Chapter 12
A jittery jive ran through Logan as he paced the sidewalk in front of Brooke’s apartment.
The bag in his hand slipped, and he straightened it.
Since last night, his thoughts only focused on Brooke and their kiss.
Shelby, who? If things continued to progress in this direction, he could only imagine where they would be this time next year. Whoa, calm down, he reminded himself.
George poked his head out of the front door of the apartment building. “Do you want to come in from the cold?” He paused and waited for him to answer. “Your pacing is making me nervous.”
“Oh,” he shifted the bag of food from one hand to the other, “is it that obvious?”
“Son, even a baby could pick up on your anxious energy.” George waved him over. “Come on in, and let’s have a chat until Brooke arrives.”
“Umm.” He didn’t really want to have a chat, but he didn’t think he had a choice in the matter either. “Okay, but she should be here any minute.”
“And I’m off in five, so— come in out of the cold.” George held the door open for him.
Logan passed through it. “Thanks,” he commented. “I guess I am a bit wound up. I keep telling myself not to mess this up. My usual don’t be an idiot pep talk isn’t working.”
George chuckled as he closed the door and motioned for him to follow. He snatched a chair from the lobby and dragged it over next to the lobby desk. “Sit.” He patted the chair then slid into his seat behind the desk.
Logan obeyed, placing the bag of food down at his feet. In an attempt to appear casual, he propped his ankle on his opposite knee. “Is this where you threaten me with a shotgun if I ever do anything to hurt Brooke?”
“Do I need to give you that speech?” George raised an eyebrow.
“No.” Logan shook his head. “You don’t. I know how special she is.”
“Good.” George pulled himself closer to his desk then rearranged some loose papers on top.
“You seem smarter than the last guy, so I’m rooting for you.
I’d like to see her happy. You know she didn’t come from the most ideal circumstances, but she worked hard, putting herself through college then medical school on her own.
That shows how much grit she has. A woman like that is one you want to keep. ”
“She’s mentioned a bit about her parents, her dad abandoning her and her mom being an alcoholic and drug addict. I don’t know much more than that.”
He wished he did, but he picked up on Brooke’s hesitation to share more about her less than flowery childhood. Also, he sensed she didn’t like to dwell on the past. He wished he had the same bandwidth to do that very thing.
George paused then flashed his gaze to the lobby door then back to him.
“Her mom was verbally abusive. Brooke’s life was riddled with the consequences of being around an addict.
Then to make matters worse, her mom had a whole slew of boyfriends in and out her life that didn’t make it any easier.
You know that’s why she wanted to become a pediatrician, right? ”
“I see.”
He began to see how much he still needed to learn about her, how many layers of Brooke he needed to peel back and discover. This was a privilege he knew most probably didn’t get. Logan hoped it was something Brooke would show him.
“She wanted to help children, since she was a child who desperately needed help but didn’t receive it.”
His heart warmed. “I love that about her.”
Then she pushed through the lobby door. Her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes were vibrant and alive. The beauty of her made Logan’s breath hitch in his chest. How had he managed to kiss her? His younger self would be so proud. He stumbled to his feet, snatching up the bag of food as he stood.
“Brooke,” he said with a tremor in his voice.
“There you are.” Slowly, Brooke unbuttoned her coat as she trekked across the lobby. “Hey there, George. Were you keeping him company for me?”
“Something like that.” George straightened himself. “There may or may not have been a mention of a shot gun.”
“Geez.” Brooke half chuckled and half rolled her eyes. “I can only imagine what you said.” She stopped in front of Logan and tilted her head to meet his gaze. “Hey, you.”
Molten lava filled his gut. He attempted to swallow. “Hey back.” Then he leaned in and kissed her gently on the temple.
“What do you have in there?” Brooke peered down at his bag of food. “I’m starving.”
“I picked up some Chinese food.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I hope that’s okay.”
“Perfect.” Then she went up on her tiptoes, leaned in and kissed him gently. “I’m glad you’re here.” She smiled, making his knotted ball of nerves disappear.
“Me too.”
George cleared his throat. “Well don’t keep the guy waiting. Go eat.”
Brooke laughed. “Come on.” She tugged his free hand. “See you soon George.” Then she led him to the elevator bay.
Once alone behind the closed doors of the elevator, Logan gained his courage. He wrapped an arm around her waist and brought her closer. “I can’t stop thinking about you.”
“Interesting,” Brooke smirked. “I haven’t thought about you once,” she teased.
Then she rested her hand on his chest.
“Is that right?” Logan kissed her lightly.
“Umm, maybe.” She pulled away enough to glance up at him. “But if you keep doing that, I might start thinking about you a little bit more.”
The elevator dinged open, and they shuffled off it. He filed behind her down the long hallway.
“Just keep in mind,” she led him to her apartment, “this is the nicest apartment I’ve ever lived in, so if you make fun of anything I’ll be devastated.” She slipped her key into the door then pivoted to peer back at him.
“I hope,” he leaned his hip against the wall next to the door and crossed his arms, “you don’t think I’m someone who would ever tease someone about where they live. I’m not that guy.”
“I know.” She turned the key. “I guess it’s my insecurities bubbling up again, but you’d be surprised what people say.
” She pushed open the door and held it open for him to pass through.
“The places I lived in when I was a kid were horrible, run down apartments with leaky roofs, rusty pipes, and people yelling way too loudly in the hallways. This is finally a place I’m proud to show people.
Justin always complained about how small it was. ” She removed her key from the latch.
He walked into the apartment. “Justin sounds like a total tool.”
Brooke laughed. “No argument there.” She closed the door behind them and came up beside him as she tossed her keys on the bowl on top of the long credenza.
His jaw clenched as he thought of Justin. What kind of person made fun of where someone lived? A jerk, that’s who.
“I’m beginning to believe he was a quote, tool, too.” Brooke gathered up her hair and tossed it over one shoulder. “I don’t know how I didn’t see it until now.”
“I’m nothing like him,” Logan added.
“I know,” she said softly. “That’s why I like you.”
He smiled as he peered out at her apartment. It was small but there were large floor to ceiling windows which looked out over the city.
“This is incredible.” He walked the few paces across the living room and dropped the food on the small table to enjoy the scene out the windows.
“What a view. My apartment faces another wall. I can only see the other residents in their apartments and nothing else. But this—” he glanced over his shoulder.
Brooke wrung her hands together as she came up next to him, “might be the best view I’ve ever seen. ”
“I thought so.” The deep lines on her forehead eased. Brooke pointed. “I love seeing the Chicago River. It sparkles in the evening. See—”
He wrapped an arm around her and drew her closer. “It does glimmer.” The lights of the city reflected in Brooke’s gaze. “A lot like you.”
Geez, he sounded cheesy, but he couldn’t help himself.
He didn’t know what was happening, but he knew he couldn’t stop it even if he wanted to.
Brooke mattered to him. Now that he had her, he never wanted to let her go.
For a minute, they stared out at the view together.
Their steady breathing competed against the sounds of the city on the street way below.
Then his phone rang and broke their blissful spell.
“I hope,” he lowered his arm from her shoulders and retrieved his phone from his pocket, “this isn’t the hospital.”
His gut twisted as the familiar name flashed across the screen. Why in the world would Shelby be calling him? He regretted keeping her number in his phone from high school. He should’ve deleted it a long time ago. But this meant she never deleted his either.
“Everything okay?” Brooke scanned his face then her gaze dropped to the phone in his hand. “Oh, Shelby is calling you.” She gnawed on a fingernail. “I didn’t realize— I thought—and I shouldn’t have.”
“We don’t talk.” He sighed and ran a hand down the length of his face. “I didn’t even know she still had my number or that I still had it saved. I have no idea why she is calling.”
“Then you’d better pick up,” she said matter-of-factly.
Logan sighed and punched the accept button. “Hello?” Logan plunged his free hand through his hair then rubbed the length of his jaw.
“Hey, Logan.”
“Yeah.” A tremor made his hands shake.
“This is Shelby.”
“I know.” He forced his shaky hand into the pocket of his pants.
Then he waited.
Brooke left his side and walked over to the table and dug into the to-go bag, placing the cartons on the table. She busied herself with opening and closing some cupboards, retrieving plates and cups.
“I’m babysitting the twins, and I can’t get a hold of your sister or your parents. Lily has a fever. I didn’t know who else to call. I’m not sure how high is too high. I’m a nurse, but I deal with adults. This is a small infant, aren’t fevers in them much more serious?”