He exhaled like a man losing a battle.
Then—
“Daddy?” Harper’s little voice cut through the night like a splash of cold water.
And then everything froze. Logan pulled back instantly, breath uneven, eyes closing for just a second like he was dragging himself back into control.
“Here,” he called, voice steady despite the wreckage in his expression.
I covered my mouth, trying not to laugh, causing Logan to shoot me a look as if he was both warning and pleading with me. I shook my head, shoulders trembling with silent amusement.
“I’m coming, bug,” he said gently to Harper, and I could hear him shifting into dad-mode like it was a switch he could flip, even when his mouth was swollen from kissing me.
“I should probably…” he gestured vaguely toward the house.
“Yeah,” I said, still processing what happened between us. “Yeah.”
Logan’s hand was still on my waist, and I could feel him thinking hard about moving it as he slid it away slowly, letting his hand linger there a moment longer than necessary. His thumb pressed once, like he was making me a promise to return. Then he stepped back, leaving me there. Heart racing, the cool breeze tickling my skin. My bikini top was… definitely not doing its job anymore, and I hurried to fix it, fingers clumsy as I grasped the straps.
As the slider door softly shut behind him, my mind became a swirl of emotions, hope, and uncertainty tangling together until I couldn’t tell which one was louder.
Part of me wanted to chase after him; to follow him down that hall, press him against the wall, steal back the kiss Harper had interrupted. To let myself fall into whatever this was without asking too many questions.
But another part of me was cautious, wary, because I knew what it meant to want something that had the power to rearrange your life. And because Logan wasn’t just a man I desired, he was also a father. And if he was finally reaching forme. If he was finally saying, “I want you,”out loud, it meant he was stepping into something that could hurt him, too, and hurt her.
I hugged myself, feeling the cool night air raise goosebumps on my skin, and tried to tell myself it was just a kiss. Just a moment.
But my lips still tingled like his mouth had left a mark that went deeper than skin. And somewhere inside the house, I heard Harper’s sleepy voice again, followed by Logan’s low murmur. The same voice that had just been in my mouth. The same man who had just kissed me like he didn’t care about consequences. And now he was tucking in his daughter as if he hadn’t just undone my whole life.
A man capable of both restraint and ruin.
And all I could manage was taking a deep, slow breath.
Because in the morning, he would get on a plane and go back to Florida, back to being responsible, controlled, and too careful. And I didn’t know what would happen to whatever had started between us once distance and daylight got involved.
All I knew was that tonight, under the stars, he had looked at me like I was something he’d been trying not to want.
And he’d stopped trying.
The patio stayed still after that, just the ocean and my heartbeat and the faint echo of his voice in my head.
I want you.
Chapter 33
Logan
The plane lifted before the sun had fully cleared the horizon, Tampa shrinking beneath a wash of pale gold and cloud. I stared out the window longer than necessary, pretending the view required my full attention when in actuality, I was replaying the night before in ruthless detail.
I’d put Harper back to bed more slowly than usual. Let her ramble about pool splashes and cannonballs and how “Ms. Dani laughs with her whole face.” She’d yawned mid-sentence and curled into her pillow while the day had finally caught up to her. When I kissed her forehead and pulled the blanket higher, she murmured,Night, Daddy.
By the time I stepped back into the living room, Dani was asleep on the couch.
She’d curled on her side, knees tucked, one arm folded under her cheek. Her phone sat abandoned on the coffee table, a half-inch from tipping. The flickering glow of the TV danced across her face, highlighting the peaceful contours of her rest. The television played in the background, forgotten as the room settled into a deep quiet. It was the kind of stillness that invited reflection, where thoughts of what could be lingered gently in the shadows.
I stood there longer than I should have, telling myself it was just to make sure she was comfortable. My fingers hovered above the blanket, as if drawn to act of their own accord, while my mind scrambled to catch up. I was being practical. Protective. The same way I’d learned to be with Harper. Yet, with every breath Dani took, the truth pressed heavier against me. I didn’t want to break the moment. Didn’t want to wake her when everything finally felt right. Especially when I would be back on the road the next morning.
I grabbed a blanket from the hall closet and laid it over her carefully, tucking it around her. She shifted, barely, sighing in her sleep. I froze, heart kicking hard, then relaxed when she didn’t wake.
