“But this— I can’t do this. You left me heartbroken, and I had to pick up the pieces.” I sigh and step away from him, trying to create some distance.
He closes the distance, his hands trailing over my cheeks, my neck, the exposed skin of my arms.
“But I’m back, and I want to have a life with you. Once I’m done with my service, I’ll be back for good. Until then, I’ll be here every year. I have to do this. It’s a part of me, but I can’t lose you, not again.”
“The way you make me feel, it’s incredible, and it’s what I want. To be here, with you, at this moment . . . But you left with no promises—”
I close my eyes. Why can’t I say it?
“Wyatt, I’m engaged to Logan.”
I can’t open my eyes; I don't want to gauge his reaction.
“Logan? High school Logan?”
I nod. “We reconnected, back in Seattle. I’m here because I’m planning a wedding.”
“Do you love him?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I ask, looking into his eyes that hold my heart and soul.
“It’s a simple question. Do you love him?”
I close my eyes again. In a second, Wyatt has his arms wrapped around me. “Tell me you love him, and I’ll walk away. Tell me you love him.”
I look up into his gaze, and the tears in his eyes are my undoing. I lift onto my tiptoes and bring my lips to his.
“I do.”
He steps away from me, his hands in his pockets as he crosses the lawn and the threshold between our houses.
* * *
“This is a surprise.”Logan bends and kisses my lips. I didn’t want to have to see him at the office, so I left early so I could catch him before he goes to the office.
“I just made some coffee.” He grins, stepping aside so I can make my way inside his apartment.
Logan’s home is meticulous, much like everything about him. Even at this time of morning, his apartment is spick and span. He’s a perfectionist. I like that about him, but at times it frustrates me. I am a florist; I live in my own organized chaos. He’s a banker.
“That’ll be perfect.” I smile and follow him in.
I reconnected with Logan at the flower shop. He rushed in one afternoon, flustered and annoyed — which, trust me, is a rare occurrence — because his personal assistant had forgotten to order flowers for his date. He was taken aback when he saw me. He couldn’t stop grinning.
He never did go on that date. Instead, he stopped by the shop every day, and we caught up on the years that passed between us.
He asked about Wyatt. I’d broken his heart in high school because of Wyatt, and here I was about to do the same thing.
He passes me my coffee, black with one sugar, and he sits on a stool next to me, twisting a strand of hair between his fingers.
“How’s Sharon?”
“She’s great, crazy, Sharon.”
He smiles. “The dress coming along? I didn’t expect you back so soon.”
I bet that threw off his schedule, I think. I have no right being annoyed with him.
“Do you love me, Lo?” I ask as I look into his eyes. “Do you see yourself growing old with me?’
