by Sam Crescent
“I’m not hungry.”
“I don’t think so. Eating helps make us strong. It’s what keeps us going.” She took hold of his hand. “I smell pancakes, and I’m not going to stop until you eat an entire stack. I also spotted some pick and prize games. Come on, Logan. Let’s go and have some fun.” She walked him toward the pancake stand, ordering them both a stack, and taking him to the nearest table. Placing one in front of him, she took one herself.
His eyes lit up, and his tongue licked his lips.
“Dig in. Don’t be afraid to eat up. Come on, you’ve got to make me look like a lady now.”
Logan took a large bite, and frowned at her. “Why wouldn’t you look like a lady?”
“Because I love pancakes.” She took a bite, and moaned. There were chocolate chip, and fluffy, with lots of syrup. “Now that is a pancake worth getting fat for.”
“Am I missing something?” Xavier asked, taking a seat beside Logan. He ruffled his head, and stole one of Anya’s pancakes.
With the new revelation of her feelings, she wasn’t sure what to do with him close. She was scared that he’d see, and that meant their deal would be off the table. She could be pregnant now. Xavier wouldn’t do that, would he?
Crap, her feelings were now causing her to have doubts about him. Well, not doubts about him, but his reactions to her. Was there any way that Xavier could love her?
“Anya got me pancakes,” Logan said.
“Anya is amazing. Can you believe this gorgeous woman agreed to be my wife?”
Logan chuckled.
“I’m serious. I may look like a damn good catch, but some ladies really want you to work for it.”
“Did you work for it with her?”
“Yes. I did.”
She looked up in time to see him staring across the bench at her.
Her mouth went dry, and her pussy grew slick at the heat and promise within his gaze.
“Thank you for coming, Xavier,” Logan said.
“You know I wouldn’t miss this for the world, buddy.” Xavier ruffled his hair again.
Once Logan finished his pancakes, and Xavier finished hers, she took Logan to go and win some prizes. First one was throwing balls into a hoop in order to win a bear. Logan won a small bear while she sucked at it, coming away with nothing.
“Here,” Logan said, holding out his prize.
“Don’t you want it?”
“No. I want you to have it.”
Bending down, she looked into Logan’s eyes, and saw the pain there. The pain and the loneliness, and it broke her heart. “You deserve to have this, Logan. No one is ever going to take this away from you.”
He wrapped his arms around her, and she held on tightly to him.
For the next hour, she held his hand, and took him from one game to another. Xavier came and spent time with her in between acting like a big kid. They stood on the sidelines watching the games they played. Slowly, Logan started to let loose, and several kids came up to take him to play. She watched to make sure Logan was okay.
Shannon, the woman in charge of Logan’s fostering, came up to her. “It just breaks your heart, doesn’t it?”
“They all do.” All the kids deserved a home. She would have given a home to all of them, but that wasn’t possible.
“Most of these kids won’t get a home. Some are too old, and people don’t want the trouble that comes with taking on a troubled kid. Logan, though. He’s ten years old, and he was dumped in foster care because his mother liked the high life, and her boyfriend hated him. She was given an ultimatum. The boyfriend, or the kid.”
“She picked the boyfriend.”
“The same night. She packed Logan up, a few of his things, and dumped him.”
Anya shook her head, angry at the woman that she didn’t know. “That is cruel.”
“I know. We can’t do anything about it. People drop their kids into foster care all the time. Sometimes it’s because they’re going through a bad patch, and at least in care they’re given food, security, and a roof over their head. When they’re back in a comfortable situation, they’re back to collect them.”
“Everyone is different.”
“I wanted to offer you my congratulations. Xavier, he’s amazing, and a true inspiration for the boys.”
“Thank you. He’s really something.”
A something I’m falling in love with.
****
“Xavier, this is my mom and dad, Emma and Harold Miller,” Anya said.
The two people were a lot older than Xavier imagined, but he saw that they were loving, caring people. The kindness in their eyes showed through. While he’d been participating in this yearly event of torture, “taste the food”, he’d noticed her parents arrive. The care they gave to each child was something he admired.
“Hello, it’s great to meet you,” he said.
“It’s about damn time we met you. Been married for what? A month or so, and we’re only getting to meet you now. It’s a disgrace.”
“Dad, stop it,” Anya said, chuckling. “We’ve been busy, and we both know you’d have needed to calm down before you could even accept him into your life.”
“Yeah, well, a father is still allowed to be … annoyed.”
Xavier smiled as he noticed Harold hesitated before saying something, making sure kids didn’t hear any cussing words. According to Shannon, the event was a roaring success. Xavier would double, maybe even triple, his donation this year. Every now and then, he noticed that Logan would go off, and sit on a bench. His mother leaving him had really cut him deep.
Several of the kids had asked if he would be willing to foster Logan. It was insane. Most of the time kids were desperate to get noticed, to get the attention from willing parents. These kids, they saw how broken Logan was, and they had banded together like a brotherhood, hoping that Logan got picked first. When Xavier said it wasn’t fair for him to take Logan, the kids had thought it was stupid of him. None of them expected him to take them all on. Logan was special. He needed this chance, and Xavier agreed with all of them. It was breaking the little guy. The other kids were more than happy with him, desperate for him to take Logan.
He’d spoken with Shannon, and she said she’d get the papers ready for him. Now, he just had to speak with Anya about it. In theory, this took away his need for an heir, which took away his need for her.
But it didn’t. Damn, he couldn’t lose her. Not now that he had her in his life. The last four years had been torture when it came to Anya. The employer and employee relationship stopped him from crossing that line that was always drawn in these situations. He’d hated watching her go out on dates with random guys, getting pissed that they could touch her when he couldn’t. All the time, he’d tried to brush off his concern.
Since having her in his life, with her beneath him, he’d seen how wrong he’d been to keep her at a distance. She was beautiful, loving, caring, and everything he’d ever wanted in a woman.
When he was in foster care growing up, he would imagine being with someone when he was older, someone who loved and cared about him. Someone who meant something to him. The more he looked at Anya, the more he saw that she was the woman he’d always imagined. The woman he’d always wanted.
“Here, eat this,” she said, handing him a hot dog covered in lots of chili. “It may take the rancid taste away.”
The food tasting event had been one of the worst he’d endured.
“There were a few times I thought you were going to vomit,” Harold said.
“There were. It wasn’t exactly the best decision I had to let them do this.”
“You clearly upset a lot of people this year,” Anya said. “I didn’t vote for this though.”
“What did you vote for?”
“The waterslide. What else? Raising money should be fun. The whole tasting food that had a risk of being vile never appealed.”
He kissed her head. “I love you.”
Emma tapped Harold’s shoulde
r, and smiled. “See, honey, it is love.”
For him it was love. Wrapping his arms around Anya, he pulled her against his side, and inhaled the floral scent that he’d come to associate with his woman. She was perfect in every single way for him. He loved her, and it was damn hard at times having feelings for someone he didn’t know if she even loved him back.
“We’re following you home tonight, right?” Xavier asked.
“You sure are,” Emma said.
“You’ll be staying in the spare bedroom.”
“Dad!”
“No, my house, my rules, and no naughty business in my house. It has never happened.”
Anya rolled her eyes. “How did I come along?”
“Not in the house.”
Anya’s face went bright red.
“We were wild once as well,” Emma said.
“I don’t need to hear this. Children do not need to know what their parents get up to behind closed doors.”
“Oh, sweetie, it wasn’t always behind closed doors.”
Xavier adored her parents. They clearly loved their daughter, and he’d seen so many parents who really didn’t care. There was a darkness that came with fostering that not many spoke about.
“The event is winding down.” Most of the kids had already started to board certain buses that would take them back to their homes.
“Do you need to stay ‘til the end?” Anya asked.
“No. I’ll be in touch on Monday, and settle everything.” He’d make a further donation, and then he’d start planning for the next event.
Taking hold of Anya’s hand, he made his way toward the car, and helped her inside. He liked securing her in, before he went toward his side of the car.
“Thank you,” she said.
Starting the car, he pulled in behind her parents, and waved back at them.
“I love taking care of you.” There, he told her the word again. A simple four letter word that was so hard to say, and yet he was telling her how he felt. If he kept on saying it, maybe she would get the hint that for him, it was starting to mean a hell of a lot more.
“I love you taking care of me, too.”
“There’s something I want to talk to you about,” he said.
“There is?”
“Yeah. Logan.”
“I adore him, Xavier. Is there anything we can do to put a smile on his face? It breaks my heart seeing him like that.”
“There is something we can do.” This was the best time to talk about it. “We can adopt him. The kids that live with him, they asked for me to take care of him, and I want to. I want to look after him. Give him a home, love him.”
“We can do that?”
“Yes, I’m getting Shannon to draw up the paperwork. I’ll have to work from home, and take plenty of time with him. I’d want you there, by my side.” They came to a set of traffic lights, and he turned toward her. Taking hold of her hand, he kissed her knuckles. “This changes nothing to me.”
“What do you mean?”
“I want us to have a baby. I want us to be married, Anya.”
“Why wouldn’t we be?”
“I’d have a son.”
“Oh, you’d have an heir.” She smiled. “I didn’t even think of that.”
“I want you, Anya. I want us to have a family. I saw the way Logan leaned on you today. We could make this work, together, as a team.”
“Xavier, I get it. I’m not running away.” She patted his hand, releasing him long enough for him to follow her parents. “I always wanted a family. My parents, as you can see, started late in life, and they always regretted that.” She blew some hair out of her face. “I want kids.”
“When I asked you, you seemed shocked.”
“I was shocked of course. I mean, Xavier Leigh wanted to have kids. He wanted an heir, and I was there, and it was just surreal. If I didn’t want kids, I wouldn’t have said yes. I do love kids. Did I mention they eat a hell of a lot, and I love to cook?”
“You do love to cook.”
“I do, and Logan ate a lot of pancakes. I could do some really wicked experiments.”
Xavier couldn’t keep the smile off his face. He was in love with a woman with a kind heart, a beautiful soul. Now he just needed to tell her exactly how he felt.
“I just want to warn you that I don’t see a divorce in my future,” he said, and winced. How the fuck was that telling her how he felt?
“Don’t worry. I’m not going to divorce you. Besides, I wouldn’t leave Logan either. How long do you think we’ll have before he’s ours?” she asked.
“Providing nothing goes wrong, a couple of weeks.”
“That’s good. I like that.”
They were starting a family. He only hoped Anya realized exactly how much he loved her.
It didn’t matter if she realized it. He was going to show her.
Chapter Nine
Anya watched as Xavier spoke with his clients. It had been a week since he’d asked her about Logan. Things were moving slowly with Logan, but Shannon was reassured that they would be able to have him by next week. Until then, they both went and visited, getting Logan used to them.
The boys with Logan weren’t angry or upset that he was coming home with them. In fact, they were damn happy. She was shocked by the love the boys showed Logan, and she was proud.
The workplace gossip had died down now. No one was whispering behind their hands, looking at them, and laughing. It was the laughter she’d hated more than anything. Xavier wouldn’t let them hide their relationship anymore, and for that she was glad. She’d never enjoyed hiding that part of herself, and it never felt natural for her to.
“Here you go,” Lottie said, interrupting her.
“So sorry, I was away in a different land there,” she said, taking the mail from her.
“Marriage must really suit you.”
“Why do you say that?”
“You’re practically glowing. You’re really happy, and it’s nice to see you so happy.”
Anya nodded. “I am happy. Last week we went and stayed at my parents’ place.”
“How was it?” Lottie asked.
“Kind of scary. We’re both adults, but still, he was meeting my parents, and that can be really scary.”
Lottie chuckled.
“It went well though. I had no complaints.” She glanced through the mail. “How was your weekend, and week?” They had been so busy with one problem and another with work that she hadn’t caught up with Lottie.
“Not a lot. My husband was poorly this week, so I nursed him back to health.”
“Everything okay now?”
“Of course. He always acts sick, but I have a trick up my sleeve.” Lottie leaned in close. “I wear my nurse’s outfit, and he’s always ready to get back on the horse, if you know what I mean.”
Anya burst out laughing. “Men, huh.”
“Yeah, men.”
Lottie left soon after, and Anya was still smiling at her story. It was funny, and it was good to laugh.
The weekend with her parents had actually been a blast. Her father adored Xavier, and they had both gone fishing down to the lake back home. She stayed with her mom, cooking up a storm. It was great to get into a nice, big kitchen, and just create. The downfall to living in an apartment was the size of the kitchen. It wasn’t great. Also, her mother often sent food out to the neighbors. Living in the city, that was kind of dangerous to do, and not something she recommended to anyone.
In the evening they’d sat playing board games, and Xavier loved it. He loved being surrounded by family, and it made her realize everything that he had missed out on. Xavier didn’t have a family, nor did he have many close friends. He had colleagues, business associates, contacts, nothing personal. No friends, nothing.
She wanted to make a family with him, to give him everything that he had missed out on as a child.
When her parents had gone to bed, that hadn’t stopped Xavier from coming to her room. The days w
ere spent with her parents where he was the perfect son-in-law. The nights, they belonged to them, and Xavier made every single one of her dreams come true. It wasn’t dirty, hard, rough sex. Those two nights they stayed at her parents—they didn’t leave until Monday morning—Xavier made love to her. There was no dirty talk. It had been beautiful, and she felt a connection to him that went far deeper than sex.
Licking her suddenly dry lips, she rounded her desk, and got on with work. The day wore on, and with it being a Saturday, everyone was gone by two. Xavier was working harder. She knew he was putting in longer hours as she stayed with him. He wanted to make sure he was able to spend as much time with Logan when they got him home.
Their apartment was already prepared for him, the spare bedroom being set up for everything a ten-year-old boy would want.
They were always on the hunt for a house outside of the city. By five o’clock, they were the only two in the building, and Xavier came out of his office. She sat up, stretching out her back, and giving a little moan as she did.
“I didn’t expect to be this long.”
“It’s okay. I’ve caught up on all the work, and besides, what’s a Saturday without having to work overtime? Maybe I should ask my boss for a raise,” she said.
“Come here,” Xavier said.
Getting to her feet, she made her way toward him. He reached out, taking hold of her hip, and tugging her close.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“Nothing. I just realized that I’ve spent most of today without you near.”
“I heard a lot of yelling over the phone.”
“A competitor is trying to buy out something that I want. He’s making several tempting offers, but I won’t let him take what’s mine by lying. I don’t believe in that shit.”
“My man, always doing the right thing.”
“You don’t think I should?”
“No, I do. I guess I’m just so proud of the fact you won’t be bullied into doing something you don’t want to do.”
“It’s not something I agree with. If you’re going to buy out a company, and sell it off piece by piece, then be honest about it. I want to make this company thrive. It’s an old bakery company that went under during the last financial crisis. They’re struggling, and I know I can help them.”
