There were already two mugs set on the counter next to the coffee pot, and I watched him pour coffee into each of them before turning around to hand me one. We both took a seat at the breakfast table, the hazelnut coffee wafting into my nose.
“So, hiking?” Logan asked.
“Yeah . . . There's a state park about twenty minutes away that I like to go to. It’s quiet, and the red rocks surrounding the trailhead are amazing. I try to get out there a couple times a week—sometimes I feel like I do my best thinking when I’m out there.”
Logan nodded. “Sounds perfect.”
ChapterTwenty-Six
There was onlya little bit of snow on the ground, so the rocks we were climbing over weren’t too slick or icy. The morning air had already gotten significantly warmer beneath the rising sun that was peeking over the red rocks to the east. Already, the fresh air was doing wonders for my soul.
We’d been hiking along the trail for about a quarter mile so far, and I was impressed with how well Hook kept up with us. He moved as if he didn’t have a disability, bounding along the trail with four-legged confidence. It was clear that Logan had worked with him and kept him active.
“Oh, hey,” Logan huffed out as his long legs stepped over a boulder, “you’ll never guess who brought his car into the shop yesterday.”
I tried to think of who Logan could be talking about, but my mind came up blank. “Who?”
“Your ex.” Logan’s voice was mildly sinister.
I stopped in place and turned around to look at him. “My ex?”
“Yep.” His eyes were playful, his tone daring.
“Noah?”
Logan’s brows furrowed. “No, not Noah. But, to be fully transparent, I would probably pummel him if I ever saw him.”
Confusion hit me. “Oh . . . then who?”
“Your first love,” Logan answered, cocking a brow, as if this should be an easy guess. He must not know thathewas, most certainly, my first love.
“I give up.” I shrugged. I didn’t like this game. An uneasiness was spreading within my belly, a tightrope threatening to snap.
Logan rolled his eyes. “Paul! Remember Paul? Your prom date?”
I felt my face drop. “Oh.” I turned back to the trail, taking a large step forward. “I wouldnotcall Paul my first love.”
“You wouldn’t?” Logan sounded genuinely surprised.
“No, I definitely wouldn’t.” I could feel a twinge of irritation coming to the surface as I stepped over a fallen tree.
“Wait, Amelia. Stop,” Logan gently urged behind me. I took a few more steps up before I felt his warm hand wrap around my shoulder. “Amelia.” His voice a sliver more demanding now. “Stop.”
I halted in place and turned around to face him. It was likely that I threw a glare at him from the way that his face fell. “What?” I could hear Hook’s tail thumping wildly against the ground at our feet.
“Mills,” he said, studying my face. “What happened just now? Why are you upset?”
I stared back at him for a number of seconds before I felt my shoulders collapse. Blowing out a breath, I finally answered. “Paul wasnotmy first love. He wasn’t a love at all. He was . . . a total asshole.”
Logan narrowed his eyes. “I thought you really liked him?” The confusion on his face was evident.
I shook my head. “No. Maybe I tried to at one point, but he proved to be rather unlikeable.”
“But,” Logan pressed, “you went to prom with him. And you . . . you let him give you a hickey.”
I felt my eyes widen in shock. “What?” He clearly had no idea what happened that night, but how could he? It’s not like I ever told him. “Logan, Paul tried to force himself on me on prom night. He was upset that I wouldn’t domorewith him and he made it very hard for me to go home. That wasn’t a hickey, that was a bite mark. He bit me after I tried to walk away from him.”
I saw a flurry of emotions shift through Logan’s features. His nostrils flared as his right eye twitched, a vein in his neck protruding with enthusiasm. He balled his hands into tight fists before releasing them and placing them on his hips, only to let them fall again at his sides. “Why didn’t you say anything? Why didn’t you call me that night, Amelia? I would have come for you.” There was something in the tone of his voice. Something that hinted at violence and broken bones. It sent a steep awareness through me.
