Of Loss & Betrayal (Madison & Logan 2)

I stormed past him into the bedroom. I knew I was being irrational, but losing that necklace meant more to me than just losing a physical object. I felt as though a piece of Cassie’s memory had been stolen from me.

I felt defeated and powerless and I didn’t know wh

at else to do but climb into bed. Tears slipped out and soaked the pillow beneath me, but I made no sound as I laid there. After a few minutes, I felt the mattress dip beneath the weight of Logan’s body and his arm snaked around me.

“I’ll get it back for you, I promise,” Logan whispered as he lay down to spoon me. He kissed my shoulder tenderly. “I love you.” He breathed deeply. “I need that to be enough for you, even if I never regain my memory.”

I turned around, tears continuing to stream down my face. I wrapped my arms around him, burying my face in his neck.

“It’s enough,” I said, barely audible. “I love you, Logan.”

We held each other until we fell asleep. I dreamed about Cassie. Dreams where we were carefree and laughing, convinced that together we could face anything. If only that had been true.

Chapter Fifteen

Despite feeling despondent over the loss of my necklace, I was still looking forward to seeing Emily the next day. Logan promised that he would get the necklace back for me, and I decided to let him deal with it. As much as I wanted to charge over to Kristina’s hotel and demand my necklace back, it would probably be less messy for Logan to handle it. I would trust Logan to get it back for me, and enjoy my day with Emily.

“I’ll probably stay over Emily’s tonight,” I told him. “She promised to make her famous pumpkin pie martinis after dinner, and usually just one knocks me on my ass.”

“I thought you didn’t like pumpkin pie,” Logan commented with a quizzical look.

“Everything’s good when you add alcohol to it,” I said with a smile. “What are you going to do today?” Besides getting my necklace back, I added in my head.

“I’m tired of the rental car so I’m going to buy a car today.” Logan paused. “I’ll get your necklace back today, no matter what it takes.”

I gave him a tremulous smile. “I know you will,” I said, and kissed him goodbye.

I met Emily on Michigan Avenue, and my mood instantly brightened when I saw her. I hugged her like I hadn’t seen her in months, which it felt like. There was nothing like a good girlfriend and retail therapy to help you forget about your problems.

We braved the crowds on the sidewalks, which at least buffered us a bit from the frigid cold, and caught up while we tried to get as many Black Friday deals under our belt as possible. She filled me in on her holiday and her crazy family, most of whom got drunk during dinner, and about how Lola pooped under the table during dinner.

When she asked me about my Thanksgiving, I took a deep breath before spilling everything that had happened, not only on Thanksgiving, but beforehand as well. I cringed when I told her about letting Kristina overhear Logan and me making love, and her suicide attempt the next day, but Emily listened with no judgment. I finished with the latest debacle of Kristina stealing my necklace.

I was relieved when Emily didn’t declare that she thought I was a horrible person. I could tell she was shocked by everything that had happened, but, as always, she was on my side.

After shopping on Michigan Avenue, we had a leisurely lunch, and then took the L train to Macy’s. If Michigan Avenue was crowded, we almost got trampled over at Macy’s. But it was all worth it when we walked out of the department store with bags full of amazing deals.

We decided to go back to Emily’s apartment for dinner. The crowds and the cold had tired us out, and we were both looking forward to kicking back and vegging.

“How does pizza sound?” Emily asked when we got back to her place.

“It sounds perfect. As long as it’s accompanied by a pumpkin pie martini, I’m happy.”

Emily laughed and after she placed the pizza order, she made the obligatory martini.

“Oh, my God, why doesn’t actual pumpkin pie taste this good?” I exclaimed as I took a sip.

“Because there’s no vanilla vodka and crème de cacao in it, silly,” Emily said as she took a sip of her own martini. Lola padded over to her, her eyes doleful.

“I think she wants a sip,” I said, laughing. “Poor puppy.”

Emily got up to get a doggy treat for Lola, but even after she ate it with gusto, Lola still looked at Emily’s glass pitifully. I groaned when she changed her target and sat in front of me, looking at me mournfully.

“Not the sad doggy eyes,” I protested. “They’re irresistible.”

Her begging was interrupted by the arrival of the pizza, which made her redouble her efforts at looking pathetic. Emily finally buckled, and soon Lola was happily chomping on a pizza slice. I laughed and readily accepted another martini. Dinner was relaxing, especially since I had a nice buzz going.

“You’re staying the night, right?” Emily asked after she drained her third glass. It was safe to say she had a much higher tolerance than I did.