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“What sounds good and what my stomach will allow me to eat appear to be two entirely different things,” I reply, recalling the late lunch I really wanted to eat but couldn’t.
He nods, scanning the familiar listing of meals available. If he’s anything like me, he probably has the entire thing memorized.
“Are we ready to order?” Susie asks, setting two glasses of water down in front of us.
Logan looks up, waiting for me to go first. While the pancakes still sound good, I decide to avoid it at the moment and go for something a little heartier. I mean, if I’m going to throw it back up, I want it to be something I really enjoyed eating, right? “I’ll have the country-fried steak with mashed potatoes and gravy. Green beans if you have them.”
“Yep, we’ve got them tonight,” she states as she makes notes on the order pad.
“I’ll have the double western cheeseburger with sweet potato fries,” Logan says, sliding both menus across the table toward Susie, who collects them before offering a fast, “It’ll be out shortly.”
As soon as she walks away, my brain circles right back around to the reason we’re even here together. “I’m sorry I’m making you keep this a secret. I promise you can tell your mom and whoever soon,” I blurt out, tearing off the corner of my napkin and rolling it into a ball.
A soft smile instantly spreads across his lips. “My mom and Gram are going to be very excited.”
A zip of nervousness slides through my veins. “Really?”
“First grand and great-grandbaby? Hell yes,” he informs me with a chuckle, leaning forward on the table so our conversation remains private.
I notice the tattoos on his arms. Logan has several, and while I’ve never thought of them as sexy, I definitely changed my tune after seeing him naked. Clearing my throat and forcing those images out of my brain, I mutter, “They’re probably going to hate me.”
“What? Why?” He seems genuinely perplexed by my statement.
“Well, we’re not dating or anything. They’ll assume I did this on purpose.”
He’s already shaking his head in disagreement before I even finish speaking. “Nope. No way. Both my mom and Gram adore you. They’d never think that, especially about you. Shay, on the other hand, they’d believe it was a trap.”
I jump over his comment about me and focus on the latter part. “She would totally do that, wouldn’t she?” Then something else hits me. “She didn’t ever do that, did she?”
Logan snorts. “No. Shay didn’t want kids.”
My eyes widen as I stare back at him. “Seriously? And you still married her?”
“Well, she didn’t tell me she didn’t want them until after we were married. The first time she told me, I assumed she might change her mind over time. You know, realize our lives would only be enriched with a few kids running around,” he says, his kissable lips curling upward as he speaks. “But over time, she became more and more insistent, and that’s when I realized she was firm on her decision.”
“I’m sorry. I can totally see you as a dad,” I speak honestly. “You were always so good with Brody, especially when he was a little guy. I’m surprised you didn’t have that conversation with her before you guys got married.”
“We did. She lied and said she wanted kids.”
My mouth drops open. “Seriously? What a bitch.”
He snorts. “No arguments there.”
“I knew she was conniving, but I guess I didn’t really understand the full extent. That’s terrible. I’m sorry you had to deal with that.”
He shrugs. “I’m over it, but at the time, I was devastated. It was right after my dad passed, and I found out he left the business to me and her. I felt trapped.”
I remember Logan’s dad, Ed. He was this big, happy man who greeted you with a smile no matter where you saw him. It’s the exact same way with his wife, Logan’s mom, as well as Ed’s mom, Gram. They’re glass half-full kind of people, and even though I find myself more annoyed with Logan than not, he’s really the exact same way. Everyone loves him, which is maybe why I goaded him as much as I did.
Or do?
I guess I still do it, right?
“But you got out,” I say, just as our plates of food are delivered. I take one look at my country-fried steak and my mouth waters. “Oh my God, this looks amazing.” Then, she sets Logan’s double western cheeseburger down, along with a separate platter of sweet potato fries.
I practically drool down my chin.
“Yes, I got out, but it wasn’t easy. I tried to talk to her about everything, hoping to save the marriage, even if I wasn’t sure I really wanted it saved,” he tells me, squirting a large blob of ketchup onto the platter and moving it into the center of the table. “Help yourself. Anyway, my dad had just passed and there was all this tension at home and we were both miserable. When I finally decided I was done and told her I was filing for divorce, she told me she was filing first,” he says with a snort.
