Of Loss & Betrayal (Madison & Logan 2)

Logan gave a mock scowl. “That’s the reaction I get when I give you a present?” He shook his head, although his scowl dissolved into a smile. “I actually asked Mack to pick it up for me. He gave it to me at dinner last night.”

I stared at the bracelet. It must have cost a fortune. I looked up at Logan, who was watching me expectantly. “I love it. I’m just surprised.” I frowned. “I don’t have a Thanksgiving present for you.”

Logan laughed as he leaned down and dropped a kiss on my mouth. “I didn’t expect one.” His expression sobered as he looked at me. “I just wanted you to know how much I appreciate you being by my side. I know it hasn’t been easy. Hell, I can’t imagine what it must feel like to have someone you love not recognize you. But I want you to know that the memories we’ve made together since the accident are more than enough for me to realize how much I care about you. Technically, I’ve only known you for a couple of weeks, but it’s like my love for you is a physical part of me, like my arms or my legs. It’s undeniable.” He took a deep breath. “That’s what I wanted to tell you. I love you, Maddie. Pre-accident, post-accident, memory or no memory. It doesn’t matter, because I know I was born to love you. I can’t imagine living a life not loving you.”

There was a lump in my throat from all my overwhelming emotions. I had never expected Logan to tell me he loved me so soon. I had been sure it would take time, and I had steeled myself to be patient. But here he was, looking down at me with so much love in his eyes that I wanted to weep with relief and happiness. His memory loss would be so much easier to deal with, now that I knew what his feelings were.

“It’s been so hard for me not to say those words to you,” I said, my voice breaking. “I didn’t want to move too fast and push you too hard. But I’ve been saying those words in my head over and over again. Now I can say it out loud. I love you, Logan. I can’t believe I almost lost you, but it made me realize that the only life worth living is one where I’m loving you.”

I saw the emotion in Logan’s eyes, and I felt utterly complete when he leaned down and kissed me softly, our lips clinging together as we were both overwhelmed by our emotions.

Our kiss quickly turned more intense, matching the depth of our feelings. As our lips and tongues caressed each other with increasing urgency, it would have been easy to be swept away by our desire, but we were interrupted by the oven beeping, indicating that it had reached the preheated temperature.

I pulled back, only to have Logan grab me, and pull me close again.

“As much as I’d love to continue this, we don’t have time,” I protested, laughing. “Kristina and Mack will be here in a few hours and we still have to put the turkey in the oven, never mind all the other dishes that have to be prepared.”

Logan pretended to be put out by my refusal, but then he ruined it with a grin. “Okay, but you have to at least wear your present while you cook.”

I wasn’t about to refuse, and I admired the sparkling bracelet as Logan clasped it around my wrist. It winked at me as I worked in the kitchen, a constant reminder of Logan’s love for me.

We had told Mack and Kristina to come at five o’clock for an early dinner, and b

etween preparing all the side dishes, dessert and, most importantly, the turkey, we finished just in time. I barely had time to shower and get ready before the doorbell rang.

Logan opened the door and I was relieved to see that Mack had arrived first.

“Do you think you brought enough wine?” I asked with a rueful smile. He was carrying a box with four bottles of wine inside. “We don’t each need to drink a whole bottle, you know.”

Mack grinned. “I just thought it would help with the Thanksgiving cheer.”

Logan took the wine and added it to the collection of bottles we had already put out. “I think there’s more wine than actual food,” he joked. He offered Mack a glass of wine from a bottle we had already opened, which he accepted, and we all settled into the living room.

“I hope you’re ready to eat,” I said. “I wanted to make sure we had enough food, so I kind of overdid it.”

Logan raised an eyebrow. “Kind of? We have enough food for ten people.”

“You’re supposed to overeat on Thanksgiving,” I protested. “You haven’t eaten enough unless you’re in pain.”

“I promise to eat until I think my pants are going to bust open,” Mack pledged.

“See?” I said to Logan. “Now that’s a good Thanksgiving guest.” I turned to Mack. “Did you get a chance to call your grandmother?”

He had mentioned at dinner last night that his grandmother was spending Thanksgiving with his uncle, who was her brother, and his family. He had been considering flying back to spend it with her, and then flying back to Chicago to finish up work, but his uncle had insisted that she would be fine without him.

“Yeah, but it wasn’t a very productive conversation. She kept asking who she was talking to, and then finally decided I was a salesman and got mad at me for making a sales call on a holiday and hung up on me.”

I tried to suppress a smile because I didn’t think it was supposed to be funny. “I’m sorry. That must have been hard.”

Mack laughed. “It was actually pretty funny. Even though she couldn’t remember me, she had all the spitfire that I remember so well while growing up. God help any telemarketers who actually try to call. She’ll put the fear of God in them.” His expression sobered. “As long as her spirit is there, I can handle her not recognizing me. It’s the days when she doesn’t even want to get out of bed that are hard for me to handle.”

I started to reach out a hand to touch him in sympathy, but I stopped myself. I remembered how upset Logan had gotten when he had seen Mack’s hand on my arm. They seemed to be on good terms now, and Logan would probably be okay with it, but I decided it was better to be safe than sorry. I didn’t want anything to ruin today.

As if on cue, the doorbell rang and I tensed. If anything could ruin today, it would be Kristina’s presence, but I had no one to blame but myself.

Logan got up to get the door. Mack gave me a considering look when he was out of sight.

“You look like someone just kicked your puppy.”