Page 55 of Until Nalia

“Oh, wait, let me give you some money.” I start to open my bag, and she smacks my hand not hard enough to hurt, but it does startle me. My eyes fly up to hers, and I hear Logan laugh. “I’m not taking your money.”

“Gigi.”

“Don’t Gigi me, I got it.” She looks at Zuri and Cooper. “Give hugs since they won’t be here when we get back.”

While Cooper goes to his dad, I give Zuri a hug.

“I have my phone if you need anything, just call, and if you can’t get a hold of me, call grandma or grandpa.”

“Okay.”

“She’ll be fine,” Gigi says, then adds. “We’ll try not to get into too much trouble.”

“Be on your best behavior, bud,” Logan tells Cooper, who rolls his eyes in response.

“You two have fun,” Gigi says while she ushers both kids out of the house ahead of her.

“Thanks, Ma.”

“No problem.” She looks back at us, smiling.

“Alright,” Logan says when the door closes behind his mom. “Tell me what happened with Matthew.”

“Him and some of his friends came out of nowhere and cut across the road in front of my car. I didn’t see them, so I had to slam on the brakes.”

“Shit.”

“Yeah, but it’s okay. He and his friends were sweet and apologized profusely when I rolled down my window and told them to be careful.”

“Seriously?” His chin jerks back.

“No.” I laugh. “They all called me a few names, and Matthew flipped me off while calling me a bitch before he rode off with his friends.”

“That sounds more plausible.” He shakes his head with his jaw tight.

“It’s fine, the kid’s a jerk, so it’s not a surprise that he acted like that. I’m just glad that I didn’t unintentionally hurt anyone since none of them were wearing helmets.”

“I’m going to ask a friend of mine who works for the police department to put out a statement about bike safety.”

“That would be smart,” I say, then we both look at the door when the bell goes off.

Walking to it, he opens it up, and a pretty blonde with hair so long it touches her waist, wearing a country girl dress and cowboy boots, tosses her arms into the air above her head.

“Your designated driver has arrived,” she sings, throwing herself at Logan and wrapping her arms around his shoulders.

“Missy,” he mutters, patting her back. Her eyes come to me around his shoulder, and she lets him go as quickly as she latched onto him.

“Let me guess.” Her hands come to rest on her hips, and she raises a brow. “Nalia?”

“That’s me,” I agree, and she lets out what can only be described as a war cry before coming at me full force, causing me to step back a foot when she crashes against me. “Oh my gosh.” She rocks me from side to side. “You’re prettier than I thought you’d be.”

“Ugh, thanks.” My wide eyes meet Logan’s, and he laughs.

“You’re welcome.” She releases me, then jumps up and down, her boots clicking on the hardwood floors. “Are you guys ready to go?”

“Where’s Hanson?” Logan asks as we follow her out of the house.

“In the car.” She turns around and starts walking backwards once she’s off the porch. “He’s on the phone with his dad.” Her finger goes to her mouth, and she makes a motion like she’s gagging, then looks at me. “Sorry, his dad is so evil he makes every Disney villain seem like Prince Charming.” Unsure what to say, I say nothing, not that I need to worry about replying, since she turns around and starts skipping towards a matte black sports car parked at the end of the driveway.