Of Loss & Betrayal (Madison & Logan 2)

When I returned to Logan’s room, he was leaned back against the pillows with his eyes closed. He looked so vulnerable and much younger than usual. He was paler than normal, and I had to resist the urge to comb my fingers through his hair.

His eyes opened when he heard the door open and he smiled at me. My heart squeezed. We were just getting on the right track, only to have it ruined by Kristina’s impending arrival. I purposely hadn’t mentioned Kristina to Logan because I didn’t think she was a necessary person to remember, but I now realized I had to gain the upper hand by telling him about her before she got here.

“You must be tired,” I said, wishing I didn’t have to bring her up. Maybe this could wait until later. “Do you want me to leave so you can get some rest?”

Logan shook his head. “No, I’m okay. I was just resting my eyes. I want you to stay.”

I smiled at him and sat down in the chair next to his bed. I took a deep breath before speaking. “Do you remember a woman named Kristina?”

Logan shook his head. “No. Who is she?”

I chose my words carefully. “You dated her when you lived in L.A. When you moved back to Chicago, you didn’t come alone. You brought her with you.”

Logan frowned. “We must have been pretty serious, then.”

I pressed my lips together. “I guess.” It was hard for me to say the next words because it made me feel obnoxious, even though it was the truth. “You told me that she was a stand-in for me while we were apart. She even kind of looks a little like me. We couldn’t stay away from each other and you ended up breaking up with her so we could be together. She didn’t take it very well, but ended up moving back to L.A. I think she’s still convinced that you two are meant to be together.” My hands were fidgeting as I spoke. “She found out about your accident and she’s flying here to see you. Mack mentioned it to me because she contacted him. She’ll probably be here tomorrow.”

I watched Logan process what I had told him. I didn’t know what I expected his reaction to be, but I knew I didn’t expect him to be so nonchalant about it. He shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe it’s a good thing. It’s just another person to help fill in the blanks.”

That wasn’t what I wanted to hear, but I had no response to give, so I changed the subject.

“The doctor said they’re releasing you on Friday,” I said. “You must be relieved.”

“I can’t wait to get out of here,” Logan replied. “It’ll be nice to actually sleep in my own bed.”

“What are you going to do about work?”

“They said I can take a couple of months off, but I’ll be going back sooner than that. I may not remember certain things, but my memory hasn’t been impaired when it comes to work. I still remember everything about all my clients perfectly.” Logan frowned. “It’s funny that I seem to remember all the impersonal details about my life.”

“Next week is Thanksgiving.” I hesitated before continuing, unsure how to broach the subject. “We had planned on spending it together. Your parents are abroad and my dad is finally dating someone and he and his girlfriend are planning on going down to Florida for the holiday.” I bit my lip. “We were going to make turkey and all the fixings. Do you still want to do that?”

Logan took my hand in his. “Madison, I know this is hard for you. I realize it must be difficult to have someone you love tell you that they don’t know who you are. Just be patient with me. I have to believe that I’ll get my memory back. But even without my memory, I’ve already realized that you’re a smart, funny and amazing woman. And I’d have to be blind to not see how beautiful you are. Even without remembering our past, I look at you and I know I want you. I have to believe my memories will come back with time.”

I didn’t know how to respond to him. The way he was looking at me reminded me of how he used to look at me before sweeping me off my feet to the bedroom. Or the kitchen floor. Or the breakfast table. I felt myself flush at the thought.

“So,” I finally said. “Does that mean we’re spending Thanksgiving together?”

Logan smiled at my lame response. “Yeah, it means we’re spending Thanksgiving together.”

I smiled back at him, feeling the most hopeful I had been since the accident. Logan and I were meant to be together, and nothing could change that. Not amnesia, and certainly not Kristina.

Chapter Eight

I spent a few more hours with Logan, but I could tell he was exhausted, so I left him for the night with promises to return the next day. When I got home, I checked my email and was relieved when I saw Jameson, my boss, had replied to my email, telling me to take as much time as I needed. I was grateful for such an understanding boss.

Emily called me later that night, and I unloaded all the details about Kristina to her. She was appropriately appalled and got all fired up, telling me she’d come to the hospital tomorrow as backup. I convinced her that it wasn’t necessary because I knew her boss wasn’t as understanding as mine. We ended the call with me promising to call her if I

needed to her to come to the hospital tomorrow.

I had a fitful night, replaying different scenarios of what could happen when Kristina inevitably showed up. I finally ended up taking some sleeping pills, because I didn’t want to be exhausted tomorrow when I faced the enemy.

Thursday morning was gray and dreary, and despite getting a full night’s rest, I still felt exhausted. That didn’t stop me from rushing to get ready to go to the hospital. I was afraid of not being there when Kristina arrived. Despite Mack telling me I had nothing to worry about, I wasn’t so sure.

Logan was out of bed and lounging on the small sofa in his room watching TV when I arrived. I was relieved to see he was alone. He smiled when I walked in, obviously pleased to see me.

“I was wondering when you would get here.”

He had missed me. We were making progress. I lifted the brown bag I was carrying. “I stopped to get some bagels. After the travesty of your hospital breakfast yesterday, I figured you needed some real food.”