And forget about talking. Every time he tried to approach her, she’d veer off to the side and engage in a conversation with someone he was sure she didn’t know.
The reception hall had been decorated in a Christmas theme. Trees lined the walls and twinkled with lights. A buffet was set up on the far wall. Glancing around at the guests, Logan finally located Hannah. She was talking to Sandy.
This was his moment. She hadn’t noticed him approach.
“You really have to go?” Sandy asked.
Hannah nodded. “Samson needs to get back.”
Logan tried to keep his fists from clenching at the mention of that tool.
“Well, thanks for coming. And thanks for stepping in.” Sandy reached out and hugged Hannah.
Hannah returned the hug. Then her gaze fell on him. “I should go,” she said as she pulled away.
Sandy nodded, then turned her attention to an overzealous aunt, who pulled her away. Hannah glanced at him one more time and started to walk away.
Logan wasn’t going to let her go this easily. “Wait,” he said, reaching out and grabbing her elbow.
“I need to go.”
“No. You need to tell me what happened. This isn’t you. Marrying that guy? Come on.” She needed to start talking.
“Please. It’s what’s best.”
“What’s best? For who?”
She chewed her lip as she glanced around. “For everyone.”
What did that mean? “What happened to telling each other the truth? What’s the truth, Hannah?”
She studied him, then shook her hand. “This is the truth.”
Anger filled his chest. This wasn’t the truth. He knew it, and she knew it.
“I gotta go. Our flight leaves at three.” Hannah turned. Desperation raced up his spine. He needed her to stay.
“I bought that house.”
She paused and turned. “What?”
“That house. The one in your family. I bought it.”
Her eyes widened. “Why would you do that?”
He stared at her. Was she serious? How could she not know? “It was important to you. You wanted it back in your family.”
“You—you bought it for me?”
He leaned in. “Maybe.”
She shook her head. “You shouldn’t have. We aren’t together. That’s something you do for your wife. For Charity.” She nodded toward Charity, who was laughing and talking with a groomsman.
Logan turned his attention back to Hannah. “I don’t want to be with her. I want—”
“Logan, I need to go.” She turned, then glanced back at him. “Merry Christmas.”
He opened his mouth to say something, but couldn’t find the words. He wanted her to stay. Needed her to stay. Why wouldn’t his mind form the words to tell her?
As much as his heart pounded, he stayed rooted in his spot. He was tired of trying to tell her that he cared. She always seemed to have an excuse as to why she couldn’t return the sentiment. Maybe it was best to move on.
He turned so he didn’t have to watch her disappear out the door. Or to watch her leave with Samson.
“Daddy?”
Forcing a smile, Logan glanced down at Piper, who was wearing a blush pink dress. She was staring up at him. Her red hair had been tamed into curls.
She smiled. “What’s wrong? Where’s Miss Hannah going?”
Logan cleared his throat. “She has to go home.”
“She’s not going to stay for Christmas?”
Logan shook his head. “Sorry, Pip. She probably won’t be back for a long time.”
Piper’s face fell. “What? Why? Was it something I did?”
Logan grabbed her and lifted her up. “Nope. You did nothing. She’s marrying that guy. That’s the end of it.”
Piper squealed, then her face grew serious as she placed both hands on his cheeks. “But you love her.”
He stared at her. “What?”
“You love her, right? Like the prince loves Cinderella.”
He set her down, then crouched low to meet her gaze. “Where did you hear that?”
Piper brushed down the front of her dress. “I heard Grandma tell Pops. Do you want to dance with her?”
He studied her. “Yes.”
Her eyes were so big as she stared at him. “Then you love her.” She seemed so matter-of-fact.
“But, it’s… complicated.”
“Does she know you want to dance with her?”
Logan shook his head.
“You should tell her.”
“I should?”
Piper nodded. “When you dance, then you’ll be married. And, if you get married, I can have her dolls.”
Logan laughed. “Would you like that?”
Piper pinched her lips and nodded. “Yes. I like Miss Hannah.”
His heart raced. Maybe Piper was right. He needed to tell Hannah. She had to know. He’d already let her walk out of his life without knowing the whole truth. He wasn’t going to make that mistake again.
“Ma,” he said, racing up to his mom, who was in the buffet line. “Watch Pip for me?”
His mom studied him, then nodded. “Sure.”
“Thanks!”
He made his way to the door. Once outside, he rushed over to his truck. His heart pounded so hard, he thought it might burst from his chest.
“Hey.” A hand wrapped around his arm and gave him a sharp tug.
Turning, he glanced down to see Charity staring up at him with fire in her gaze. “Not now.”
“Where are you going?”
He stuck his key into his truck door and unlocked it. “We’re done.”
Her eyes widened. “What?”
“We’re done. You and me. We’ve been done a long time ago. If you think I’m going to let you into my life just so you can disappoint our daughter on a daily basis, you’re kidding yourself.”
Her eyes widened as she stared at him. “What did that witch tell you?”
Logan stopped and turned around. “Excuse me?”
Charity’s lips fluttered as she glanced around. “Hannah. What did she say to you?”
Slamming his door, he stepped toward her. “What’s there to tell me?”
Charity took a step back. “Nothing.”
“Charity?”
“Nothing, all right? Just some drunken things I may have said last night.”
Logan narrowed his eyes. “About me?”
Charity stared at him. “She didn’t tell you?”
He shook his head. “No. But you’re going to.”
She laughed and stepped toward him. “It was nothing.”
“She threatened Hannah,” a deep voice boomed from behind Logan. Turning, he saw the cab driver that was always driving Hannah around.
“You know?”
The man nodded as he walked up. “I heard the whole thing. This woman here threatened Hannah. Told her if she didn’t back away, she was going to make your life a living hell. She would drag you to court for custody of your daughter.”
“You were there when this happened?”
“Yep. I was there. I tried to convince Hannah not to go along with it, but she wouldn’t listen. I couldn’t sleep last night. It took me all day to find where this wedding was. I had to tell you.”
Logan glanced back to Charity. “Why? Why would you do that to Piper? She loves you, and you treat her like garbage.” Then realization settled in his stomach. He knew why. “You want my money.”
Charity laughed, a high-pitched laugh. Logan clenched his jaw. He should have known.
“That’s why you came back. It had nothing to do with Piper or Christmas. You want my dad’s money.”
Charity stared at him. He could see the excuse she was trying to come up with race through her gaze. But then she shrugged. “So what? I’m sure there’s a way to prove that you knew about that money before the divorce. You should have listed it as an asset.”
Rage filled his stomach. “It was my dad’s. I didn’t even know he exist
ed before we divorced. How would I have known?”
Charity’s gaze flitted around. “Well, I’m still Piper’s mom. That should get me a portion of the dough.”
Logan stepped forward and lowered his voice. “If you threaten to use our daughter for your gain, I will bury you in court costs. And believe me, I have more money than you.” He steeled his frustration and let his breath out slowly. “But that’s not what Piper wants. So, here’s what I’m going to do. I’m gonna forget that we had this conversation and go find Hannah. You are going to stay, because Piper wants you here for Christmas. But once the holidays are over, you are going to go back to whatever hole you crawled out of. If you agree to come visit her on holidays, I may consider giving you a stipend.”
Charity’s eyes widened, and her lips parted. Logan held up his finger.
“It will only come if you are the doting mom. If you—even once—fail our daughter again, you will lose everything.” He lowered his gaze. “Do you understand me?”
Charity’s face reddened as she pinched her lips. Finally, she let out a breath and nodded. “Deal.”
A sick feeling settled in Logan’s stomach. He hated the idea that he had to pay his ex to visit their daughter. But, he couldn’t stand to see her so sad when Charity failed her. His dad gave him money to make him happy and, seeing his daughter happy made him happy. He was sure his dad would be okay with it.
“Now, go take care of our daughter,” he said, nodding toward the reception hall.
Charity huffed, then headed back into the building.
Logan glanced over at the cab driver. “Thanks for doing that.”
The man nodded and stuck out his hand. “Name’s Bert. You’re the neighbor boy?”
Logan met his gesture and nodded. “Logan.”
“Nice to meet you.”
They stood in silence for a moment. “I’m going to go get Hannah.”
Bert stepped away from the truck. “You go do that. I never liked that fiancé of hers.”
Logan slid into the cab. “Me, neither.” He gave Bert a quick smile and slammed the door shut. He waited until Bert walked over to his cab, got in, and drove away.
Sticking the key into the ignition, Logan turned it. His truck sputtered a few times, then died. He gripped the steering wheel. Not now. Turning the key, he tried again. Same result. Slamming his hand down on the wheel, he glanced around. What was he going to do now?
25
LOGAN
Logan cursed and swung open his door. Stepping out, he slammed the door and rushed back inside. The band had started up and half the room was up and doing the bunny hop.
Logan weaved in and out of the dancers until he found his mom and Piper. They were sitting at the table and had matching disgruntled looks.
“Hey, Mom. Where’s Charity?”
His mom waved toward the buffet line.
“Daddy!” Piper hopped up from her seat and wrapped her arms around Logan’s waist. “Can you tell Grandma that I don’t eat Brussels sprouts?”
“What?” he asked, glancing down at the green vegetables on her plate. He sighed. “You can eat them, bug.”
Piper folded her arms. “No. I don’t eat those.”
He turned to his mom. “I need a ride home. My truck isn’t starting, and I need to get there before Hannah leaves.”
His mom’s eyes widened. “Why do you need to catch Hannah?”
His heart sped up from the question. “I’m going to tell her that I love her.”
“He wants to dance with her,” Piper added as she stepped to the side and twirled.
His mom gave him a smile. “It’s about time,” she said as she dug through her purse and emerged with a set of car keys.
“Great. Thanks.” He grabbed the keys and started back toward the door.
“Daddy, wait!” Piper yelled. Logan stopped and turned to see his daughter sprint up to him. “I wanna come.”
He picked her up and peered into her gaze. He gave her a serious look. “You can come only if you promise to help me convince Miss Hannah to dance with me.”
She met his look. “Promise.”
Grinning, he held onto her as he pushed through the door and out to the parking lot. It felt like an eternity before he found his mom’s minivan and opened the door. Piper piled in and shut the door as he got into the driver’s seat.
“Ready, Pip?”
“Let’s go get Hannah!” she squealed as he started the car and pulled out of the parking lot.
The twenty-minute drive back to his house felt like it would never end. His heart pounded as he thought about the things he was going to say to her. He wasn’t even going to allow her to talk. He was just going to lay it all out and hope she’d accept him. What did he have to lose?
His stomach sank as he pulled into her driveway and there were no lights on in the house. He shut off the car and pulled on the handle. Piper was already out of her seat and opening her door.
He steeled his nerves as he stepped up onto the walkway.
“I’ll be right back, Daddy. I need to go pee,” Piper said as she sprinted across the lawn and over to their house.
“Keys, Pip.”
She raced back and grabbed them from him. “Thanks,” she squealed and disappeared behind the house.
Logan glanced back to Hannah’s house. He took a deep breath and walked up to the front door. To the massive wreath Miss Kathy had picked out. Reaching out, he knocked on the door. The sound was muffled by the green foliage.
After a second of waiting, he reached out and did it again. Nothing.
“Hannah?” he called out and then felt instantly stupid. If she wasn’t going to answer his knocks, she probably wouldn’t answer his calls.
“Daddy? Look,” Piper said from behind him.
Turning, he saw Piper holding up the two American Girl doll boxes. His heart soared and sank at the same time.
“Why would Miss Hannah leave her dolls on our doorstep?” She stared up at him.
He grabbed the top box and a white slip of paper floated to the ground. He reached down and scooped it up. Unfolding it, he read it.
Dear Miss Piper,
These are for you. Merry Christmas. I know you will love them and take care of them. Play with them with your Mom. That’s a relationship you will treasure.
Thank you for being such a sweet girl and letting me into your life. I will love you forever.
Love, Miss Hannah
He swallowed against the emotions that had risen in his throat.
“Miss Hannah’s gone?”
Logan nodded. “We’re too late.”
A tear rolled down Piper’s cheek. “Why would she go? She’s your princess.”
Logan reached out and wrapped his arms around Piper’s shoulders. “It’s okay. We’ll see her again.”
Piper sobbed into his shoulder. “But…” she started, but the rest got muffled by his shirt.
The sound of a car pulling into the driveway drew his attention up. Miss Kathy was staring at them through her windshield. Logan looked down and wiped Piper’s tears.
“Why the long faces?” she asked as she shut the door behind her.
“Miss Hannah’s gone,” Piper sobbed.
Miss Kathy looked over at Logan. “She left already?”
Logan nodded. “We were hoping to catch her, but it looks like we were too late.”
“Daddy was supposed to dance with her,” Piper said.
Miss Kathy raised her eyebrows.
“I was going to ask her to stay.” He felt a little strange confessing his feelings to her mom. “For us,” he said as he wrapped his arm around Piper’s shoulders.
Miss Kathy glanced around. “Well, let’s go get her.”
“What?” Logan asked.
“I made the mistake of walking away. While I was at work, I realized that I was done running away. If my daughter wants to spend Christmas in New York, then that’s where I am going to be. If I want a better relationship, it starts with me.”<
br />
Logan stood. “You want to go to New York?”
Miss Kathy nodded. “Let’s do it.”
Logan grabbed out his keys. “Grab the dolls, Piper. We’re going to get Miss Hannah.”
Piper looked confused, but grabbed the boxes. “Yay!”
He smiled at her. “That’s how I feel. Yay!”
After an hour-long drive, Logan pulled his mom’s van up into the parking garage of the Wilmington airport. Piper jumped out, followed by Miss Kathy. They walked into the ticketing area, and Piper’s eyes widened.
Logan lifted his hand as Miss Kathy started rifling around in her purse. “I’ve got this.”
She smiled. “Thanks, Logan. Come on, Piper, let’s go play with those dolls.” She waved Piper over to the nearby benches.
Logan stepped up to the counter and an attendant smiled at him. “Merry Christmas,” she said.
He nodded. “I need three tickets to New York. Preferably nonstop.”
The attendant turned her attention to the monitor in front of her as she typed. Then she clicked her tongue. “I have a flight leaving in thirty minutes—”
“We’ll take it.” He pulled out his wallet.
“But there’s a layover in Atlanta.”
Logan lowered his card. “Really?”
She shrugged. “It’s the only one we have three tickets for.”
Glancing behind him, he saw Piper and Miss Kathy smiling and holding the dolls. He turned back around. “We’ll make it work.”
She took his card. “Perfect.”
HANNAH
“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for flying Delta this Christmas Eve. We hope your flight was enjoyable and have a happy holiday,” the pilot’s textured voice said over the intercom.
Hannah turned to Samson, who had pulled out his luggage and had it resting on his lap. His phone was already out, and he was busy typing. “My mom wants to know your dress size.”
She stared at him. “She does? Why?”
Samson glanced over at her. “You can’t wear that to my parents’ dinner party. Now, what is it?”
Hannah chewed her lip. “Six.”
He nodded as he typed. “Done.” Slipping his phone into his pocket, he glanced around. “Why aren’t we moving?”
A mom and dad were at the front, trying to wrestle their little boy out of the seat. He was shrieking and kicking. They were in the aisle, holding up all the passengers who wanted to get off.
Forgiving the Billionaire (A Clean Billionaire Romance Book 2) Page 18
