She gave him an intimate, cheeky smile. “Some old guy downstairs said you might be here.” Her smile dropped as she took in Maia, her expression turning confused when she looked at me.
He dropped his fork on his plate and slid off his stool. “What helpful neighbors we have.”
An awkward silence fell.
“Uh… Sharon, this is my daughter, Maia, and my friend Grace. Guys, Sharon.” He walked over to her and leaned in to her to ask quietly, “What are you doing here?”
“Well” – she put her hand into her large handbag and pulled out a device – “you left your iPad at my place this afternoon, and I thought you might need it.”
“Fuck. I was looking all over the office for that. Thanks.” He took it from her.
I felt sick.
All this time, he’d been seeing the American after he said he wasn’t.
I felt… betrayed.
I knew that wasn’t fair to Logan because that wasn’t what we had, but still… I guess you can’t help how you feel.
“Dad, who is this?” Maia demanded snottily. It also happened to be the first time she’d called Logan “Dad.”
He stared back at her a little dazed. “Uh… a friend, Maia.”
“Well, we’re having dinner. She’s interrupting.”
“Maia.” His voice lowered with warning. “Don’t be rude.”
“I’m not the one being rude,” she muttered, and turned around on her stool, pushing her food around her plate with her fork.
She was glaring at that plate with a fierceness that concerned me. Logan was really going to have to be careful when it came to introducing women into her life.
“Sharon —”
“I better go,” she said, throwing me an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry to interrupt.” She leaned in to kiss his cheek. “It was nice seeing you again.”
Logan walked her out, and I felt my frustration mount every time one of her heels clacked against my floorboards.
When Logan returned, Maia looked up at me. “Can I be excused?”
I stared over her shoulder at Logan, and he nodded wearily.
“Sure.” I smiled patiently at her and took her plate away.
Without another word, Maia got up and left the flat to go next door.
Logan rubbed the back of his neck, uncomfortable. “That wasn’t supposed to happen.”
Feeling dread at the fact that I was the one he wanted to talk to about this, I turned my back on him and began emptying mine and Maia’s food into the bin. “If you have a woman, I think it best you ease her into your life with Maia. For future reference.”
“But I don’t… Sharon… I haven’t… Look, Sharon and I haven’t been together. I did break it off with her. Today was a slip.”
I didn’t say anything.
“I’m saying I spent two years in prison, and when I got out, I may have been trying to make up for the fact that I hadn’t had sex in two years. When you get used to it regular… She called me, and I went to her place on my lunch break and —”
“I don’t need to know the details.” I shot him a look over my shoulder, trying to hide my fury. “We’re friends, but we’re not that close.”
“I’m just saying it happened. It’s not serious, and it won’t happen again.”