“But that’s not fair. You said you weren’t comfortable being close friends with my ex, and you’re talking about our sex life?”
At that, I just laughed harder, shoving his shoulder with mine. “No, we didn’t talk about our sex life. That was one of the things Maddy used to talk you up.”
Logan rolled over and out of bed. “Clearly it worked. Do I meet your expectations?”
He swivelled his hips, and I snorted with laughter. “Every one and more.”
Retrieving some underwear out of the bedside cabinet, he pulled them on and with his hands behind his head, did it again. “Is that better?”
“Are you asking me if I like you jiggling while clothed or not?” I crawled across the bed toward him.
“Well?”
“I don’t mind either. I’ll take you whichever way you do it.”
He leaned over, cupping my face in his hands. “As long as you know I’ll only ever do it for you.”
A quick kiss and he was gone, jeans and a clean T-shirt for the day in hand.
Mr Perfect.
* * *
In the evening we laid in bed, curled up together, sleep calling.
“Why don’t I introduce you to the house on Friday night?” Logan asked.
“Sounds great. Why not Saturday?”
“Because we’re going to dinner at Mum’s place on Saturday. That is, if you want to go.”
I got that puppy dog, hopeful look he sometimes gave me when he wanted to fool around and I was busy doing other things. My heart become this big melted puddle when I got that look—not that I had told him that.
“Sounds great.” I yawned. Today had been so long. We were in the middle of an audit and between trying to do my job, find random things the auditor wanted, and Rebecca freaking out about everything, I was mentally exhausted.
Logan stroked my forehead, which just made it worse. My eyes tried so hard to close all by themselves and I had to force them open to continue the conversation.
“One day I’m going to make every single one of your dreams come true. We’ll be in our home, surrounded by our children, and you won’t have to run around after anyone else but me.”
Laughter burst from me, shaking me out of the half-asleep stupor I’d been in. “I’d love to see the house.”
“Good, because you’re going to let me know how you want it decorated. If we’re going to live there as a family, it’s important to me that you’re happy.”
I ran my fingers through his hair, pulling his face closer to mine. “I love that you feel that way. It’s your house, though.”
Logan frowned and covered the gap between us to kiss me, his tongue tangling with mine as the fire ignited between us.
“Logan,” I whispered.
“The house is ours, Liv. I’ve never been more serious about anything my whole life. We're living together anyway, it doesn't matter where we are.”
“Okay, okay.” I stroked his hair to soothe him, and he slid his hand up my body, resting it on my breast. My nipple stood to attention and he laughed, dropping his head to my chest to nuzzle it.
“So,” he said, his voice muffled as his nose rubbed against the fabric of my nightgown. “Fish and chips at the house on Friday night, followed by dinner with Mum on Saturday.”
I could barely concentrate on what he was saying as he reached down to pull my nightgown up and slide his hand into my panties.
“Yes, oh God, yes,” I groaned.
He lifted his head, chuckling at something. I couldn’t think what, given that my mind had gone blank at the touch of his fingers.
“Good.”
Bewildered, I raised my head to query what he meant, but my words were lost as I cried out something, anything to express what I was feeling.
He had me.
* * *
We pulled up outside the house, and I swallowed down the thrill I felt at seeing it. It had to be half as big again as the little house we’d lived in before. This big, old white wooden mansion needed someone to make it their home. It needed us.
“It’s so much bigger than I thought it would be,” I whispered.
Logan laughed. “It’s got four bedrooms and a tiny room that’s no good for anything else, so I was going to throw a desk in there and make it an office. You can use it for your writing.”
There was no garden to speak of, but the lawns were neat and tidy. All that was missing was the white picket fence around it. It was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen in my life, other than my children.
“Liv?”
I looked at Logan. He was beaming with pride, and I wondered just how much work he’d done to get it to this stage.
“Sorry. I love it.”
“Knew you would.”
“Is that our new house?” Jack asked.
“Sure is, buddy,” Logan replied, “so let’s get out of the car, into the house, and eat this food before it gets cold.”
I got out of the Holden, and went to the back to help Thomas out. He held my hand tight as we approached, Logan and Jack behind us with Logan carrying the paper-wrapped parcel of food.
He flicked the key up and unlocked the door, pushing it open for us to go inside.
“Take off your shoes everyone,” I said, not knowing what was inside.
If the outside was beautiful, the inside was even better. The floors were wooden and rough. Will these be polished, or carpeted? The entranceway had a couple of rooms to the right, the living room to the left, I could spot the kitchen down the back, and there was a big staircase right up the middle. I fell instantly in love with it.
The inside walls were all new plasterboard, bare, still waiting to be painted. Devoid of all furniture, the rooms looked huge.
“Let’s go into the living room and sit on the floor. After we’ve eaten, I’ll show you around,” Logan said.
I was on the verge of tears, but held them back. For Logan to want to share this with us was overwhelming.
By the time I turned around, he’d already opened the food bundle, and was spreading out on the living room floor. He squirted the tiny tomato sauce sachets in spots around the outside, Jack and Thomas already picking at the hot chips.
“Logan, it’s amazing.” I sat beside him, grabbing a chip.
“Before I met you, I thought about selling this place. It was a bargain because it was neglected and run down, and I thought it was a great project for my spare time. But meeting you and the boys changed that. I could see this house full of children and noise and love. I’m going to finish it for you.”
I leaned over and kissed him gently on the lips. He knew my heart better than anyone, knew how much I’d love it.
“Can we pick our rooms?” Jack asked. He looked sideways at his brother. “Can we have a room each?”
“You sure can,” Logan said, with a laugh.
Thomas lit up, his eyes shining with excitement. “My room?”
“There are four bedrooms upstairs. One for me and Mum, one for you, and one for Jack.”
Jack held up his hand, counting on his fingers. I rolled my eyes. It was all for show; he knew how to add.
“There’s one room left. Who’s going to go in there?”
“It’ll be the spare room. Maybe one day there’ll be someone else to sleep in there,” I said. Logan nudged my arm, he knew what I was referring to. There was definitely no rush for that. It was enough to have found him and be starting a new life without adding to it yet.
But we could in time.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
In the morning we set off in the car to Logan’s mother’s place. She’d moved out of town a while ago he said, and had found a little place that was semi-rural. It was close enough to the city, but she’d found her peace and quiet.
We reached the end of the motorway and turned into what ended up a country road. Jack and Thomas loudly pointed out every cow, every sheep, and Logan and I laughed at just how excited they were.
“I guess they’ve never really
been out of the city,” I said. “We never had the time, and when I had holidays I used them to catch up around the house.”
“They’ll love this place. There aren’t any cows or sheep, but there’s a dog who’s just a big gentle sap and loves kids. Mum’s had him for ages. He’s pretty old now, but he’ll be over the moon to see these two.”
I leaned back in the seat. It was nice to have someone to drive me around now; I’d always driven before. Now we could take turns—that was if Logan ever let me drive his precious car.
He reached across, taking my hand in his and giving it a quick squeeze. “Love you.”
I squeezed his hand back, letting it go so he could change gear, and took a deep breath. After my initial hesitance I was looking forward to this; it showed just how serious he was about us, and I loved that as much as I loved him.
“Love you too,” I said.
One more turn, and we slowed until we came to a long gravel driveway, tall trees either side. It looked so peaceful and beautiful. I adored it.
“It’s gorgeous.”
“Wait until you see the house,” Logan said.
I looked back over my shoulder at the boys to see what they were doing. They were chatting excitedly the trees and how easy or hard they would be to climb There was a squeal of brakes and we all shot forward. I breathed a sigh of relief for my seatbelt before turning to see what had stopped us.
“Kat?” Logan said.
Logan's ex had come across the driveway and walked into our path. Only having good brakes had stopped us from hitting her.
“Sorry. I thought I had enough time. That damn dog of your mothers was in the way; I was trying to get him to move.”
She looked across at me gaping at her, and smiled. “Hi. You must be Olivia.”
“Uh, yeah.”
“Do you want to get out of the way now? So I can get to the house?” Logan asked, his face tight with tension.
Kat smirked, and moved back. We drove past and in the side mirror, I saw her wandering up the driveway with the black and white dog padding along in tow.
“Before you ask, I had no idea she was here,” Logan said.
As we pulled in front of the house he turned his head toward me, the stress clear in his eyes.
“I believe you. You sounded surprised to see her.”
“I am. She got on okay with Mum, but they weren’t that close. Especially after she developed her problem.”
I nodded. With Logan’s father dying of a drug overdose, I couldn’t imagine that Kat’s problems had gone down well with his mother.
Logan was with me now, I didn't need to worry about her. I squeezed his arm at what I saw.
He was right about the house. It was a cottage nestled among the trees, with plants and flowers growing up against it. he exterior was painted brown, and it almost blended into the background. The only things making it modern were the aluminium windows and the screen door at the front. Just beautiful. I fell in love with it as soon as I saw it; it was just so cute.
Logan grabbed my hand and squeezed it again. “Come on.”
Taking a deep breath, I got out of the car. Logan had opened Jack’s door, and I went to help Thomas out. He frowned as I helped with the car seat. “Where are we?”
“I told you, baby, we’re at Logan’s mum’s house.”
While he’d come out of his shell so much, there were still times he got shy. But then he saw the dog draw level with us and his eyes grew big.
“Patch. Come here,” Logan called. Thomas climbed out of the car, and we ventured around the back in time to see the dog run to Logan. Logan rubbed Patch’s head and stroked his ears, the Border Collie panting as Jack reached out to touch him.
“Can I go?” Thomas asked.
“Of course you can.” I said, ruffling his hair.
He walked slowly towards them, and Logan looked up, holding out his hand for Thomas to take. “Come and meet Patch, Thomas.”
His little hand shook as he reached out to stroke the dog, but Patch stayed still, maybe sensing his fear, and let him take his time.
“He’s a good boy, but he’s a bit old, so we can’t go running around too much with him. I think he likes you two,” Logan said.
“Patch loves children.”
I didn’t have to ask. The voice behind me belonged to Logan’s mother. The butterflies in my stomach went into panic mode.
I turned. Logan’s mother walked toward me—at least, I assumed that was her, unless Logan also had an ex in, I guessed, her fifties staying with his mum. She had a warm smile and those same brown eyes that he had. She took my hands in hers. “I’m Beth, Logan’s mother. You must be Olivia.”
I nearly burst into tears, she looked so kind. Instead, I nodded.
She looked over my shoulder. “This must be Jack, and Thomas. Whenever I speak to Logan, he never shuts up about any of you.” Letting go of my hands, she walked to Logan, giving him a big hug.
“Hey, Mum.”
“It’s so good to see you. Did you have a good drive?”
Logan nodded. “Until I nearly ran Kat over in the driveway. You didn’t tell me she was here.”
We all turned as Kat came walking toward us, her sneakers shuffling in the gravel. She looked nothing like she had the night I’d seen her. The skin that had been exposed was now covered, and she looked a lot more comfortable in track pants and flat shoes than the stilettos she’d teetered on.
She wore an oversized shirt, hiding the tattoo I’d been so fascinated with, her hair up in a ponytail, off her cosmetic-free face. I don’t think I would have even recognised her if it hadn’t been for Logan identifying her.
“Your mother let me stay here for a little while. Just to get away from everything.” She shot a glance at me under her eyelashes, no doubt wondering how much I knew.
He nodded. “Good. I hope it’s helping.” Instead of being laid-back, as he had been with her when I’d first seen them together, he was stiff, awkward, more than likely because of me. I had no idea if I should say anything, or say nothing, or just nod and agree without letting her know he’d told me everything.
“Liv knows, so you don’t have to worry about not talking in front of her,” he said. Whew, that was that confusion avoided.
“It’s nice to actually meet you. I think we saw each other in passing that night that Logan tried to help me.”
I nodded, smiling at her. After the conversation Logan had with me about her, I’d built up this picture of this woman, struggling with her drug addiction and losing. Whatever had happened since then, she seemed to have gotten her act together, and she looked healthy and relaxed.
"That was me. This is Jack and Thomas, my boys." I said.
“Let’s get inside and I’ll make coffee,” Beth said, “and something for the boys. I’m pretty sure I have some cookies in the cupboard somewhere.”
“Can we, Mum?” Jack asked.
“Of course you can,” I said. Thomas slid up beside me, slipping his hand in mine. I squeezed it tight as we followed Beth inside.
The interior of the house was as charming as the outside. It had all the modern comforts, but with a rustic feel to it. Polished wooden floors graced the entranceway, and photos were hung all over the walls. So many pictures of Logan, and another younger boy. That must be his brother, Matthew. His mother was so proud of the pair of them.
The aroma of roasting meat filled the house, and some vague memory of our home smelling the same way rose to the surface. Back before Dad had left, before we’d struggled and everything fell to pieces.
Patch scrabbled on the floor behind us, trying to get a grip before getting to the carpet of the living room. I reached down and scratched his ear as he drew close, and he shook his head.
“I’m cooking for a small army,” Beth said. “I hope everyone likes roast lamb and potatoes.”
“It smells amazing,” I said.
“You sit down, and I’ll bring some coffee through.” She smiled, and I wanted to just hug he
r and thank her for all of this, even though I knew it wasn’t all for me.
“Come on.” Logan took my arm and led me through to the couch.
I leaned against him, resting my head on his shoulder. “Not too scary, I hope,” he whispered.
“Not scary at all.” I turned my head to face him, and he kissed me gently. I watched as the boys sat either side of Patch, patting him on the head. He moved his head from left to right, revelling in the attention and making each boy squeal as he showed them favour.
“The boys are happy,” Logan said.
"They are. Patch is so good with them."
“I hope you packed to stay the night. Just in case. It's a long drive home after dinner.” Beth returned with a tray of mugs filled with black coffee, and glasses of lemonade. She placed it on the table, and Kat brought through a jug of milk and a sugar bowl.
“Help yourselves,” Beth said.
Logan reached over first, spooning sugar into a mug and topping it up with milk. He handed it to me with a wink. Beth watched intently as he made one for himself while I called the boys over to get their glasses.
“What sweet boys.” Beth smiled as they made their way to sit on the floor beside the table.
“Told you they were awesome, Mum,” Logan said.
The hair on the back of my neck pricked, and I scanned the room, feeling as if someone was watching me. Beth and Logan were focused on the boys. Kat, however, had her gaze fixed on me, and smiled as I made eye contact. I had been prepared to meet Logan’s mother, not so prepared to deal with his ex being there.
It’s me he wants. Only me.
A hand squeezed my thigh and I looked up to see Logan smiling at me. He nuzzled my cheek. “Still okay?” he whispered.
“I’m fine. Stop worrying,” I whispered back.
“So, I read about your story-writing, Olivia. Are you still doing it? I have to confess, I downloaded one of your books and read it. Absolutely loved it.” Beth smiled widely at me, and I was momentarily lost for words wondering what she’d read, how much sex might have been in it, and had an oh-my-God-she’ll-know-her-son-was-the-inspiration moment.
“I haven’t lately. My life has changed since Logan moved in with us.” I looked at Logan, and he gazed back at me with that loving look in his eyes.
Something Real Page 18
