Page 15 of Bittersweet

She glanced out the window and noticed it had started to rain just as Logan returned to the table.

He opened his wallet and set some cash in front of her. “I have to go.”

“What?” She stared up at him in disbelief.

“I’m so sorry, Harper.”

“What the heck?” Her feelings of surprise morphed into disgust and anger.

“There’s enough there to cover the food and an Uber to get you home.”

She shoved the cash across the table at him. “I don’t want your money, Logan. Just go.”

“I’ll explain later. I promise.”

“Get out of here.” Her voice was loud enough that it drew the attention of other restaurant patrons, but she didn’t care. She didn’t want any more of his empty promises.

“Harper.” He glanced at his phone then back at her.

“Go,” she whispered.

He kept looking back apologetically as he walked away. Her gaze followed him to the door, where he stopped and looked at her once more before exiting the building.

Through the open door, she could see the rain was coming down heavily now. Good. I hope he gets soaked to the bone.

She closed her eyes and shook her head. This wasn’t going to work.

7

Harper sipped on a chai tea latte from Starbucks as she and Savannah walked along the Grand River downtown on Sunday morning—the only day of the week their shop was closed. “Thanks for this, Van. I needed to get out of my apartment this morning and stop thinking about last night.”

“Something important must have pulled him away, Harper.”

“Maybe, but it keeps happening. His life seems very complicated right now, and I don’t want complicated.” Or someone who does drugs. She hadn’t revealed Logan’s past drug use to Savannah, because she didn’t know if it was in the past.

“He wouldn’t have skipped out on you if it wasn’t important.”

Whatever his reason for running off last night, it would never ease the horrible feeling of being ditched. The whole situation only served to remind her that he’d abandoned her before. How could she ever be certain he wouldn’t do it again?

He might have given a great business pitch at the restaurant, but she was definitely not interested in working with him after another disappearing act. And if the drugs weren’t in his past, then they definitely would not be partnering with him.

She took a sip of her latte and quietly prayed drugs were no longer a part of his life.

They wandered across the Blue Bridge, the pedestrian bridge that crossed the river, and watched artists installing their unique displays on the bridge, along the river, even in the river, for ArtPrize—a huge art contest that took over the city every fall, featuring amazing and creative art displayed at various venues, with a hefty grand prize for the winner.

“I love this city.” Savannah motioned toward the artists. “There’s so much creativity here.”

Harper looked out at the river. “I wonder what they’ll all come up with this year.”

Savannah glanced up. “One year, someone built a giant table and chairs and put them right up there.” She pointed to the top of the truss bridge. “And it might have been that same year that a group of artists put a giant Loch Ness Monster in the river.” She motioned toward where it had been installed.

“That must have been before my time,” Harper commented.

Savannah’s face screwed up. “Hey, what are you saying?”

“I mean, ArtPrize started long before I moved here. When I was just a young’n.”

“Not that long ago.”

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