Page 4 of Consuming Logan

All the attention the Shell Cove Courier focused on them unsettled her. In their four years together, she and Logan had weathered the microscopic critique of both families, her transition into the Navy, and his rise in notoriety. She was proud of her man’s accomplishments. Logan was a brilliant surgeon and medical researcher. But the society page publicity surrounding their wedding resembled the giant soap bubbles she enjoyed as a little girl—magical, easily damaged, and utterly destroyed with a modicum of pressure.

Not that she would ever say this to him…to them. While she’d been away serving her country, everyone had rallied to make her wedding day special. Which brought her back to the current dilemma. The Walters family and the Masters clan, an oil and Perrier water mix-up, an ever-expanding social distancing experience, had formed a fragile truce. Ava’s rejection of the activities surrounding the big day might sever the fluid bond. She wanted everyone to celebrate their marriage. Probably naïve. But weddings should unite, not tear families apart. Not that she expected a “kumbaya moment,” but she could endure another four months, right?

She should accept that every detail ofherwedding didn’t actually have to reflectherpreferences.

Everything would work out fine. Better than fine.

So why did calm elude her? The last time she’d felt this churning in her belly, Logan had asked her to dance for the very first time.

At her welcome to the Shell Cove Medical Center (SCMC) Pediatric unit nursing staff, Ava had recognized her vulnerability to his charm. He’d worn his arrogant confidence like a signet ring, imprinting his stamp on her…everywhere.

She’d been enamored by his brilliance.

His body.

His bold approach.

On a lesser man it would be pretentious, but with Logan it added to his sex appeal. Of course, precision cut reddish blond locks and the beard scruff covering his angular jaw helped. With his thick lashes, piercing emerald eyes, and six foot two inches of bronzed muscle, Logan’s physical attributes had driven her to distraction. The sense of power he exuded bordered on lethal. And now, he was going to be her husband. Who could’ve imagined emotionally blunted Ava Elaine would grab the attention of Shell Cove’s favorite pediatric surgeon and most eligible bachelor?

Falling head over military boots for Logan had broadened her perspective. He credited the Navy for the new command on her life. In truth, his love had lifted her above the previous doubts she’d held about her own abilities. After suffering Marcus’s verbal and physical abuse, Ava had filtered every decision through her abuser’s hypercritical lens. She lived her life shrouded in fear. Fear of repeating the same mistake. Logan’s unconditional support and confidence in her success had made it possible for her to leave the safety of her family and Shell Cove to join the military and live out her dream career. She hadn’t been kidding when she’d called him her hero. Logan was her love of a lifetime.

Dropping into her comfy office chair, she smiled at the bouquet of flowers on her desk. A colorful array of lemon scented bee balms and lavender delphiniums surrounded by a bluish-purple rainbow of windflowers.

She plucked the business card sized envelope from the arrangement and read the cursive script aloud, “I’ve been waiting for you.”

Her heart filled with love for the man she’d chosen to be her husband. Tears sprang to her eyes, and she chided herself for being too emotional.

Leaning over, she buried her nose in the perennial blooms, careful not to scatter pollen on the three military ribbons above her left breast pocket. She was most proud of the green and orange Navy-Marine Corps Achievement Medal earned during deployment. Inhaling the crisp smell of outdoor blooms, she whispered, “I love me some, Logan Masters.”

She logged onto the computer before stowing her purse in the right lower desk drawer. The first email was from Logan. Of course.

Dr. Magic Hands here. Interview went great. In a creative mood. Call me.

Visualizing his cocky grin, Ava laughed aloud. A flood of pride and happiness washed away her concerns, revealing a clear picture of her future. Logan was perfect for her. Was she paying too high a price dealing with his family and the wedding changes?

She swallowed the disappointment. To have forever with Logan…definitely worth the momentary discomfort. Suddenly, a gurgle erupted from Ava’s belly, and saliva pooled in her mouth.

“Oh no,” she covered her mouth with one hand. “Not today, Satan.” That was a Granny Lou quote. Her grandmother had a ton of pithy one-liners.

Worsening stomach problems had led her to schedule a primary appointment with routine labs before climbing the stairs to her fourth-floor office. The labs were precautionary. Better safe than infected with a rare National Geographic parasite.

She rubbed at her stomach, praying the churning subsided before her first meeting of the day. A cramp of pain shot through her pelvis, momentarily paralyzing her, seconds before a wave of nausea crash landed in her gut. Instinctively, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and willed the urge to erupt away.

“I got this,” she reminded herself, swallowing the nausea and taking a few deep breaths. Man, pre-wedding jitters sucked. No one wrote about this in the bridal magazines. She needed coffee and maybe some breakfast.

Placing the back of her hand to her forehead, another of Granny Lou’s throwbacks, Ava assessed her skin temperature.

Cool and clammy. Well, she’d take that over sweaty and fevered. She had a wedding to plan.

The scrape of the doorstopper against the carpeted floor snatched Ava back to the present. Jerking her head up, she pasted on a smile for her project manager.

“Came by earlier,” Asher said walking in and dropping a manila folder in front and center.

Straightening in her chair, Ava’s gaze bounced from the file she knew held vendor proposals to the second steamy cup of coffee in his left hand.

“I stopped by the lab first.”

As the nurse manager, the project she co-chaired with Ash, retrofitting the clinic with state-of-the-art equipment, had taken a back seat to her health. She was glad to see he’d kept abreast of the vendor options and departmental requests. He stalled for a second, delaying her java gratification.