Her eyes lit up, and I saw that sparkle I’d been hoping to see when she was talking about school. “Okay. Sure. Grace, you’re coming, right?”
I almost blushed, wondering if Logan was groaning inside at the thought. I was sure he’d seen enough of me for one day. “Oh no. You go and have dinner with your family.”
“I want you to come,” she insisted with this mulish expression on her face. That was new.
“Maia,” I began, “I’m s—”
“You should come,” Logan interrupted me. “You should be there to celebrate with us.”
“Yay!” Maia clapped happily, and Logan’s whole face brightened at the sight of her excitement. “We’ll get ready.”
He chuckled. “Okay, then. I’ll be back at six o clock to pick you up.”
As soon as the door closed behind him, I turned to Maia. “One, you can’t keep inviting me along to things with your father. Two, what really happened at school today?”
“Oh my God, it was amazing!” She rushed toward me, her whole face glowing. “These two girls started talking to me right away in my first class. They’re so nice and we’re, like, into the same music and have the same taste in films and actors and everything. They don’t like all that stupid boy-band stuff, you know? They like real music. They’ve even been to live gigs. They’re so cool!”
I was relieved that she’d met people she clicked with, but I was still confused as to why she hadn’t shared this with Logan. “Why on earth didn’t you say so when Logan was here?”
Her smile died a little. “I don’t want him to think I’m a silly wee girl who gets excited over stupid stuff like this. I don’t want him to be bored with me.”
“Maia.” I shook my head in wonder at how muddled her mind was right now. “Logan wants to hear this stuff. He wants to know how happy you are. He doesn’t think it’s stupid girlie stuff. You don’t have to pretend to be someone you’re not because you think it will impress your father. He’s proud of you, especially when you’re being yourself.”
She chewed her lower lip with her teeth for a bit and then cocked her head to the side and said, “Yeah?”
“Yes. Now, you must promise to tell him all about…”
“Leigh and Layla,” she supplied.
“Leigh and Layla.” I grinned. “Well, those names will be easy to remember.”
Maia had been right about Cole’s older sister, Jo. She was one of the most beautiful women I’d met in real life, and I’d lived in London and met lots of gorgeous women. From what I could tell, her beauty ran deep. As soon as she saw Maia again, she drew her in for a hug and started asking her about school immediately, seeming genuinely interested in anything she had to say.
I was introduced to her husband, Cam, first. While Shannon and Cole were a few years younger than me, Cam was apparently nearly forty. The guy did not look it at all. Unlike Cole, who roughed up his classically handsome looks with scruff and tattoos, Cam was truly rugged. His tattoos and scruff just made him more so.
“I’ve heard a lot about you from Shannon and Cole,” Cam said, shaking my hand. “You take being a good neighbor to the next level.”
“You would know all about that,” Jo teased him as she pressed into his side. She smiled at me, and for a moment I was a little dazzled by her. “I’m Jo, Cole’s sister.”
I shook her hand as I looked up at her. She was tall and even taller in her four-inch heels. “It’s really nice to meet you both.”
I didn’t know what else to say. I felt a little intimidated by the gorgeous couple.
Luckily, Cole saved me by coming over to shake my hand. “Nice to see you again, Grace.”
I blushed.
He turned to Maia, who was at my side. “Maia.” He winked at her.
She blushed.
Logan groaned and glowered at his sister. “We need to get you a new fiancé.”
Shannon grinned, looking more than a tad smug. “He can’t help that he’s gorgeous.”
I think Maia and I blushed even harder.
“Oh God. Don’t be filling his head with that nonsense.” Cam gave Cole a teasing shove toward the table. “It’s big enough.”
“I’ll have you know I have just the right amount of ego,” Cole shot back before pulling out Shannon’s chair for her. I noted Cam did the same for Jo and Logan did the same for Maia.
It was such a gentlemanly thing to do. And here I thought chivalry was dead.
Before I could pull out my own chair, Logan slid around Maia’s and did it for me. I smiled at his kindness and settled in across from Jo.
“Where’s Belle?” Maia said immediately, looking disappointed.
I had to rack my brain, but I was sure Belle was Jo and Cam’s daughter.
“Oh, our friends Hannah and Marco are babysitting Belle. They have two boys and a daughter, Sophia, who is close to Belle’s age. They’re like cousins. They’re really close,” Jo explained.
“Hannah is Cole’s best friend,” Logan added for Maia’s benefit. “She’s a high school English teacher.”
Maia’s eyes widened. “At my school?”
Logan shook his head. “She doesn’t work there.”
“Thank God,” Maia murmured, and then blushed when everyone laughed. “Sorry. I just really don’t want to know one of my teachers outside of school.”