“Because it’s been five years…”
“I know,” Piper said, her voice tight. “Which is why I don’t understand what good this will do. Why bother coming to Jeff’s wake? Or chasing me down now?”
“I told you, I just wanted to see you.”
Piper glared into the distance. She tightened her arms around her chest and picked up her pace. She walked faster, telling me without speaking that it was time for me to walk away. I didn’t. I couldn’t. Now that I was finally talking to her, I didn’t want to stop.
“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.