by SJ McCoy
“You don’t sound very happy about it. Is it a bad time? Don’t worry. I understand if you have other plans. We can entertain ourselves. The resort’s lovely, and there’s so much to do.”
“No. It’s not that.” She pulled herself together. Hopefully, she’d get the all clear tomorrow and then it’d be great to see them. She couldn’t wait to introduce Logan to them. She knew her mom would love him, and Ged would be all protective at first, but Logan would soon win him over.
“Is there anything you want to tell me?”
“What do you mean?” How could she know?
Her mom chuckled. “I’ve had this feeling for a while that you’ve got a new man in your life. Do you?”
“Oh!” She heaved a sigh of relief. “Yeah. I do. His name is Logan. You’ll meet him at the weekend. I think you’ll love him, Mom.”
“I’ll be the judge of that. Is it serious?”
“It’s getting that way. You really will love him. He’s so good to me.”
“He’d better be.”
Roxy laughed. “You talk tough, but I know you. Once you see how he is with me, you’ll love him.”
“I hope so.”
“When are you coming?”
“Not until Saturday morning. I wanted to come tomorrow night, but Ged said we shouldn’t hog both nights of your weekend.”
“Okay. Well, call me and let me know what time you’ll be here. It’ll be good to see you.”
“Will do. Is everything all right, Rox?”
“Of course, why?”
“I don’t know, you sound funny, like there’s something you’re not telling me.”
“Everything’s fine, Mom, really.” It wasn’t a lie. As far as she knew right now, everything was fine. If she had … something wrong, she didn’t know it herself yet, so there was no reason to go worrying her mom. “I’m a bit tired. It’s been a long week already, and I’m just on my way home from work.”
“You’re driving? I’ll let you go then. Are you seeing your Logan tonight?”
“I’m supposed to be going out for dinner with the girls.” Again, not a lie. She hadn’t said that yes, she would be seeing him both before she went out and when she got home.
“That’s nice. Say hello to them for me and drive safely. I love you.”
“Love you, Mom. Bye.”
She gripped the steering wheel tighter. Please, please, let there be good news from the biopsy tomorrow. She couldn’t stand the idea of having them here all weekend while she worried about it. She couldn’t tell them, but it’d be a strain. Her mom knew her too well; she’d know that something was up.
~ ~ ~
Logan was surprised when he pulled into the driveway to see Roxy’s car parked there. She was supposed to be out to dinner.
He smiled when he got out of the truck, and the front door opened. He usually came out when she arrived home and sometimes wondered if it was overkill, but seeing her standing there, bathed in the light from the hallway, did something weird to his insides. It melted them. It made him feel warm and happy and so glad to be home.
He bounded up the steps and wrapped her in a hug. “I missed you.”
She chuckled. “What since this morning?”
“Yeah. I’ve been all the way to LA and back since then.”
“Well, you’re home now, and I made us some dinner.”
“I thought you were going out for dinner?”
She shrugged. “I didn’t feel up to it. I can’t focus. I’m just so impatient to get the all clear tomorrow.”
He hugged her closer. Hoping that she was right—that it would be good news. “That’s what I want, too, but remember, they didn’t say it’ll definitely be tomorrow. Only that straightforward cases take two or three days.”
She scowled at him. “And I’ve been good. I didn’t get my hopes up that I’d hear today. Tomorrow is three days.”
He led her inside and closed the door behind them. Not wanting to remind her that the folks at the hospital had said that sometimes it could take seven to ten days. “I know. But even if we don’t hear tomorrow, we can do something fun this weekend—something to take our minds off it until we do.”
He took his coat off and hung it on the back of one of the stools in the kitchen. “What did you make? It smells great.”
The expression on her face worried him. “What? Did you hear already? Is it bad news?”
“No!” She shook her head rapidly. “It’s just when you said about doing something fun this weekend. I’m not sure how fun you’ll think this is, but my mom and Ged are coming.”
“Did you tell them? Are they worried?”
“No, I didn’t. And even if I haven’t heard anything, I don’t plan to tell them. I don’t see the point in worrying them if I don’t have to.”
He nodded. He could see her reasoning, but he knew that would put a strain on things. He frowned. “Have you even told them about me? That you’re living with me?”
She made a face. “I told Mom about you on the phone tonight. I didn’t say that I’m staying here, just that they’d get to meet you—and they’d love you.”
He blew out a big sigh and went to her. Resting his hands on her shoulders, he looked down into her eyes. “You’re only staying here?”
She smiled as she looked up into his eyes. “I think I am. I mean. I’ve slept here every night since we started seeing each other.”
He gave her a stern look. “If that’s how you see it, then there’s something I need to ask you?”
She looked worried. “What?”
“Do you want to live with me? Permanently.”
His heart raced, wondering if he’d been assuming too much this whole time. As far as he was concerned, she already lived with him. She wasn’t just staying here.
He relaxed when she grinned. “Yes. I do want to. I just didn’t want to say it out loud in case it scared you.”
He placed his hands around her waist and lifted her up to sit on the stool. Then he stood between her legs and curled his arms around her waist. “For such a smart woman, you can be pretty dumb sometimes.”
She opened her mouth in an indignant huff, but he put his finger over her lips. “Let me explain. You think that you wanting to live with me might scare me? You haven’t noticed this last week that the thing that scares me most in the world is the thought of something happening to you—of losing you?”
He had to swallow around the lump in his throat and blink away the tears that were pricking in his eyes. “I can’t imagine living without you anymore, Rox. I know we’ve not been together that long, but even before we got into this, I knew you were someone I respect and admire. Now I know that I love you with all my heart and soul. You’re everything.” He shook his head. “Sorry if this sounds sappy as shit. I can’t help it. I need you to know. I need you to understand. When I said you’re my person, I meant it. You’re the person I want to spend the rest of my life with.”
Her eyes were round with shock. Maybe he should have waited. Maybe it was too soon, but with all the stress of this week, he’d figured out how he felt in a hurry. Nate had stopped by his office the day after her appointment. He’d seemed worried that Logan might feel under pressure to have to take care of her if it were bad news. That thought hadn’t even occurred to him. All he wanted was to know what he could do to take care of her. To be there for her. To see her through it and support her. He’d bitten Nate’s head off when he asked. But Nate had just laughed and said he’d been curious how serious things were between them—he had his answer.
He held his breath while he waited for her to speak. Maybe she was going to tell him that he was going too fast—or worse.
One fat tear rolled down her cheek, and he braced himself for the worst.
“You’re an amazing man, Logan Perkins, and I would love for us to be together—for good. But if this does turn out to be bad news, it wouldn’t be fair to ask you to stick around. I wouldn’t do that to you. It wouldn’t be fair. I love you too muc
h.”
He couldn’t help it; a tear escaped his own eye. “You don’t have a choice. You just told me that you love me and that you want me. You’re not getting rid of me. What wouldn’t be fair would be not letting me support you through this—if it even turns out to be what we think.”
He took a deep breath. He was about to utter a word he hadn’t thought he’d ever use. “One day, you’re going to marry me.”
He felt her body shake and realized she was laughing.
“I’m not kidding!”
Tears streamed down her face. “I know! I just can’t believe you said that—and that you meant it! I know you meant it. And …” She wiped her eyes before looking back up at him. “I think you’re probably right.”
He lowered his head to hers and captured her lips in a kiss that he hoped told her more than he could manage in words. He was shocked at himself. He hadn’t thought he was the marrying kind, but he did now. She made him want to be the best man he could be for her, to go through the best and the worst parts of life by her side and face them together. Especially that in sickness and in health part.
Chapter Twenty
Roxy was on edge on Saturday morning. She sat at the island in the kitchen, sipping her coffee. Logan was in the shower. He knew she liked to drink her first cup in peace even on the best of days. Today certainly wasn’t the best. She hadn’t heard anything from the hospital yesterday. She’d called, and they’d said that the results weren’t back yet. She’d hear just as soon as they heard. Not only was it torture to have to go through the whole weekend with a cloud of dread hanging over her, but she was also going to have to act upbeat and happy for her mom and Ged.
She hoped that if she could get enough caffeine in her, she could pull off a bright and breezy façade that they wouldn’t see through. Maybe she could kill two birds with one stone; get so distracted by putting on an act that she’d be able to take her mind off it. Somehow, though, she doubted it.
She took another sip of coffee and then sat up and forced herself to smile. She knew that you couldn’t hold negative thoughts in your mind at the same time you held positive ones. And if she could just pull herself together, she knew she had a lot to be positive about. She looked around. She lived here! Here with Logan. Sexy, supportive Logan. Logan, who had told her that she was going to marry him one day. Her smile was more genuine now. Strange as it might seem—crazy as it would have sounded not much more than a month ago, she believed he was right. Like he’d said, they’d known each other for a few years now. It wasn’t like they’d just met. There was no rush, it wasn’t like she was in a hurry, but just knowing that he felt that way—that he saw her as his person—made her happy. She believed in him. She believed in their future.
Her phone rang, bringing her back from her happy musings about what their wedding might be like someday.
“Hi, Mom, where are you?” she forced herself to sound bright and breezy.
“We’re about an hour out. Should we come straight to your place, it’s too early to check into our room.”
Roxy’s heart raced. Crap! She hadn’t even thought! They didn’t know she was here. Didn’t know that she lived here! She took a deep breath. She might as well clear it up right now. That would be better than trying to hide it. She was trying to keep one thing secret from them already this weekend, but that was only so they wouldn’t worry.
“Err … I should have told you. I haven’t been spending much time at my house lately.”
“Logan? Are you living with him?”
She almost said kind of as if that might make it more acceptable, less of a shock, but she made herself be honest. “Yes. I know you might not approve …”
Her mom sighed. “I’m not thrilled. We haven’t even met him.”
“I promise you, Mom. When you meet him, you’ll understand just why I love him so much. We’re not just shacking up. This is it. We’re serious, we’re starting our future together.” She looked up to see Logan leaning in the doorway with a towel wrapped around his waist. The smile on his face made her glad that she’d decided to be upfront about it. Now, not only could her mom have no doubts about how serious she was, Logan couldn’t either.
“Like I said, I’m not thrilled, but I’ll try to reserve judgment until the weekend is over. So, what’s the address? Are we coming to his house, or would you rather meet us somewhere?”
She looked up at Logan, hoping he wouldn’t mind. “I can give you the address if you want to come straight here?”
She was relieved when he grinned and nodded. He’d said he was eager to meet them and get to know them. She was glad he didn’t mind having to do that in his own home.
After she gave her mom the address, she hung up and held her arms out to him. “I need a hug.”
He came straight to her and dropped a kiss on her lips as he closed his arms around her. “Are you okay?”
She nodded against his still damp chest, wishing they could go back to bed. “I’m fine. I just wish they’d wanted to come next weekend.”
She felt him nod, but she knew what he was thinking—maybe by next weekend, she’d only have bad news to tell them.
~ ~ ~
Logan took a deep breath when the doorbell rang. He enjoyed meeting new people, but these were very important people. He hoped they were going to like him. It didn’t help that he knew he was hiding something from them. It was Roxy’s right not to tell them about the lump and the biopsy if that was what she chose. But he didn’t like feeling that he knew something that they didn’t—and was hiding it from them.
She came and took hold of his hand. “Are you ready for this?”
He grinned and led her to the door. “Of course, I am. They’re going to love me!” That was usually his attitude toward new people. And although his confidence wasn’t quite as robust today, the way Roxy rolled her eyes at him before she opened the door told him that he’d convinced her.
“Roxy!” Her mom stepped forward and hugged her.
Logan had to smile. They said that if you wanted to know what a woman would look like when she got older, you had to see her mother. If it was true, then Roxy would look great.
He smiled at the guy standing by her side, who held out his hand. “Hi. I’m Ged. Nice to meet you.”
“You, too. I’m Logan. Come on in.”
Roxy’s mom finally let go of her and gave him a warm smile. “I’m Janet.” She held her arms out. “And I’m a hugger.”
Logan laughed and leaned in for a hug. “I’m a hugger, too.”
“Put him down, Mom,” said Roxy. “Come inside. It’s freezing out here.”
“It is,” agreed Ged. “We saw snow on the way here.”
“Oh, Mom! You’d love where we went last weekend. Stanton Falls. It’s this cute little town and it’s all done up for Christmas already and they had loads of snow.”
“That sounds lovely,” said her mom. “I’d love to see that.”
Logan raised an eyebrow at Roxy. “We could take a drive up there tomorrow,” he suggested.
Ged smiled at him. “Way to win over the prospective mother-in-law. If you take her Christmas shopping, she’ll love you forever.”
Logan chuckled. “Like mother, like daughter then?”
“Yep.” Roxy and her mom both grinned at him.
He looked at Ged. “I’m guessing you wouldn’t want to get in the way of some serious shopping any more than I would. It might work out if we sit and drink hot chocolate and leave them to it.”
Ged grasped his shoulder with a grin. “I like you already.”
Logan discovered that he liked Ged right back. Roxy made everyone hot drinks, and they sat in the living room and chatted. It was easy conversation. They were curious about him—understandably—and wanted to know about his background and what he did. The last time he’d met a girl’s parents had been quite a few years back. He’d felt inadequate somehow when he’d told them he worked construction. Now he was proud to tell them that he was the site manager at
a major housing development on the other side of the lake.
Roxy’s mom looked at her watch. “Where’s the time gone? We’ve sat here yacking for a couple of hours. We should go and get checked in.”
“Do you want some lunch first?” asked Logan.
Roxy made a face at him.
“We could have lunch at the resort,” he added hurriedly. He hadn’t meant that she should make them something.
She nodded. “Yeah, do you want to do that?”
“Sure,” said Ged. “We’ll follow you over there. I got a bit turned around on the way here.”
“If you used GPS, it tries to take you the long way around town. You’ll see how straightforward it is now.” Logan smiled at him. “Then you’ll know how to get here in the future.”
~ ~ ~
Roxy would have liked to sit outside on the deck of the Boathouse for lunch, but it was way too cold for that. Instead, they found a booth inside.
She was pleased how well Logan was getting along with her mom and Ged. Her mom had shot her a few approving glances already. Roxy had known that she’d like him.
She didn’t look very approving right now, though. She was giving Roxy a look she didn’t understand.
“What’s up?”
Her mom frowned. “I don’t think I want to say.”
“Why not?” Her mom wasn’t usually backward about coming forward.
“Go on. You might as well say it as have us all sitting here wondering what the secret is.” Ged winked at Roxy.
Her mom shook her head. “That’s what I want to know. What is the secret?”
Roxy’s heart raced. She’d thought she was doing so well. “What secret?”
“Whatever it is that has you so on edge. And has Logan constantly checking that you’re okay.” She smiled at Logan. “I’m sorry. I can’t help but notice that you’re super protective. If it was just you, then I’d think it’s just your personality. But Roxy here is doing such a good job of being a little ray of sunshine that I know she must be hiding something.”
Roxy’s heart sank. She should have known her mom would see straight through her. She glanced at Logan. He looked as panicked as she felt. He’d suggested that they shouldn’t hide what was going on, but she’d been adamant. She didn’t want to worry them.
