“So far, to me as well. Still, I’m sorry I asked, I didn’t intend to bring all that up for you.”
“No, it’s better you find out now. Better you find out before we go any farther what I’ve come from. If you’re going to decide it makes me unsuitable, I’d rather know now, not after I’ve gotten used to your home and things like this dinner.”
Anger and disgust flared in his stomach. He would never turn someone away because of what they’d overcome, but that she feared it, told him that someone had done exactly that to her. It made him want to find that person and hurt them, and not just emotionally like they’d done to her. He hoped they’d only hurt her emotionally. If they’d physically hurt her he might actually have to resort to violence.
“I would never.” He resisted the urge to speak through gritted teeth. She didn’t know him well enough yet to know he wouldn’t do that to her, to anyone. He needed to give her time to get to know him.
Amanda arrived with their meals and they turned their attention to their plates, speaking little for the next few minutes.
“You were right. This is really good.” Claire broke the silence when her bowl was about half empty.
“You should try the steak, or any of the meat really.”
“There’s chicken in this.” She sounded a little defensive, but the impish grin on her face made him think she was teasing. “I’ll try that next time.”
“I’ll remind you of that.” Logan couldn’t help but be thankful that she’d let the mood pass from earlier. He pointed his fork at her. “Don’t forget to leave room for dessert. They have a molten chocolate cake that is amazing.”
Claire’s eyes narrowed, and her fork stopped half way between the plate and her mouth.
“Milk chocolate or dark?”
“Dark.”
A low moan rumbled from her throat. “My weakness. I might have to try it, though goodness knows I don’t need the sweets.”
“What do you mean?” He frowned.
“Surely you’ve noticed that I could stand to lose a few pounds.”
“I’ve noticed nothing of the sort. I have noticed that your jeans fit you to perfection.” A smile curved his lips at the memory of the carnal thoughts that had crossed his mind earlier when he’d first seen her in jeans.
“I’m a little… large.”
“You look amazing. Whoever told you that men prefer scrawny to healthy had it wrong, at least where I’m concerned. I’ve dated a few model thin women, I’ve not been impressed. Not that there’s anything wrong with them, but I prefer a woman who enjoys life a little more. One who isn’t afraid to order dessert, do something daring, buck trends and do what they want.” He lowered his voice so only she would hear him. “Maybe do something wild like becoming a mail order bride.”
Chapter 6
Happiness and hope washed through Claire at his words. She’d been worrying since she saw the house that he would find out about her past and decide she wasn’t good enough for him and his friends. He didn’t seem to feel that way though, unlike some of the men she’d dated in the past, not that there were many. She spent too much time working and trying to survive to have much time for dating.
She looked down at her plate as her face heated.
“Thank you.”
“You don’t have to thank me. You’re the one who’s done what it took.” He watched her a moment longer. She felt his gaze on her even though she refused to look up, instead, focusing on her food and eating for a couple minutes. After a moment her embarrassment passed. She was able to look at him again, wondering how she’d been so lucky to be paired with a man she found so attractive.
She’d expected someone significantly older than her own twenty-three years. Someone so unattractive, either in appearance or in personality, that the only way they could find someone to marry them was to send away for them. Instead, it seemed she had been lucky enough to be paired with and married to a man who saw what she’d done as intelligent and not selling herself as she’d feared. As she let that sink in, she became increasingly more comfortable.
It didn’t hurt that he didn’t seem to think she was overweight. Sure, he’d said so but saying something once was easy. It would be how he treated her over time that let her know how he really felt. Though, she had hope, for the first time in longer than she cared to think about, the future was looking up.
“You’ve told me about the late notification, and that you had to get married by your thirtieth birthday, when is that by the way?” She knew it had to be soon or they wouldn’t have been married by proxy. It might even have passed already.
“Two days ago.”
“Oh! Then happy birthday. I’m sorry to have missed it.”
He flushed.
“You couldn’t have known.”
No, she couldn’t have but that didn’t mean she couldn’t do anything.
“How did you celebrate?” Two days before made his birthday the 8th, she’d have to remember that so she could do something special next year.
“Celebrate?” He looked confused. “I didn’t bother. It was just another day and not a special one at that.”
“That’s not true. It was your birthday. Another year on the planet and anything ending in a zero means not just another year, but also another decade. It’s a big deal.”
He watched her, the beginnings of a smile crinkling the corners of his eyes.
“I think having you around might be good for me. Tell me, what would you do for your thirtieth birthday?”
She fell silent. She always celebrated her birthday, but in ways that most people wouldn’t understand. And some didn’t think was much of a celebration.
“I’m not sure. Maybe climb a mountain. Go somewhere I’ve never been? I still have a while until I hit that milestone. I’ve not thought about it much.”
“How did you celebrate your last birthday?”
She was quiet a moment as she wondered if he would think it was stupid. Then decided she didn’t care. It had been her birthday and she was the only one who needed to be pleased with how she’d celebrated.
“I took the entire day off work, all three jobs, and spent the day at the park, enjoying the sunshine and the children’s laughter. It was amazing.” Claire closed her eyes as she remembered the day, the warmth of the sunshine on her face and the tinkling laugh of a little girl chasing bubbles with her puppy.
“You didn’t get yourself anything? Treat yourself to a new outfit or something sweet?”
“I might have, if I’d had the extra money for it, but things were just too tight. But life’s not about things. It’s about experiences. Memories. People if you have them.”
“If you have them?” Logan frowned, making her realize he had no clue how lonely it could be.
“You have family, right? You had parents, aunts, uncles, cousins?”
“Yeah, of course.”
She gave him a sad smile. “Growing up in foster care, I had none of that. I have no clue who my parents are, if they even had siblings. I don’t regret that, but I didn’t have people like that. I had a few friends and a few foster parents who were really good to me. I am grateful for them.” She remembered one couple in particular. They’d actually treated her just like they treated their own kids. She hadn’t appreciated it at the time, they were sticklers for staying inside the rules and it had been hard for the new kid, but now, she sometimes wished she could go back and tell them how grateful she was for them.
Before she realized it, they’d finished their meal and still sat at the table, talking and getting to know each other. A few minutes after she’d cleared away their plates the waitress came back.
“Can I interest you in desert tonight?”
Claire hesitated. She never had the money to order dessert, hell, she rarely had the money to eat out.
“You should try the molten chocolate cake.” Logan smiled.
Then an idea struck her. “I’ll get it if you share it with me.”
“Deal.” He o
rdered the cake.
The waitress offered to heat it and add ice cream with it and Logan agree, but Claire asked for the ice cream on the side and some butter as well. The waitress agreed, and Claire noticed the confused look on Logan’s face.
“What?”
“Butter?”
She shrugged and gave him an uncertain look. “I learned to eat my cake that way when I was a kid, my foster father at the time liked it best with no frosting, hot and with butter. Now I like it more than with frosting or even ice cream.”
“I’ve never heard of it.” He frowned and looked thoughtful. “It sounds a little weird at first, but if you think about it, it sounds really good. I’ll have to try it.”
A moment later the waitress brought their desert. Claire scooped a small bit of butter with her fork then dipped into the cake. The butter began to melt on contact and by the time she lifted the fork to her mouth the flavors were well mingled, teasing her tongue with the smooth rich tastes. After watching how she did it, Logan did the same. Claire watched his reaction and her heart leapt when his eyes widened then relaxed.
“That really is good.” He repeated the process, going for another bite, Claire went back for a little more.
They finished the small cake that way. Each taking a small bit of butter with each bite, when it was gone, there was only a slowly melting scoop of ice cream to one side.
“Come on, do your share, we’ll eat the ice cream together too.” Logan shot her a heated smile. Claire picked up her fork again and helped him finish their desert, wondering what he had in mind next. Honestly? She wouldn’t mind tasting his lips again.
Chapter 7
Watching her eat dessert was an exercise in torment for Logan. Her soft pink tongue flicked out to lick a stray bit of chocolate and made his jeans grow snug as he thought about it licking other things. By the time they finished desert, he had to lean back and stretch for a minute, thinking about something else, anything else. He only had a few minutes before they’d leave, and he would need to stand. Hopefully he could get his dick to behave before then.
* * *
Back at the house Logan took her jacket and hung it in the closet with both of his. He took the bag with the sneakers she’d worn when they’d left and the other bag with a couple sweaters they’d gotten while they were shopping and left them beside the door. Mrs. Fryer would make sure they got where they belonged.
“Would you like to watch some TV? Or maybe a movie?”
“Sure, why not?” Claire looked a little surprised, but followed him into the living room without comment.
“What’s your favorite show?”
“I don’t have one.”
He stopped and looked at her, surprised.
“I didn’t have time to watch, not for a long time. Besides, cable is expensive.”
“No worries. We’ve got satellite service and you can watch whatever you want. What type of thing do you like?”
She was quiet for a moment, a lost look on her face. “Drama, I guess. I used to really enjoy crime shows like CSI.”
“Hmm.” Logan considered what they could watch a moment then made a decision. “How about we skip the cable and go to Netflix? Then we can find a series and you can watch from the beginning and catch up.”
“If that’s what you want, I’m up for it.”
“Have a seat and I’ll get it started. You want popcorn or anything to munch on?”
“No, I’m good, at least for now.”
“If you change your mind, let me know. I can make something, or Mrs. Fryer will.” He settled in on the sofa beside her, picked up the Roku remote and pulled up the streaming service. “Have you ever seen NCIS?” He turned to watch her reaction.
“A few episodes, when I was in high school.”
“Did you like it?”
“Yeah. I loved Abby especially. It’s not common to see an unconventional woman in a roll like that. I love it even more because of her.”
“I enjoy it. I like the wit and the interaction on the team. Let’s start with that.” He pulled up the first episode and started it as they settled on the sofa, only inches apart. That was encouraging. She could have sat at the far end of the couch or in one of the chairs, but she chose to be near him. Turning his attention to the screen, he quickly lost himself in the show.
* * *
The credits started on their second episode when Claire yawned.
“You had a long day. Travelling is exhausting.”
She gave him a shy smile. “It is.”
“Are you ready to get some sleep?”
“Only if you are. Don’t let me rush you.”
“I can go to bed any time.”
“You don’t have to come with me, either.”
It was his turn to smile.
“I learned a lot of things from my parents. Mostly it was things they taught me on purpose like show up on time for appointments, and work as hard as you play. But there were a few things I learned just by watching them was, whenever possible, to go to bed together.”
She frowned. “What does that have to do with anything?”
“I don’t know that it did anything special, but all my life, if one went to bed, the other did too. I didn’t notice it much as a child, but I did as a teenager and even once I was an adult, whenever possible, if one went to bed, the other went to. It was a thing. one would ask if the other was ready for bed and nearly always the other would stop whatever they were doing, and they’d go together. It was deliberate. I don’t know why, but it worked for them and it kind of seems natural to me.”
Claire tilted her head to one side and looked thoughtful. “I never thought about it. I’ve lived with more families than I want to think about, but I never noticed who went to bed together and who didn’t. I don’t know if any of them did.” She fell silent for a moment. “No, I take it back. Now that I think about it, the Erickson’s went to bed together every night. I was a teenager when I stayed with them. All the kids were older, at least fourteen, and sometimes they went to bed before I did. I didn’t even notice until you pointed it out.” She looked at him, eyes wide and mouth half open.
Logan didn’t know what to say so he shut off the TV and put the remote on the side table.
“Come on, let’s get some sleep.” He held out one hand and helped her to her feet when she laid her hand in his. Together, they made their way up to the bedroom. Logan wondered with every step how things would play out once they got there. He’d told her he wouldn’t push, and he meant it, but how would she react when he stripped out of everything, including his underwear, to get into bed?
Chapter 8
Claire’s stomach fluttered as she climbed the stairs with Logan. She liked that he wanted to be with her and that he was going to bed because she was tired and he thought they should go together. But would he expect anything? She’d kind of insinuated that she wanted something to happen between them when she’d chosen to move into his room. Not that she didn’t. She did want this to be a real marriage. But she’d just met him. Maybe it would be smarter to wait, at least a day or two.
A quick glance at him revealed he wasn’t watching her as she’d suspected he would be. But she also realized the shadow of a beard darkening his cheeks was more than a little attractive. It made her remember the kiss from that afternoon. Heat pooled in her belly as she hoped they could do that again. Maybe things would progress from there. Would she stop them if they did? She didn’t know.
“You use the bathroom first. I’m gonna run downstairs and get a glass of water. Do you want one?” Logan asked, picking up an empty glass off a bedside table.
“I’m good.” She didn’t wait for him to leave before stepping into the closet to get a night gown when she spotted the large manila envelope Ms. Creed had given her just as she was closing her suitcase that morning. The words ‘open at bedtime’ were written on the outside. Claire had forgotten about it during the flight, then, when she’d unpacked, she’d already been nervous enough. Her
hands still shaking from the world-shaking kiss, she’d stuck it on a shelf and gone about getting ready to go out. Now, as she reached for it, she wondered what was inside? It was soft and puffy, so it wasn’t just paper.
She folded the metal clasp together and lifted the flap, her stomach fluttering with nerves as she peeked inside. It looked like white cloth. Claire frowned and turned the envelope up, dumping the fabric into her open hand. She looked at it, not sure what it was for a moment. It was thin straps and diaphanous silk. She checked the envelope for anything else and found it empty before dropping it in a nearby trashcan.
She carried the ball of cloth into the bathroom with her, pulling out the straps and lifting them as she tried to figure out what it was. Something fell from the middle of the bundle. She looked down and realized it was a tiny pair of silk and lace panties. That’s when it registered. It was pajamas.
Thin and see through, it was a white silk and lace baby doll. There was no way she could wear it. No way. She’d be too embarrassed.
Claire laid it on the bathroom counter and took care of her before bed business, washing her face and brushing her teeth, but she kept stealing looks over at where the scandalous nightgown lay. Looking at it, she remembered the heat in Logan’s kiss, and the way he said he liked the way she looked. Obviously, Ms. Creed intended for her to wear it, and she couldn’t think of a more proper woman than the head of the bridal agency. Maybe it wouldn’t be unacceptable for her to wear something like that in front of her husband. But did she have the nerve? She took a deep breath, stepped out of her clothes, dropping them in the hamper in the corner before closing her eyes and sliding the nightgown over her head.
The fabric was so smooth and soft against her skin. Claire opened her eyes and checked the mirror. It was prettier than she’d imagined. She stepped into the barely-there underwear and made a few small adjustments, then she was ready. Her heart thundered in her chest, belying how nervous she felt about how Logan would react. After a few slow, deep breaths she opened her eyes and stepped out into the bedroom they now shared.
Billionaire Bachelor: Logan: Diamond Bridal Agency Page 3