Logan studied the knife on the floor for ages before he sat up straight in his chair. Avoiding eye contact with everyone, he scooted himself forward, back toward the table, and picked up his fork again.
We were quiet for the rest of the meal.
Much later,when the house had long been dark and quiet except for the sounds of an end-of-summer rain storm, I woke up from the sound of Adam’s bedroom door lightly cracking open. I could hear muffled footsteps from the hallway outside my room, making a slow pace across the hallway and down the stairs. I listened for several minutes, and swore I heard the back patio door open and softly close again.
Throwing the covers off of my body, I rose, gently placing my feet on the ground as I felt a chill across my skin. I grabbed a coat and put it on before I, too, quietly made my way down the stairs and toward the back patio door.
Through the window of the door, I saw Logan sitting on a patio chair as he stared into the dark backyard. His wavy brown hair had grown out past his ears, and he was in nothing but the same T-shirt and shorts he’d worn all day.He must not like wearing coats, I realized as I tugged mine tighter around me.Or maybe he just didn’t have one.
The possibility of that made me sad.
I opened the door to step out into the cold air, sticky with the rain that was coming down around the patio’s awning. Without a word, I pulled up a chair next to Logan’s and shrugged off my coat, wrapping it around his shoulders. It was much too small for him, but he let me rest it on him without a fight.
I sat down and gently placed my head on his shoulder. I didn’t know exactly what was happening, or the words that would help him. I didn’t know what I could even say to make him feel better. So I just let my body relax around his, hoping he understood what it meant.
I was here. And I always would be.
After a few minutes, Logan reached his arm around my shoulders and pulled me in closer to his body. The warmth from him, under my coat, was the most comfortable thing I’d ever felt.
ChapterFour
I wokeup just as the sun was rising, spreading its gloriously golden rays into the apartment through the half-open shutters. Thoroughly rested, I decided to set up a bit of a workstation in the living room, wanting to prepare for my meeting with Bite of Life. Debbie had responded to my email with a meeting request for eleven o’clock that morning, so I spent a few hours working on a presentation that identified ideal marketing channels to help the dental office bring in more customers.
Adam came home at about eight thirty with a coffee and a small white paper bag in hand. “I stopped at the place on the corner,” he’d said, holding out the to-go cup and bag. I took both items from him and looked inside the bag to find a freshly baked and perfectly toasted bagel smeared with cream cheese. It smelled amazing.
“Wow,” I replied, “I just might never leave this apartment if you keep feeding me like this.”
Adam smiled, faint lines appearing around his eyes. He looked exhausted. “I’m going to hit the sack. I was in surgery all night and officially can’t feel my feet.”
“Okay, get some rest. I’ll keep it quiet out here. I have a call with a client at eleven, but I noticed your walls don’t let a lot of sound through so hopefully you don’t hear a thing.”
Adam chuckled. “I’m glad you approve of my walls.”
“It really is quite impressive.”
Still laughing, Adam shook his head and disappeared into his bedroom.
I grabbed a plate from the kitchen and enjoyed the delicious bagel before I refocused on my work, finishing up the rest of the presentation. I checked out a few more apartment listings and organized my list to highlight the apartments that I would call to inquire on after the holiday weekend, and then decided to spend time getting some fresh air out on the expansive patio that wrapped around the corner of Adam’s apartment. I needed to call my mother, anyway.
Taking my coffee and my phone with me, I quietly opened the heavy sliding glass door and stepped outside. The air was brisk and chilly—it wouldn’t be long before the first fall of snow here in the city, and I couldn’twaitfor it. The magic of the changing seasons was one of my favorite things about living near the Colorado mountains.
Sitting down in the plush cushions of a cute patio chair—obviously another touch from Rachel—I set my coffee on the matching end table and dialed Mom’s number.
“Good morning, honey!” My mother’s voice was bright and cheerful.
“Hey Mom, how are you?” I wrapped my arms around myself, using my oversized sweatshirt to keep warm.
“I’m great, sweetheart. How about you? We’re excited to see you kids tonight.”
“I’m okay,” I said, hesitating for a second. “I actually have a bit of an update about the trip—Noah isn’t coming. We broke up.”
I heard my mother gasp on the other side of the line. “Oh, Amelia , what happened?”
“It’s really not that big of a deal and I promise I’m okay, but . . . I caught him cheating on me. So, I left.” I kept my voice even and controlled, which was surprisingly easy to do. Since I’d left Noah’s house yesterday morning, I’d been anticipating the wave of emotion and sadness that wascertainto come. But the only thing I’d really felt so far was relief.
“That son of a bitch.”
I couldn’t help the smile that tugged at my mouth. My mother was the sweetest woman I’d ever known, but she could turn lethal against anyone who messed with her family. “Really, mom, I’m doing just fine. I’m at Adam’s—he’s letting me stay here for a little while until I can find a place for myself. I feel good about it all. I’m surprisingly not that upset.”
