Chapter 10

**Megan**

I cannot believe I turned up late to meet Logan. I bet he thinks I’m late on purpose. I’m not.

On Saturday, I took Ella shopping to see if I could get her a few things in the sale. We‘d seen a really nice winter coat, but they didn’t have her size. They told me the other store had it and would reserve it for me until the end of the day today. I went to pick it up, and the sales assistant couldn’t find it, it turns out she’d sold it. So she wasted my time for nothing.

“Why were you late?” Logan asks. He’s wearing a navy suit and a white shirt. The top two buttons open, showing his golden tan. I watch him nervously pull on his jacket sleeves. Maybe he thought I wouldn’t come at all.

“Some sales assistant. I’d seen a nice winter coat in the sale for Ella on Saturday and, I was told the other store had it, so I had to make my way across the city to the other store, and the sales assistant had sold the one I reserved, she spent forever looking for it. I think she was too scared to tell me she’d sold it,” I explain.

“You’re looking for a winter coat in spring?” he asks.

“Well, they’re on sale now, all the summer clothes she has now, I bought at the end of the summer sale,” I say with a shrug of my shoulders. “I’ll probably just get her one later on when I get her school uniform.”

“Is she in school now?”

“Yeah, she’s not happy about it though, I had to force her to go to school today,”

“What kid is happy about going to school?” he asks.

“She usually can’t wait to go to school. She loves it. When I told her that she wasn’t going to be in her usual class, she seemed to calm down,”

“What do you mean? Isn’t she in kindergarten?”

“No, she’s in Grade 1, but they’re going to see how she gets on in 3rd Grade,” I explain, and he frowns. “She’s smart. She’s already reading at a 3rd-grade level, and mathematics she’s unbelievably quick at. She just gets things as soon as you show her,” I add.

“So she’s a mini-me?” he asks.

“I think she’s probably smarter,” I tease.

“It must be difficult?” he says as he rubs the stubble on his jaw.

“No, I’m trying to do what’s best for her, but I’m not sure if I’m hindering her growth if that makes sense. I’m not too convinced about her going into the 3rd grade, she’s too young, and it just doesn’t sit right with me. Her school said she would be best with homeschooling or private schooling,” I explain.

“I see,” he says quietly.

“So, how come David and Lorraine are here?” I ask and glance behind him to give them a wave. Lorraine smiles and waves back at me. “Are they your backup?”

“They’re here so that if I start to make an arse of myself, they can just drag me out away from you,” he says, making me chuckle a little.

“I think you have some control over that part of your personality,” I tease.

“You’d think so, wouldn’t you, I’m 30yrs old, and I’m an arsehole most of the time,” he pauses. “I am sorry for everything I said to you,”

“It’s fine, it’s in the past, today is a new day. We will act as if the last week hasn’t happened,” I say to him and take a drink of my smoothie.

For Ella’s sake, I’ve chosen to forgive and forget about what was said and done. Keeping a grudge and being angry at him would only hinder his possible relationship with Ella. I don’t want that. It was a mistake on his part. If Logan were to do it again, then I’d probably be less forgiving.

“Megan,” I hear someone say. I look away from Logan to see Daniel. My eyes widen; I’m sure he told me he would see his family in California. I give him a small smile and stand up as he walks over to our table. “I thought you’d be in the Hamptons with Mark,”

“No, I had other plans this weekend,” I say and hug him.

“He lied to me then. He made a big show about how you and Ella were going with him,”

“Nope,” I say with a shake of my head. I swear it’s like a competition with them both. He and Mark are distant cousins. I didn’t know when I got with either of them, but I’ve realised they seem to want to compete against each other since I found out. However, Daniel has never said anything about meeting Ella. “He’s not met Ella,” I clarify. Daniel then turns his attention to Logan. He then looks at me in question. “This is Logan,” I say, and I’ve never wanted the ground to swallow me up more. Logan stands and shakes his hand. I don’t miss the slight wince from Daniel.

“Logan Peters,” Logan says.

“Daniel Stott,” Daniel says and looks at me.

“He’s Ella’s dad,” I say to Daniel as he pulls his hand away from Logans.

“Wait, are you the Logan Peters of LP Enterprises?” Daniel asks; I close my eyes. This is just great. How quickly is it going to go around that I’ve screwed a billionaire?

“Yes,” Logan says and sits back down in his chair.

“Cool,” Daniel says.

“Ok, are you leaving?” I ask Daniel, and as I do, his arm goes around my shoulders. I frown at his arm and then at him. I slowly knock his arm from around my shoulders. “Bye, Daniel,” I say, and he frowns at me. “Your friends are waiting,” I say, pointing to the group of people waiting for him.

“Oh, right, ok,” he says and then goes to kiss me. I turn my head away, so he kisses my cheek. “Cya, babe,” I cringe at that and sit down as he walks away.

“That was the worst dick measuring contest I’ve ever seen,” I say.

“Why? Because mine's obviously bigger,” Logan asks seriously, and I hear Lorraine choke on her drink with laughter.

“Funny,” I tell him.

“He seemed nice. I’m guessing Mark is the guy I saw last Saturday?” he asks.

“You hate him, and yes,” I truthfully tell him. There's no point in being cryptic about things. “He’s not met, Ella. He most likely won’t meet Ella,” I say to him.

“Daniel is?” he asks.

“The same as Mark,”

“You have two boyfriends?” he asks.

“No, I don’t have a boyfriend; I have friends with benefits,” I say to him, and he tilts his head at me.

“I need to pass the time somehow when Ella is with her Grandfather,” I say to him, and he chuckles at me. “I don’t do boyfriends, I go on dates, but usually I don’t bother with a second one,” I say to him, and he nods.

Silence laces between us, and I'm not sure if it’s because he’s just met someone I sleep with, and he now feels awkward, or he doesn't know what to say next. I decide on telling him something he probably doesn’t know.

“I came to see you in England,” I divulge. He frowns. “It was the day you got engaged. I was at the party. I used to keep updated with news about you, so I knew you had this charity dinner. I turned up, and you announced your engagement.”

“What? Why didn’t you talk to me?”

“I tried, but all these people crowded you, I thought I’d wait, but I left when you announced your engagement,”

“I didn’t announce it,” he states.

“Well, I left. Lorraine came out after me, and so did David. They took me back to my hotel, and that was when they met Ella for the first time,” I explain.

“Wait, I remember that night, I thought I saw you, but I just thought my mind was playing tricks on me and dismissed it. I even went out after you,” he explains.

“Yeah, well, it was for the best. I didn’t want to ruin your happy moment,” I state, causing him to frown.

“The engagement isn’t real,” this time, it’s my turn to frown in confusion. “I never proposed to her. She found your ring and assumed it was for her. I found out I was engaged at the same time everyone else did. That’s not your ring,” he tells me. I look down at my hands and twiddle with the ring on my index finger that Courtney and Yasmin got me for mothers day last year. A part of me is relieved it’s not my ring on her finger or that he didn’t propose. “The ring on her finger is a very expensive replica that she paid for herself,” he explains.

What do I say to that? I was heartbroken that day. I came back to America and told myself to forget about him.

“Why did you come to England?” he asks.

“A lot of reasons, mostly my grandfather. I felt I had no other option but to come to you. Carlton had paid for my medical bills and Ella’s, but he didn’t do it out of the goodness of his heart,” I explain, and I can feel myself get upset. “He wanted me to visit Jonathon once a week. He said that would be how I pay him back because Jonathon had been asking for me. For some reason, he still believes that Jonathon is innocent. He’d tell me that he could get Ella taken from me if I didn’t do it, so I did it, every week for an hour, I sat in front of Jonathon and let him talk to me,”

“Then, after Ella became strong enough, things changed. He started saying I needed to take Ella to meet him. That Jonathon wanted to meet her. I refused. That was one thing I wasn’t going to allow. Courtney and I had a job waitressing at a local restaurant, and we were saving the money to move away, to go live with her sister. One afternoon I came home early, and Ella wasn’t in the house. Carlton’s girlfriend told me that he’d taken Ella to see Jonathon. That night when they got back, Courtney and I left with Ella. Two days later, we were on a flight to England,”

Logan stayed silent the whole time I spoke. He picks a napkin up and hands it to me. I take it and dab at my eyes.

“What happened when you got back?” he asks.

“We flew to LA and stayed with Courtney’s sister for a little while. She got us the job waitressing at Masked Goddess in LA. It was difficult at first because Ella was only one year old. I guess I was scared, but Courtney has been like a second mother to her. I worked when she wasn’t, and vice versa. Now I’m paying Carlton back,” I explain.

“How much more do you owe him?” he asks.

“I’m not sure I’ll have to look at everything. I don’t think I’m far off,”

“What does your dad think of all this?”

“He thinks I shouldn’t pay him back, but I feel if I don’t, I’ll owe him, and I don’t want that. I know, and he knows if he hadn’t paid for Ella’s surgery, she wouldn’t be here,” I say and look down at the napkin in my hands.

“So that’s why you work at Masked,” he says.

“It’s not all bad. I do enjoy working there,” I say and look at my phone to see the time. “Oh, shit, I need to go. I’m going to be late picking Ella up,”

“We can drive you if you want,” Logan offers. I frown and look at the time and then at Logan. He’ll want to meet her. It’s not that I’m trying to hide her from him. I would rather he met her in a better setting. “I don’t have to meet her now,” he says.

“It’s not that. It’s just, I haven’t spoken to her about you yet,” I pause and pick up my jacket. “I don’t want to surprise her, you know,”

“I understand. It’s just a lift,” he says and stands up. Maybe him meeting Ella should be treated as a band-aid. There’s probably never going to be a suitable time.

“What are you doing tonight?” I ask him.

“I can be free,”

“Ok, well, what if you come round tonight at, say 6:00?” I ask. “I’ll talk to Ella,” I say, “her bedtime is 7:30. If she doesn’t want to meet you today, I’ll text you, and we can reschedule,” I explain. “Is that ok?” I ask.

“Yeah, sure,” he says, he seems surprised by my offer, and then I see the worry go across his eyes.

“Don’t worry, Logan. She’ll want to meet you. It’s just when,” I say to try and relieve his worry. “I’ll see you soon,” I say and walk out of the coffee shop.

That went better than expected. It seems he had a word with himself and decided to listen to me rather than judge me. I just hope he’ll be this understanding if Ella says she doesn’t want to meet him.

---

Ella runs into my room and bounces on my bed with just a towel wrapped around her. She giggles as I run in after her, and Max jumps onto the bed, wagging his tail at her. I’ve just showered her. She has a habit of wanting to get ready in my room rather than her own. She’ll probably end up sleeping in my bed; she climbs in around midnight.

“Do you want to wear shorts to bed?” I ask her as I watch her bounce on my bed, pretty much naked. I swear this little girl has no shame; it reminds me of her dad. The other day I chased her around the apartment because she thought it was hilarious to run around naked. Courtney and Yasmin weren’t much help.

“Ok,” she says.

“I need to talk to you about something,” I say as I put her pyjamas on the bed. I walk to my dresser and take her moisturiser. She sits on her towel and waits for me to start creaming her.

“What’s wrong, mommy?”

“Nothing’s wrong. Do you remember when you asked me about your daddy?” I ask her. She nods and starts to help me put cream on her by rubbing the blob I’d dabbed on her chest. “The reason I’ve made you have a shower earlier is that your daddy wants to meet you,” I say slowly. “Do you want to meet your daddy?” I ask. She shrugs and keeps her head down. “Ok,” I say and pick up her night pull-ups. She doesn’t wet the bed often but knowing that tonight might be stressful for her, I feel she might. She holds onto my shoulders as I pull them up to her thighs. She pulls them the rest of the way.

“Is it the man that was here last week?” she asks.

“Yes,” I say and pull her light pink vest on with a cupcake printed on the chest.

“He’s mean,” she says.

“He’s not. He didn’t understand mommy’s choices and was confused by some things. I met up with him today while you were at school, and we talked through some things. He apologised for upsetting me,” I explain to her.

“He won’t do it again?” she asks.

“I hope not,” I say to her and reach for her matching shorts. “He’s coming here to meet you tonight,” I tell her. “I can call him and tell him not to if you want,” I say. “It’s completely up to you,” I tell her as I help her pull the shorts up.

“Why did he leave?” she asks, sitting down on the bed and crossing her legs. I watch as Max lays his head on her lap. Picking my brush up, I start to brush through her damp hair.

“He wasn’t well,”

“It wasn’t because of me?” she asks.

“What? No, why would you think that?” I ask. She shrugs and strokes Max’s head. “Tell me,” I say as I part her hair in the middle so I can put it in two dutch braids.

“Some of the bigger children at school noticed that my daddy has never picked me up. They said he left because he doesn’t love me,” she says. I sigh and move in front of her. This was one of the reasons I didn’t want her going into 1st grade. If she were in kindergarten, none of the kids would have realised this. “It makes sense. He left before I was born. Maybe he didn’t want me,” she says as she looks up at me, and I see the tears in her eyes.

“That’s not true. He was ill. He didn’t leave because of you. He was over the moon when he found out I was pregnant with you. Every night he would read up on your development, and he would spend hours on his phone going through ideas for your room and all the things he wanted to buy for you,” I explain. “He was so excited about you. He loved you from the moment he knew about you,” I tell her.

“Why was he gone so long?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t asked him,” I say as I move her hair behind her ear. “There is no reason for him not to want you. You’re a special little girl, and as Aunt Courtney says, you’re too adorable not to love,” I then hear my phone ring. I look at it to see it’s Logan. “Do you want to meet your daddy today?” I ask her.

“Yes,” she says with a firm nod. She’s my cute little decision-maker. I pick up my phone and answer it.

“Hello,”

“I’m downstairs,” Logan says. “Can I come up?” he asks. I look at Ella and take the phone from my ear.

“Are you sure about this, sweetie?” I ask. She nods, and I smile a little. “Yeah, come up,” I say. “I’ll tell Yasmin or Courtney to let you in,” I say and walk out of my room to tell them as I put the phone down. “Will one of you let Logan in when he knocks?” I call out to them and then go back to Ella.

Ella is sitting, putting lotion on her legs and talking to Max. Picking up the brush, I start on her hair again. This has got to be the most nervous I’ve felt in a very long time. I’ve wanted her to meet him since the moment she was born, because I know he’s going to be great with her.

“Can I get my nails done too, mommy?” she asks, referring to the fact I’ve got my nails redone. I only get my nails done for work. Courtney took Ella to the salon with her on Saturday, and she got her a pedicure.

“No, the pedicure is enough,”

“Aunty Corny said I could when we go on holiday,”

“We’ll see,” I say, and she pouts.

“You always say that,”

“That’s what mommy’s say,” I tell her as I hear the apartment door open. Ella moves her head to the bedroom door.

“He’s here,” she says and looks up at me, and I see the excitement and anxiety in her face.

“Yes, now head forward,” I tell her, and she moves her head back into position so I can finish the braid.

“Will he like me?” she asks.

“He will love you,” I say, and she smiles a little. “Done,” I say and pick up my hairdryer to give her hair a quick blow-dry.

“Mommy,” she groans and turns to look at me, “you said you’re done,”

“Ok,” I say and put the hairdryer down. I’m happy she’s so eager to meet him. That’s a good thing, right?