Sacrifice (Heart of a Wounded Hero)

Forget the upset tummy; now it’s like a kick to the stomach instead. "Good. That's good," I mutter.

She opens her mouth to say something else, but there's a knock on the door. I'm standing the closest to it, and I make my way there and open it.

Bryce is standing on the other side, and I hold my hand open for him to come on in. "Morning, beautiful."

"Morning," I grumble to him. As soon as he walks in, he notices Harper on the couch and stops. He looks at her and then back at me, and I know my face is pale, because he gives me a worried glance. "What's going on here?"

I wrap my arm around my waist. "I was just getting to work, and Harper is here to see Logan, but he's at therapy."

Bryce claps his hands together. "Oh, good. He made it then. He said that you would kill him if he didn't get up to go to therapy today, and I felt bad and worried a little about him drinking last night." Ignoring Harper, I nod. "The note he left said that Tommy came and got him."

Whenever I think about the note that he left, I'm beginning to wonder if there's more of a reason why he didn't wake me up. Maybe he regrets last night and needed to put some space between us.

Bryce keeps looking between Harper and me, and he must feel pity, because he asks me if I want to go eat breakfast with him.

I almost tell him, no, but honestly, I don't want to be here when Logan gets back and has his talk with Harper. "Yeah, that would be great. Let me grab my purse."

"You don't need it," he says.

Without further argument, I nod my head and slide my feet into the shoes by the front door. "See you, Harper," I tell her and walk out.

A part of me wonders if I should be leaving her alone in Logan's house, but the truth of the matter is, I have no claim, and she has a key. As far as I know, I could have just been a hookup for him last night.

I'm quiet all the way into downtown. "Where do you want to eat at, Sugar Glaze or Red's Diner?"

I shrug, distracted. "Either is fine with me."

He pulls up in front of the bakery, and I get out and follow him inside. He opens the front door of the bakery for me, and I walk in. "You want to grab a seat and I'll get our order?"

I nod and start to walk away. "What do you want?" he asks me.

I turn to him. "I'll have whatever you're having."

I find my way to the opposite end of the bakery and take a seat. The truth is, I'm not even hungry. I can't imagine eating right now, but a few minutes later, Bryce walks over to the table and sets a cinnamon roll and a tall glass of cold milk in front of me. "Comfort food. You look as if you might need it."

I nod and take a deep breath, inhaling the sweet cinnamon scent. "Thank you, Bryce."

He shrugs as if it's not a big deal and then digs into his own cinnamon roll. He gets a few bites in before he shocks me. "So how long have you been in love with Logan?"

I open my mouth to deny it, but I know that he wouldn't believe it. There's no way I can do it convincingly. I sigh. "Probably since the day he rented me the apartment."

He nods and looks up at the ceiling as if he's counting. "He was in Afghanistan about then, so what, a year?"

I pick up the fork and cut off a bite of the cinnamon roll before putting it in my mouth. It's either that or I'm going to embarrass myself and start talking and not shut up. I chew the cinnamon roll without really tasting it and then wash it down with a big gulp of milk.

"Does he know?" he asks me.

I shake my head. "I don't think he does, no.”

"I think you should—" he starts, but I hold my hands up.

"Tell him? No, I don't think that’s a good idea at all. As far as we know, he's getting back with Harper right about now."

Bryce leans toward me and stares me straight in the eye. "Don't worry about Harper. My boy is smarter than that."

Bryce seems really sure, but I can't help but imagine everything that could be going on right now. Was I a fool in thinking that last night meant something to him?

Chapter 11

Logan

I have to admit when I woke up this morning, I may have freaked out just a little bit. At first, I was amazed that I had slept through the night. It's been over a month since that had happened. Oh, I have Ella to thank for sure. When I woke this morning with her body wrapped around mine, I was instantly hard thinking about the night before. The truth is I wanted to wake her up and have a replay of last night, but I needed to get my mind right. I texted Tommy to have him take me to therapy, and he picked me up shortly after.