Sand and Clay (16 page)

“It’s okay, Miss. Where do you want
me to take you?” He asked her. Caroline reached into her purse and pulled out
the invitation to Logan’s show and handed it to him.

“To that address, please.” She
sniffed. He glanced at the invitation and then handed it back to her and pulled
away from the curb.

“Sure thing, Miss, but that party
is over now I think. It's almost nine o’clock.” the cab driver said as he hit
the gas pedal, trying to make up the time he lost while she was crying.

Caroline’s eyes widened and she
grabbed for her phone that was in the bottom of her purse. She finally found it
and looked at the time, which confirmed that it was a quarter to nine which was
when the gallery was supposed to close. She closed her eyes and leaned back in
her seat, frustrated with herself.

She had known that she was going to
be late, but she didn’t realize how long it would actually turn out to be. Turner
deserved an explanation, he deserved the dinner she had promised, and he
deserved the time she had given him. It was the least she could do knowing how
badly she had just hurt him. However, now there was a chance that she might
miss Logan and she couldn’t bare it if she had lost out on being with her
Eduardo.

Chapter
Twenty-Two

The cab screeched to a stop in
front of the art gallery and Caroline quickly handed him a few bills, then
swung her bags over her shoulder and headed toward the front door of the art
gallery. She grabbed the door and pulled but it didn’t budge, it was locked.

The gallery had already closed. Caroline
took a step back and cursed at herself, more than just a little frustrated at
herself for missing the show, for missing Logan. She stepped back up to the
door and cupped her hand around her eyes, trying to peer through the glass. She
knocked on the door, tapping lightly.

She saw a light in the back so she
started banging louder. She couldn’t believe she had screwed this up so badly,
and all because she had slept in too late at her parent’s house.

Caroline could feel tears starting
to well up in her eyes again, but she just pushed them back and started banging
even louder on the door. She saw a silhouette appear in the back and so she banged
even louder on the door. Luckily, the person saw her and headed over her way.

Caroline stepped back and the door
opened for her. The man standing there was familiar but she couldn’t remember
exactly where she had seen him before.

“Caroline. Logan told me to look
for you earlier in the show.” The man said to her and it suddenly dawned on her
that this was one of Logan’s security guards that she had met at the concert
many, many months ago. Jackson was Logan’s driver but had been doing security
work for him for awhile now. Caroline didn’t even say hello to him because her
mind was only on one thing.

“Is he still here, Jackson?” She
said, stepping inside.

“I don’t think so, the show ended
awhile ago. I’m not part of his home security so I was just closing up here. He
is leaving for Greece tonight so my guess is that he is already on the way to
the airport. The schedule was to head straight there after the show wrapped
up.” Jackson told her.

Caroline’s whole body slumped at
the news. He was gone, he was on a plane to Europe, and she had missed her
chance. She heard the words but they didn’t seem to be making sense in her
head. She couldn’t have missed out on her one chance, she couldn’t possibly
have missed him.

“He’s gone?” She said softly, the
tears that were threatening to spill finally did. Jackson took a few steps over
to her and touched her arm.

“Are you okay, Caroline?” He asked
her. She nodded her head saying that she wasn’t okay.

“Do you want to look around at the
paintings since you are here anyways? I can wait to close up for awhile. If you
want I can try and make some phone calls and see if he left yet. He might still
be here.” He told her. She nodded her head as Jackson walked away toward an
office.

Caroline walked from the foyer into
the next room and flipped on the light switch. The walls were lined with
beautiful paintings and there were several benches positioned for people to sit
on to view the paintings and then a doorway on the far end that led to another
room with a similar set up.

Caroline stepped into the room
slowly and gazed at the paintings. They were all landscapes or scenery and
flowery depictions, so Caroline could tell right away that they were not
Logan’s. She walked past the paintings and headed into the next room which was
much nicer than the first. The ceiling was all glass so stars beamed down into
the room, which was still dark since she had not turned on the lights.

She didn’t reach for the light
switch because something about the light of the stars mesmerized her. The
patterns and streaks that they cast onto the paintings were haunting yet
beautiful. The room contained about ten paintings ranging in size but they all
had one thing in common, they all were about her or about them.

She walked into the center of the
room and looked at one of the paintings that the stars lit up the most. It was
her, same as every picture was her. There was a painting of her at her window
bench, another of her ankle deep in the ocean, and so on.

This one picture though, she wasn’t
alone. She was to the left looking off into the distance, only her profile
showing in the painting. Behind her resting on her shoulder was a man’s strong
arm belonging to a shadowy male silhouette. In his other hand was a bouquet of
roses, tilted towards the ground as if he was about to drop them.

The painting made it seem like she
didn’t even know he was there, didn’t even know that he loved her. She walked
closer to the painting and reached up to gently touch the cheek of the male
silhouette. The painting was nondescript but she knew it was Logan.

She had missed her chance. Their
story had played out just like his painting. She had turned her back on him all
this time, spurned his love, and now he was gone. He was gone and had taken
half of her heart with him. A warm tear slid off her eyelashes and spilled down
her cheek, she sniffed quietly and wiped at her cheek.

“Do those tears mean you like the
painting or hate it? An artist never really knows what his audience will see in
his renderings.” A deep, familiar voice behind her asked. Caroline whirled
around in surprise, letting out a yelping sound, startled at the sudden noise
and invasion of her privacy.

When she turned around, she was
staring straight into Logan’s piercing blue, smoldering eyes. She didn’t say
anything, her throat was locked closed making words an impossible feat.  Instead,
she took a fast step forward and wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her
body tightly up against him, and kissed him firmly on his lips.

He was frozen for only a moment of
surprise and then melted into her kiss. His arms wrapped around her waist and
lifted her up, closer to him, causing her feet to dangle above the floor. Her
arms were still around his neck, one holding on to him and the other hand
tangled in his hair.

A few minutes went by with the duo
lost in each other’s embrace until Logan gently lowered her to the ground and
pulled away, looking into her eyes.

“I didn’t think you were going to
come.” He whispered.

Caroline mused at that thought for
a moment, remembering that Turner had said the same thing. But she had always
known. She knew on her drive back to the city, she knew when her mother told
her about Eduardo, and she knew when she and Logan had kissed on the park bench
after his coffee shop stunt. She had always known.

“I was always going to come, Logan.
It’s always been you.” She said softly, tucking her head against his shoulder,
under his chin as he hugged his arms tighter around her. Her words warmed his
heart and put a smile on his face that he knew would never leave as long as she
was there with him.

He held her like that for a few
minutes, then his hand found her chin and tilted it up so he could kiss her
again. Caroline smiled in their kiss as she felt her entire body relax. She
felt a sense of wholeness that she had only experienced before in his arms.

She knew that he was her other
half, her soul mate, and the love of her life and she was never going to
question that again. Her days of saying no to good things and turning down
opportunities out of fear or some sense of duty who she thought she was
supposed to be were over. From now on her only guide would be her heart.

“I’m guessing Jackson told you that
I was going to Greece tonight.” Logan said to her, still holding her tightly
against him. She nodded into his chest.

“I thought you had already left. I
thought I had missed you.” Caroline whimpered, remembering the grief she had
felt only moments ago. He hugged her tighter and kissed her again, assuring her
with his strong embrace.

“Come to Greece with me.” He leaned
back and looked down at her, deep into her eyes, one arm around her waist and
the other brushing her hair behind her ear.

“Yes.” She said simply, smiling at
him. No hesitation, no fear, and no doubt.

“I love you, Caroline Sanders.” He
smiled at her.

“I love you, Logan Clay.” She said
and he lifted her up off her feet again to kiss her. Her knees were bent so her
feet were up in the air and he spun her around as she giggled and kissed him
again.

“Come on, let’s go home.” Logan told her.

“Where is that?” She asked slipping her hand in his as he
placed her back on the ground and they headed for the exit. He looked at her
and winked with a smile.

“It’s wherever you are, beautiful.” Logan said and leaned
down to kiss her again. That was all the answers Caroline would ever need
again.  

~**~

The End

About The Author

Sarah
Robinson is a native of the Washington, DC area and has both her Bachelors and
Masters Degree in psychology.  Writing has been her passion for many years
and she has had poetry published multiple times, but this is her first serious
work of prose to be published.  Much of her inspiration comes from the
love she shares with her future husband, Justin, and the emotions around
falling head over heels in love with your soulmate. This is her first full
length novel and will definitely be followed up by more, so stay tuned for more
new releases!