“Suit yourself, hon.” She handed me the check with a forced smile before leaving.
“I’m very, very sorry about this,” Emily said, as she put her salad into her Styrofoam to-go container. “It’s hard when you’re a single parent.”
“I can imagine.”
She finished sealing up her to-go box and rose, an apologetic look still on her face. “It was nice to meet you, Logan.”
“Likewise,” I offered.
Emily walked over to me. I stood, and we shared a quick hug. She smiled one more time before picking up her container and hurrying out of the café.
I took a bite of my sandwich. Good flavor, really, so the whole lunch wasn’t a total waste of time. What I felt perhaps didn’t rise to the level of disappointment.
Emily seemed pleasant enough, if a bit on the boring side, and she certainly was beautiful.
In truth, we had a lot in common given our backgrounds and families. Most importantly, though, we had something fundamentally in common. We were both busy with things important to us. For me, it was my job. For her, it was her daughter, and I certainly couldn’t blame her.
I put down my sandwich and took a sip of my coffee. We didn’t have a connection, at least not one that could survive how busy we both were.
Maybe that was for the best, even if I couldn’t help wondering what it’d be like if I spent more time with the woman.
It didn’t matter. I was sure I would never see her again.
Chapter Five
EMILY
By Friday night, I wasn’t worrying about the mess of a date that I’d dealt with Thursday afternoon. Instead, I was in a nice black dress on my way to a fundraiser dinner at Mama’s house for the Davidson Charitable Foundation. I glanced at the backseat. Juniper smiled in her cute little white dress.
I smiled back, even though my heart was thumping harder than I’d like. I’d never told Mama how the date with Logan had gone.
She’d been so busy with last-minute preparations for the fundraiser dinner that she didn’t even have time to harass me about my date.
I hoped she wouldn’t bother me about it until Saturday, but that all depended on what people decided to chat about at the dinner. Maybe a little redirection would be enough that I wouldn’t have to stand there with a bunch of socialites explaining why I all but ran out on the first decent man to look my way since my divorce.
At least that was the plan. Not a great plan, but it was a plan.
My phone rang, and I grabbed it from the console between the front seats after glancing down and seeing it was my mother.
“Mama?” I said. “Did you need something?”
“I’m so sorry, dear.” A long, defeated sigh followed.
My stomach clenched. Mama never apologized unless something awful happened.
“What?”
“I swear I did not know he was coming to this function. You know, more than anything, how much I despise that man.”
My mind reeled as I tried to figure out who the heck she was even talking about. For a second, I wondered if she meant Logan, but I doubt she’d ever describe herself as despising the man.
I gasped as I pulled up to a red light.
“Lionel?” I said.
“Yes, that cheating bum dared to show up to our fundraiser.” She sniffed disdainfully. “I doubt he’ll even participate in the silent auction.”
I wonder whether Mama’s opinion of the man would change if Lionel offered a huge check to the foundation. Fortunately for me, he was thorough in being a bum. Not only had he cheated on me, but he was also a cheap man when it came to anyone but himself.