"I..." she hesitated, thinking back over the past few days. Nadine's schedules and meticulous planning were typical, but there was something else - a tightness around her eyes, perhaps, or the way she sometimes checked her phone when she thought no one was watching. "I haven't noticed anything specific, but maybe you're right. She does seem more tightly wound than usual."
"It might be nothing," Logan said, rubbing the back of his neck. "She's always been detail-oriented. But this wedding -yourwedding - she seems to be taking it almost personally. Like its success or failure reflects on her directly."
Jess felt a pang of guilt. "I've been relying on her way too much. Taking advantage of her organizational skills." Shesighed, leaning against the window frame. "She's basically planned my entire wedding while I've been on conference calls."
"That's what friends do," Logan said gently. "They show up when you need them. And Nadine has always been the one who shows up with a twelve-point action plan and emergency supplies."
Jess smiled despite herself. "True." She made a mental note to thank Nadine properly - not just with the bridesmaid gifts already selected and wrapped, but with genuine acknowledgment of all she had taken on."When did you become so insightful about other people's emotional states?" she asked, deflecting from her own discomfort with light teasing. "The Logan I remember could barely identify his own feelings, let alone anyone else's."
His mouth quirked into that half-smile she remembered so well. "People change. Grow up. Figure things out." He shrugged. "Running a hotel is basically an advanced course in reading people. You learn to notice when something's off, even if you can't quite identify what it is."
"So that's what brought you back to the island?" Jess asked, genuinely curious. "The hotel opportunity?"
Logan's gaze returned to the horizon, where the line between sea and sky shimmered in the morning heat. "Dad got sick," he said after a moment. "Finn was already running the business, but they needed help. I came back thinking it would be temporary."
"But it wasn't," she supplied softly.
"No." The word hung between them, simple but loaded with untold story. "Dad passed, but by then ... I don't know. The island had me again." He gestured to the space around them. "The Wilsons were looking to renovate the hotel. It was falling apart - beautiful bones but neglected for decades. I saw the potential."
"So you came home," Jess said, the words emerging more wistfully than she'd intended.
Logan's eyes met hers, something unreadable in their depths. "I came back," he corrected gently. "Home is... complicated."
The distinction felt significant, though Jess couldn't quite articulate why. She watched a gull ride the air currents outside the window, effortlessly adjusting to each shift in the wind.
“Again, sometimes life doesn't go as planned," she said, echoing her earlier comment but investing it with new meaning. The words felt heavy in her mouth, laden with choices made and paths not taken.
"No," Logan agreed, his voice softer now. "But sometimes the unexpected turns out to be exactly what you needed."
He stepped closer, the careful distance they'd maintained throughout the tour suddenly compressed. Jess could see the faint lines at the corners of his eyes - new since she'd known him, earned through years of squinting against the sun on the water. A small scar bisected his left eyebrow, another new addition. His face was both utterly familiar and completely new, like revisiting a childhood home to find the furniture rearranged.
The sunlight streaming through the windows caught in her hair, turning the strands to living gold. Logan's eyes held hers a beat too long, the sea-glass color so intense it almost hurt to look at them. The space between them felt charged with unspoken words, with years of separate lives and choices that had led them to this moment in this glass room overlooking the water they had once sailed together.
“Jess, I …”
A shrill electronic ring shattered the moment. Jess startled, fumbling in her pocket for her phone. Nadine's name flashed on the screen, accompanied by a photo of her friend looking uncharacteristically relaxed by the beach.
"It's Nadine," Jess said unnecessarily, her voice strained as she held up the phone. "I should - "
"Go ahead," Logan said, stepping back once more, his professional demeanor sliding back into place like a familiar coat.
Jess answered, aware of how flustered she sounded. "Hi!”
Her maid of honor’s voice came through clearly enough that Logan could likely hear it. "Where are you exactly? Our spa appointment is in in five minutes, and Megan and Sloane are already here, waiting. Did you forget?"
"No! I mean, yes, I lost track of time. I'll be right there." Jess ended the call and looked up at Logan, suddenly uncertain how to conclude their encounter. "I have to go. Spa appointment. Apparently, I'm already late."
"Of course," Logan said smoothly. "Bridal duties call." He moved toward the door, holding it open for her. "If you have any other questions or concerns ahead of Saturday, just let me know."
The abrupt return to professionalism left Jess momentarily off-balance. Had she imagined the charged moment between them? The way his voice had softened when he said her name?
"Thank you," she managed, gathering her purse and moving toward the door. "Everything looks wonderful. You've done an amazing job."
"We aim to please," Logan replied, and something in his tone made her look up sharply. For a moment, the professional mask slipped, and she caught a glimpse of something raw and genuine beneath. "Everything will be perfect for your wedding, Jess. I'll make sure of it."
The words hit her with unexpected force. Her first love, promising to create the perfect setting for her to marry another man. The irony was almost too much.
"Thank you," she said again, inadequate but all she could manage. "I should go before Nadine sends out a search party."
