Page 11 of Annika's Aurora

“Good. Have a seat.” She sat, and he brought her a plate filled with eggs, bacon, and toast. Her stomach was doing a happy dance.

“Thanks.” She picked up her fork and dug in as he sat with his own plate across from her.Ugh, what now?She didn’t want to look at him, but she couldn’tnotlook at him. She felt like she was on some sort of awkward first date, at a loss as to what to say and not knowing what to do with her hands. So, she did the only thing she could. She ate while staring at her plate.

Coward. Darn tootin’ she was a coward. This was so scary with so much potential to be hurt all over again.

Logan watched her as she ate. She looked nervous, and she shouldn’t be. She hadn’t abandoned him, she hadn’t hurt him; that was all on him. If anyone should be nervous, it was him.

Her silence was unnerving. She hadn’t necessarily been a chatty kid, but she had always been able to talk to him, including sharing her love of literary quotes that she enjoyed imparting. Even if it was silly or stupid, she told him everything. They’d had an easy camaraderie. A deep friendship. They could tell each other anything. He’d told her things he’d never told Jamie. Clearly, his actions had blown that all to hell.

He took advantage of her distraction with her food to study her more closely. She was flushed from her shower, a healthy glow to her cheeks. She wore no makeup; she didn’t need it. With her eyes cast down, her delicate, long eyelashes hid her blue eyes from him.

How he wished he could look into her gorgeous blue eyes and see the joy and love she once shared so freely.

She had tiny gold leaves at her ears, and a gold chain disappeared under her pale pink sweater that perfectly matched the color glowing on her cheeks.

Annika was heart-achingly stunning, as she’d always been. And if he could get her to smile, she would light up the room. Her smile had a special magic. Nobody could resist her smile; especially not him.

“How was your run,” he tried.

“Good.”

“You were gone a long time.”

She shrugged her shoulders, still looking down at her eggs. “Yeah, lost track of how far I’d gone.”

“When did you start running?” She glanced up at him as if to say, ‘why do you care?’

“It’s been a while now,” she answered, returning to her eggs.

“I like running.” She didn’t reply.No wonder, you sound like afuckingidiot.They both continued to eat their meal in silence. Neither willing to break the tentative silence. This wouldn’t do, Logan thought. Here he had a chance to fix the mistakes of the past. But it wouldn’t happen if he didn’t open his mouth and say something to her.

He sighed. “I noticed the woodpile was getting low. I think I’m going to go chop some more.”

Fuckingchicken!

Nah, not chicken. Just choosing his words carefully. It had been a shock to see her again. He needed time to compose the right thing to say to her in his head. He was being smart, he thought, as he rinsed his plate and put it in the dishwasher. Not chicken. He couldn’t screw up … again. He could feel her eyes on him as he went out the back door to the woodpile. He wasn’t sure, but he thought he could feel the daggers she was shooting at him hitting his back. He resisted the urge to shudder.

The two of them spent the rest of the day trying to avoid each other, and that was fine with Annika since she wasn’t ready to talk. She wasn’t sure if she’d ever be ready to talk to him. So, she sat in the armchair by the window that overlooked the lake, hiding behind a book.

Logan spent hours outside cutting the wood. She couldn’t help but steal several peeks at him. The power he used in wielding the axe, splitting the wood in one easy blow. And who could blame her for peeking again when he came back inside with his shirt in his hand, wiping the sweat off his forehead. He was tanned, probably from all the outdoor work he was sure to have done with the SEALs.

But it was the muscles that had her mouth going dry. He was all hard, smooth muscle, not a hair in sight. She had been right; he had bulked up, but not enough to be obscene. It was just the right amount. Perfect for a woman to run her hands over.

Wait…what?Where had that thought come from? And …Oh my God, does he have a woman?

Sowhat if he does? How is that any business of yours?Fifteen years was a long time. He probably hadn’t been celibate all those years. He could have even been married. Could still be married.

Annika realized how woefully ignorant she was about his life.

While he was in the shower, Annika heated up some soup and threw a few sandwiches together for them to have for dinner. When had it become easier just to cook for both of them? He thanked her for the food as they ate in silence together.

“It’s probably going to start snowing soon,” he remarked. So, they didn’t stay completely silent. They had each tried to start up an inane conversation here and there.

Annika took a sip of her water. “Really? I didn’t know it was supposed to snow.”

“I could feel it coming when I was out there.”

“How can you feel it coming?” She’d never heard that one before.

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