2X The Heat (2X The Pleasure 1)

“No one told me you were back in town,” I said. I knew I sounded stupid, but I couldn’t stop myself. The words were flying out of my mouth at warped speed. I just wanted to hear her voice again.

“Why would they? You’re not important to me anymore, Logan.” The venom in her voice was like a punch to the stomach. My eyes never left her face. I waited to see if she would thaw even slightly, but she didn’t. Her eyes were focused on the sidewalk in front of us. She didn’t spare so much as a glance in my direction.

For years, I dreamt of what it would be like to see her again. I played her voice over and over in my mind when I was out on a mission or when training became too monotonous. It kept me calm, centered. My memories of here were my anchor. Now, when I was finally getting the chance to be with her, she couldn’t even bother to look at me.

Rage filled my body and I felt my face flush red. I told myself to stay calm, that she was just hurt after the way things ended between us. To me, we’d ended with a possibility for a relationship again in the future. To Piper, it must have felt completely different.

Still, my disappointment got the better of me. The longer we walked without Piper sparing me a glance, the angrier I became.

“I don’t mean anything to you? Clearly. You couldn’t even call? Pick up the phone after all these years? After all the letters I wrote you?”

“No. And I never should have come back.”

“Why?” I demanded.

“So, I could keep avoiding all of this! You trying to pull me back in. Make me your girl again. I am not your girl Logan, and I never will be.”

“We’ll see about that.”

The words left my mouth before I realized what I was saying. She brought out the best and worst sides of me. My long-suppressed cockiness reared its ugly head again. In that moment, I knew it had been a mistake to let those words slip out, but I didn’t regret them. Not then and not later. Finally, Piper came to a full stop and turned to face me head on.

“What did you just say?” Her eyes were narrowed dangerously.

“I said you’ll be mine again, Piper,” I said.

“That’s not going to happen Logan,” she snapped.

“You’ve been wrong before.” I spat back at her before walking away.

Piper was my new mission, and this time, I wouldn’t fail.

Twelve

Piper

“Ian, I have been dreaming about these scones for so long,” I said into my phone. “You have no idea how amazing these things are.”

“Bring me back a few,” he suggested.

“Oh, I’m bringing back a dozen,” I assured him.

“That’s the fatty I know and love,” he teased.

“Watch it,” I warned. “You know I can fire you.”

“You know you never would,” he said with confidence. I rolled my eyes and stepped further forward as the line at Angie’s began to move.

After my encounter with Logan the day before, I needed an Angie’s fix to get my day started. I woke up feeling younger than I’d felt in years. Just one conversation with Logan and I was back to my old self again. Vulnerable. Exposed. I hated my old self.

“How was the funeral?” Ian asked, snapping me back to reality.

“It was… fine,” I said with a shake of my head. I tried to clear my thoughts, but images of Logan were flooding my mind. I saw his smiling face the night he told me about the SEALs. I saw him flush with rage just a few hours before. His dark eyes looked angrier than I’d ever seen them.

“Uh oh,” Ian said.

“What?”

“I know what that means,” he said.