AllFreeNovel
Share Us
This is one reason I love Taylor so much. She understands the unspoken things. “Thank you,” I whispered.
???
“I'm sorry I've had such a busy day. It’s been killing me not to text you all day,” Logan said, leading us further out onto the deck.
Knowing what he meant, I didn’t let on that I’ve been killing myself not to do the same thing. “Oh, yeah?” I replied, rubbing my lips together.
“Something tells me I’m not the only one,” he said, his eyes holding intrigue as they look at me.
Making my heart beat faster, I needed to break the spell his eyes were putting me under. Pressing my lips together, I redirected my attention to the view.
I can see him grinning out of the corner of my eye. “What’s going on in that head of yours,sweet girl?” he asks smoothly.
I rarely put myself out there like this, being the type who likes to play it safe with my feelings, but being back around Logan has me coming out of my comfort zone.
“I was just wondering who was going to break first?” I asked, Logan’s whole frame going rigid as his eyes climbed up to mine. A shiver ripple’s through me at the way he’s staring so intently and the thought of losing him again nearly crushes me. Peering into his dark eyes, I see more than I expected. There’s curiosity and confusion. Regret and fear. But behind all that I still see, the concern and protectiveness I’ve always known from him. There was a spark of something else hiding in there.
Sitting like that for a few moments, Logan’s continuous stare is making me blush. “I wronged you, Stephanie, and there’s nothing I can say to redeem myself,” he confesses, and that sad look from him strips me bare.
“Logan, you don’t need to redeem yourself,” I replied, his words replaying in my mind. “I stopped reaching out too,” I reminded him, as we drew closer. “It was a challenging time for both of us.”
“What are you saying?” He asks, and it feels good when his eyes land on mine.
“I’m saying let’s put the past behind us. There’s no point in living there anymore. We’re clearly not the same people,” I admit, closing my eyes on a sigh.
Pressing his lips against my temple, it’s both soft and sweet, and it’s enough to bring me to tears. My mouth opens, then closes as I sort through my thoughts. Their clumsy and full of disbelief chalked up with what-ifs and new possibilities. “Please don’t cry,” he whispers into my ear.
“I can’t help it, it’s great to be here with you.”
“A lot has changed these last couple of years,” he says, taking a step back as he reaches for the tension in his neck. “There’s still so much you don’t know,” he whispers, the sadness heavy in his tone as he puts space between us.
“You mean with your grandfather?”
“You know?” He asks, his hands gripping the railing.
“I came to the wake,” I whispered at his side. “I looked for you,” I added. “But Mia said you were stuck in the Falls.”
He shook his head. “I had a condition with my heart that kept me from attending,” he confessed. “I was in the hospital for several days. The doctors refused to let me leave until the fluid flow in my heart regulated,” he explained. I can see the regret on his face. I’m sure it is still weighing upon his conscience.
Resting my hand on Logan’s arm, I see his chest swell. “I’m sorry,” I offered, unsure what to say to make it better.
“I missed my grandfather’s wake because I had broken heart syndrome,” he declared. “How crazy is that?”
“Hey, that’s no joke, Logan. It’s serious, people die from that all the time. If they had let you leave, you could have had serious complications, or worse.”
“That’s what the doctors said, too.”
“I’m glad you’re okay.”
Turning to face me, Logan’s cologne caught on the breeze with his movements and the scent brings me back to the last summer we spent together.
“So, you were at the wake?” He asks, stepping forward, the toe of his shoe inches from my chair’s footplates.
“I was,” I nod, clearing my throat.
His voice is gruff when he asks. “For me?”
“Partly. I went to support you and to pay my respects,” I offered. “It was the least I could do after what he did for me.”
