I left town to be a SEAL, to fulfill a dream I’d had my entire life. While I was away, I felt sure of myself. I was strong and happy until I wasn’t. When things shifted it knocked my world off its axis and it wasn’t until I saw Piper again that things began to spin normally again.
Piper and Lilliana.
They were my life.
Twenty- Six
Piper
We walked through the door of my parents’ house. It was empty, my mom and dad wouldn’t be back for a few more hours. We’d already eaten dinner at Audra’s and I knew Logan was dying to talk to me alone. Throughout the entire car ride he watched my face closely. He didn’t bother to hide it. I glanced at him briefly, silently telling him we would talk as soon as we could be alone.
“It’s been awhile since I’ve been inside this place,” Logan laughed. “It hasn’t changed much.”
“Mom and Dad are creatures of habit,” I shrugged. “Lili, why don’t you play outside for a while? Stay in the backyard and I’ll come get you when it’s time for bed, okay?”
“Okay!” Lili bounced away and disappeared through the back door. I turned to fac
e Logan who was still watching me like I was about to run away from him any minute.
“So,” I said. “Want to sit down?”
“Sure,” Logan shrugged. We sat on the couch and turned to face each other. I tucked my feet underneath me and cleared my throat. “Go ahead. I know you’re dying to ask me a million questions.”
“I’m not,” Logan shook his head. “I have questions, but I really just wanted to say thank you.”
“Thank you?” I frowned. That wasn’t at all what I expected. “For what?”
“For letting me see her,” he said. “For telling me about her. For letting me spend time with her. You have no idea how much that means to me.”
“I do,” I said. “I’m just sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. You were right earlier, you did deserve to know. Whatever else happened between us, I shouldn’t have hidden her from you. That wasn’t fair.”
“I understand why you did it,” Logan said. I searched his face for a sign of sarcasm, but there was nothing but sincerity. “I wasn’t the best person back then. I was selfish and impulsive. I loved you so much, but I couldn’t see past my own needs and wants long enough to really give us a chance. I know how much I hurt you when I left.”
“That’s still not an excuse,” I argued. I couldn’t let him take all the blame for how things ended between us. So much of it was my fault, too. “I walked out of Kellan’s that night. You were trying to tell me how you felt and I didn’t let you. I was just so angry and so hurt that I couldn’t stand to look at you for another second. When I ran it wasn’t because you did anything wrong, it was because I was too weak to face the pain.”
“We can argue about whose fault it was all night,” Logan said. “Or we can just talk about the future. What happens now?”
“What do you mean?” I asked. My stomach wiggled nervously. I knew this conversation was coming, but I wasn’t sure how to proceed. What if Logan still wanted us to run away together? Or what if he wanted custody? What did that look like?
“How do we navigate our new situation?” Logan asked. “Now that Lilliana knows about me and I know about her, I can’t stay away. I want to be in her life, Piper. I have to be.”
“And I want that, too,” I promised. “I would never think of keeping her from you again.”
“I know you wouldn’t,” Logan smiled. “And I love you for that.”
Logan’s words sent a spark flying up my spine. I felt myself flush as our eyes met. He reached forward and took my hand in his. He raised it to his lips and kissed my palm gently. I couldn’t breathe, I was so shocked I couldn’t move.
After our fight and the revelations from that morning, I didn’t think Logan would still want to be with me. I thought any chance of us being together was long gone. Keeping Lilliana from him was something I wasn’t sure he would ever forgive.
“I thought you were mad at me,” I said weakly.
“I am,” he admitted. “I’ll probably be mad at you for a long time, but I’m willing to bet you’re just as mad at me. Everything that happened today doesn’t change our history. We can’t fix this overnight, but I want to try. If you do.”
“I don’t know how we do that,” I said softly. “Where do we go from here?”
Logan didn’t answer. He just looked into my eyes for a few seconds before leaning forward and kissing me gently. The second our lips met I knew I would do anything to make things work between us. The idea of leaving Logan behind wasn’t even a possibility anymore. I needed him too much.
We kissed slowly, our lips dancing and our tongues barely peeking into each other’s mouths. It was slow and deliberate. Every emotion we felt was being poured into that kiss and I felt it in my entire body. My desire for him wasn’t hungry and desperate like I was used to, it was complex and well thought out. I considered our past and our future and still, I wanted him.