He looked good.
Once, that might’ve been enough to make her heart stumble. But now, after everything…he looked different. More boy, less man. One who’d never had to carry the kind of weight Gage held in his hands every day.
She offered a faint smile. “Needed air.”
“You always did.”
“Did I?”
“Yeah,” he said, eyes scanning her face. “At parties. Lunch breaks. When things got loud. You’d slip out. Take a walk around the field or sit beside that gross vending machine.”
She laughed under her breath. “Wow. That’s oddly specific.”
It was sweet. He’d noticed.
But the memory felt like it belonged to someone else. Someone who hadn’t slept in penthouses. Who hadn’t beenkissed against marble. Who hadn’t learned what it meant to be looked at like a future.
He shrugged. “You were always hard to read.”
“You mean I was awkward.”
“No, Bey.” He smiled. “You were untouchable.”
The word surprised her. “That’s not true.”
“It is,” he asserted. “You’ve always had this…barrier. Not in a bad way. Just like you were waiting for some other life.”
Her throat tightened. “Logan?—”
“I should’ve said something before you left last year.” He pushed the words out like they’d been sitting too long. “I thought about it. But then you were going, and no one knew if you’d come back. But now you’re here…maybe there’s still time.”
Bea turned to face him fully.
“You looked amazing in there.” Logan’s gaze skimmed over her. “The dress, the whole thing. It caught me off guard.”
“Thanks,” she said awkwardly. It wasn’t pleasure, more like dread that made her flush. “Logan, I’m?—”
“With someone?”
“Yeah.” She was relieved not to have to spell it out.
“Claire mentioned something. From your university?”
“His name’s Gage.”
He studied her, the silence between them filled with the hum of city lights and distant sirens. “So where is he?”
Bea blinked. “What?”
“You’re here. Over Christmas and New Year’s. Alone.”
“He couldn’t leave work,” she said quietly.
“I’m not trying to step on anything. But you’re gone for what, ten weeks?” Logan’s voice stayed gentle. Not mocking. “You didn’t tell anyone you were with someone. And he let you go for that long. Just like that?”
Bea looked away. Logan didn’t know her life. He didn’t know Gage. But he was looking at her like she might still be reachable.And the way he saidhe let you go, just like that?like it implied apathy or weakness, made something click.
Gagehadlet her go. Just not the way Logan meant.
