When You're Ready (Ready #1)(57)

Confused, I asked, “What do you mean?”

“I haven’t known him as long as Colin. They have a friendship that goes way back, and I know Colin has said that even though they’re best friends, there has always been an unreachable part of Logan. But Colin accepted that. He took what Logan was willing to give, and gave back what Logan had always wanted. A family of sorts.”

I could see how much this woman loved Logan, and how many years she and Colin had spent worrying over him. After the childhood he had, he needed people who loved him and I was grateful Ella and Colin had stuck by him.

She fiddled with the hem of her skirt, before continuing. “But after the divorce, we lost all of him. He became cold, emotionless. When he called and said he was moving here to be closer to us, we were ecstatic. We thought we’d be able to snap him out of whatever funk he was in and get him back on track. But he just got worse. He’d stop by less and less, and our calls would go unanswered. He check in every once in a while, but we knew he’d given up on everything.”

Pausing, she said, “But you,” she continued. “You brought him back to us.”

Ella’s words drifted around in my head hours after as we pulled into my driveway. Maddie had fallen asleep in the backseat on the short ride home and Logan helped lift her out as I noticed a familiar car across the street.

“Leah’s here?”

“Yep,” Logan said.

“Do you know why she’s here?” I inquired.

“Sure do,” he answered with a sly grin as we entered the house.

Leah was sitting on the couch, remote in hand, watching some gossip talk shop when we entered. Declan’s face flashed across the screen as he entered a Hollywood club with a beautiful blonde. Leah quickly turned off the TV, clearly not wanting to be caught spying on Declan.

“Hey, I’m gonna put princess to bed. You want to fill her in?” he said to Leah.

She nodded, a sly grin replacing the shock I had seen seconds early. What the hell is going on? Since when do Leah and Logan make plans behind my back?

I turned and kissed Maddie, who was still asleep in Logan’s arms. He gently carried her upstairs to her room.

“Okay, what is going on? Does this have anything to do with what Logan and my Dad were whispering about today?” I asked, still dying to know what my father and Logan were chumming it up about.

“Uh, no. I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about. Right now my job is to take you upstairs and make you look and I quote, “f*cking hot” so your boyfriend can take you dancing,” she answered, guiding me up the stairs to my bedroom.

“We’re going dancing?” I asked, my voice full of glee. I hadn’t been dancing since college.

“Yep, lover boy is fan-f*cking-tastic. Let’s get you ready!” She walked over to my closet, and pulled out a dress I’d never seen. It was black, and from the looks of it, tight.

“Where did that come from?” I asked, running my hands down the designer fabric.

“I’ll give you two guesses.”

“He bought me a dress?”

“Yep, and shoes. And they’re definitely not from Target,” she added, holding up the patent leather pumps with the bright red soles. I jumped up and down, twirling my dress in my arms like a ridiculous little girl, but I didn’t care. I felt happy.

We rimmed my eyes with smoky eyeliner, making them look dark and sexy. I decided to leave my hair down, letting the natural curls run down my back untamed. I slipped into my dress and heels and took a peek in the mirror for the first time.

“Hot damn, I look good,” I announced, admiring how the dress fit my body like a glove. The black fabric was cinched and ruched down the center giving me cle**age and curves in all the right spots. Tiny straps held it in place, and as I gave myself a twirl in the mirror, I realized just how short it was. Like, don’t-bend-down-for-anything short.

“Ready to give him a heart attack?” Leah asked, looking me up and down.

“Do you think he’ll like it?”

“Shit, if he doesn’t, there’s something seriously wrong with him. Even I want to do you right now.”

Leave it to Leah to give it to you straight.

“Okay, let’s go.”

~Logan~

I had already changed into dark jeans, a black button down shirt and my favorite leather jacket. Just as I was congratulating myself on what a good idea this was and how I couldn’t wait to see Clare in that dress I bought her, I heard them coming down the stairs. I turned my head just in time to see her take the last step, and I was instantly aroused, miserable and panicked all at the same time.

“Holy f**king Christ,” the words flew out of my mouth in a rush as I fought to breathe.

“Um, is he okay?” Clare asked.

Clare’s hand was on her hip and it drew my attention to her ass, which looked…damn.

“Oh God, this was a bad idea. Such a dumb idea. You’ve got to go change,” I pleaded.

“What? Why?” she asked, looking herself up and down like there was something wrong. There was nothing wrong. That was the God damn problem. She was absolutely flawless.

“I’m gonna kill every man that looks at you tonight,” I threatened, feeling my fists tighten and my teeth clench at the mere thought.

A wide grin spread across her face while she slowly walked over to me, gripping the edges of my jacket. Clare paused a moment to admire my clothing choice, her eyes roaming over the jacket I’d worn especially for her. I knew leather would drive her crazy.