Chapter 10
LOGAN
Logan stuffedthe leftover lingonberry muffins into a large Tupperware, keeping an eye on Abby as she zigzagged around the kitchen, cleaning up after breakfast. She’d insisted on serving Piper and Tyler herself, no matter how many times he’d bemoaned the idea. She shouldn’t have to serve the woman claiming to be her husband’s one-night stand. But Abby wouldn’t relent and shooed him out of the house to do the week’s grocery shopping.
Somehow, Abby seemed to be holding it together, despite the rickety roller coaster Piper had strapped them all into the moment she arrived. Thankfully, she’d retreated back to her room after breakfast, with Tyler in tow. No more bombs dropped today. Not that she could get any more nuclear than claiming Donnie had a secret love child. I mean, seriously? Donnie cheating on Abby? You couldn’t get more implausible. Not to mention the blatant impossibility thanks to the whole shooting-blankssituation.
A fresh surge of anger ripped through him, and his muscles involuntarily tensed.
“Easy, Hulk.” Abby’s teasing tone broke through his thoughts. “People actually like to eat those.”
He looked down, realizing he’d smashed one of the muffins in his tightly wound fist. “Shoot. Sorry, Abs. What a mess.” He grabbed a dish towel and swept the crumbs into a pile.
“It’s fine. I can use the muffins in a blueberry crumble later. But if you need a stress ball, may I suggest one of these instead?” She offered him a Meyer lemon. “I plan to make some lemonade later this afternoon, and you can save me some time.”
Abby flashed a genuine smile for the first time that morning. Her entire face brightened like the sun rising above the clouds, and Logan couldn’t help himself. He tossed the dish towel on the counter and pulled her into his arms, sealing her lips with his as if a single kiss could rewind time. As if they could return to the moment before Piper arrived. To the moment when he’d planned to ask Abby to marry him.
Piper hadn’t just wiped her muddy boots on the past. She’d stomped all over their future, too. At least Abby didn’t know about that part yet.
When he finally let Abby come up for air, she gasped, her hazel eyes shining. “What was that for?”
“Because you’re amazing. Because, in the midst of this craziness, you can still smile. And you know your smile gets me every time.”
She laughed softly, resting snug in his arms. “Well, it helps that you’re so indignant on my behalf. It’s like you’re carrying the burden of outrage for me, so I don’t have to.”
“Happy to be of service. But seriously, how are you doing? It can’t be easy having her here.” He’d reminded Abby a dozen times that she didn’t have to let Piper stay at the inn, but she hadn’t changed her mind.
“I’m fine.” She averted her gaze, a sure sign she wasn’t being entirely truthful. To top it off, she wriggled away, resuming her after-breakfast cleanup.
He watched her dump the dirty casserole dish into the sink of soapy water, and his heart wrenched. He hated to see her hurting. Especially here, in her happy place.
He’d lived in this house for years, maintaining the massive historic mansion and sprawling acre of land, but it had never felt like a home before. The sunny, spacious kitchen had merely been a place to prepare his meals. And not even good ones. Although, he had learned to be creative with a can of tuna, if he did say so himself.
Since Abby moved in—and he’d relocated to the bungalow in the backyard—the house hadn’t just become a warm and inviting home. She’d made it special. And not only for him and Max. For everyone. People came to Blessings on State Street to relax and unwind. To enjoy themselves. Or, as the inn’s new tagline described it—thanks to Nadia’s genius marketing skills—it was a place where luxury and leisure met hometown hospitality.
Then Piper mucked it all up by dragging her lies and drama through the front door. Now, tension stretched through the walls, putting everyone on edge.
“I know what fine stands for,” Logan told her. “Fine meansfeelings inside not expressed.” He’d heard the cheesy acronym on a self-help podcast pumped into the waiting room at his doctor’s office. Funny how his brain remembered that little ditty, but not his email password.
Abby wailed on the baking dish, flinging soap suds into the air as she scrubbed. “I can’t let Piper know she got to me.”
“Why not?”
“Because I don’t want her to think she can intimidate me with her lies. I don’t want her to think for one second that I believe her.” Abby continued to scour with so much fervor, water sloshed onto the counter and soaked the front of her apron.
“And you don’t, right?” Logan joined her at the sink, putting himself in the splash zone. “You don’t believe her, do you?”
“Of course not.” The deep farmhouse sink resembled a wave pool, and Logan placed a hand on her arm, calming the motion.
“Abs,” he murmured, gently removing the sponge from her death grip. “It’s okay to not be okay. Even if you know she’s lying.”
She looked up and met his gaze, tears welling in her eyes. “But what if she isn’t? There’s a slim chance she could be telling the truth.” Her pained, whispered words punched him in the stomach. He’d give anything to erase her doubt.
“She’s not.”
“How do you know?”
“Because if Donnie loved you even half as much as I do, the thought of being with another woman would make his skin crawl.” He shivered to drive home his point. “See? Just talking about it is giving me the heebie-jeebies.”
