Free The Summer Cottage by Lily Everett Page B

toes flinching from the
     cold hardwood floor. “Logan?”
    There was no answer but a shuffling sound from above. Still half-asleep, Jessica looked
     up. Had he slept in the loft? Since they started sleeping together, the loft and its
     smaller, less comfortable bed hadn’t seen much use beyond storing their empty suitcases.
    Annoyed at herself for feeling a pang that Logan might be learning to sleep better
     on his own than with her, Jessica started for the built-in stepladder that reached
     up into the loft space.
    She was on the third rung before she remembered what else was up in the loft, besides
     a low, narrow bed.
    Hurrying up the ladder, heart in her throat, Jessica cleared the floor already knowing
     what she’d see.
    And there he was. Logan crouched beside the bed with his confiscated cell phone clutched
     in his hand, thumb typing so furiously and intently, she knew he hadn’t even heard
     her call his name.
    This was why she’d taken the phone. When Logan got embroiled with work, he lost track
     of everything else. Nothing mattered but the problem in front of him.
    Nothing and no one.
    Gritting her teeth against the vulnerable girl inside who was hurt that she’d been
     forgotten in favor of a piece of technology, Jessica climbed the rest of the way into
     the loft and cinched her robe more tightly around her waist.
    “All right, you checked in. Now hand it over,” she demanded.
    Without looking up from the backlit screen or ceasing his lightning-fast typing, Logan
     bit out, “There’s an emergency at the lab. They need me back there. I’m catching the
     morning ferry back to New York.”
    Jessica closed her eyes and gathered her patience. This was exactly what she’d tried
     to avoid. “No, you’re not. You’re on vacation. Deal with it. The lab can deal with
     it—this so-called emergency is nothing more than a group of employees who have been
     spoiled by constant access to you, and who need to learn to self-direct and take responsibility
     for their jobs.”
    His head shot up, his bloodshot blue eyes lasering in on her face. “You knew about
     this?”
    “I’ve kept up to date with the e-mails from the lab, yes.” The increasingly frantic
     e-mails, begging for more direction and next steps on the project Logan had handed
     them before he left. “I told you I’d monitor the situation, and I have. You left them
     with adequate instructions. They may not be geniuses like you, but they should be
     able to figure this out on their own, without bothering you.”
    Finally tossing the phone aside, Logan rounded the bed and dragged his suitcase out
     of the space by the wall. “I’m leaving. I need to get back to my lab, my work.”
    “You need to stay here and keep healing,” Jessica said, reaching to take the suitcase
     from him, but Logan jerked away.
    “I’m fine,” he said in a rusty voice. His swift, shaky movements told another story,
     and Jessica noted all the familiar signs with a growing sense of alarm.
    “You didn’t sleep at all last night, did you? Logan, you have to see how bad for you
     this is.”
    “It’s my job. I’d think you, of all people, would understand why that’s important
     to me.”
    Rocking back on her heels, Jessica didn’t have time to figure out why that felt like
     a slap. “Important enough to jeopardize your recovery?”
    “I’m not jeopardizing anything.” Dropping the suitcase over the side of the loft with
     a bang that made Jessica jump, Logan started down the ladder after it, clearly intent
     on packing.
    A deep wellspring of panic bubbled up unexpectedly, goading Jessica to say, “So the
     fact that once we go back to Manhattan, this thing between us is over—that doesn’t
     even factor into your decision.”
    She heard Logan pause halfway down the ladder, but mortification and an intense need
     to hear his response kept her from walking to the edge of the loft to catch sight
     of him.
    When he replied, his voice had lost some of the