Page 10 of A Veteran’s Second Chance

“You’ve got two minutes.”

I follow Logan to the booth, and my gaze strays down his solid back and to his cute ass, which is probably the only soft thing about him. It’s a nice round shape, encased in denim and probably the perfect fit for my two palms.

We reach the booth and I drag my gaze away from his tempting backside, but I’m too slow, and his eyes go wide when he catches me looking.

“You see something you like, Peaches?” The use of the old nickname has me remembering why grabbing his butt would be a bad idea.

“I’m not Peaches anymore.”

“You’ll always be Peaches to me.”

I slide into the booth and instead of going to the opposite side, Logan slides in next to me. His huge frame takes up most of the seat, and I scoot across to the wall, but he follows. While he’s not right in my space, he’s close enough to feel the heat of his thigh hovering half an inch from mine.

I fold my arms over my chest and wait, but Logan just stares at me. His gaze rakes over my features as if he’s a thirsty man in the desert.

I wonder how I look to him. I haven’t got the smooth skin of youth anymore. I love my curves that come from the extra weight I’ve put on over the years and the lines around my eyes that show the story of my life. But under Logan’s scrutiny, I’m suddenly glad I put on makeup, which annoys me. An ex turns up in my life, and I’m worried about my appearance. I should be better than that.

I glance at my watch. “Ninety seconds left.”

Logan chuckles. “You’re even more beautiful than I remember.”

That makes my heart flutter more than it should. I look down in case he notices that after one small compliment I’m already melting. The eighteen-year-old me would have swooned if Logan had called me beautiful. But the twenty-nine-year-old me can hide the swoon and fake indifference.

“Is that what you want to talk about?”

“No.” He runs a hand over his jaw, and it catches on the stubble. It’s a few days’ growth, and I like it more than the clean-shaven soldier I knew.

“I want to apologize for how things were left between us.”

I tilt my head. “How you walked out, or how you never contacted me again?”

He winces, and I’m glad. I want him to feel some of the pain that I felt.

“All of it.” He lets out a long sigh. “What we had was special. You should know that.”

I scoff. “I know nothing, Logan. All I know is that I fell for a soldier who did what soldiers do; you left, and I never heard from you again until you turned up at my clinic. I was a stupid eighteen-year-old girl, and I thought I was in love.”

“We were in love. I loved you, you can’t doubt that.”

I put my hand up to stop him. “You don’t need to say things like that, Logan. I was naive. You must have had loads of girlfriends over the years, and stupid innocent me thought it was something more than it was. It’s okay. I got over it.”

He catches my hand and holds it in both of his.

“That’s not how it was. There’s never been anyone before or since who I felt that way about. You weren’t stupid or naive; you were a beautiful soul who I fell in love with.”

His words drag up old memories, and my eyes sting with tears. I blink them back, not wanting to shed any more tears for this man.

“Then why did you leave?” My voice is croaky, and Logan rubs his thumb over my hand.

“I’d been selected for the 75th Ranger Regiment. It’s a hard life for the wives and girlfriends; I wouldn’t have been able to tell you where I was going, what I was doing, or when I’d be back. Sometimes weeks would pass without a call. I couldn’t ask you to build a life around that.”

This is news to me. Logan never discussed any of this with me before he left.

“You had your own plans, Savanna. You were starting college; you talked about being a physiotherapist. I couldn’t take that away from you.”

“I would have followed you anywhere.” It comes out as a whisper, and all the grief I’ve been holding back surfaces. A tear rolls down my cheek, and I’m back to being the heartbroken eighteen-year-old.

“I know you would have.” He wipes the tear away with his thumb. “That’s why I had to let you go. You would have followed me and given all of this up—all your dreams—just so we could be together on those few weeks a year when I wasn’t deployed.”