Can't Let Go - By Michelle Brewer Page 0,6

here!”

And she didn’t even wait for him to do so before she turned her back and stalked away from him, too broken to even watch him go.

~*~

She couldn’t stay inside. Memories of him assaulted her—waking up beside him this morning and ruffling his hair; eating breakfast in bed, laughing as he dipped his toast into her eggs; crying mercy as he tickled her mercilessly; making love in the afternoon sun.

So she sat on the lanai, dressed in her pajama shorts and tank top, staring up at the stars. They were beautiful here—the sky was crystal clear. Nothing like back home in Boston, where she and Hayley had spent the last four years, or L.A., where they’d grown up.

She and Logan had fought like this before. It was something they’d actually done often—only usually, his words weren’t so biting. They weren’t so…final.

They had always come back to each other.

And so she waited, telling herself that she wasn’t doing exactly that. She thought about the things he’d said and wondered how much truth there was to them. Never before had she doubted her relationship. Sure, there were problems—she was aware of that. But she’d never even considered their relationship coming to an end. They would work through it—whatever it took, they would figure it out. That’s what love was all about—wasn’t it? And wasn’t their love strong enough to endure?

When Abby saw his familiar build coming into view—she rose to her feet and hurried off the lanai, meeting him somewhere in the sand. She wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head against his chest, relief sweeping through her. “I knew you’d come back,” she whispered, swallowing at the lump in her throat, willing herself not to cry.

“Abby…” He said softly, his tone warning her.

“Shh,” she whispered, rising on her tiptoes and pressing her lips to his. “We’ll be okay, Logan. I know we will.” He was the first man she’d ever loved, and something inside her knew he would be the only man she ever loved.

Whatever it took, they could work it out.

“I…” He sighed, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close, maybe a bit reluctantly. The familiarity was comforting and she melted into him, taking his embrace as a positive sign.

“You still love me?” She asked, lifting her head so that she could meet his eyes.

“Forever, Abby.”

And she kissed him then, trying with everything she could to show him how much she cared. She felt his embrace tighten, felt him pull her closer. There was a strange hunger in his kiss—something deeper, something she’d never felt before.

And then she was in his arms, being carried inside. They tumbled into the bed and she began to work at his clothes—needing him, needing to meet his passion. She needed him to know that she was his—to convince him that their love was strong enough to last.

~*~

Logan laid there for hours after Abby had fallen asleep, burning the image of her into his memory. He knew he shouldn’t be here—he knew this was wrong, that being with her like this wasn’t right. But he couldn’t help it.

He thought back to the way she’d looked at him, standing out there under the starlit sky. Her eyes had lent to her a blind vulnerability, pleading with him in a way that broke his heart to even think about. It was a side of her he’d never seen.

She was afraid.

He had felt it the moment Abby touched him. She knew that something had changed and she was trying so hard to pretend that it hadn’t. But whatever it was—she knew it wasn’t going away.

He thought of her simple question. “You still love me?” She had been so exposed. She had revealed everything to him at that moment, and he couldn’t deny her.

He couldn’t lie to her.

No matter what happened, he would always love Abigail Lewis. She was the world to him—like he to her. Only he had to be strong enough to do what he knew was necessary. What he knew was right.

Logan hadn’t planned on coming back. He was just going to go, like she’d told him to. He was going to buy a ticket home and disappear, letting her live her life exactly like she should.

But he had to come back. He needed just one last glimpse of her. And then she was there, looking up at him with those beautiful green eyes of hers.

And so he’d stayed. He’d kissed her with a passion strong enough to last him a