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He stroked her cheek as he said, “Everything. What hurts you, hurts me, and this was a pain you had carried for so long. When I saw you staring off into the distance, I knew it was your heart aching for answers. Until you had them, you could never be mine.”
“Yours?” That was a strong word. It meant there was an attachment that had not been spoken. Not by her or him. She didn’t want to admit it, but she needed to hear the words. Was he capable of saying them? “Logan, what are you trying to say?”
“Cori, I fell in love with you. And I would do anything to keep that beautiful smile on your face. Even if it meant giving you the truth about your grandfather.”
He loves me.Her eyes welled up. “I love you too, Logan.” She expected him to pull her into his arms and kiss her, but he didn’t. There was something holding him back. “What’s wrong?”
“We need to talk about Joe and my father.” He spoke so softly she knew he didn’t want to utter the words any more than she wanted to hear them.
“I guess you’re right. We might as well get this over with.” In her heart, she already knew what he was going to say. And by the look in his eyes, it was causing him as much pain as it was her.
“I found a man who worked for your grandfather. He remembered my father going to the vineyard and fighting with Joe.”
“Did he say why?”
Logan looked away, and she knew there was something he felt very uncomfortable saying. She wanted him to know he could trust her, tell her anything, and it wouldn’t change how she felt about him.
She reached up and touched his face. “Logan, you don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to. I’ve been bound by the past for so long now. Even though the answers are sitting right here in front of me, all I see is the man I love. Nothing is more important to me than that.”
“I don’t want to hurt you any more than you already have been. My father was a cruel person, Cori. He had your grandfather killed for no good reason other than resentment. There’s no making any sense of it. I look at you, and all I can think of is what he did to your family. I cannot ever make that up to you.”
“No, Logan, you can’t. But you’re not supposed to. You didn’t kill him. It’s not your sin to carry any more than it was mine. We have the answer, the truth, now we both have to let it go. Grandpa Joe is gone, and so is your father. What does it matter any longer? Telling anyone will only resurface all the pain in both of our lives. I’d rather focus on...”
“Our future?”
She nodded, afraid to say it, for fear he might not see the same thing for them. I don’t want to think of a future without Logan in it with me.
Logan pulled out some papers. She didn’t need to open them to know what they were. She could tell one was a photo he’d borrowed to show Brice. That was more than she needed to know.
He handed them to her and said, “Everything you need to know about what happened is here.”
She took the papers and put them on the coffee table. Then she raised her right hand and placed it on his chest over his heart. “No, Logan, everything I need to know is right here.”
He closed his eyes for a brief second and then opened them saying, “I don’t know what I did to get you to love me.”
“Funny, but I was thinking the same thing about me. Guess it’s just... fate.” That was odd, but she believed it, even though she’d never believed in fate before.
Logan scooped her up into his arms and settled her on his lap. It felt so good to be in his arms again. It was where she wanted to spend the rest of her life.
“What do you say we skip dinner and go right for dessert?” Logan murmured against her lips.
“Sounds delicious.” Cori wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.
He stood up while holding her and carried her to the bedroom. It wasn’t the first time they’d been together, but this seemed different. Even his kisses weren’t the same. It was as though the truth that had separated them was nothing compared to the love that brought them together.
Logan laid her on the bed and looked down at her. “What’s that look for?”
“Just thinking.” Cori smiled.
“I can tell. What are you thinking?”
She kissed him lightly then said, “That doctors have it all wrong.”
He arched a brow. “We do? Why?”
“Because you guys say laughter is the best medicine, but I think love heals all.”
Logan kissed the tip of her nose. “And that just proves how little we doctors know. So how about we work on some healing right now?” Cori giggled as he nipped her neck. “I love you, Cori.”
