Blurry-eyed and smiling, Kate reached for her glass to toast. “Thank you all for being here, everyone,” she began, her eyes meeting his. “We have some exciting news. Logan and I have decided we will be trying for a baby soon.”
Her admission made him freeze. The table erupted in cheers and clinking glasses, and a chorus of congratulations and well-wishes followed. Logan, however, found himself staring at the vinyl plank floor, his grip tightening around his glass.
A conversation. That’s all it had been. They had talked about children, sure, but he’d made it clear he wasn’t ready. After a round of negotiation, they’d agreed to revisit the idea in a year, and as far as he knew, that was where they had left it. But now, Kate had rewritten the narrative, and worst of all, she’d done it in front of an audience, ensuring that any protest he made would paint him as the bad guy.
“This is great, guys,” Tad said, trying to grab Logan's attention. “Fantastic news, truly.”
Suddenly, Logan felt like he couldn't breathe. “I need air,” he muttered, pushing back his chair. He didn’t wait to see Kate’s reaction or the flicker of confusion on their friends’ faces; he just needed to get out.
Tad followed not long after. “Logan? What’s going on?”
“It was a mistake,” Logan said without meeting his gaze.
Tad blinked like he wasn’t sure of what he’d heard. “What is?”
Logan let out a hollow laugh, shaking his head. “Marrying her.”
“Who, Kate?” His voice lowered, and he cast a quick glance back towards the bar, as if making sure she wasn’t right behind him.
Logan didn’t answer. He couldn’t.
“It’s normal to get cold feet, man. It'll pass. Give it time.”
“You don’t get it,” Logan murmured, his eyes locked onto the worn cobblestone beneath him. “I don’t love her, Tad. I don’t think I ever will.”
“What do you mean you don’t love her. Logan, you’re the one who married her!”
“I know, I know.” He paused, turning away, as the world around him seemed to blur, all the sounds blending into one. “I…I wanted it to be right. I thought, maybe if I made it official and put a label on it, I’d find a way to love her the way you love Jessa. But I can't, Tad. How can you fall in love with someone you can barely stand in the first place?”
The silence that followed was deafening. And in that silence, Logan knew—without looking—that Kate was standing right behind them and that she’d heard every single word.
Kate made him sleep on the couch that night. She hadn’t said much—just a long, exhausted look before disappearing into their bedroom and shutting the door behind her. He’d stared at the ceiling for hours, listening to the tick of the wall clock, and then the faint sound of her crying through the door that followed was loud enough to undo him.
Only a cold-hearted bastard would let a girl cry like that, he thought. Was that what he’d turned into? He’d lied to her, embarrassed her. And still, he sat there, listening to her muffledsobs, unable to move—knowing that trying to comfort her would only deepen the insult.
The next morning, he awoke to an empty apartment. Kate had gone to brunch with her sister, leaving behind only the lingering scent of her perfume and a passive-aggressive note about picking up oat milk and a tray of sausages.
Logan sat at the kitchen table, laptop open, fingers poised above the keys. Whether it was the alcohol still coursing through him or sheer impulse, he felt compelled to write to Daisy. They hadn’t spoken since her time in Sicily, where she’d gushed about generous Italian lovers and food worth dying for. But now, an odd sense of urgency pulled at him. He had to warn her, just in case she’d met someone and started to believe that rushing into marriage might actually lead to happiness.
Miss Daisy,
I am writing to tell you that marriage is overrated. Weddings are expensive, and just because you get an overpriced ring on your finger, doesn’t mean your sex life will get any better. You have been warned.
Your friend,
Logan.
He stared at the screen. There was so much more he wanted to say. Like how, at the wedding, she’d been in his thoughts like an uninvited guest, almost like an omen that he shouldn’t be marrying Kate. And then there were the deeper feelings he knew were there but had tried to ignore.
She wasn’t interested, though, or at least that’s what he had to believe. And why would she go anywhere near him now? A twice-engaged, soon-to-be-divorced wash-up who’d found himself infatuated with a girl he’d only seen in person a handful of times.
She wouldn’t. Nobody would.
XI
DAISY
Daisy had been in Afghanistan for six weeks when Logan's email came through. She stared at it, unsure what to make of his admission. In the end, she decided not to reply, questioning whether it was merely a case of one too many drinks and a tiff between lovers.
