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Bea shook her head and held out her hand. “She’s being dramatic. This one can take care of herself. She’s just nice enough to let me grandmother Leo when my own grandkids are so far away.”
They exchanged pleasantries and Gabriella put her hand on her son’s small shoulders, her throat suddenly dry. “And this is Emilio, Leo, my son. Leo, this is mommy’s friend, Logan, and… Ford is it?”
She’d caught the name when he’d introduced himself to Bea.
The blond man nodded and shook Leo’s hand. “That’s right.”
Leo turned to Logan and held out his tiny hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”
Logan smiled, and to Gabriella’s relief, there was nothing but warmth in his eyes as he took her son’s small hand in his own giant one. “The pleasure is mine, big guy. It’s always nice to meet a fellow dinosaur lover.”
Leo’s eyes got wide. “How did you know I like dinosaurs?” The question came out in an awed whisper.
Logan looked at Leo’s sneakers, covered in T-Rexes. Leo followed his gaze, then grinned up at him.
Logan winked and turned his attention back to Gabriella. “I can start with Bea while Ford checks out the house.”
“Great,” Gabriella said, breathing a little easier now that the introductions had been made. “Let’s go to the kitchen.”
* * *
She gave Ford carte blanche to check out the house while Logan sat in the kitchen. He took a plate and filled it with one of the sandwiches Bea had arranged on a plate, plus some fruit, but Gabriella thought it was more to make Leo comfortable than because he was hungry.
Leo seemed fascinated by Logan, probably because he was so different from Nathan. They were both imposing men, but where Nathan’s presence came from the steely, intellectual resolve that had gotten him into the D.A.’s office, Logan was physically imposing, his muscled body and quiet demeanor only hinting at the strength under the facade.
Leo swung his legs from one of the chairs at the kitchen island and popped grapes in his mouth while Logan asked him a series of questions designed to illicit useful information about Leo’s routine while making it seem like he was just being friendly.
He was good with kids for a guy who, as far as Gabriella knew, had rarely been around them.
Then again, she didn’t know that for certain. Logan was an only child, and she knew he’d never married, but she couldn’t rule out the possibility that he’d dated someone with a child.
Maybe he was even dating someone like that right now.
The thought flipped her stomach even though she knew she had no right to begrudge Logan happiness. She’d taken her shot at the American dream with Nathan, aiming for the kind of affluent stability she’d longed for as a kid.
That it had in many ways been a failure — at least as it related to her marriage — was irrelevant. She and Logan might have come from the same world, but they lived in different ones now.
No amount of money on either of their sides could change that.
Leo got fidgety after about twenty minutes and Gabriella gave him permission to play one of his games on the iPad she kept tucked away when he wasn’t using some of his allotted screen time.
She put it in his hands and he raced into the living room like a puppy with a new bone.
Bea sat down with Logan, who had waited for Leo to leave to place an iPad on the island. Whatever notes he’d taken with Leo had been internal, probably because he hadn’t wanted to make Leo nervous by thinking their conversation was anything but a casual chat.
“How long have you worked for Gabriella?” Logan asked.
“Almost five years,” Bea said. “Since shortly after Leo was born.”
“Can you take me through your days with him, starting with Monday?” Logan asked.
He typed while she talked, stopping her occasionally to clarify a point, asking questions and taking copious notes.
Which entrance did they use at school? Did Bea leave Leo at the drive-thru drop-off or walk him in? Was there a sign-out protocol for picking Leo up from school? Did they come straight home? Did they always go to the same place for ice cream on Friday afternoons? Did they eat in the ice cream shop or in the car? Did Bea park her car in the garage at the house or in the driveway?
Always?
Did she arm the alarm when they got home?
