“I’m not the first person to get cheated on. It happens all the time. I’m not even the first person to get left at the altar. All the movies I used to love are full of scenes like that. But you know what I’ve realized? I was in Camille’s story.”
I felt his movement on the blanket as he turned to look at me.
“In the movies, you always root for the one who broke up the wedding. The one who got her guy in the end. The camera never goes back to the one left standing. The one who had no idea what was coming. I was the villain in my own story. It just sucked that I found that out on my wedding day.”
“No. You weren’t.Theywere the villains. I think we all take a turn being somebody’s hero and somebody’s villain.” Logan paused. For a few moments, we lay staring up at the rustling leaves. For the first time this whole summer, I detected the faintest scent of sweet Honeycrisp apples. A smell so delicious I could almost taste it.
“He was a jackass to do what he did. And I’m not just talking about it all going down on your wedding day. You were never the bad guy. And with the embarrassment stuff…it fades. It sucks, but it fades. You’ll get married to the right guy next time, and it will be forgotten.”
“Can I ask you something?”
He hesitated. “My instinct tells me to say no.”
“Who was your villian? Why are you scared to date anybody longer than a week?”
“Can I say no?”
“If you feel good about me baring my soul to you twice now, and I get nothing in return…sure.”
“Great. Have a good night.” He started to roll over to get on his knees when I reached out and grabbed his arm, pulling him back down by me.
“All those big muscles are a disguise. Inside, you’re a little baby chicken.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. I’m a big chicken. My muscles are only there to look pretty.”
“The only way I’ll get over my embarrassment is if you tell me something, too.”
He bit his lip, his right dimple showing off just for me. “So, it’s all on me now, is it?”
“What’s a secret boyfriend for, if not for that.” I froze at my word that had slipped out. He was not my boyfriend. Never mind that we went on a date every weekend and hung out most afternoons while he fixed the porch,andhe had built me a fruit stand. We were dating casually for a bet, but that didn’t make us an item. Thankfully, Logan didn’t stop to tease. It almost seemed like he hadn’t thought the label abnormal.
He let out a loud, exaggerated sigh. “What happens in this orchard, stays in this orchard. Got it?”
“Tell that to the one hundred guests at my wedding a year ago.”
He made a sympathetic face. “Fair point.”
“Say it. I promise I won’t bite.”
“Well, dang, I don’t want to say it now.”
“Logan…”
“Fine.”
25
Logan
“You probably don’t remember any of this, but a few years after I graduated high school, I was dating a girl.”
“Valerie?”
I raised my head and looked at her, incredulous. “What? How did you—"
“Kelsey made a crocheted-doll thing in our home economics class in high school. She thought it looked like Valerie, so we did a bunch of pretend voodoo stuff to it.”
“You two are terrifying together. Poor Cade.”
