how well he knew her.
Abby needed to believe that she was no longer the girl he’d fallen in love with—but he was making it impossible. She had tried so hard for so long to become someone new—someone different.
She didn’t want to be that girl who was so easily left behind.
“And if he knew you, he would have made an effort to make Hayley as much a part of his life as she was of yours. He wouldn’t have shunned her like the rest of his socialite friends—he would have been proud of her, because he would have known how much you cared about her.”
“That isn’t fair,” she whispered, shaking her head. “Don’t bring Hayley into this—”
“Hayley is part of this, Abby! Whether you want to hear it or not, it was no secret that Hayley didn’t think this Eric guy was the one for you. You and I both know it—”
“What are you talking about?” She did turn then, looking at Logan accusingly. “You have no idea what Hayley thought—”
“I know that she told me to come find you, Abby. I know that she didn’t think you were happy. Didn’t think that you were ever going to be happy.” She felt a sharp pain in her chest—a longing for her friend, and at the same time, a small betrayal. Why hadn’t Hayley told her these things? Abby had known Hayley wasn’t thrilled about the coupling, but she didn’t know that she had felt that strongly about it. “She wanted you to be happy.”
“Why would I agree to marry a man who I didn’t think could make me happy?”
“Because he’s predictable. Isn’t that what you said?” The sting was so strong, he may as well have slapped her. She wished she hadn’t said those words to him, though they had been the truth. She shouldn’t have told Logan—he was only going to use it against her.
“If you cared so much about me, Logan, then you would have come to me. All on your own. You wouldn’t have waited for something like this to happen—you wouldn’t have wasted all of this time. You—”
“I was afraid, Abby!” He took her hands in his. “I was afraid that you would hate me. I was afraid that I wasn’t worth it. I was afraid that I might ruin your life.” He shook his head. “Why do you think I left in the first place? I wasn’t going to make you choose, Abby—not like that. I wasn’t going to put you through that torment. I wasn’t going to take you away from your life. Not unless I was sure it would be worth it.”
They held each others eyes for a long moment, each of them feeling an ache in their chest at the memory. He’d left, taking away any need for her to make a choice. But it hadn’t been his choice to make—and Abby couldn’t forget the pain it had caused.
She understood why. She knew the logical reasons. But her heart still bore the burden. She had actually believed that they could have a happy ending, all those years ago.
But Abby had learned. She had woken up and realized that life was not at all like a fairytale.
“Six years ago, Logan, I would have given anything for you. Anything you asked for—it would have been yours. You were the love of my life.” The tears overwhelmed her and she paused for a moment, looking up at the ceiling. “If someone had told me that you were going to up and leave—I wouldn’t have believed them. Even the morning you left, I couldn’t quite believe it.
“It was like someone had ripped a piece of me away, and I had to learn to live without it. And it hurt me. It took me a long time to try and fill that void.” Abby finally looked down, wiping at her tears. “I waited for you. I thought you might come back to me—thought you might realize that what we had was something…special. Something worth fighting for. But you didn’t. You just gave up.”
“Abigail—” She held up her hand, silencing him.
“Nothing has changed between us. No matter how much we want to lie to ourselves and say that we could have some sort of a future together—it’s nothing but a fantasy, just like it always was.”
“You don’t mean that.” He searched her eyes, trying to find some sign that she was lying. But he could see nothing—nothing but sadness, nothing but a broken heart. She couldn’t believe those words