They couldn’t just go back to the way they’d been before.
She walked towards the kitchen, stepping over her discarded dress, a cruel reminder of the wild passion of the night before.
In the kitchen, she flicked on the kettle and then stood staring out at the sea.
And suddenly she knew. She knew what had to be done.
She’d deal with Logan and then she’d leave.
She’d leave her beloved Glenmore.
What choice did she have?
Logan was moving on and it was time for her to move on, too. Somewhere else. Somewhere without Logan. She needed to build a new life. While she’d been working on the labour ward in the hospital, they’d made it clear that they’d give her a job any time. She’d call them. Accept the offer.
She glanced around her, realising that moving away would mean selling her precious cottage by the sea.
Change, she reminded herself. Things changed, whether you wanted them to or not. And you had to ride the wave or drown.
I love you, Evanna.
Slumped in the hammock in the garden, Logan rehearsed the words in his head.
He was stunned by the strength of his feelings. Nothing in his past had prepared him for what he’d felt when he’d made love with Evanna.
So much for all his resolutions about staying away from her. He’d taken one look at her in her bikini and had had red-hot thoughts. So red-hot that he hadn’t even been able to look at anyone else all evening, let alone dance with them. Women had approached him, dropping hints, but he’d brushed them all aside as politely as possible. For him, Evanna had been the only woman there. No one else had existed.
Even now his body tightened at the memory of how she’d looked. Her hair had been damp from the water and had hung, glossy and dark, over her bare shoulders. Her eyes had been as dark as sloes, her lashes thick and unbelievably long. And then there had been her mouth.
Logan groaned and closed his eyes.
Her mouth.
Her mouth, curved and laughing at something he’d said. Her mouth parting in shock under his. Her mouth responding, greedily to his demands. Her mouth touching him …
He’d been celibate for over a year but he knew that what he’d shared with Evanna had been so much more than just a physical release.
So much more than sex.
They hadn’t just shared their bodies. They’d shared everything.
And that sharing, that giving of everything, had somehow cleared his thoughts and he’d realised at the moment of deepest intimacy just how much he loved Evanna. Just how much he needed her. How much he’d always needed her. Her warmth, her kindness, her endless compassion.
Her gentle hands, her soft mouth and her warm, amazing body.
He’d always thought that what they’d shared had all been about friendship, but he realised now that it was so much more than that.
So much more than he’d imagined possible.
A smile touched his lips. He wished now that he’d called the babysitter and asked her to stay the night. Then he would have been there when Evanna had woken up. He wouldn’t have had to wait to tell her that he loved her and he wouldn’t have had to wait to look into her eyes and seen that love returned. And he had no doubt that it was returned. Why else would she have responded to him with such unrestrained passion?
Evanna was an old-fashioned girl. She didn’t do one-night stands or casual flings. She never had. There was no way she would have allowed him to make love to her unless she had strong feelings. True feelings.
All he had to do now was give her the chance to tell him how she felt.
‘Logan?’
Her soft, breathy voice came from right beside him and he felt his body’s immediate response.