Page 114 of Because of Logan

I ask, but I already know what he will say.Had Skye run into my parents and Amanda?

“Oh, you know. The other blond, blue-eyed girl you’re fucking. Does the name Amanda ring a bell at all?”

“She’s not my fiancée. She was my girlfriend, but we broke up four years ago.”

“Well, that’s not the impression Amanda gave. And that was a nice big rock on her finger. Didn’t strike me as your taste, though. It was a little garish.”

“She’s not my fiancée,” I repeat.

“When Skye came in with River, the day you got shot, your parents were here withyour fiancée, and Amanda made it very clear that Skye was just a little plaything and she knew about your little affair with Skye and that it was okay. She gave you permission to play around until you two get married.”

“Fuck!”

“I told Skye I did not believe a word of it, but I was not there to witness it, and it seems your parents corroborated the story. Skye is devastated, but she didn’t leave. She stayed in the waiting room.”

“Jesus, I had no idea. No one told me anything.”

I have no words for this mess. I feel responsible. If I had waited and heard Skye out. If I was paying more attention and not distracted by my anger. If I had not taken the extra shift. All those ifs could have resulted in a different outcome.

“Let’s just say that not too many people here are very fond of your family and fiancée.”

“Would you stop saying that? She’s not my fiancée. She never was. We dated for a long time and one day, she showed up with a ring and said she was sending me the bill for her engagement ring. I went along with it. And yes, I feel really stupid. I was young and under a lot of pressure. That is my only excuse.”

“Someone should give her an Oscar then, because the woman can be very convincing.”

“Skye would never believe her.”

Not after all I told her about Amanda and my father.

“Yeah, what makes you so sure?”

I open my mouth to speak, but nothing comes out. How can I be so sure? I didn’t believe Skye, so what basis do I have to expect her to believe me over anything Amanda may have said and my father confirmed?

There’s a knock on the door, and Bruno disappears into the bathroom at lightning speed. I guess he really is trying to sneak in unseen.

I close my eyes and try to slow down my breath, faking sleep. I don’t want to see anyone, and maybe if they think I’m sleeping, they’ll go away and I can hear what else Bruno has to say. I want to believe him with every fiber of my being. I need to believe him. Part of me still denies what he said. Could it be? Could he really be gay?

I listen carefully but hear nothing. I give it another thirty seconds to be sure whoever came in has left and open my eyes.

And she’s here. Skye is standing at the foot of the bed, almost unrecognizable. She’s wearing a Riggins baseball cap and a large hoodie that swallows her and hides her face and body. She looks like a teen boy in the shapeless and masculine clothes. But I’d recognize her small frame anywhere. She looks at me and pulls the hoodie down. The beautiful golden hair is tucked under the cap and hidden. Her blue eyes are huge on her pale face. And like the first time I saw her, there’s not an ounce of makeup on her face. Not even the shimmer of lip gloss. And yet, she’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.

So many emotions cross her delicate face. Relief, grief, hurt, hope, anger, love. I drink her in and send a silentthank youup into the universe that I survived and was granted a second chance to see her again.

I brace myself on the bed and push my body up with a wince as the sharp pain reminds me I was shot just three days ago.

I open my mouth to speak, not knowing what I’ll say, but she lifts a hand and silences me.

Chapter Sixty

He’s okay.

He’s okay. I knew this.

Pat stayed in touch with her sister at the hospital and passed along all the information to me. But still, to hear about it and see it—see him with my own eyes—makes a world of difference. The weight of worry drifts off my shoulders and makes me feel ten feet tall. Good. I will need it.

“I have a few things to say to you, Logan, and you will listen.”

My voice wavers, but I push on.

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