His words hurt. I wasn’t special. I was just another girl fighting over him. I felt my emotions shutting down. I didn’t know how to deal with this, and I began to detach myself from the situation as a matter of self-preservation. I stared at him with an expressionless mask on my face.
“I’m sorry,” Kristina said, looking penitent. “It’s just hard for me not to get emotional, because you’re so important to me.”
Instead of replying to her, Logan looked at me. I didn’t know what to say. I could argue that Kristina was lying, that he hadn’t left her because he felt sorry for me. I could tell him that the love we shared was the type that happened once in a lifetime. That he had told me time, and time again, that life was meaningless without me. But they were just words, and I had no way to prove any of it. So I said nothing.
“Maddie, maybe I should talk to her for a few minutes. It’s probably better if you leave the room for a little bit, because I don’t want you guys to start arguing again.”
Betrayal ran hot and deep at his words. It was even more painful to hear him dismiss me when he was calling me Maddie. The Logan I knew and loved would never do that.
I turned and walked out of the room, afraid that if I said anything I would burst into tears. I walked blindly down the hall, not even sure where I was going, when I bumped into someone.
“Sorry,” I muttered, not even looking at the person I had run into. I stepped to the side and continued walking, my head down.
“Madison.”
I looked up at my name, surprised to see Mack standing there.
“What are you doing here?” I asked numbly.
He held up a bag of food. “Lunch. Today it’s Thai food. I hope you like spicy.”
Mack grinned at me, but I just frowned. “Shouldn’t you be at work? I didn’t realize being a lawyer gave you so much free time.”
His expression turned concerned. “What’s wrong? You look like someone just told you Santa Claus doesn’t exist.”
I sighed heavily. “Kristina’s here. She’s trying to convince Logan that he’s only with me out of guilt. He asked me to give them some time to talk alone.”
Mack’s expression turned sympathetic. “Logan is just confused. He’ll get his memory back sooner or later. Even with his memory loss, I saw the way he was looking at you yesterday. Kristina doesn’t stand a chance.”
I gave him a weak smile. “I appreciate the vote of confidence. I’m sorry I’ve forced you to become my personal pep talker. It must be tiring, always having to cheer me up.”
Mack laughed. “It’s okay. You’re just lucky I’m so charming. Imagine if you got stuck with a dud to cheer you up.”
I rolled my eyes, but couldn’t help laughing. Mack was indeed charming, and I was grateful not to be alone.
“Why don’t we grab a cup of coffee at the cafeteria while we wait for Logan to crush Kristina’s hopes and dreams?” he asked with a jaunty grin.
“Sounds good to me,” I said, feeling some of the gloom lift. Mack was right. Sooner or later Logan would recover his memory, and he would realize Kristina was filling his head with nonsense.
We made our way to the cafeteria and sat down at an empty table after we got our coffee.
“Have you decided when you’re going back to California?” I asked, as I took a sip of the scalding hot coffee. I grimaced at the strong, burnt taste, but it was better than nothing.
“There’s more work than I anticipated, so I’ll be staying for at least another week,” Mack replied, making a face when he tasted the coffee. “Is this coffee or tar?”
“They’re making you work through Thanksgiving?” I asked, ignoring his comment about the coffee. “That’s awful!”
He shrugged. “I could fly back to L.A. for Thanksgiving and then come back, but there’s no point. I don’t really have many relatives except for my grandmother and my uncle and his family. We’ve never really made a big deal about Thanksgiving. Some years we get together and some years we don’t.”
“What about your parents?”
Despite disparaging it, Mack took another sip of his coffee. “They both passed away in a car accident when I was in middle school.”
“I’m so sorry to hear that,” I said, putting my hand on his arm resting on the table. I realized that I knew little about the person who I had been leaning on so heavily these past few days. I wanted to ask more questions about his parents, but I also didn’t want to pry into his private business. Having his friend be in a car accident not once, but twice, must have been traumatizing for him, considering his past.
“It was hard losing them both at once, but sometimes I think maybe it was for the best. I don’t think either one of them would have wanted to live without the other.” He smiled at me. “They loved one another like you and Logan love each other. Logan jokes around about me dating a different girl every week, but there’s no reason to settle until I find that same kind of love.”
“I knew it,” I said, smiling back. “It’s all a guise, because you’re a romantic at heart. I bet The Notebook is your favorite movie.”