I left her to it, hoping her bad mood with me wouldn’t last too long.

CHAPTER 15

“Get back here!”

My head jerked up from my laptop and I stared at my sitting room wall. Logan was shouting. Loudly enough for me to hear every word.

I’d just put my feet into my slippers and had grabbed a cardigan, intent on investigating, when my front door slammed open and shut. Feet stomped down my hallway and came to a stop before me.

“Maia, what on earth…?” I stared, aghast at the sight of her tearstained face.

“I’m staying here. I hate him!”

I sucked in my breath. “Don’t ever say th—”

I was cut off abruptly by the sound of my door slamming open and shut. Again.

Logan’s stomping feet were louder. Maia scurried farther into the sitting room at the sound of his arrival. He came into the room, eyes dark with anger. “Don’t you dare walk out of the house like that, and definitely don’t ever bring Grace into this.”

“Logan…” I was shocked by his attitude. “What the hell happened?”

“Maia was caught with a boy in an empty media room at school.” His whole body bristled with tension.

My eyes bugged out as I turned to Maia. “Please tell me there’s been a misunderstanding.”

“We were only kissing,” Maia said belligerently as she swiped at her tears.

“The headmaster said it was a little more than kissing!”

“Logan, perhaps you —”

“It’s none of your business!” Maia yelled at him. “Stop pretending to care!”

“Maia!” I shouted.

She flinched, her eyes round with shock at my outburst.

I’d never used that tone with her before. But she’d never stepped over the line before. “Do not ever disrespect your father again by saying such nonsense. Apologize.”

The look she gave me was strangely assessing. She sniffled and said, “Are you saying you’re on his side?”

“Maia, fooling around with some boy in a classroom at school is wrong, and you know it. You’re a smart girl. Why on earth would you act like this? Is there something more going on here?” I took a step toward her.

She shrugged, looking unsure of herself now. “Layla dared me to do it.”

I glanced over at Logan, and I knew exactly what he was thinking before he said it. My expression told him I agreed with him. “Maybe we should curb how much time you spend with Layla.”

“Dad,” Maia whined, looking startled by his suggestion.

“Ah, so I’m ‘Dad’ again. Ten minutes ago I was to ‘stop acting like your father since I’d been absent for most of your life.’”

Although he didn’t show it, I knew how much her words must have hurt him and I couldn’t cover the disappointment on my face as I turned to her.

She winced and lowered her gaze. “I didn’t mean it.” She looked up at Logan, eyes pleading. “I’m sorry. It was just… It’s embarrassing! Why did the head teacher have to tell you? But I’m sorry, okay? I didn’t mean it.”

Maia suddenly looked terrified, as if frightened Logan would turn away from her.

Instead his features softened. “Come here.”

Slowly she made her feet take her to him, and as soon as she was within reaching distance, Logan pulled her into his arms and kissed her forehead.

Maia relaxed into him and hugged him back.

As touched as I was by his understanding, I wasn’t distracted from the main issue at hand. “We need to talk about who this boy is and how you are never, ever going to do this again.”

Pulling away slightly from Logan, Maia blushed. “Do we have to?”

I looked at Logan. “How would you feel if Maia and I discussed this alone?”

He actually looked relieved. “Fair enough… but” – he tugged gently on her arm, drawing her attention back to him – “whatever the discussion may involve, the outcome will be this: You won’t do this again, or, when the time comes that you’re old enough to date, I will scare the absolute shit out of every boy that even so much as smiles at you. Understood?”

Maia stared wide-eyed at him and nodded quickly.

“Good.” He nodded, satisfied, and then walked out, leaving me to it.

“I won’t do it again,” she said hurriedly. “Promise.”

“You have to understand that when you act like that with boys —”

“Grace, not to be a bitch or anything, but I know, all right? I’ve seen a girl a year younger than me having sex with an older guy in my stairwell back in Glasgow. And I’ve seen other stuff too. And the guys don’t respect the girls. I know all that. It was just a dare. And no matter what the headmaster said… it was just kissing. I’m not…” She blushed. “I’m not ready for anything else.”

Relief made me sag against my sofa. “You have no idea how happy I am that you said that.”

She chewed on her lip a moment and then said, “How old were you when you lost your virginity?”

“I still have it,” I lied. “And if you’re sensible, you’ll hold on to yours for a long, long time.”

Maia rolled her eyes. “Aye, and Santa is real.”

“He is. So is the Easter Bunny. And babies are dropped off at the doors of mums and daddies everywhere by giant storks. Now nod like you believe me.”

She giggled and nodded.

“And my work here is done.”

“I can’t believe you thought these would help make me feel better.” I raised the DVDs at Chloe as she sauntered back into my sitting room with two glasses of wine.