Can't Let Go(30)

She still cared about him.

He remembered his plane landing, and the first thing he had done was to check on her flight. He’d rented a room and then went to her gate, waiting anxiously for even just a glimpse of her. He hadn’t planned on speaking to her—really, all he’d wanted was to make sure she was okay.

But as he’d watched her emerge from the boarding bridge, her eyes panicked as she searched around, he couldn’t move. The crowd had parted, as if everything had fallen together just to create that moment. And when her eyes had finally found his, her shoulders had relaxed and the fear he’d seen written all over her had simply…vanished.

She was relieved to see him.

He had taken it as a sign—that despite whatever she had said before, she did care about him. The evidence had been written all over her face.

After they had parted ways, he’d taken a seat along the wall, watching her as she walked through the airport. When she’d finally settled down at the bar, he couldn’t resist getting closer. Couldn’t resist the temptation to slip back in time, throwing back drinks and enjoying themselves. He hadn’t meant for it to go so far.

Logan sighed, running his hand through his hair, shaking his head.

Not that he regretted it.

He only regretted the position he had put her in. What was she supposed to do? She was engaged to another man. She’d given him her word.

Logan couldn’t help but wonder why, if she was really happy in her relationship, though—why had she felt the need to spend the night with him?

Maybe all she had needed was one more night to find closure, he told himself. He remembered how she had told him that, after he left her, she had waited for him to come back. Maybe, deep down, all she needed was to drive the final nail into the coffin.

Maybe she would be happy now.

He sighed again, deciding to push the thoughts from his mind. He’d spent way too much time thinking about this over the last three months—it was time to accept the way things were. Abby had left, and she wasn’t coming back.

It was time to move on with his life.

He heard a phone ringing in the distance and he crossed the room to the door, trying to tell the secretary that he wasn’t in. But the woman ignored him. “Mr. Sheppard—”

“I’m not in the office, Jean—”

“But Mr. Sheppard—it’s a personal call. You told me that if anyone by the name of Lewis—” He didn’t give the woman a chance to finish before he spun around and hurried back into his office, certain to close the door behind him.

It couldn’t be her—could it? What were the odds that she was thinking about him at this very moment—the very moment he had decided to let her go? He reached out for the phone, hesitating.

“Abby?” He questioned after a long moment.

“I’m sorry, Logan—it’s the more unappealing of the Lewises.” It was the voice of a man that responded—one that Logan recognized. Though he wasn’t displeased to hear Martin’s voice, disappointment still flooded through him.

“Mr. Lewis—”

“Call me Marty, Logan.” Logan couldn’t help but frown as he stared down at his desk.

“Marty,” he corrected. “What can I do for you?”

“Well—I hope you don’t mind me looking you up.”

“No, sir—not at all, actually.” It was the truth. Logan was only disappointed because it wasn’t Abby on the phone—part of him was thrilled, on the other hand, that the older man was calling. For some reason, it gave him just the slightest bit of hope that there was still a chance. If he could win over Abby’s father—what more was stopping him from winning her back as well?

Well, the fact that she’s getting married…oh, any day now. That might be a deterrent, he thought to himself.

“It’s Marty, Logan. All of this ‘sir’ and ‘Mr. Lewis’ business makes me feel like an old man.” Logan chuckled then. “Anyway, I was just calling because I was in the area—I was wondering if you were available for lunch.”

He probably shouldn’t—he knew. He had a few things he needed to finish up at the office before he packed up for good. But he just couldn’t resist.

“Lunch shouldn’t be a problem. Whenever you’re ready, sir—I mean, Marty. They won’t miss me, I’m sure.” They’d have to get used to him not being around soon anyway.

“Good. There’s this small little burger joint right across from the Chase building—should we just meet there in about a half hour?” Logan knew exactly which burger joint Martin was talking about. It was a hidden treasure of the city—one Logan would be sure to miss when he found himself on the other side of the country.

“Sounds great—I’ll see you then.”

As Logan hung up the phone, he took a deep breath, wondering just what was on the older man’s agenda. Why had he called? What did he want to talk about?

Or was Logan just jumping the gun, clinging on to some nonexistent hope?

He groaned then, running both of his hands through his hair, every muscle in his body on edge. Regardless—the man had good timing. If he had called at the same time next week, he would have found an empty office. Logan was glad he would have this opportunity, even if it didn’t get him any closer to Abby.

It occurred to him that perhaps Abby was already married. Maybe this was what her father had come to discuss. Maybe he was disappointed in Logan for letting her go through with it.

Or maybe he really was in the area, and he was just looking for some company to share a burger with.

Logan rose to his feet and grabbed his blazer off the back of his chair, pulling it on as he exited the office. “I’m going out to lunch, Jean—hold my calls.”

“Is everything—?”

“Oh, it’s fine. I’m just meeting—a friend.”

“Be careful, Logan. I don’t want to see you put yourself through what I saw you go through a few months ago.” She was an older woman—motherly, caring. Logan leaned over and touched his lips to the woman’s head.

“I’ll be okay, Jean. Don’t worry. It’s just a burger.”

“You know what I’m talking about, Logan.” He smiled sadly at her, remembering the mess he’d been when he’d returned from the trip to Kentucky. He’d been such a pest, constantly questioning Jean—wanting to know if he’d had any calls. Hoping he would hear from her just once.

He deserved the pain—he knew that. Whatever he’d experienced, he was sure it was no contest with what he’d done to her all those years ago. At least he’d almost been expecting it. Sure, he’d hoped for something different, but something had told him that Abby wasn’t done running yet.

“I’ll be careful.” He nodded, waving as he walked away. He hardly noticed the other people on the floor as he passed by them, his thoughts distracting him.

The restaurant wasn’t all that far from Logan’s building, so he made the trek by foot. When he finally arrived, Martin Lewis was already seated at a booth near the back. He waved from his seat, calling Logan over. When Logan made his way over, the older man offered his hand and the two shook before Logan settled in across from him.

“Thanks for meeting with me on such short notice.”

“Oh, it’s no problem at all. I’m glad you called.” Logan shrugged out of his blazer, having learned from experience that jackets were much more costly to replace than were dress shirts. He’d had the misfortune of making a mess of himself on more than one occasion.

“I really enjoyed talking with you the last time we met, Logan.”

“I’m glad. Really, though, the pleasure was all mine.” He wasn’t just being nice either. Logan meant it. He was glad he’d had the opportunity to meet Abby’s father, even if it made resenting him that much more difficult.

Impossible, rather. Because having seen the way Martin Lewis cared for his daughter…it had made all the difference.

“I regret not having the chance to meet you sooner, son.” Logan only nodded, unsure of how to respond. He, too, wished they’d had the opportunity to meet all those years ago. But deep down, he knew it was for the best that they hadn’t. “I know that you and Abby were serious for quite some time many years ago. I wish I had taken the time then to get to know you rather than allow the assumptions of my friends to make up my mind for me.”

“No—you were right. I was a different man then.” Logan knew Martin would never have approved of him then. He had been drifting through life until he met Abby, and even then, he had been too dense to do something with himself.

“Truth be told, I really don’t think you were.” Martin found Logan’s eyes, and he could see that the man was being honest. “For a long time, I thought I knew who you were. I grew up in this world, and I saw the way men looked at the women I grew up with. The golden ticket, I think, is what they used to say.”