by B. B. Hamel
I never expected a rich bachelor like Logan would take to fatherhood, but he’s trying. He works late every night, but not unreasonably late. He’s home by six every night, and spends at least a half hour with Alexa. He gives her a bottle and puts her to bed around six-thirty or seven, and then he usually heads back into his other office to work a few more hours. In the morning, he wakes up extra early to take care of her before leaving, and he even gets up in the middle of the night sometimes to take care of her when she’s crying.
Only a few days passed since we signed the marriage paperwork. We’re learning to live together, which is a really strange situation to be in. At the moment, he’s keeping himself busy, either with Alexa or with work, so I don’t see him that often. I think I like it that way, because when I do see him, things can get a little… tense.
There was a moment, back in Richard’s office, just as the judge was leaving. Logan leaned toward me and said something, I can’t remember what, because I was too busy staring at his perfect lips. I just kept picturing what it would be like if he kissed me, but instead he gave me the ring. I wanted him to kiss me so badly, wanted him to take me right there in that office. I didn’t know I even felt that way. It almost overwhelmed me with the intensity of the desire.
But of course, he didn’t. Richard interrupted us and the moment passed. Now I can’t look at my ring without thinking of that intense desire to be kissed, and I’m not sure I mind it.
I look at myself in the mirror and sigh. I’m wearing a fairly conservative dark blue dress, not exactly a gown, but something expensive that Logan bought me. I’ve been getting ready for an hour, and there’s a sitter staying over at the apartment to watch over Alexa.
“You ready?”
I glance over. Logan is standing in my bedroom doorway, dressed in an expensive suit, and smiling at me.
“I guess so.”
“You’re going to do great.” He steps into the room and puts his hands in his pockets. “You look great.”
“Thanks.” I turn toward him. “How’d you know what size?”
He shrugs. “I have people for that.”
“Of course you do.” I chew my lower lip a little. “Are you sure this is going to work?”
“No,” he says, pulling his hands from his pockets and leaning against the bureau. “I have no clue. But we can do it.”
“What if Chester doesn’t like that you married me?”
“Then we’re screwed. You’ll get what you want and I’ll have to figure something else out.”
“It’s a big gamble.”
“I know. But it’s worth it.” He stares at me for a second with a powerful gaze. I have to look away from him.
“Let’s go,” I say quickly, wanting to get out of the moment. I’m starting to feel that desire for him again, but I can’t afford it right now. I have to concentrate.
We head downstairs and his driver takes us over to the Winterfield House. It’s a three-story brick townhouse in the center of the nicest part of the city. It obviously cost a fortune, which makes sense, since Winterfield is worth a fortune, nearly as much as Logan.
We ring the bell on the front door and a minute later, a man dressed as a butler answers. He shows us inside, and we find Chester Winterfield and his wife Muffie having a drink in their parlor.
The house is beautiful. There’s no other way to put it. The place looks like it’s straight out of British royalty, with all of the expensive trappings that go along with it. Antiques line the walls and I think I even spot a real Picasso, but I’m not sure, as we step into the room.
“Logan, my boy, good to see you.” Chester gets up and walks over, a snifter of brandy in his hand. “I’m glad you set this up. I was just thinking about you.”
“Good things, I’m sure,” Logan says, smiling and charming. The men shake hands and Chester laughs.
“Only good things, my boy.” Chester huffs and his mustache blows in the wind slowly. He’s a shorter man, portly in the middle and gray all over with sallow skin and deep brown eyes. His wife is reed thin and severe, with short hair dyed blonde and deep blue eyes. She doesn’t move at all as the men exchange pleasantries.
“Well, Chester, I want you to meet Everly,” Logan says.
“Everly, dear, nice to meet you.” Chester shakes my hand. I feel like I know the man, although he doesn’t know me at all.
“She’s the reason we’re here tonight, actually, Chester.”
Chester raises an eyebrow. “Is she, now?” He chuckles. “Not a bad reason, not a bad reason at all.”
Muffie clears her throat and Chester gathers himself. “Ah, yes, Everly, dear, this is my wife, Muffie.”
I walk over to her and we shake hands. Her grip is loose and fish-like.
“Charmed,” she says.
“Lovely to meet you.” I do my best upper-class impression, not really knowing what else to do. Muffie is stiff and formal and doesn’t smile at all.
“Well, come on, everyone. Let’s all sit and eat, and then you can tell us the big news.” Chester motions and we follow him out of the parlor and into a formal dining room. We sit down at a large oak table as staff brings us the first course.
Logan and Chester instantly start talking about business. Muffie remains silent the whole time, not even bothering to look at me. I don’t speak up or join in on the business talk, since I get the sense that it’s supposed to be a manly thing or something like that. Chester Winterfield is an old school rich man, very conservative and formal. I’m going to do my best to seem demure and kind, and I don’t want to risk standing out to him. Although I hate to do that, I know it’s what needs to be done.
The first course is a delicious soup, which Muffie hardly touches, while Chester practically drinks it straight from the bowl. Logan winks at me, smiling, as Chester makes some awful joke about marketing consultants.
As the first course plates are cleared, Chester grunts and motions for another drink. “Okay now, Logan. We’ve talked business and bored the women to death. How about you tell me why the two of you are here?”
“I’d be happy to,” Logan says, reaching over for my hand. “It’s about Everly, as I mentioned before. Well, Chester, Everly and I got—“
“Sorry I’m late.” A young man steps in from the back door. He’s around my age and looks exactly like Chester, except with deep blue eyes and he’s much thinner. Instantly I realize that this is Chester’s only son, Spencer Winterfield.
“Spencer!” Chester says, standing. “Good of you to join.”
“Good to see you, Logan,” Spencer says. The two men shake hands. “Who’s this?”
Spencer looks at me, and my skin crawls. I don’t know what it is about him, but he gives me the creeps. I’ve met men like him in the past. They’re usually frat bros, the sort of guys that think chugging beer and having sex with passed out women is fun.
“This is Everly,” Logan says. “She’s my wife.”
The table suddenly goes still. I swear, Muffie actually drops her napkin, like she’s totally shocked.
“Wife?” Chester finally asks.
“That’s right,” Logan says.
“Well, congratulations!” Spencer cuts in. That seems to break the ice, and everyone sits back down. I fold my hands in my lap and squirm a little bit as I catch Spencer grinning at me again.
“When did this happen?” Chester asks.
“Recently,” Logan says. “It was a last minute thing. You see, Everly and I have been seeing each other, and I’ve been helping her with a, uh, a little problem.”
I wince at that. “He’s been very kind,” I say softly.
“What sort of problem?” Chester asks, not being very subtle.
“Well, she had a child,” Logan says. “And because I love her, I wanted to make sure that her child has a father. And so we were married just a few days ago.”
The table is utterly silent. This is the moment that I’ve been dreading. Logan faced it bravely, diving directly into the issue,
but I wish we had more time. Really, I wish that creepy son Spencer weren’t sitting there, staring at me like I’m some piece of meat.
“Logan, my boy, that’s incredibly…” Chester trails off.
“Admirable,” Muffie finishes for him. It’s the first time she speaks.
Chester beams, like he was just told how to think. “Admirable, yes, dear, of course. How gallant! This poor girl, saddled with a fatherless child. You stepped in to save her.”
“That’s right,” Logan says. “I love Everly and her child. I couldn’t let them live without a father to take care of them.”
“What a stand-up guy,” Spencer drawls, smirking.
“He saved me,” I say. It’s a little much, but it seems to work.
“To your marriage!” Chester cries out, holding up his drink.
“To children always having a father,” Muffie says, a little less enthusiastic. In fact, the look she gives me says that she thinks I’m a dirty whore, but at least she respects Logan. It’s amazing how much information can be conveyed through a single look.
We cheers to that and get to talking about how Logan and I met. We rehearsed the story over and over again, but I still feel terrified finally saying it. He does most of the talking, since he’s so charming and easy to get along with. From what I can tell, the Winterfields are buying it.
Spencer doesn’t stay long, fortunately. As he’s leaving, though, he winks at me. I can tell what he’s thinking, but I just look away from him, not engaging. The dinner conversation turns away from our marriage and back toward business, which is fine by me.
Directly after the main course, Muffie stands and announces that she’s tired. She leaves without another word, which is actually a little rude, but Chester just grins and acts like it’s normal. Soon after that, he escorts us to the front door, saying over and over how he wishes we could stay, but it’s late, and oh the time, and soon enough we’re outside, climbing back into the car.
I finally feel like I can breathe. Logan leans over toward me, grinning hugely. “That went well,” he says.
“I think so, too.”
He laughs, shaking his head. “Can you believe that? For a second, I thought Chester was going to have a heart attack.”
“Muffie saved the day.”
He grins at me. “What kind of name is that, anyway?”
“Sounds like something a dog should have.”
He laughs out loud and takes my hand. A thrill runs down my spine as he leans toward me. “You were incredible in there. Seriously, incredible. I believed every second of it.”
“Oh yeah? You believed that I love you?”
“Absolutely,” he says, grinning. “It’s easy to believe, since I’m so lovely.”
I sigh and shake my head, smiling at him. “The only bad part of the night was their son.”
“Spencer? What’s wrong with him?”
I cock my head. “You didn’t notice? He was eyeing me up the whole night.”
“Can you blame him?” Logan smirks at me. “You’re gorgeous, you know.”
I blush and pull my hand away from him. My heart beats quickly in my chest. “He winked at me on the way out,” I say.
Logan frowns a little. “I’ll keep an eye on him.”
“Thanks,” I say, leaning back in my seat.
We fall back into conversation, going over the details of the night, but I keep coming back to Spencer and that wink. He made me so uncomfortable. If it weren’t for him, the night would have been a complete success. As it stands, I feel like I barely survived it.
Still, the Winterfields seemed to have bought the story, at least for now. Alexa is safe with us and the project feels like it’ll still happen. We need to close the deal, but we’re on the right path.
I believe in Logan. If anyone can do this, he can.
7
Logan
Everly was perfect. I knew she would be, but it’s like a weight being lifted from my chest.
She was quiet and reserved. She had perfect manners, which is why I think Muffie ended up buying into her little fake sob story. That whole thing could easily have backfired, but I think it worked because Everly sold it so well.
I’ve never been so attracted to a woman in my entire life. All night after we get home, I keep thinking about her. I have a dream where I fuck her in the nursery. I strip her from her dress and slide my thick cock between her legs, making her moan and beg for more. I wake up with a fucking hard-on unlike anything I’ve ever had before.
I don’t know what I’m going to do about Everly. I want her badly, but I know I shouldn’t have her. She’s my wife, but it’s just a business arrangement. If I take what I want so badly, it could complicate things.
And then there’s that moment back in Richard’s office. I almost kissed her, right then and there, and I’m positive she would have let me. I know she wouldn’t have stopped it. Just the way she was looking at me. She was practically begging for me to grab her by the hair and to pull her close against my body.
I get up early the next morning. It’s Saturday and I have nothing to do, but I’m going to work anyway. There are a few projects that need to get done.
I dress and head out into the kitchen. Alexa isn’t awake yet, and so I’m going to let Everly sleep as long as she can. I know Alexa woke her up once or twice last night.
I make some coffee and head into my office. I’m deep into my work by six in the morning when Alexa and Everly usually get up. I work straight through it, worried that I might try to do something stupid if I see Everly right now. I keep getting flashes of her in that dress, looking so innocent and fucking sexy as hell.
As I’m finishing up a project around nine in the morning, I remember a comment Everly made about Spencer Winterfield. I didn’t notice anything off, but I have to admit that I wasn’t paying attention to him. I don’t know much about Chester’s son, other than the fact that he works for his father. Spencer is some typical rich boy as far as I know, which is the opposite of how I grew up.
I do a little searching, but there’s not much online about Spencer. There’s a profile about him on Harvard’s alumni web page, which is where he got a graduate degree. That doesn’t mean much, since Chester was a Harvard grad, and donates a big sum every year. As far as I can tell, Spencer is just your average rich asshole.
I close my laptop lid, getting ready to head back into my home apartment, when my cell starts to ring. I don’t recognize the number. Frowning, I decide to answer.
“Hello?”
“Yes, hello, is this Mr. Ray?”
I hesitate. “Yes, this is Logan Ray.”
“Mr. Ray, this is Janine with Biomarker Labs. I have your paternity test results back.”
My heart skips a beat as adrenaline shoots through me. I thought we’d have more time, but I did pay them to call as soon as they knew the results.
“Okay, give them to me,” I say.
“In the case of Alexa, you are the father,” she says.
My heart hammers hard in my chest, but I’m not afraid. It takes me a second to identify the emotion.
It’s pure joy.
“Thank you,” I say, and mean it.
“We’ll send you the complete results in the mail, but Alexa is your daughter, Mr. Ray. Congratulations.”
“Thank you,” I say again, and hang up the phone.
I’m practically reeling. Alexa is truly my daughter, there’s no doubt in my mind now. I knew she was, deep down inside of me, which is why I’m going to such lengths to take care of her. But now I know for sure, and holy fucking shit does it feel good.
I stand up with a huge grin on my face. I want to yell and shout from pure joy, which is surprising, but I can’t help it. I head right back into the main apartment.
“Everly!” I call out.
She’s standing in the kitchen, holding Alexa in her arms. I grin huge once I spot them.
“What are you smiling about?” Everly asks me. Her hair is piled up on top of her
head and she’s wearing a tight tank top with tight gray shorts. She looks fucking perfect, even though she just got out of bed.
I walk over to the two of them and pull them both against me. “This is a good day,” I say.
Everly laughs. “What are you doing?”
“I just got a call. About Alexa.”
“Holy crap.” Everly pulls back and looks at me. “Is she your daughter?”
I beam and take Alexa from her. “Yes, she is,” I say, laughing. “My little girl.”
Everly laughs loudly and hugs me. “I’m so happy you’re happy,” she says.
“I don’t know why, but I think this is the happiest I’ve ever been.” I kiss Alexa on the head and hold her tight. “This is my little girl. My little Alexa.”
For a second, I forget about Everly, just enjoying this moment with my daughter. My baby daughter, my real daughter. The girl I’ll protect and raise forever.
After a minute or two, I realize that Everly is just watching us with a big smile on her face. I feel a little silly, and so I put Alexa down into her little swinging rocking chair.
“I’m glad you’re happy, Dad,” she repeats.
I make a face at her. “Don’t call me Dad.” I hesitate before grinning at her. “But you can call me Daddy if you want.”
She rolls her eyes. “I knew you’d say that.”
“And yet you still make the comment.” I grin and step closer to me. “Sounds like you wanted me to say it.”
“Relax there,” she says, smiling at me. She doesn’t deny it.
I want to grab her right here and now and kiss her deeply. Goddamn, do I want her so badly. But before I can do anything, Alexa starts to cry. Everly’s smile doesn’t fade. “I got it,” she says, walking over and taking Alexa.
