Out of curiosity, she asked, “Where are you on the scale?”
He grinned and winked at her. “Why, you interested in me?”
She should be. He was a gorgeous man with a great personality. “And if I were?”
That got her a laugh. “Then I’d say you’re a liar. No, you only have eyes for bad boy Jake.”
“So what do I do about it?”
“Just keep coming at him. He’ll fight you, but if you don’t give up on him, he’ll come around—realize it’s what he wants.”
That sounded easier said than done, but her heart wanted Jake—had for years—so she had to at least try. She also needed to convince Logan to back off. Maybe his attention would now be on his new son, and he’d stop trying to interfere in her love life.
Jamie seemed as willing as she not to talk about Fortunada, and for that she was grateful. She didn’t want to talk about him, think about him, and especially didn’t want to wonder if he was her father. If he was, that would make what he’d tried to do to her in the pool shed gross, even if he didn’t know it was his daughter he’d tried to molest.
To take her mind off all men, and because she needed to hit the books, she spent the remainder of the trip studying for her upcoming final exams.
By the time they reached the hospital, it was the dinner hour, and Maria found Logan and Jake in the cafeteria. She and Jamie grabbed trays and slid them down the line. The only things she found that she would eat were macaroni and cheese, and a dried-up hamburger patty. She supposed it was too much to expect a hospital to serve fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and gravy. Deciding to pass on the patty, she ended up with a bowl of mac and cheese, and two chocolate chip cookies.
Jamie pressed his arm against hers. “Your boy hasn’t taken his eyes off you since you walked into the room.”
Her heart gave a happy little flutter. Maybe she could talk Jake into leaving Jamie to babysit Logan and taking her to Steak ’n Shake. She slid into the seat next to Logan, putting her across from Jake.
She leaned over and gave her brother a kiss on the cheek. “Congratulations, Daddy. I’m surprised you’re not upstairs with Dani.”
He pushed his empty plate away. “She’s sleeping, but I’m going back up now.”
Jake snorted. “Bullshit, boss. You’re headed back to the nursery so you can press your nose to the window and stare at your son.”
Logan shrugged. “So what if I am? It’s not every father who can claim his baby is the most handsome one there.”
A giggle escaped her. Although her brother tried for nonchalance, he couldn’t hide the proud gleam in his eyes. “I can’t wait to see him. I’ll come up as soon as I finish eating.”
“Walk with me a minute,” Logan said.
Oh, boy. He wasn’t gonna wait until later to discuss Fortunada’s surprise attack. “I’ll be right back,” she told Jake and Jamie, exchanging a glance with Jamie.
In the hallway, her normally undemonstrative brother grabbed her in a tight bear hug.
“Jesus Christ, brat, you’re going to give me a heart attack yet. Are you okay?” He leaned back and searched her face.
“Yeah, I am.” As she’d done for Jamie, she assured Logan she was perfectly fine. These larger-than-life heroes were prone to do whatever it took to protect those they loved, and she didn’t want him deciding he needed to go after Fortunada personally. Another reason not to tell Jake. God knew what he’d get in his head to do.
“Saint said you don’t want Buchanan to know, and I agree it’s probably for the best right now. I’m sending him on an operation, and he needs to be focused.”
“Where to?”
He tapped her nose with his finger. “All you need to worry about is your last few days of school.”
With that, he turned to walk away. “Don’t be mad at Jamie, okay?” she called after him.
Coming to a halt, he turned. “That’s between me and Saint.”
Oh no, he wasn’t happy with Jamie. Not that she expected him to be, but it really wasn’t Jamie’s fault. She returned to the cafeteria and as soon as she sat, Jake stood.
“I’m off, too. I’ve got a lot to do before Wednesday.”
He’d ignored her since she’d arrived. Obviously, he wasn’t going to make it easy to follow Jamie’s advice. “I was going to ask if you’d take me to get something to eat after I saw the baby.” She wrinkled her nose at her plate. “I’m starving, and this food pretty much sucks.”