Page 31 of Perfect Persuasion (Love’s Second Chance #2)

By the time Claire reached Sophie’s house, both Sophie and Trevor were gone.

A hastily scrawled note on the kitchen table revealed they had taken a carload of boxes to their new house.

Utterly miserable, Claire grabbed a container of raspberry yogurt from the fridge and plopped into a chair.

Maybe she’d been wrong thinking Logan could ever open up to her enough for it to make a difference.

One day had erased a week’s gain. She had thought—so foolishly—that they could overcome the obstacles between them.

But Logan didn’t want to meet her halfway. He didn’t want to trust in her.

She dug into her yogurt with grim relish, trying desperately to distract herself from the fact that her life was falling apart.

Halfway through her third spoonful, the doorbell rang.

Convinced that Logan had followed her, she abandoned her yogurt and the kitchen, nearly running to the front door in her eagerness.

Maybe he was willing to talk it over with her after all. Had he come to apologize?

A smile curving her lips, she threw the front door open and froze. The smile slipped, surprise getting the best of her. “Garrett.”

Her ex stood before her, wearing a pair of blue jeans and a sweater she’d never seen before.

It seemed an odd thing to notice, but she couldn’t help it.

Once, she’d known all the clothing in this man’s closet, had washed and folded and ironed it all.

But now their lives had taken such different turns.

“Hi, Claire. I’m sorry to drop by like this, but…” His words trailed off as he peered down into her face. “Have you been crying?”

She thought of the blur that had been her drive home from Logan’s. Of how she’d pulled over three times to blow her nose and wipe her eyes. “No,” she lied. “What do you want, Garrett?”

He ran a hand through his hair, looking distinctly uncomfortable. “I actually wanted to talk about some things before the divorce is finalized. Can I come inside?”

“Okay.” Claire stepped back, holding the door wide for him to enter. She ruthlessly quashed the feelings of disappointment rising inside her that it was Garrett crossing the threshold and not Logan. It was obvious that she would be far better off giving up on Logan Monroe.

When she and Garrett were seated opposite one another in the living room, Claire spoke first, needing to fill the awkward silence. “What did you want to talk about?”

“Our things.” Garrett looked even more uncomfortable than he had before. “We haven’t even talked about what you want and what I want, other than through our lawyers. I just wanted to sit down and talk things through.”

“I’m not really in the mood to divvy up our things.”

He leaned forward on the edge of the sofa, studying her intently. “You have been crying.”

She fought the urge to avert her face. “I haven’t.”

Garrett’s face darkened. “It’s him, isn’t it? Claire, you know that if there’s anything I can do, I’ll do it for you in a heartbeat. You don’t need to depend on him for anything.”

“I know.” Claire forced a smile. “But it’s nothing. I’m just easily upset.”

Garrett rose and crossed the room, sinking down onto the cushion next to her. “I know you. I can see in your eyes that it’s more than nothing.”

“We had an argument,” she admitted, feeling more than just a little odd confiding in him about her relationship with Logan. “I was upset about it, but I’m fine now.”

Garrett slid an arm around her shoulder. “You know you can call me any time you need anything.”

“I know,” she agreed. “But it feels strange.” And it did. She’d been betrayed by him, hurt and angry with him at first, then detached from the whole situation. And now, it seemed odd indeed to be the recipient of kindness and concern from the man who’d broken her trust.

“We’re friends,” he reminded her. “I still care about you. I’ll never stop caring about you.”

“How sweet.” Logan’s acerbic voice intervened suddenly.

Claire started and turned to the doorway, surprised to find Logan hovering there, looking like a dark, avenging angel. Make that an angry avenging angel. She hadn’t even heard the front door open and close.

“Logan.” She rose from the sofa, staring at him. “I wasn’t expecting you.”

A snide grin kicked up the corner of his mouth. “Obviously.”

She noticed then that he sported a puffy upper lip and a black eye. “What on earth happened to you?”

“Derek,” he said simply, his gaze swerving to Garrett, who had risen and now stood by Claire’s side. “What the hell’s he doing here?”

“I came to talk with Claire,” Garrett said coolly. “Is that okay with you, or did you want to get your ass kicked a second time today?”

Logan’s grin turned feral. “Try me, pretty boy.”

“Oh for God’s sake.” Claire threw up her hands in disgust. “Would you two stop it? Logan, Garrett came to ask me about things I want before the divorce goes through. Garrett, please don’t antagonize Logan.

I don’t need the two of you breaking into a fight right here in the middle of Sophie’s house. ”

Logan crossed his arms over his chest. “Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, why don’t you tell pretty boy he has to leave, Claire?”

“Logan.”

“What?” Logan raised a haughty brow. “You want him here?”

Anger skewered through her. After treating her like an unwanted houseguest this morning, he wanted to simply reappear and demand her company? The man’s arrogance never failed to stun—or enrage—her. “You know what? Maybe I do want him here.”

Logan’s eyes glittered. “Fine. But I’d like to have a word with you. In private.” He gave Garrett a meaningful glare.

Garrett looked distinctly uncomfortable. He shifted his feet, tugging at his collar. “Claire, I’ll just go. I don’t—”

“No,” she said firmly. “Stay right here. You don’t have to leave just because Logan is being rude.”

Logan’s jaw tightened. “Just get him the hell out of here for five minutes so I can talk with you.”

Claire took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. She decided the most expedient way to deal with Logan was to simply give in to him. No one knew how stubborn he could be better than she. She flashed Garrett an apologetic glance. “If you could excuse us for just a few minutes?”

Garrett looked from her to Logan, an odd expression on his face. “I’m going to go. I’ll call you later.”

“You can stay.”

“I’ll call you later,” he repeated firmly, his tone brooking no argument. Giving Logan a glare, he left the room.

Claire waited for the front door to click shut before she started in on Logan. “Are you happy now? You bullied him into leaving. You’re the biggest boy on the playground.”

His eyes darkened. He strode across the room, stopping uncomfortably close to her. “I don’t want him hanging around.”

“Excuse me, but I don’t really think you have any say in the matter.” Claire poked his chest with a finger.

He caught her finger in a tight grip before she could land a second poke. “I have every right.”

“No. You don’t have any right.” She pulled her finger from his grasp with a forceful yank. “Especially not after treating me the way you did this morning.”

“For Christ’s sake. You’ve been lying to your parents for months just so they didn’t find out I’m the father of your baby instead of your perfect husband. What did you expect? Did you think I’d be happy about that? Don’t tell me you’re that deluded.”

“If you’d just give me a chance to explain,” she burst out, frustration getting the best of her.

“I’ve been trying since yesterday, and you keep telling me you don’t want to hear it.

It’s like you don’t want to give up a reason to be angry with me.

” Sudden understanding dawned clear in her mind.

“That’s it, isn’t it? You need a reason to be angry with me, don’t you? ”

Logan turned away from her, pacing the length of the room. “You’re being ridiculous. Of course I don’t want a reason to be angry with you. You’re going to have my baby. We’ll need to get along outside the bedroom.”

She met his gaze. “I don’t even know if that’s possible anymore. Just when I feel like we’re getting closer, something happens and you shut me out again. Maybe we should just stop seeing each other for a while.”

“Stop seeing each other,” he repeated, giving her a dark look. “Claire, you’re carrying my child. I don’t think it’s feasible for us to just stop seeing each other. Besides, with you staying on at LM, it will be impossible.”

“I’ve been rethinking my decision to stay,” she blurted, eyeing him warily as he crossed the room back to her again.

“What?” His voice was soft, deceptively so.

It was a lie. She hadn’t been rethinking it, not until this very moment. But looking at him now, she could tell he believed her. And that he was infuriated at the thought.

“I think my staying at LM would complicate things even further. I don’t see how we could keep our relationship a secret. If we can’t get along on a personal basis, how will be able to manage professionally?”

Logan’s lips tightened into a forbidding line, his stare harsh. “We’ll manage because you promised me. You can’t back out now, damn it. There’s too much at stake.”

Claire felt a hollow sensation spreading through her chest at his words.

He cared more that she stay on at LM than he did that they work out their relationship.

In the end, that was what it all came down to with him.

Business. God, it made her feel sick. Their week together suddenly seemed like a lie.

All the ground they’d covered had been lost since their return and they stood toe to toe in square one again.

“There’s more at stake than you think,” she told him quietly. “You’re just too blind to see it.”

“What are you saying, Claire?”

“I don’t know.” She felt stricken. “I think you should go now.”

“Not until you tell me what you mean.” His voice was bitter. Determined.

“What I mean,” she said, “is that it’s over. I can’t be with you, not like this.”