Chapter 38
CASSIE
I wake up slowly.
The bed is so warm and comfortable.
We didn’t sleep much. I think we woke each other up at least three times for additional consecration of our newfound relationship.
And after last night, I’m grinning from ear to ear.
I reach out to Logan’s side of the bed.
“Logan, honey…”
My eyes snap open.
The other side of the bed is cold. And empty.
My stomach drops.
He left.
No note. No goodbye. Nothing? Really? After…after that?
Of course he did.
Idiot. Asshole. I can’t believe I…
Just then, I hear footsteps traipsing up the stairs.
Along with that signature whistle.
The door creaks open.
“Morning, sunshine,” Logan says in a crackled morning voice.
I sit up, blinking and rubbing my eyes.
Logan stands there, coffee in hand, like nothing in the world is wrong.
“Oh,” I say, trying to play it cool. “Hey.”
He tilts his head. “You okay?”
“Never better.”
“You look stressed.”
“I’m not,” I say quickly. “I just thought—”
I stop myself.
“Never mind.”
“Bad dream?”
“Basically.”
He studies me for half a second, then hands me a cup.
“Brought you coffee. There’s this little family coffee shop down the road. Best coffee I’ve had in a while.”
A beat passes, and he adds, “Zero social media presence, though.”
He waggles his eyebrows.
I laugh, tension melting.
I take a sip. “Aw. Thanks.”
“You wanna go sit out back?” he asks. “Ocean’s pretty unreal this morning. I’ve got doughnuts, too. You know, for the wine hangover.”
“Yeah,” I say, smiling now. “Yes, I would.”
We step through the sliding doors out onto the patio.
The sun’s just starting to shine on the water from the east—everything soft and golden.
We sit.
“So,” I say, wrapping my hands around the cup. “Last night…”
He glances at me.
“That was…really great,” I add. “I’m just—”
I hesitate.
“Thinking,” I finish. “Like…how this is going to work. Next winter, if my family’s in the Midwest and—”
“Cass.”
I stop.
He’s not smiling or mocking. Just radiating calm.
“You know what your problem is?” he says.
I narrow my eyes.
“Wow. Can’t wait to hear this.”
He leans back in the chair.
“You get ten steps ahead of yourself,” he says. “All the time.”
He lets that sink in.
“We just had one of the best nights of our lives. Honestly, that was a classic. I’ll remember it forever.”
I look down at my coffee. “Me too.”
“Do you remember what you said when we were doing it the second time?” he adds.
My stomach flips.
“Oh. The L-bomb,” I say. “Sorry. That was the wine and—”
“No, it wasn’t,” he says, cutting me off gently. “Don’t apologize.”
I look up. “You’re right. It wasn’t the wine.”
“So I just want to say. Soberly. Well, mostly sober. I love you, too.”
My breath catches.
“I’m just annoyed I didn’t get to say it first,” he adds with a small grin.
Heat blooms in my chest.
“I mean,” he continues, “you kind of beat me to it with the letter. I didn’t even have a chance.”
I smile.
“But I’ll get you back,” he says. “Somehow.”
He leans over and kisses my forehead.
“Love you,” he says again.
I exhale, something in me finally settling. “Love you, too.”
He leans back, and stretches his arms out.
“So,” he says casually, “speaking of getting ahead of ourselves, where should we retire? If we’re living in Florida already, we might get bored of it.”
I laugh.
“I’m more concerned about our kids’ names.”
“How about Ferdinand?”
I stare at him. “You’re joking.”
“No,” he says. “I’m dead serious. I think it’s strong. Kingly.”
“Absolutely not.”
He grins. “See? This is nice. I like this.”
“Fighting about hypothetical children’s names?”
“Exactly. We’re really good at fighting, apparently.”
I shake my head, smiling.
“How about, let’s not fight for the rest of the day. We can pick it up tomorrow.”
“Deal.”
We sit there for a moment in silence.
The ocean rolls in and out and the wind blows gently in my face. The sunshine hasn’t taken over for the day yet.
“Good coffee,” he says.
“Yeah,” I reply softly.
I glance over at him, then back at the water stretching out forever.
“This latte is really buttery.”
He laughs under his breath.
“I can’t believe this all started with a one-night stand. And now we’re here.”
“You think that’s weird?” I ask.
He gazes over at me, then back at the ocean. His eyes are the same color as the water. “Weird? No. What’s weird? Love is so strange these days. I don’t think it matters how we got here. Just that we made it. There’s no formula for finding someone you connect with.”
“Agreed.”
He waggles his eyebrows. “That was a fun night. Last night, though…”
“I know.”
We let the soft, warm breeze blow for a few minutes. No need to fill the empty space.
“So…” he says. “I’ve got about an hour before I have to leave. You wanna go back upstairs?”
Before he can answer, my phone buzzes on the table beside me.
Logan nods toward it.
“Who’s calling you?”
I flip it over.
My stomach drops to my feet.
“Oh my God,” I say, holding it up. “It’s my ex.”
Logan smirks.
“Did I call it, or did I call it?”
I stare at the screen for a second. “You freaking called it. It’s like he’s psychic or something. The moment I’m actually, like, in it with my person, he calls. Unreal.”
“Told you. He messed up. His loss. You belong to me now.” He grins, and taps his lips. I lean in and kiss him.
It keeps buzzing.
“So,” he says. “You gonna answer it?”
I don’t hesitate.
“Absolutely not.”
I set the phone back down— face down this time.
“What would I even say?” I add. “Besides…”
I glance at Logan.
A small smile pulls at my lips. “I already know what I want.”
His expression shifts—just slightly—into something a little softer.
“And someone once told me,” I add, “you have to take life by the balls.”
He exhales a quiet laugh.
“Well…hopefully gently.”
I grin. “We’ll see.”
He shakes his head, smiling.
I reach for his hand. “Come on. We’ve got an hour? That’s it?”
“Maybe we could add ten minutes to that if I drive fast during my commute.”
“We might need it.”
We stand up, and he takes my hand, leading me back through the sliding doors.
My phone keeps buzzing behind us.
I don’t look back.
THE END
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