Page 52 of A Second Chance Summer in Dublin

‘Okay?’ Donal puts his hand on my arm and I shake it free without thinking. My nerves are all over the place.

‘I-I-I just need to make a quick work call,’ I lie, and take a step back. ‘I’ve only one bar of service, so I’ll go outside.’ I eyeball Donal and take another step away.

Logan is on the move again, gaining ground.

‘You tell Mia to hurry up with that cake.’ Trish throws her eyes. ‘As soon as she’s ready, can we do the hip-hip-hoorays, dear? I know Uncle Tom’s hip is acting up and he’s ready for home soon, we drove him here, we’ve to drop him all the way back to Malahide.’ She sips her champagne, her eyes roving the room.

‘Yeah, I’ll sort that.’ I look up to see Logan’s proximity now, twist my head, stare at Donal.

‘It’s okay,’ he tells me.

‘I’m just gonna .?.?.’ I point to the smoking-area doors, wave the phone in my hand.

‘Go ahead. What can I get you to drink?’ Donal nods.

‘Red wine, please. Just grab one from the tray on the bar? It’ll be good stuff, trust me,’ I tell him. I dare not look up to see where Logan is now as I dart for the door to the smoking area.

Smokers sway and chat happily, elated in their shared nicotine passion, and I move past them. It’s been ten years since I last smoked a cigarette, but right now I’d fight Katie Taylor for a long, soothing drag of that slim white stick. The soft night air blows my hair momentarily and I realise my neck is sweating. I pat it. Then I hear it.

‘Gracie?’

And there he is.

The moment I’ve been waiting for.

The moment I’ve been dreaming of for over a year and a half.

Once again, we’re face-to-face.

I’m slightly taller than him in my wedges, just as I’d planned.

‘Hi, Logan.’ I surprise myself sounding utterly breezy and calm, when I’m anything but. I feel like I can’t breathe. Ironically Sabrina Carpenter’s ‘Please, Please, Please’ echoes through the outdoor speakers behind us from Mia’s meticulously planned playlist.

‘Sis said you were coming.’ Logan holds my gaze, his smirk curling at the sides of his mouth, the cheeky blue eyes dancing at this awkward scenario. His blue shirt is undone by two buttons too many, revealing his tanned, hairless chest.

‘I wouldn’t miss it. She deserves to be happy. Ha!’ But I laugh a little too manically. I’m clenching and unclenching my fingers around my phone and he notices.

‘Can I talk you for a second, Gracie?’ Logan says. It’s so disconcerting hearing his voice say my name like that again. No one has called me Gracie since we broke up.

‘Sure .?.?.’ I stop fidgeting. My head’s racing and I need to pull myself together. Fast.

‘You look sensational.’ Mission accomplished, I think, as Logan steps nearer to me, the smirk alive and kicking as he runs his hands through his hair, his eyes pouring into my soul. And he smells so familiar. I can hardly believe he’s standing beside me.

‘Oh, gosh. Thank you. I was out to dinner before here. Can’t wait to toast Mia’s freedom.’ I fumble the phone and drop it, but Logan’s fast, he moves and catches it with one hand.

‘Thank you.’ I try to take it back and our fingers brush off one another, Logan holding my hand for well over a moment too long. But shockingly, nothing happens. The bolt of chemistry I’d expected from our first physical touch after all this time .?.?. it’s not there. I pull my hand away. I hold it out, look down at it expecting something. I don’t know what. It’s like any frisson of attraction has vanished.

Suddenly, I realise I have no respect for myself. I hate the fact that I’m all dressed up for him. I hate the fact I wanted him back. I’m furious that he left me on our wedding day. And just like that I know now that I can never forgive him for leaving me in that way. It’s so shocking my words won’t form. My head is spinning. My breath is short.

He’s not the man I thought he was.

He’s not the man I want anymore.

Chapter Twenty-Six

‘So, can I have two minutes?’ he drawls in some sort of fake New York accent. I’m so accustomed to his eyes. It’s like I’ve stepped back in time, only I haven’t. This man, who I know so intimately, now stands opposite me a year and a half later, and it’s just not what I expected. It’s nothing like I’d imagined.

He feels like a complete stranger.