Deep down, she knew that Idris and she weren’t the endgame kind of love, but he was enough. Love, after all, grows. It isn’t something that can exist without nurture. She could make it grow, she’d told herself, even if the soil was never right to begin with.
She watched as he crossed the room and headed into Russell’s office, feeling her cheeks warm when Edie cleared her throat.
“Right,” Edie said, interrupting her thoughts. “You wanna tell me why you look like you’ve seen a ghost?”
“It’s nothing.” Daisy sighed and shook her head. Although she trusted her, Edie wasn’t known for her discretion, and the last thing she needed was to become a topic on her lips. “It’s just someone I thought I’d never see again.”
Edie raised an eyebrow, but before she could pry, the phone on her desk rang, pulling her attention away.
Daisy sighed, covering her face for a brief moment. She shouldn’t have been surprised he was there. Russell had been talking about the charity golf game Logan was involved in all week, and unless she resigned from her job, it was going to be impossible to avoid him..
Twenty minutes later, the door opened. She fixed her eyes on the screen, willing him to walk straight past her desk and out the door. But fate wasn’t that kind.
“Daisy.”
Her fingers stilled over the keyboard, and she took a breath before looking up. “Logan. Nice to see you again.”
He smiled. Not the wide, lopsided grin she remembered, but something more polite and reserved. “Russell tells me it’s your birthday.”
Her stomach dropped. She glanced at Edie, but she was still occupied on the phone, blissfully unaware of the silent mayday call.
“Would you like to grab lunch?” he added after a slight pause.
“I really don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Why not?”
Daisy exhaled sharply. “Maybe because you’re engaged.”
“And you have a boyfriend, don’t you?”
“Yes, so?”
His jaw tightened, but the smile remained. “It’s just lunch. It’s not as if we’re about to have a raging affair. Remember,” he said, lowering his voice, “according to you, we aren’t even friends.”
The sound of his voice sent a shiver down her spine, making goosebumps creep up her arm. It wasn’t as if Idris had planned anything special; he hadn’t even acknowledged the day's significance.
“Just lunch?”
His smile deepened, just a touch. “Just lunch.”
She pushed herself up from the chair and stood, her hand reaching for her coat. As she slipped it on, slowly and purposefully, it struck her—the way time hadn't eased the hold he still had on her, and she couldn't help but wonder if he felt it, too.
He took her back to the one place she never thought she’d set foot in again,The Horseman. This time, though, there was no bubbly, red-haired woman behind the bar. She’d been replaced with a sour-looking man who looked like he’d rather be any place but there.
“She moved,” Logan said, as if reading her thoughts. “A while back now.”
“I’m sorry.”
He shrugged, sliding off his jacket. “It’s an unavoidable fact of life. People come and go.”
“I know,” she said softly. “It’s often the best ones, too.”
He looked at her then, his eyes lost in thought. Finally, he smiled and reached for a menu, “Tell me, Miss Daisy—how are you? How are you really?”
She hesitated, mirroring his movement, hiding behind the menu. “I’m okay,” she lied. “When’s the wedding?”
Logan went still. It was subtle, but she noticed.
