Page 53 of The Wanderer

She didn't speak, giving him time to continue, and he started to sweat. It broke out along his forehead and his palms grew damp. Fuck. Why was this so hard?

"I want you to come with me." The words tumbled out on a growl and he cleared his throat. "I latched onto the way you reacted to my simple place as an excuse to drive you away. But in reality I ended things between us because I didn't want you waiting around for me, your happiness dependent on me, like I thought my mum's was dependent on Dad. But I see things differently now."

He scooted his chair closer to hers and reached for her hand, as she stared at him in open-mouthed shock. "I want you, Hope. You're incredible and I'd be a fool to walk away from you for fear I'll end up in a messy relationship like my folks. But my job's on the road and I want you with me."

He lifted her hand to his mouth and pressed a kiss on the back of it. "What do you say? Care to take a risk on a wanderer?"

She stared at him in wide-eyed wonder so he saw the exact moment his dream died, the expectation and excitement in her eyes replaced by sadness and regret.

He released her hand and when she lifted it to touch his cheek, he reared back.

"I'm sorry, Logan, I can't—"

He didn't wait around to hear the rest.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Hope wouldn't let him walk away, not this time.

She flung open the door and almost ran into his back. "Please come inside so we can talk."

"Nothing to say." His gravelly voice hinted at a world of pain. Pain she'd caused. "I'm calling a taxi.”

"You're more like your dad than you know," she said, reaching for the lowest blow in her arsenal to get him to stay. "You're a quitter. How many times does this make that you've walked away from me when things get tough?"

He spun around so fast she stumbled back and would've fallen if he hadn't steadied her. "I'm no fucking quitter."

"Prove it."

She tilted her head up, daring him to follow her back inside.

"Fuck," he muttered, releasing her so she could open the door wider.

"After you," she said, with exaggerated sweetness as he barged past her.

After she closed the door and studied his rigid shoulders from behind, she realised she'd never met a more infuriating man; and that's one of the things she loved about him. He challenged her. He infuriated her. He confounded her. But she couldn't let that derail her from what needed to be said.

He'd asked her to go away with him, to hit the road. And while her heart longed to take the plunge and see what that kind of an adventure could bring, she couldn't do it.

If it was in his DNA to run, it was in hers to prove her independence no matter what the cost.

"Logan, look at me." She approached him carefully and held out her hand, as if confronting a wary dog.

This time, when he turned to face her, she saw his anger had given way to hurt and bewilderment, like he couldn't fathom how she could turn him down.

Damn it, she had to make him understand this had nothing to do with him and everything to do with her insecurities.

"I want you too." Her hand dropped to her side. "I've been miserable without you." She gave a self-deprecating snort. "Heck, I couldn't even write a song without you around, that's how crazy I am about you. But I can't put all my faith in you and walk away from my dream, and that's what you're asking me to do."

A spark of hope flared in his eyes. "But you can write songs anywhere. Play in pubs and clubs. Get your work out there firsthand and—“

"Stop." She shook her head, hating that he had this all figured out in his head and she'd have to stomp on his dream in order to get hers. "This isn't just about me. I want to foster talent, get unknown artists the recognition they deserve, and to do that I have to be here, in Melbourne, in my new studio. Surely you can understand that?"

He seemed to deflate before her eyes, his shoulders slumping as he thrust his hands into his pockets. "I understand that your work is as important to you as mine is to me. But I have to be on the road. Quoting jobs takes me all over the country and my company would lose momentum if I was stuck in one place."

She understood what he was implying: that her business was a start-up and wouldn't suffer if she postponed. Or maybe she was being overly sensitive.

But Hope had been betrayed by too many people close to her before and what he was asking was too great. Logan may be nothing like Willem or Harry or her parents but she couldn't ignore her desires to sacrifice her dream for his.

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