there, pretty girl. You seem mighty perky today. And you’re the first to arrive, which means you get to be my assistant.”
He shifted his attention to the woman beside Clarissa. He held out a hand. “Matt. Are you Clarissa’s mother?”
The woman laughed. “No. Although you aren’t the first to make that guess.”
“This is my aunt Logan, Matt. She’s visiting me and I wanted to show her the playroom.” Clarissa looked up at Logan. “I told you he was cute!”
Logan blushed and Matt felt a little heat on his own face. Here he’d been teasing Lena about an ambush setup and now he was the victim of one. “Logan,” he said. “Might you be the daughter who was asked to leave several deportment classes?”
Her laugh echoed through the playroom. “Indeed I am. How did that conversation ever come up?”
“I think it was my confession to having been in a similar situation.”
Clarissa grabbed his hand. “What are we doing today, Mr. Matt?”
“We’re going to make Halloween decorations. So we are going to need construction paper, glue and scissors. Do you know where they are stored?”
“I do,” Clarissa said seriously. She turned to her aunt. “Promise me you won’t leave.”
“I promise.” They watched Clarissa open the supply cabinet. “I’m sorry about this. She just said she wanted to show me the playroom.”
“It’s okay. She’s a good kid. Has a lot of fight in her.”
“That she gets from me.”
There was something in her stance. The slight nuance of her voice. Matt grinned. “Baa, baa,” he said.
“Black sheep,” Logan returned with her own grin.
They did a fist bump. “May we ever run free,” he said. “Hang out awhile. No need for you to miss out on time with Clarissa while she’s doing this.”
She glanced at her watch. “I really need to go. Clarissa, come give me a hug and kiss. I have to go back to work.”
Clarissa wrapped her arms around Logan’s abdomen. “Will you bring me a dessert?”
“Tomorrow, Mini-Me,” Logan said as she kissed the top of Clarissa’s head.
Clarissa looked up at Matt. “Aunt Logan is a pastry chef. She makes the best desserts ever in the whole world.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. You two should go on a date.”
“Clarissa! That’s not very polite,” Logan said.
“Why? You’re my favorite aunt. He’s my favorite hospital person.”
Matt held back laughter. He looked thoughtfully at the little girl. “Would it make you happy if we went on a date?”
“Yes.”
Matt pulled over a chair and sat down to be at eye level. “What if we go on the date and we just want to be friends instead of boyfriend and girlfriend?”
Clarissa shrugged. “I don’t care. I just think you should go on a date.”
“Okay then,” he said. “Go finish getting the supplies ready.”
As she skipped away, he turned to Logan. “So we’ll go on a date.” He made air quotes.
Logan smiled and held out a hand. “Deal. But just so you know, this really isn’t a date.”
“I understand. But I’m new in town. A little short on friends. We’ll talk about the lives of black sheep and Clarissa will feel like she did something good for us.”
Logan looked back to where Clarissa was rummaging through the supply cabinet. Her eyes filled with sadness. “I just want her to have a date of her own someday.”
“She will. She’s a fighter. Like her favorite aunt.”
Logan laughed. “I’m her only aunt. Give me your number and we’ll arrange a time for this date.”
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