by Claire Adams
“Okay.”
“Okay?”
“Yeah, baby.” He leaned over and kissed my face. “I’m not going to force you to get married.”
“So…will you still want to marry me? Later on, I mean?”
He smiled and I felt like I knew him well enough to know that it was a warm, genuine smile. “Of course. We can get married whenever you want to.”
“You won’t snatch up someone like Number 88 if I make you wait?”
He laughed and put his arm around me. Pulling me in for a hug, he said, “As sexy as I found her, no. You’re the one I want.” I had tears in my eyes again. I realized that I’d been afraid that he was going to call the whole thing off.
God, I already loved him so much, more than even I had realized until he asked me to marry him, and just like that, like a ton of bricks, it hit me… What was I waiting for? What more did I need to know?
“Logan?”
“Yeah, baby?”
“Can I change my mind again?”
He looked like he was trying not to laugh as he said, “About?”
“Getting married.”
“You don’t want to marry me at all now?”
“No, just the opposite. I want to marry you…next week.”
His face lit up but that anxiety was still there in his beautiful eyes. “Are you sure, baby? I want you to be sure.”
“I think I’ve been sure all along. I just kept thinking about explaining it to my parents. They’re not going to understand.”
He nodded. “I know. Mine will be a little more than shocked, as well. But this is about you and me, right?” I nodded. He grinned and leaned his forehead into mine. He kissed me and then in an excited voice he said, “By this time next weekend, we’ll be married.”
“You’re getting married?” the sound of Kimber’s little voice startled us both. Logan and I looked at her. “You’re going to be my aunt, Chloe?”
Logan and I looked at each other. We knew that now we had to tell the family tonight no matter what. There was no way we could expect a ten-year-old to keep a secret like this. I smiled at Kimber and said, “Yes, is that okay with you?”
The little girl didn’t answer me with words. Instead, she squealed and threw her skinny arms around my neck. That warm feeling filled me up again and it made me brave and I held onto that…right up until we walked into Logan’s parent’s loud and chaotic home and before either of us said a word Kimber announced,
“Uncle Logan and Chloe are getting married!” You could have heard a pin drop then and about ten pairs of questioning eyes were upon us.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
LOGAN
I cleared my throat. Chloe clutched onto my hand like a lifeline. No one said anything for what seemed like an eternity. Public speaking was my forte, yet there I stood in front of my own family and Chloe’s without a clue as to what to say. Chloe’s father finally broke the silence – and of all of them, he was the one that I least wanted to hear from.
“Married? You’re engaged?” He was completely avoiding my eyes, staring at his daughter whose face was bright red.
“Um…yeah, Logan proposed last night and I accepted.” I saw her cover her left hand with her right.
Again, silence dominated the room. My mouth was as dry as a bone. My heart was thudding in my chest. I looked at my mother and the guilt whooshing through my bloodstream swelled. I felt like she knew. She knew that I was using this beautiful young woman for my own personal gain and she was going to hate me for it. I had to say something, anything.
“Mom, Dad…this wasn’t exactly how we planned on announcing it, but yes, Chloe and I are engaged.”
Caroline was the first to make a move. It made sense. She was the nurse, the caretaker, and the peacemaker. She got up and came over to us. She hugged Chloe first. “Welcome to the family! We are so blessed to have you.” Then she hugged me and gave me a genuine smile.
My sister came next and then my brother and brother-in-law. Finally, my mother got up and she and Aunt Mabel both hugged us. Mom was still either looking at me funny or my imagination was working overtime. As the family gathered around us, it wasn’t hard to see who was missing. My dad and Chloe’s still sat at the table quietly. As soon as the hubbub died down, Chloe’s father got to his feet and said,
“Chloe, can I see you…alone.” She squeezed my hand again. I didn’t want to let her go. I could only imagine what her father might have to say to her, and in my imagination, none of it flattered me.
She pulled her hand out of mine and gave me a reassuring smile before saying, “Of course, Daddy; let’s go in the kitchen.” Mr. Dupree shot me a glare before leaving the room with his daughter. My father finally got up and came over. He clapped me on the shoulder and said,
“Congratulations, son.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
“Maybe you and I need to have a private talk ourselves.” Shit. I didn’t want to have a private talk with him. At nearly forty years old, both of my parents could still reduce me to a twelve-year-old. The guilt and paranoia were so thick that I already could hardly breathe.
“Sure, Dad, maybe later…”
“Now.” He turned his back to me and walked toward the back-patio door. I was expected to follow. Once again, all eyes were on me. I decided that going with my dad was the lesser of my two evil choices. I followed him outside.
We stood on the enormous patio, he with his hands in his pockets and me shifting my weight from one foot to the other. At last he said, “Married, huh?”
“Yep.”
“Last I heard you didn’t plan on doing that again.”
“People change their minds about things, Dad. Chloe changed my mind.”
“Do you love her?”
I didn’t hesitate, “Yes.”
“Are you sure? I mean you’ve been dating for what…two weeks?”
“Three.”
“Oh, that makes a difference.”
“Dad, do you not like Chloe?”
He chuckled. “I like Chloe a lot. She’s a sweet, innocent young woman. The one I’m worried about here is my son.”
“Wow, thanks, Dad.”
“Oh, stop it. Logan, you and I and everyone in this house know you. We all know that you love the women. We know that you crave the attention. We know that you love the sex. You and Lisa knew each other forever and you couldn’t make it work with her.”
“That had nothing to do with me being a player, Dad. I never cheated on Lisa.”
“I know that, son. But my point is that if you couldn’t make a marriage work with a woman you knew inside and out and who knew you both ways, how are you going to make it work with a girl you barely know?”
“Please stop calling her a girl. She’s a woman and she’s older than Mom was when you married her.”
“I wasn’t thirteen years older than your mother.”
“Why is that such a big deal to you, Dad? Age is just a number.”
“That’s what men who want to date younger women say. Listen, I told you the last time we talked, it’s not so much her physical age as it is her innocence.”
I rolled my eyes. “She has a certain innocence about her, I will admit. But she’s not so innocent that she doesn’t know what she’s doing, Dad. She’s smart – brilliant smart. It’s insulting to me that you don’t think she knows her own mind enough to make a decision about getting married.”
He sighed. “Fine, let’s put that aside. Why so soon? Why not date her for a few more months or a year before you proposed?”
“Because as you seem to enjoy pointing out lately, I am nearly 40 years old. I want to have a family, and I want to get started before I’m too old to enjoy it and do it right.”
He raised an eyebrow and said, “So when do you plan on going through with this?”
“Don’t say ‘going through with it’ like it’s an unpleasant task. We haven’t set a date yet.” That wasn’t a complete lie. Yes, we talked about next week, but not an exact day.
“Well, that’s good at least. Take your time and get to know one another.”
“We know each other, Dad.”
He shook his head. “I hope so.”
“It’s not like you to be so negative.”
“And, it’s not like you to be so impulsive,” he said. “And that’s what worries me.” He left it at that and strolled back into the house with his hands still in his pockets. They were freaking out about the engagement; they were going to lose their minds over us getting married next week.
I felt sick to my stomach and once again unsure that I’d be able to go through with this. I started back in the house and as if she’d been channeling negative energy, my phone rang…it was Mel.
“Mel, we’ll talk tomorrow.”
“Wait! Did you do it?”
“Yes.”
“Did she accept?”
“Yes.”
“Whoo hoo! Then why do you sound so miserable?”
I sighed. “I’m a terrible person, Mel.”
“You’re a gorgeous billionaire who is giving this girl a chance to have things in her life that she never dreamt of. Hell, that ring you bought her alone could support her for a year if she pawned it.”
“Mel, everything is not about money. I’m playing with her emotions. I told her that I loved her and I wanted to have a family.”
She laughed. The sound of it made my stomach sicker. We were both bad people. “Good job!”
“No, Mel, it’s not a good job. I don’t think I can do this. Even my parents know this is bullshit.”
“Are you going to cheat on her? Are you going to beat her? Are you going to divorce her and leave her penniless? Are you going to ruin her career, her reputation?”
“Stop it, Mel.”
“Why? Someone needs to talk sense here. You’re acting like she won’t get anything out of this. We’ll draw up a prenup that will make her a rich woman the day you divorce her.”
“A prenup?”
“Jesus, man, what would you do without me? You’re a billionaire. If you don’t have a prenup, she could leave you penniless. I’ll have the lawyers start on it today. But don’t worry, we’ll be generous to Chloe. I’ll call Zelda, too.”
“Who is Zelda?” My head was throbbing.
“The wedding planner. She’s already got most of it planned. All she’ll need are Chloe’s color choices and Chloe will need to meet with the dress designer right away. You don’t mind that I’ve already selected the flowers and cake, do you? I think she’ll understand that there was no time to wait on that.”
I hung up on her. I couldn’t listen to it anymore. I stood there on my parent’s porch and decided that I couldn’t do this. I pulled open the door and ignored everyone in the living room as I marched past them into the kitchen. I pulled open the kitchen door just in time to hear Chloe say,
“He makes me feel alive, Daddy. I know you don’t believe that I could really fall in love so quickly, but I do love him. I can’t even put into words how much. I’m going to be a good wife, and I have no doubts that he’ll be the best husband ever. He’s a wonderful man, Daddy, and he would never hurt me. Please give me your blessing because I’m doing this, with or without it.”
Chloe and her father both noticed me at once. Her brown eyes were filled with love as she looked at me and his were filled with disdain. I could taste the acid of my lies burning the back of my throat and my stomach.
“Why so quick?” her father said to me.
“I love her, sir, and she loves me. We don’t see the point in waiting.”
“The point is that this isn’t like buying a new shirt. This is your life, and more important to me, my daughter’s life. I just don’t understand what the hurry is. Do one of you have a fatal illness you’re not sharing with us? Are you pregnant, Chloe?”
“Daddy! No, I am not pregnant and nobody is dying. We just know what we want.”
He glared at me again and before he walked out of the room he said, “Well, I hope you’re planning on a long engagement.” Famous last words.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHLOE
As Logan and I walked hand in hand back to the cottage, the silence settled between us like a blanket. We’d just spent over an hour defending ourselves to our families and we hadn’t even told them yet that we planned on doing this next week.
I suddenly realized that with all the excitement, I’d forgotten to ask Logan just how he’d gone about getting my family there. Especially, my father. The man had literally never taken a vacation; the farm was his life. I stopped walking when we reached the point where the trail turned into sand that stretched out to the ocean beyond the cottage.
“Logan, how did you get my father to agree to come on this vacation?”
“I had a man go out to Minnesota and hire the most experienced, capable people that he could from local farms. They went to your dad themselves and promised him they would take care of the farm exactly the way he does it. He still said no.
“So, I called him and told him his little girl was alone in the city for the first time and it was Thanksgiving and she missed her family. He said he’d send your mother and sister. Then, I told him I was falling in love with you. He hung up on me and I didn’t know for sure he was coming until he got off the plane.”
My heart swelled in my chest. That he would go through that much trouble for me, and accomplish something my mother, sister, and I had failed at for twenty years amazed me. “Did you already plan on asking me to marry you?”
He looked a little distressed and then he said, “I’d been thinking about it.”
“Logan, do you want to get married next week because my family will be here and you’re not sure if my father will come back or not?”
He furrowed his brow and then slowly began to nod. “Yeah… I mean, for all of the other reasons I told you as well, but I wanted you to get married while your dad was here to walk you down the aisle.”
I threw my arms around him. He was caught off-guard, and I nearly knocked him off his feet. I kissed his lips and his cheeks and his lips again.
“You’re amazing.”
“No, I’m not.” He was being humble. He’d acted like it was his idea to get married so soon, but he was doing this mostly for me. He is amazing.
“Yes, you are, and if you don’t hurry and get me up to the house, I’m going to show you just how amazing I think you are right here.”
He chuckled and said, “I have a better idea.”
“Better than sex with your fiancée?”
He smiled. “Nothing is better than that; this will just enhance it a bit. Wait right here.”
I stood waiting while he ran into the cottage. My panties were suddenly wet. It amazed me how he could do that to me in an instant. I was excited, too, because I couldn’t wait to tell my parents that he’d done all of this for me. Daddy wouldn’t dare fault him then, since he’s the one that makes taking trips so difficult.
When Logan came back, he had a blanket over his arm and a bottle of wine and two upside down glasses in his hand. He handed the glasses to me and took my hand. “Follow me.”
“Where are we going?”
“It’s a surprise. Oh, here.” I looked down at his other hand and saw that he was holding the little box with my ring inside. It made me smile again. I took it from him and slipped it on. The glare off the huge diamond when the sunlight caught it was almost blinding.
“God, it’s so pretty.”
He stopped and kissed me softly on the lips, “Still not as pretty as you,” he said. He started walking again and led me down the private beach to an area surrounded by leafy green bushes. He parted one of the bushes open and I gasped. Inside was a little open area with two reclining beach chairs and a little table in between them.
“Love nest?” I asked.
He rolled his eyes. “It’s my reading spot.”
I snickered, and he gave me a hurt look. “I promise you, Chloe, I’ve never brought a woman
here before.” I was not sure why that made me so happy, but it did.
He pulled me further in, and I sat down on one of the chairs. We could feel the cool, ocean breeze and hear the waves as they rolled up onto the sand, but we couldn’t see the water from where we were. All we could really see were the green bushes, some of which had big, white blossoms on them, and the blue sky that stretched out infinitely above us.
Logan took the blanket he was holding and wrapped it around my shoulders. Then he took the wine glasses out of my hand and opened the bottle he was holding. After pouring us each a glass he said, “To us.”
“To us,” I said. Logan sat down next to me on the beach chair. It was a tight fit with both of us, but it was nice. I loved cuddling up into his body almost as much as I loved sex with him. It was strange to me that after only a few weeks it was already hard for me to remember what life had been like “pre-Logan.” I’d had a good life up to this point, but I had a feeling it was about to become great.
Logan and I sipped our wine and watched as the sun sank own into the ocean. “Where do you want to live?” he suddenly asked me.
“Here,” I said without hesitation.
With a grin, he said, “Right here, on this spot?”
“Can we?”
Laughing again, he said, “I’d suggest some kind of structure.”
“What’s wrong with the cottage? I love it. Couldn’t we keep it and use the penthouse during the work week?”
He nodded. “We could. But where would we put all the kids?”
I giggled. “All of them?”
“Don’t you want a lot?”
“Not necessarily, maybe one or two…”
“Aw, come on. One will get bored and lonely and two need a back-up just in case they get in a fight and aren’t speaking. I loved growing up in a big family.”
I smiled and snuggled deeper into his side. “Your family is exceptional. Your mom just seems like one of those people born to be a mother. I’m not sure I would do so well with four of them.”
He lifted his head up so that he could look at my face. “You are going to be an incredible mother.”
“You think so?”
He kissed me softly. “I know so. You have a big heart and the kids all love you.”
