“Logan.”

I was half out the door. I didn’t look back, but I did stop.

He said to my back, “I’d really like to meet Taylor one day. I’d like to meet the girl that you fell in love with.”

I looked now and said simply, “No” before I left, and I didn’t spare him another thought. As far as I was concerned, we were even now, if a son could ever be ‘even’ with his own father…

TAYLOR

Professor Gayle was dating my dad.

“Call me Carol. You must.”

She had insisted with a warm smile and a glow on her face. She was my professor. She was the reason behind Jeremy’s insistence I join the Honors Study Group, and she was now my dad’s girlfriend. I looked between the two as they stood side by side, both waiting for my reaction. And what that was...I had no idea.

I said to my dad, “I didn’t know you were dating anyone.”

He was wearing a Cain University staff shirt, tucked into jeans, and loafers. His hair was combed in place, and he seemed worried, gauging my reaction. When he called and said he was bringing someone home for me to meet, I joked to Logan that I was going to meet the girlfriend. The joke was on me.

I blinked a few times.

My dad rubbed the side of his face, his eyes darting from Carol to myself. “Yeah. Uh, well, you know how these things happen sometimes.” He coughed. “Logan Kade, honey. Logan Kade.”

My neck grew warm registering his hidden meaning. We had a similar meeting like this a month ago. My dad was not happy to find out that Logan Kade was not only my boyfriend, but the one who tackled the guy who tried to shoot me.

Rankin went to prison. Word trickled down from his boss that he was supposed to stay away from the Kades. There’d been no mention of me, and hoping to get back into his boss’ good graces, he wanted to take me out. It was supposed to be a way to get back at Delray. He thought his boss would reward him and not turn his back on him, which is what happened. The attack on me was his third strike. He had enough on his record to be sent away for half his life, and we were told by a detective that he had no allies on the inside.

And even though Logan tackled Rankin, my dad didn’t take that into account. Eric stepped in front of a bullet for me. He had the scar to prove it, along with a week stay in the hospital, but he’d be fine, too. And while I was grateful to Eric, and we were on better terms, I wasn’t going back to my first boyfriend. Ever. My dad didn’t want to accept that, even when he had no place to hope for that outcome.

I was with Logan.

He had to get used to it, but for the first week, he blamed Logan for why the attack happened in the first place. Even after Jason came back and explained the real reason—his gambling. My dad didn’t want to believe one of my best friends, so Claire was brought in for reinforcement. She was more than happy to recall Jason’s history and the poor choices he’d made since graduating high school. Jason finished it up with a grudging acknowledgement that Logan Kade wasn’t to blame, saying, “Yeah…maybe he’s not that bad of a guy. I guess. Maybe.” As he added the last ‘maybe’, he was staring right at me, and a warm feeling spread through me. He was speaking to my father, but I knew it was really to me.

He was giving me his approval, and I grew misty-eyed, giving him a silent ‘thank you.’ He gave me the slightest of nods back, and that was when I knew everything would be fine. I had my friend back and as I stood there now, I couldn’t deny myself what I was seeing.

There was a sparkle in my dad’s eyes and laugh lines around his mouth. Even the bags under his eyes had lessened. My dad was happy.

“So.” Carol drew closer. She looked like she was going to take my hands so I tucked them back. I wasn’t ready for that stuff yet. She bit down on her lip and wavered back on her feet. “Oh. Okay. Uh.” She still smiled at me. “I know you’re one of my students so I wanted to wait till after the semester to let you know.”

Finals had been last week.

She added quickly, “And this is part of the reason I’ve been so absent, too, why I had Jeremy do more than normal for his TA position.” She continued to eye me. “Are you...okay with this?” She had moved a step forward so my father moved behind her, and she reached back, resting her hand on his chest. The whole gesture came so naturally to them, and that was the problem. It was natural. They were natural...my dad really had moved on.

My throat burned, but I looked into my father’s eyes, and I smiled. I really did smile. It wasn’t forced or fake. It was real, and he relaxed seeing it. I nodded. “If you’re happy—”

He said, “I am.”

“—then she’ll be happy.”

“She?” Carol’s eyebrows pinched together, then she got it. Her eyes widened. “Oh.”

Water pooled on the bottom of his eyes, but my dad coughed and blinked a few times. The water went away, but his voice was hoarse when he murmured, “Thank you, Taylor.” His hand rested over Carol’s shoulder, and I noticed how her eyes closed, how she leaned into his touch, how it was the same way when Logan would touch me. His touch gave her strength, and with my dad beaming at me, I was okay.

No. After texting Logan to come and get me, I was more than okay.

Ten minutes later, as he pulled into the driveway, and I got inside, I was so much better than okay. Our lips touched, and I was fucking fantastic.

He pulled back, looked harried, but touched my lip. “How’d it go?”