Page 47 of Whenever You Call

I climbed into the driver’s seat, throwing my bag into the passenger footwell before I leaned back and exhaled. “Just about.”

“I was starting to worry.”

“Why?”

“I thought you might have called sooner.”

“You don’t have to worry about me, Hannah. I can take care of myself.”

“I don’t doubt that for a second.” And the way she said it, all soft and tender, made it impossible not to kick myself for not calling sooner. “It’s not my business anyway. You’ve probably been out there trying to find that life you’re searching for.”

A half-hearted huff of laughter escaped me. “Nah, just spent far too much time in the gym trying to get my thoughts in order. My head got kind of noisy. I tried to shut it down for a while.”

“Oh.” She paused. “How did that work out for you?”

“It didn’t. That’s why I’m calling you.”

An awkward silence lingered between the two of us before I heard her suck in a breath. “Logan, listen, I really am sorry about what I said to you that day in the kitchen. I’ve thought about it even more over the last couple of days, and I can’t believe what a stupid thing it was to come out of my mouth. It wasn’t my place to make you feel—”

“Stop,” I said calmly, cutting her off. “That’s not why I’ve been quiet.”

“It’s not?”

“No.”

Another heavy breath escaped me, and I ran my free hand over my damp forehead, knowing that one day soon, she’d need to know the truth, but not wanting to hurt the shit out of her today.

“I guess I’ve been questioning my intentions with you,” I told her.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean you’re an incredible woman, and you’re living through one of the worst periods of your life. As much as I want to be there for you, there has to be boundaries.”

“Like?”

“I think that’s pretty obvious.”

“Not to me.”

“It would be easy for anyone to become addicted to your company, Hannah. I don’t want to be the guy that blurs the lines. You need a friend. Someone to be there for you. I get that, and I’m more than willing to be that. But I don’t want to take advantage of your beat-up heart when you’re at your most vulnerable. I don’t want to make you think my company is the only company that matters. I could become too used to that, and that’s not fair on you or me.”

“Are you saying you want me to back off?”

Hell no,my heart screamed as I closed my eyes, while the rest of me realized that this could be the perfect opportunity to part ways and leave her to rebuild her life without me…the man who’d already failed her in an unforgivable way.

“I’m saying I want what’s best for you, and sometimes I’m not sure that I’m it.”

“You know, Logan. Sometimes the best people for us in one particular moment aren’t always the best people in general. I get you have stuff going on in that head of yours. I see it every time you look at me like you’re torn between who you are and who you want to be… and that’s okay. I get it. I get it because I’m the same. I always have been. I want good things for those around me, but sometimes I wonder how I’m going to give them those things when I don’t even know how to give them to myself. Have you ever thought that maybe you came into my life for a reason, and maybe I came into yours for one, too. Maybe that day in the drive-thru happened because webothneeded someone. Not just me.”

I ran a hand down my face, exhaling into it before I let my head fall back against the seat. “I just don’t want to put a step wrong with you, Hannah.”

“Why? Because you think I’m made of glass?”

“Because I think you deserve the best and nothing less.”

“And I happen to think you’re the best thing for me right now,” she said, matter-of-factly. “In fact, I’m so certain of it, I’ve got some groceries here with your name on them. If you’re free tomorrow, you’re welcome to come over. I figure with enough practice, the two of us will learn not to be so awkward going forward,” she said with an obvious smile. “Who knows? We may even have some fun while we’re cooking, too.”

There’d be no going back if I saw her again.

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