When her ride pulled up in front of the house, she wobbled a little on her feet, and Logan took her gently by the arm to steady her. “Easy,” he murmured. “It’s going to be all right.”

“Hey, guys,” she called to her kids, “I gotta go. Come give me hugs and kisses.” Her face was stiff with the battle against tears as she sank down on one knee and opened her arms to them.

Logan’s heart felt ripped in two as he watched her tell them goodbye, breathing deeply as though to inhale their essence. The kids clung, but relinquished their hold readily enough, innocent of her true destination.

“Be strong,” he told her. “You’re going to get through this.”

She practically fled to Adam’s truck, and she didn’t look back. The kids stared after her, stricken.

Logan burst into action. “I’ve got a surprise for you two.”

“What’s that?”

“We’re going to decorate Christmas cookies. Ever tried it?”

André looked skeptical. “You mean with icing and stuff?”

“Icing and sprinkles and everything good. You should see the stuff I bought. But these aren’t just any cookies,” Logan warned him.

“Yeah? Then what are they?”

“They’re Walking Dead Christmas cookies.” Logan went into zombie mode, with a stiff, swaying gait as he growled ominously, taking swipes at both kids.

Angelica squealed and they both ran for cover. Logan herded them into the kitchen, cranked up the music on the stereo and hoped for the best.

Chapter Eleven

chapter eleven

Darcy was distracted in the worst way when she met up with her team for the video shoot. Everyone bustled around with excitement, and normally she would share that energy, reveling in the sense that they were about to do something very, very cool. There were few things more exciting than being chosen to test gear and show it off for the client.

But today she had something else on her mind—Logan O’Donnell. She’d made a fool of herself over him at the train station. What a boneheaded move, showing up, unannounced, on a transparent pretext. And then to jump to the conclusion that he’d come to meet her at the station... She shuddered in horror and wondered how she was going to smile for the camera.

It was a total bummer to find out that her crush—her very inappropriate crush, as it turned out—was now dating a woman with kids. A woman who happened to look like Sofía Vergara. How nice for him.

Darcy felt like a grade-A idiot, chasing after him even though he hadn’t called or sent a text or even a freaking one-line email since Florida. Bringing her team to Avalon for the shoot was hopelessly transparent, the equivalent of a junior high girl riding her bike past the cute boy’s house to get his attention.