What’s wrong about being ready to see you again?
You know what I meant.
No, I don’t. I’m going to need you to spell it out for me.
She giggled to herself.
I’ll see you soon.
Then she slipped her phone back into her pocket and tightened her hold on the pole. In her little love haze, nothingbrought her down. A couple kissing elbowed her in the back, another man yelled at her when she inadvertently stepped on his foot, but nothing could dampen her bright mood. In a few minutes, she’d be seeing Logan. Maybe her luck was turning around as well.
CHAPTER 12
A jittery jive ran through Logan as he paced the sidewalk in front of Brooke’s apartment. The bag in his hand slipped, and he straightened it. Since last night, his thoughts only focused on Brooke and their kiss. Shelby, who? If things continued to progress in this direction, he could only imagine where they would be this time next year. Whoa, calm down, he reminded himself.
George poked his head out of the front door of the apartment building. “Do you want to come in from the cold?” He paused and waited for him to answer. “Your pacing is making me nervous.”
“Oh,” he shifted the bag of food from one hand to the other, “is it that obvious?”
“Son, even a baby could pick up on your anxious energy.” George waved him over. “Come on in, and let’s have a chat until Brooke arrives.”
“Umm.” He didn’t really want to have a chat, but he didn’t think he had a choice in the matter either. “Okay, but she should be here any minute.”
“And I’m off in five, so— come in out of the cold.” George held the door open for him.
Logan passed through it. “Thanks,” he commented. “I guess I am a bit wound up. I keep telling myself not to mess this up. My usualdon’t be an idiotpep talk isn’t working.”
George chuckled as he closed the door and motioned for him to follow. He snatched a chair from the lobby and dragged it over next to the lobby desk. “Sit.” He patted the chair then slid into his seat behind the desk.
Logan obeyed, placing the bag of food down at his feet. In an attempt to appear casual, he propped his ankle on his opposite knee. “Is this where you threaten me with a shotgun if I ever do anything to hurt Brooke?”
“Do I need to give you that speech?” George raised an eyebrow.
“No.” Logan shook his head. “You don’t. I know how special she is.”
“Good.” George pulled himself closer to his desk then rearranged some loose papers on top. “You seem smarter than the last guy, so I’m rooting for you. I’d like to see her happy. You know she didn’t come from the most ideal circumstances, but she worked hard, putting herself through college then medical school on her own. That shows how much grit she has. A woman like that is one you want to keep.”
“She’s mentioned a bit about her parents, her dad abandoning her and her mom being an alcoholic and drug addict. I don’t know much more than that.”
He wished he did, but he picked up on Brooke’s hesitation to share more about her less than flowery childhood. Also, he sensed she didn’t like to dwell on the past. He wished he had the same bandwidth to do that very thing.
George paused then flashed his gaze to the lobby door then back to him. “Her mom was verbally abusive. Brooke’s life was riddled with the consequences of being around an addict. Then to make matters worse, her mom had a whole slew of boyfriendsin and out her life that didn’t make it any easier. You know that’s why she wanted to become a pediatrician, right?”
“I see.”
He began to see how much he still needed to learn about her, how many layers of Brooke he needed to peel back and discover. This was a privilege he knew most probably didn’t get. Logan hoped it was something Brooke would show him.
“She wanted to help children, since she was a child who desperately needed help but didn’t receive it.”
His heart warmed. “I love that about her.”
Then she pushed through the lobby door. Her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes were vibrant and alive. The beauty of her made Logan’s breath hitch in his chest. How had he managed to kiss her? His younger self would be so proud. He stumbled to his feet, snatching up the bag of food as he stood.
“Brooke,” he said with a tremor in his voice.
“There you are.” Slowly, Brooke unbuttoned her coat as she trekked across the lobby. “Hey there, George. Were you keeping him company for me?”
“Something like that.” George straightened himself. “There may or may not have been a mention of a shot gun.”
