parents are no longer living. And I don’t really like talking about it.”
Amy placed a hand on her forearm. “I’m so sorry to hear that. How terrible for you. I hope you at least have a sibling—” Her voice trailed off.
“No.” Brooke ate another bite of her salad. “I was an only child.”
“Wow, that’s rough,” Paul added as he set his water glass down. “How tragic.”
“Yep.” Brooke darted her gaze to her plate and shoveled another bite of salad into her mouth.
Logan piped up, “Have I told you yet how I met Brooke?” He peered over at her with a glint in his eyes. The attention made her stomach flip on itself.
There he went again, saving her like they were coconspirators.
“You said you met at the hospital,” Danielle said with a look of confusion. “Did you lie about that?”
The twins squealed with delight as they made a mess of the pasta. Danielle swiped up some pasta the girls had tossed onto the floor though it was fruitless. Sauce smeared across their faces as they fisted food into their mouths.
“No, we did run into each other at the hospital,” Logan added. “But we originally met at the grocery store.”
Her lips twitched as she fought a smile. Logan wrapped an arm around her shoulders. He smirked.
“Please don’t tell them about the bread,” Brooke only half pleaded, and half teased. “I’m trying to make a good impression here.”
“What bread?” Amy inquired.
He ran a finger down the length of her nose. “Not just any bread. French bread,” Logan said.
“They’ll never look at me the same after this.” Brooke shook her head and grimaced. “I can’t believe you’re telling them this.”
“Ooh,” Danielle leaned forward and rested her elbow on the table to cradle her chin. “You have to spill now. We want details.”
