Page 7 of Bittersweet

Seeing him again, so out of the blue, had been a shock, to say the least. But there was still a deep, hidden part of her that longed to erase the past, to forget the four years they’d been apart, to tell him how much she’d missed him. And she hated herself for that, for still wanting him.

It had taken all of her strength and the amazing support of friends like Savannah to move past Logan abandoning her. But here she stood—one day after running into him again—completely shaken and unable to complete an order. And that infuriated her.

The disastrous cookie was angrily tossed aside and landed on the floor, meeting the same fate as a few others she’d unsuccessfully decorated that morning. She grabbed for a fresh one, but it was no use. The lines of icing were a mess, and so was she.

There was no use trying to concentrate when all she could think about was seeing him yesterday—still as attractive as ever—and wondering where he’d been for the past four years.

Closure. Maybe that’s what I need.

Logan’s departure had been abrupt and with no real explanation. If she found out why he left, then maybe she could finally move on.

It seemed like a good idea. It made sense logically.

But did she really want to go down that path? Could her heart take it? It was difficult to be in his presence—or even think about being near him—and remain clearheaded and objective when her pulse raced the way it did. That much was obvious by the mess of cookies on the floor.

As the years passed, she had come to terms with the fact that he wasn’t coming back. She’d accepted that it was over. But still, she had always wondered why. And now that he had shown up so unexpectedly, she felt she had a right to the truth.

This wasn’t the kind of thing to be handled over the phone, though. And she had to handle it. If she didn’t, she might be stuck in the same place for another four years, closed off to love, unable to move on with someone new.

Her phone buzzed with a text from Brett asking, “Dinner tomorrow night?”

Oh, Brett. What perfect timing.

She sighed. Even if she allowed herself to truly open up to Brett, she was fairly certain there would be no future for the two of them. Honestly, she hadn’t given him a fair chance. And she was starting to feel guilty for having dated him half-heartedly for so long already, all because of another. All because her heart had been cracked open like an egg, the contents left spilled and oozing and raw.

And for what?

She needed to know. Her back straightened. She’d had enough of the wondering, the holding on, the hoping. It was high time she got the answers she deserved. “Closure, here I come.”

“Did you say something?” Savannah asked from her place across the room.

Harper wiped her hands on a towel—sort of symbolic, like she was wiping her hands of the past or like she was about to.

“I’m going back to Logan’s truck.”

“What for?” Savannah moved across the kitchen in her direction. “You aren’t going to do anything crazy, are you?”

Harper looked at her questioningly.

“No slashing his tires or anything.”

“Vanna!” So serious was the expression her friend wore that she was worried Savannah might actually think her capable of such a thing.

Savannah finally chuckled. “No putting salt in the sugar shakers.”

A giggle escaped Harper. “That’s a good idea.”

“Seriously, Harper. What are you gonna do?”

“Talk.”

“Just talk?”

“I’m going to give him the opportunity to explain himself so I can get some closure. He owes me that much.”

“You’re right. He does. You go, girl!” Savannah stopped Harper with a hug on her way toward the door, then grabbed a small box and placed two chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese filling inside. “Here. Take him these. He liked them best. And you should never show up at someone’s place without a gift.”

Harper rolled her eyes at her friend, who was always thinking about the business, and took the box in her still-shaky grip. “I’ll try not to ruin our chances of working with him.”

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