Petunia jumped off the bed and landed on Claws. He wasn’t happy about that. I swear Petunia laughed.
Who was that?
Must be a tourist.
The sun was bright, the air was cold, and I could hardly look away. I tried to. I told myself to stare into the windows of an art gallery, a coffee shop, a bookstore, and a bakery in downtown Kalulell, an old, Western-style town with a ton of charm and tradition. My gaze whipped back to the tall man walking straight down the sidewalk toward me as if he were a walking magnet.
He looked like a lanky tank with huge shoulders. He wore a black knit hat, a black puffy coat, and jeans.
And then the tank smiled at me. He seemed surprised to see me. The smile wasn’t huge, but…there. He stopped walking for a second, his gaze unwavering, then resumed his pace. He was a fashionable cowboy. Notprettyfashionable.Sexyfashionable.
My heart clenched up. I don’t like it when it does that, but it always does when I think of Logan Hamilton.
Logan.
My gosh.
It is Logan.
I peered up at the giant who stopped right in front of me, still smiling. Dear God, he was a mountain. He had gotten taller and wider. His hair was black, his eyes were light brown, his jaw was hard, and he looked older. But there. It was him. He used to look friendly. Now he looked like he might belong to a crime family. He would not appreciate the comparison, given his family history.
“Hello, Bellini.”
It felt like my heart was shattering. Like a Christmas ornament when you drop it.
I never stopped missing him.
I never stopped loving him.
I’d avoided Logan since he’d returned to town years ago. When I come home to see my family, I sneak around corners and hide, fighting an anxiety attack if I see him. I will not go to any event where I know Logan will be.
I feel pretty safe when I work at the bar, because I know that Logan very rarely goes to any bar. He hardly drinks alcohol, and the bar scene is not his scene.
But as the snow fluttered down, and the towering town Christmas tree behind him was ready to be lit up tomorrow night, there he was.
“Logan, hi,” I said.
“Your mom told me you were coming home.”
“Yes. I’m coming home. I mean, I’m home. I’m here now.” I closed my eyes.Speak, you fool.“I’m with my mom. Not now. My mom is at home, and I’m here. Downtown. She’s not with me.” Well, that was obvious. “But she wanted me to come to town and buy her doughnuts. The sprinkly ones. And I’m home to do that. I mean, I’m here in town. To buy doughnuts. And then go home.”
“Right. Got it.” His voice was low, his face guarded, but I saw a small smile. “Good to see you, Bellini.”
“Yes, you, yes, you, too.”Oh, for God’s sake.
“How long are you here for?”
“Yes. No. About seven weeks.”
I caught his stunned expression before he hid it. “Seven weeks?”
“My mom had her uterus stolen.” Why did I say that? I closed my eyes, then opened them again and tried to collect myself. “It wasn’t stolen.” Wasn’t that a given? “Dr. Brenda took it out because it was causing her troubles and problems. It was prickling her. It was a problematic uterus…”I can’t even talk.I want to hide.
I could tell he wanted to laugh. “She told me about her problematic uterus.”
“It caused her pain, so the doctor stole it. I mean…” I put my hands to my face for a second to get myself together. I was so unbelievably flustered. Logan had been my best friend since kindergarten, then my boyfriend starting when we were fifteen. My very serious and naked boyfriend. We’d had so much fun…and passion. He used to climb up to my second-floor bedroom at night. Sheesh. “My mom had an operation.”
“Yes, I know. I took her some Thai food.”
