His mouth turned down at the corners before he said, “If you say it enough times maybe you’ll make it true.”

I managed to get only a couple of hours of work in and did not get much done in that time. I kept forcing myself to focus on the work, but Logan’s face flashed across my eyes more times than I could count. He was swimming against a stormy tide, and all I wanted to do was reach out and help him to shore. But my reassurances didn’t seem to be helping. They just felt empty.

I was jolted from my musings and my work by my phone ringing. It was Chloe. Calling to berate me.

Aidan had told her everything.

“Are you nuts?”

Yesterday I would have said no. Today… “I might be.”

Chloe tutted on the other end of the line. “I knew you had feelings for this guy.”

I went straight into denial mode. “Feelings. Pfft. I barely know him. I’m doing this for Maia.”

“Who you also barely know. I need to meet this Maia.”

“No,” I snapped, my mother bear instincts kicking in. I attempted to reel in those instincts, softening my voice when I continued. “You want to meet, Maia. There’s a difference. I can’t let you meet her right now, Chloe. Not just yet. That kid is going through a complete life change. I don’t want to overwhelm her any more than she already is, especially not with my overly suspicious but well-meaning family members.”

“Precisely,” Chloe said. “I am your family. It is my duty to make sure you’re not being taken for a ride.”

“Yes, Aidan said the same thing.”

“Speaking of… he got to meet Maia.”

“We were practically ambushed. Plus, no offense, sweetie, but Aidan is much more diplomatic than you.”

She sniffed haughtily. “I’ll try not to let that hurt my feelings.”

“Chloe.” I fought to find the words to explain. “You have this big personality, and Maia… well… doesn’t. And she’s scared and —”

“I get it,” she interrupted with an exaggerated sigh. “But if you get hurt in this, I’m cracking some heads.”

I chuckled. “I will warn all involved parties.”

“You think I’m joking, but I’m not, Grace. You, more than anyone I know, deserve kindness and respect. If I get even a whiff of ‘user’ off these people, I’m stepping in.”

“Do you think I’d help them if they were those kind of people?”

“I guess not, but —”

“Chloe.” I stopped her from arguing further. “I love you.”

She sighed again. “Love you, too. Call me when it’s safe for me to intrude.”

I laughed, feeling more grateful for her than ever. “I will do that.”

We hung up and I stared at my phone, wishing I could find a better way to reassure my friends that I was okay and that I wasn’t making a mistake helping Maia and Logan out.

“Your friends are worried.”

I jumped, startled. I whirled around and found Maia standing in my bedroom doorway, wearing her jacket and shoes. She’d obviously returned from the movies with Logan. There was no sound of him, so I assumed he was in his flat, getting ready for work.

“Maia.” I held a hand to my chest, willing my heart rate to slow. “Sweetie, it’s rude to eavesdrop.”

She threw her shoulders back defiantly. “I heard my name.” And just as quickly as she displayed it, that defiance wilted right out of her. “Your friends don’t want me here, do they?”

This was a girl who’d felt wanted by no one for so long. This was not a small issue to her. I gestured to my chair, and she slowly made her way to it. Once she was sitting down, I sat across from her on the end of my bed.

Maia stared up at me with those sad violet eyes of hers, and I wanted nothing more than to take away all the shadows from them. “My friends are just looking out for me, just like I’m trying to look out for you. They’ll understand why I’m doing all this as soon as they get to know you.”

She frowned. “But you don’t really know me.”

“True.” I grinned at her bluntness. “But sometimes we meet people and we just click with them. There’s a connection and you can’t explain it. It’s just there.”

“And we’ve clicked?” Maia said, eyes now lightening a little with obvious hope.

I felt this painful little ache in my chest for her. “Yes, we have.” Something unsettling occurred to me. “Haven’t you clicked with a friend – friends – before? You haven’t spoken about anyone you might be leaving behind.”

Maia suddenly looked very weary. “Friends want to know everything about you, and I couldn’t tell them about Maryanne or bring them back to the flat to hang out. It was just easier to be a loner than to deal with the questions. It did me no good trying to hide it, though, because kids from the area know about Maryanne and they told everyone. There are very few people who want to hang out with the daughter of a junkie.”

The depth of Maia’s loneliness hit me.

It choked me.

It made me want to shake some bloody sense into her wretched mother.

More than anything, however, I was in awe of Maia. She’d had no support, no encouragement, from anyone, as far as I could tell, and yet somehow she had dug deep and found the courage to come here and confront Logan. She was only fifteen and she’d taken the reins of her destiny in hand. I didn’t have that courage at her age.

I felt tears prick my eyes, proud of her in a way I couldn’t explain. “You are a remarkable and very special person, Maia MacLeod. Do not let anyone tell you different. And whatever happens next, never ever be ashamed to let anyone know you. You are worth knowing.”