Chapter 7 #3
The sudden embrace pulled her gently backward against a firm chest, and before she could react, warm breath brushed the side of her neck.
"Elise!"
The cheerful voice burst with so much excitement that it instantly cut through the noise of the street.
Elise gasped softly, her entire body going rigid as surprise shot through her. Her fingers tightened instinctively around her phone, her heart stumbling before she quickly realized who it was.
She let out a slow breath, the tension draining from her shoulders.
"Logan..."
Shaking her head, she reached down and peeled his arms from around her waist before turning to face him.
"When are you going to stop acting like a child?" she muttered, a faint frown settling on her face as she lightly pushed his hands away.
The words sounded more helpless than reproachful.
Logan only laughed.
His smile spread from ear to ear with the same carefree brightness she remembered from the very first time they'd met.
His dark eyes sparkled with unmistakable happiness, tiny lines crinkling at their corners as he looked at her as though simply seeing her had made his entire day.
There wasn't an ounce of pretense in his expression, no hidden agenda or expectation—only pure, uncomplicated joy.
He had always been like that.
Playful.
Optimistic.
Endlessly sincere.
Every time Elise looked at him, she found herself silently hoping life would never take that light away from him.
It warmed a corner of her heart she rarely allowed anyone to reach.
There had been a time when she'd believed every connection to her biological family had ended the day she was abandoned on the side of a Manhattan street because her parents had decided they didn't want a daughter.
If Kevin and Grace hadn't found her that day...
If they hadn't searched desperately for her parents before eventually adopting the little girl no one wanted...
Her life could have become something unimaginably different.
She might have grown up drifting from one orphanage to another.
Or fallen into the countless dangers that lurked within a city as enormous as Manhattan.
For years, she'd convinced herself that chapter of her life was over.
Then Logan had appeared.
After discovering he had an older sister, he'd stubbornly searched for her until he finally found her, and from that day onward, he'd refused to disappear from her life.
No matter how many times she turned him away or insisted there was no reason for them to have a relationship, he always came back wearing that same bright smile, acting as though her rejection had merely been a minor inconvenience.
Eventually, she'd stopped trying to push him away.
Not because she'd forgiven the people who had abandoned her.
She never would.
But Logan had never been the one who made that choice. He'd simply been an innocent boy who wanted to know the sister he'd only recently learned existed.
She still loved Kevin and Grace with all her heart. They were her parents in every way that truly mattered.
But somehow...
Without her even realizing it...
Logan had quietly become family too.
Her smile faded into a worried frown as reality returned.
"What are you doing here?" she asked softly. "I told you not to come looking for me."Her brows drew together with concern as she looked at him.
"Your parents don't want us meeting."
The disappointment in her voice wasn't directed at him. She simply hated seeing him caught between two families when none of it had ever been his fault.
The words on Elise's lips made the brightness in Logan's face dim ever so slightly.
His wide smile faltered, replaced by a small, disappointed frown. For a brief moment, he simply looked at her, his shoulders drooping like a scolded puppy before he suddenly reached forward and took her hand into both of his.
Before she could pull away, he lifted it and pressed her palm against his cheek.
His skin was warm beneath her fingers.
"I've been in Europe for two whole months," he complained, tilting his head into her hand as though seeking comfort. "Two whole months, Elise. You didn't get to see this incredibly handsome face even once."
He looked at her with exaggerated grievance.
"Didn't you miss me?"
Elise stared at him in silence.
Instead of waiting for an answer, he continued dramatically.
"And what's the first thing you say the moment we finally meet?" He pouted, his brows knitting together. "'Your parents don't want us seeing each other.'"
He sighed so heavily it almost sounded theatrical.
"Sometimes I honestly feel like you don't even like me half as much as I like you."
The pitiful expression he wore was so overdone that Elise couldn't help rolling her eyes.
"You should become an actor."
"I'm serious."
"I know."
She gently pushed against his shoulder, forcing him to lean back enough for her to slip her hand free from his grasp.
"Go home, Logan." Her voice softened. "You've only just returned. Spend time with your family. Have fun."
She offered him a small smile before adding quietly,
"And don't upset your parents."
The smile faded from her lips.
"It's better if you and I don't meet."
"No."
The answer came so quickly that she blinked.
"I already came all the way here." He spread his arms dramatically before patting his stomach. "And I'm starving."
A grin immediately returned to his face, bright and mischievous as though his previous sulking had never happened.
"Let's have lunch together." He pointed toward the street. "My treat."
Elise shook her head without hesitation.
"No."
"Come on."
"No."
"I haven't eaten since I landed."
"You can eat with your parents."
"I don't want to."
"They're waiting for you."
"They'll survive."
"Logan."
"I'm hungry."
"So am I."
"Perfect." His grin widened. "We can solve both problems together."
Elise folded her arms across her chest, giving him a look that would have intimidated most people.
It had absolutely no effect on him.
"I'm not going."
He blinked innocently.
"The correct answer is, 'Yes, Logan. I'd love to have lunch with you.'"
She turned slightly, fully intending to walk away.
Before she managed more than two steps, Logan called after her.
"If you leave, I'm calling my parents."