Heat Wave

“Why does it matter? Why did you lie to me?”


He chuckles. “Freckles, I never lied to you.”

“It’s not funny!” I tell him, marching over to him and poking my finger into his chest. “It’s not funny at all. You let me believe a lie. You let me believe that you were a monster that ruined my sister before she died. You made me think you were an asshole.”

His brows raise, wrinkling his forehead. “I never made you think anything.”

“You did! You had countless times to correct me, to tell me the truth and yet you kept letting me think it. Why? Why did you do that? Why couldn’t you just tell me? I deserved to know!”

“Let me get this straight…first you hate me and think I’m an asshole because I supposedly cheated on your sister. Then you find out I didn’t cheat on your sister and you still think I’m an asshole?”

I jam my finger into his chest again, my face turning hot as the anger and frustration pour through me. “I hated you so much and you let me!”

He wraps his hand around my finger and yanks it away from him. “That’s all on you, kid. You could have found out the truth if you dared to dig a little deeper, if you questioned who Juliet really was instead of blindly accepting it.”

“I didn’t know the real her!” I cry softly.

“None of us really did,” he says. “I doubt even your mother.” He pauses. “Admit it, you just wanted to hate me. It’s what I said earlier. Why you never bothered to find out the truth.”

I pull away from him, walking across the room, my hands at the sides of my head like I’m keeping it from exploding. “Oh, this fucking shit again.”

“Because you wanted me,” he goes on, his voice carrying across the room. “You wanted me just as I wanted you. From the moment you first came and stood beside me and let me know that you were my equal, that you were on my side.”

That makes me pause in my tracks. “What are you talking about?” I whisper.

“One of the reasons I never told you, or your mother, or anyone in your family the truth about Juliet, the truth of what she did, one of the reasons why I took the blame and let her paint me the villain, was because I already felt guilty.”

Don’t turn around, I tell myself. He’s walking closer to me, I can feel his heat, the power of him, at my back. It’s like the sun. “Why were you guilty?” I ask carefully.

“Because I should have been with you, Ronnie. It’s always been you.”

My heart vaults inside my chest, bouncing in circles. It’s everything I’ve wanted to hear and yet I’m still afraid to hear it.

“I spent part of my marriage wishing I was married to you instead.”

I shut my eyes, trying to keep the tears back. I can’t help it. Everything I’ve been led to believe has been a lie, a lie told by both sides. Was anything ever real? Was anyone ever going to share the truth with me, or was the truth something else that I didn’t deserve, another thing I was unworthy of?

“Veronica, please,” he says. “I never wanted you to hate me. But it was the only way this could work.”

“Who are you then?” I scream, whirling around. “Who was she?”

And then he’s right in front of me, his massive frame taking up all the space. He grabs my wrists, yanking me toward him. His gaze is all fire. “She was a person, okay? She was just a person.”

“She was my sister!” I cry out, tears starting to burn at the corners of my eyes. “She was everything I tried to be!”

“And in the end she was just as flawed as you are,” he growls, his grip tightening. “She wasn’t perfect. She wasn’t even a nice person half the time. You want the ugly truth or do you want to keep putting her on that pedestal?” He takes a breath, closing his eyes briefly. “Veronica, I know you’re angry that you wasted so much of your life trying to become a lie, but you don’t have to do that anymore. You never did. God, you’re so beautiful just as you, you’re better than you’ll ever think you’ll be.”

Now my heart is competing for space in my chest, swelling and growing. It’s hungry, so fucking hungry for more of his words and only Logan can feed it.

“We…I,” I try to say but the sobs are masking my words.

“I told you how I feel,” he says, voice so low and gruff it makes the hair rise on my arms, my body erupt in goosebumps. “And that still stands. So I’m sorry I’m not the asshole you thought I was. I’m sorry if that makes everything that much harder now.” He licks his lips, his nostrils flaring as he breathes. I get the distinct feeling that he’s trying to control himself, and it’s maddening how much I want him to lose control.

“How can this work?” I ask meekly, my eyes drawn to his lips. “How can we do this?”

“It’s very. Fucking. Simple.”