Loving Logan - Sammi Cee Page 0,15

there with his mouth hanging open, clutching his phone in those massive hands tight enough to crush the poor electronic device.

Me: Yessss… That’s the whole I’ll pick it up thing… *eye roll emoji*

Logan: I have Jakey

Me: Well, duhhh. That’s why I asked if he likes pizza. *winky emoji*

Bubbles. Geesh. My stomach cramped with anxiety as I plotted out how to convince him to share a pizza with me tonight.

Logan: Okay. Um, Jakey doesn’t do that well off of his routine, so would you really be okay coming here?

Dancing with the hint of victory, I responded quickly.

Me: Absolutely. I’ve been dying to meet your little guy. *smiley face emoji*

Logan: Really?

Me: Yeah, of course. He sounds awesome. *smiley face emoji* *smiley face emoji*

Logan: He is. So, should I just send you my address?

Me: Yep. And what you guys like on your pizza. Is six tonight good?

Logan: You’re really coming over with pizza?

Me: Send me your order and address. I’ll see you tonight, Logan. *smiley face emoji*

I waited for him to respond with the information, sent one more smiley face, and then dropped my phone on my coffee table before falling back onto my couch with relief. I didn’t fight the smile crossing my face; Logan had just agreed to let me into his sanctuary.

I pulled up in front of the cute, blue two-story ranch taking deep breaths in an attempt to control my nerves. What if Jakey doesn’t like me? This new pressure weighed me down more than the first time I picked a girl up on a date and had to meet her parents. Jakey meant everything to Logan. If the little boy took one look at me and turned his nose up, I’d be doomed.

Okay, Creed, you’ve got this. I hadn’t been around kids too much until recently. Shane had made friends with a couple who used to come into a restaurant he worked at. Since then, Clark and Bailey, with their kids Todd and Sydney had become a fixed part of our social circle. Through them, we’d also been spending time with another couple, Ryan and Cameron, and their son, Stuart. But all three of those kids were a few years older than Jakey, and I hadn’t been around any of them at three. Shit.

When I glanced back at the house, I saw Logan standing in the doorway with his arms crossed over his chest. Good grief, the man filled the whole doorway. As intimidating a picture as he made though, I knew if I didn’t get out of this vehicle, he’d get more anxious than I was. One of us needed to pretend we knew what the hell we were doing. Jumping out, I adopted my usual swagger to stroll around to the passenger’s side and pull the two pizzas and a bottle of soda out.

I plastered a smile on my face as I approached the doorway. Logan returned it hesitantly, but I didn’t miss the way his gaze shifted down to his feet nervously. As soon as I pulled the screen door open, I saw why. The cutest doe-eyed little boy I’d ever seen sat on his feet. Figuring Logan would forgive me, I ignored him other than to shove the pizza and soda at him, and then hunched down. I still couldn’t quite get to eye level with the little boy, but close. “Hey there, you must be Jakey.” I held my hand out for a high five. “I’m your uncle’s friend, Creed.”

Jakey stared at me, without blinking, for what felt like thirty minutes, but was probably only seconds. Then he tilted his head up to his uncle, who said, “Remember, I told you my friend Creed was bringing over pizza for dinner? Wasn’t that nice?”

Jakey’s gaze dropped back to me, and I started to withdraw my hand since he obviously didn’t play this particular game, when he lightly tapped his hand to mine, then jumped up and ran back farther into the house. I sprang up, feeling pretty proud of myself, to stop in my tracks at the bewildered look on Logan’s face. “Did I do something wrong?” I asked quickly, momentarily letting my own insecurity show.

He shook his head, the gentle smile I’d only ever seen when he talked about Jakey curving his lips. And wow! The power of that smile aimed in my direction, for me, made my heart speed up while making my breath catch in my throat. “If you, uh, stick around after Jakey goes to bed, I can tell you