Chapter 2
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I saw the hurt on Logan’s face when I mentioned I was not getting sleep, and I knew exactly what he thought I meant. But he couldn’t have been more wrong. There’s no way I’d let another man touch me. No one but him.
I’ve made mistakes. Hell, I wish I’d done things differently, but I did what had to be done.
I look at the clock on the wall, knowing that Zach, the other owner, will be in soon. If Logan and I are going to have it out, this is the time to do it.
I stand up from my desk on shaky legs. Logan is not going to make this easy, but nothing worth having comes easy.
Slowly, I walk toward the door that Logan slammed moments ago.
I raise my hand and knock softly. When there’s no response, I knock again, a little harder.
“What?” Logan barks.
I tense at the briskness in his voice. I remember the days when he talked to me softly. I’d never have imagined him speaking to me this way. I open the door and walk into the room.
He pushes back from his desk as if I’m going to attack him or something. “What do you want?”
I fold my hands together in front of me. “I thought we should talk.”
His jaw tightens, and he just stares at me.
I lift my chin and stare at him, determined. “Logan, I just want to say—”
He cuts me off and holds his hand up. “I don’t want to hear it. I don’t need your apologies. I don’t need your excuses. I don’t need anything from you.”
”If you would just listen and let me explain—”
He laughs, but it’s not his normal laugh. It’s harsh and hollow. He throws a hand up in the air. “You want to explain why you were on a date with another man? Why your lips were touching someone else’s?”
I knew he was mad, and I can’t blame him, but I was not prepared for the hurt in his voice or the sadness in his eyes. I try again. “If you would just listen—”
”Why are you here, Bree?”
I take a step toward him. “Because I thought we should talk.”
He shakes his head. “No, I mean here. In Whiskey Run, in my hometown, working for my company. Why. Are. You. Here?”
It’s as if I can feel the anger vibrating off him, and I can’t even be mad about it. I would be the same way if I found out he was with another woman. “Logan, I know you’re not going to believe this, but I’m going to say it anyway. I love—”
He shoots to his feet before I can get the whole sentence out. “Don’t you dare say you love me. Love doesn’t cheat. Love doesn’t let you kiss another man. Love doesn’t destroy…”
He stops talking, but his chest is rising and falling rapidly. He turns away as if he can’t bear the sight of me. He’s staring out the blinds, but the sky is still dark, so he’s looking at nothing.
When he starts talking again, he seems more in control. “Bree, whatever your reasons are, you shouldn’t have come here. I can forgive a lot of things, but I can’t forgive cheating. I can’t forgive…” His voice breaks. “What you did to us. I want you to leave.”
I hold my hands up. “If we’re going to work together, we really should talk about this.”
He shakes his head. “You don’t get it. I want you to leave Stronghold. I want you to leave Whiskey Run.”
I bite my lip and cross my arms over my chest. “I can’t.”
He turns to look at me, and if I saw any interest before, it’s now gone, completely hidden. “Why can’t you?”
I lift my chin. “Because I have nowhere to go.”
”Your apartment in New York—”
I shrug. “I sold it.”
”Fuck.” He grunts, and then his eyes light up. “I’ll give you a severance. I’ll pay you the remaining nine months in your contract, and you can leave.”
He might as well have punched me in the gut. “I’m not here because I want your money, Lo.”
He clenches his eyes and shakes his head as if he’s in pain. “Don’t call me that. You lost the right to call me that.”
I nod softly as my heart breaks again, but I steel myself against that pain.
“I’m not going anywhere, Logan. The contract I signed was for one year, and I have nine months left.
I plan to spend that time helping you build your dream.
If at the end of that time you still want me gone, I’ll leave, but at least I’ll know I tried.
” I suck in a shuddering breath. “As least I’ll have tried to fix us. ”
He glowers at me. “There’s no us. There’s no we. There’s nothing that can be fixed between you and me. You’re wasting your time.”
I nod, and before I start crying, I turn on my heel and walk out the door.
Softly, I close it behind me and bypass my desk as I walk to the bathroom.
I will not cry. I will not cry, I tell myself over and over.
I clench my hands, pressing my fingernails into my palms. The pain feels good.
It’s weird, but in a way, it reminds me I’m still alive.
I survived the last two years, and I’ll continue to do so, but I want more than just barely living.
I want the life I had when I was loved by Logan.
I turn on the faucet and throw some water on my face. After drying myself off, I walk out of the bathroom and go back to my desk. I only have a few minutes to collect myself before Zach walks in. His smile disappears when he sees me. “Didn’t sleep well last night either?”
I shake my head sadly.
He puts his hands on his hips. “You should really talk to someone about the nightmares.”
My eyes flick to Logan’s closed door. I definitely don’t want him to know about my nightmares. Not like this. When and if I tell him, he needs to hear the whole story, and he’s obviously not ready for that.
Ignoring his statement, I force a smile to my face. “I guess congratulations are in order.”
His smile widens. “How’d you know?”
I laugh. “I’d say everyone knows. Skyler posted to her ClipClap and FriendSpace. I even saw some video from the proposal. Good job, boss man.”
He laughs and claps his hands together. “Yeah, I still can’t believe she said yes. I’m going to have to seal the deal before she changes her mind.”
I roll my eyes. “Please. She loves you. She won’t be changing her mind.”
Zach crosses his arms over his chest. “So Logan is already here, I see.”
I answer him with just a nod.
He leans down to look at me. “You okay?”
I lift my shoulders. “Yeah, I’m okay.”
He looks at the closed the door with a frown. “Did you tell him?”
I shake my head. “Nope. He’s not ready to listen.”
He looks at me curiously. “What if he’s never ready?”
I’ve wondered the same thing, but I refuse to believe it. “Eventually, he’ll have to. I won’t leave Whiskey Run without telling him everything.”
He looks at me with pity. Ever since I told him my story, he’s changed the way he’s treated me.
It’s like he’s been protective of me, and I know that fact is going to kill Logan.
He wants to hate me, and he’s not going to like the fact that his best friend is protective of me.
He gestures to Logan’s door. “If it gets too bad, tell me, and I’ll take care of it. ”
I hold my hand up to stop him. “Zach, I can take care of myself. I’m fine.”
He opens his mouth to say something but then snaps it closed. He hesitates. “I’m going to take a little time off. You can reach me, but with Logan back in town, I want to spend some time with Sky.”
I nod with a smile even though I’m already dreading it.
If this morning is any kind of indication of how the next nine months are going to be, it would be nice to have some kind of buffer, but I get it.
Zach has been nose to the grindstone, taking care of everything these last three months, and he deserves a little time off.
“Sure, I’ll do my part, boss. No worries. ”
He nods uncertainly. “You can still call me. I’ll be in and out.”
I nod. “It’s fine. I’ll be fine.”
He sighs loudly and then points to Logan’s door. “Okay, well, I’m going in.”
I roll my eyes. He acts like he’s going in for torture or something. “You’ll be fine. It’s not you he hates…”
But as soon as I start, I stop because Logan has been mad at Zach since he hired me behind his back. He was even angrier when he found out about the one-year contract I signed without an out clause. “Yeah, on second thought, good luck.”
He grimaces and then walks off. He doesn’t knock; he just opens the office door and walks in, closing it behind him.
Instantly, voices are raised, and I decide to put my earbuds in.
Regardless of everything, I have work to do, and I wasn’t lying.
I’m determined to help Logan get his business off the ground.
Even if he doesn’t want me to. He talked about his dreams, and I listened.
If we can’t be together, I can at least know I helped him live the life he wanted.