An article clerk passed a note to Logan’s lawyer. It provided a momentary distraction for Logan, before the heaviness of his heart consumed him again.
A tap on his shoulder and he turned around to see that Melissa and Daphne had both slipped into the seats behind him. His sister held her thumb up and Daphne smiled, but he frowned in incomprehension. Sophie wasn’t with them so why were they looking so positive?
The senior counsel for Thea moved and stood directly in front of Logan. The barrister said, ‘If Mr Jackson’s wife supported his application for custody and was prepared to be the mother-figure in Charlotte’s life, she would surely have made the time to be here today. Mrs Jackson’s failure to appear suggests to me that either she does not support this application for custody or that Charlotte will always come second to her corporate responsibilities.’
Logan only just refrained from rising to his feet and telling the barrister exactly where he could go. It was a mark of Sophie’s compassion for Charlotte that she’d been prepared to appear today to testify that Logan would provide his goddaughter with a loving and stable environment. His lawyers were aware of their estrangement and hadn’t wanted to risk that information leaking out, so they’d declined Sophie’s offer. Logan could understand their points of view, but at least if Sophie had testified he might’ve had the chance to see her without being rebuffed by security guards. He might’ve been able to persuade her to listen to him.
‘Your Honour.’ Logan’s lawyer stood. ‘My esteemed colleague is wrong.’ Thea’s barrister’s eyes narrowed. ‘My client’s wife is here and is very happy to appear before the court today.’
What? Logan sat forward in his seat, and tried to keep the surprise from his features as there was a general murmur of interest around the packed courtroom.
‘With your permission we would like to call Mrs Jackson to the stand,’ his lawyer continued.
‘Her appearance is not on the list,’ Thea’s lawyer protested. ‘If she’s to
be called to the stand, I would like first right to question her.’
‘I have no objection, Your Honour,’ Logan’s counsel replied.
‘This is unusual, but if both parties are in agreement I see no reason not to allow it,’ the judge announced. ‘If this custody application is successful, Mrs Jackson will be a primary caregiver for Charlotte, therefore I welcome the chance to hear from her.’
Logan managed to catch his lawyer’s eye. The man reached into his pocket discreetly, took out the piece of paper that had been passed to him just a little earlier and handed it to Logan. A message advised that Sophie had arrived at the courthouse, and was pleading to take the stand on Logan’s behalf. She’d given her assurance that she would in no way be a hostile witness and that her estrangement from Logan would not come to light.
Logan didn’t think for a second that she was planning on sabotaging his case, but last time they’d spoken, she’d been so definite she never wanted to see him again. He looked back at the two women sitting behind him, and this time they both smiled broadly at him. His heart lifted in the hope that Sophie had listened to them and was doing this for him as well as for Charlotte.
A hum of comments rippled through the court as Sophie entered the room and was sworn in. The second he saw her, he knew she was thinner. Weight loss was hardly surprising given all the stress she’d been under, and he wished he’d been there to support her through all the ordeals she’d had to face. Although she was thinner, she was still the epitome of all that was classy and beautiful, carrying herself with quiet confidence.
Logan looked at her with absolute yearning. Desire ran thick through his veins, but it wasn’t desire borne of sexual longing. It was the throb of emotional desire heavy with the desperate need to put things right between them — to have Sophie listen to him, forgive him, and come back to him. He’d been such a fool. As soon as this was over, he’d go to her again and insist she give them another chance. He simply couldn’t let her go.
Thea’s barrister wasted no time launching his attack. ‘Would you state your relationship to Mr Jackson?’
‘I’m his wife.’
‘His wife.’
There was cynicism and disbelief in the lawyer’s tone, and Logan’s mouth tightened.
‘Yes.’
That word was uttered with such conviction Logan found himself hanging onto it, desperate for Sophie to look at him directly so he could look into her eyes and see whether their marriage meant more to her than their legal status. If she were just pretending for Charlotte’s sake, it would be the worst form of torture for him.
‘How long have you been married?’ The question was drawled out, the lawyer’s attitude so smug and superior Logan wanted to deck him.
‘We were married the weekend before last.’
‘Very recently.’ The lawyer tilted his head and said with a frown. ‘I remember seeing it reported in the newspaper. I recall some of the guests who attended being interviewed and saying that your wedding was a surprise, even to both of you.’
Sophie inclined her head. ‘My grandfather was seriously ill. He knew there was a possibility he wouldn’t…’ Her voice hitched with emotion.
Without even realising it Logan started to rise to his feet to go and comfort her, only to feel his lawyer’s hand on his arm, restraining him. Helplessly, he watched as Sophie’s shoulders moved up and down with a deep inhalation.
‘Grandfather wanted to witness our wedding vows,’ she continued. ‘The whole ceremony was a surprise. But it was a welcome surprise, and…’ She swallowed hard and he saw the shimmer of tears in her eyes. ‘…as it turned out, it was my grandfather’s last night with us.’ She straightened in her chair. ‘I’m sure you’d be aware from newspaper reports that my grandfather passed away the day after our wedding.’
Logan heard Daphne blowing her nose behind him.
‘I’m sorry for your loss,’ the lawyer muttered. Then, as if he were unwilling to garner any of the court’s sympathy for Sophie, he continued ruthlessly, ‘It must have been a truly traumatic time for you to lose the man who’d raised you. I find it strange that your husband was not at your side to support you at the funeral.’
Damn!
Sophie’s chin tilted defiantly and she delivered a steely look to her inquisitor. She didn’t respond, which was a smart move, as he hadn’t actually posed a question.
‘Objection! Your Honour, my client’s attendance at Rigby Carlisle’s funeral has no bearing on this court case.’
The judge stroked his chin with his thumb and forefinger for a moment before he replied, ‘Sustained.’
Mrs Winston’s lawyer wasn’t deterred. ‘You’ve only just married. You haven’t even had a honeymoon. Do you resent your husband applying for custody of Charlotte Mannering?’
‘Absolutely not. Logan loves Charlotte,’ Sophie stated categorically. ‘He promised her parents he’d take care of her if anything ever happened to them, and he’ll do a fabulous job of raising Charlotte because he cares about her. If the court stops to consider just how far he goes when he’s fighting for something he believes in on a global scale, I believe he will be awarded custody.’
‘Would you care to elaborate?’ The judge prompted.
‘Logan put his life on the line to stop the sale of conflict diamonds. Even though he was stabbed and shot by rebel militia groups and could’ve easily been killed, he’s gone right on campaigning for something he believes in. Scott Mannering was Logan’s best friend. If Logan’s willing to put his life on the line to help people he doesn’t know to have a better life, there’s nothing he won’t do to uphold the wishes of his friends, and to make sure Charlotte has a happy, secure childhood filled with love and laughter.’
‘Interesting that you say there’s nothing Mr Jackson wouldn’t do to uphold the wishes of his friends,’ the lawyer repeated with a cynical twist to his mouth. ‘Does that include entering into a loveless marriage to provide the illusion to the court that he’s ended his playboy day
s and that Charlotte will be provided with a stable home environment?‘’
There was a general outburst in the court.
‘Objection!’
‘Overruled. Silence in the court.’ The judge hammered down his gavel. ‘Mrs Jackson you will answer the question.’
‘My husband has ended his so-called playboy days, Counsellor,’ Sophie replied in a steely tone. ‘Both of us are committed to providing a stable and happy home environment for Charlotte where she’ll be surrounded by love.’ At last Sophie’s eyes met his as she elaborated, ‘Surrounded by our love for her and our very deep and abiding love for each other.’
Logan hung on every word. There was no doubt she really meant it. Powerful love shone straight from her eyes into him like a bright beam of white light. He felt the strength and warmth of it in every cell of his being and it moved him to such an extent that his eyes stung with the moisture of tears.
‘Nevertheless, you must admit that such a sudden marriage looks suspicious when your husband is petitioning the court for custody. It especially looks doubtful when he was photographed only a couple of weeks ago in Milan with a supermodel on his arm who he was reportedly sleeping with.’
‘Counsellor, I would’ve thought you’d know better than to believe every report you read in the gutter press. As for your allusions, I believe it only looks suspicious to a person with a nasty mind, to one who has never experienced love that is so completely overwhelming or perhaps to one who is incapable of it.’
Several in the court sniggered as Sophie refuted the lawyer’s words, making her reply an almost personal attack against him. Logan couldn’t stop the smile that formed on his face, nor the deep feeling of pride in his capable, confident wife.
‘Let me make it very clear to you, counsellor,’ she went on when the murmurs around the court had lessened enough for her voice to carry to every corner of the room. ‘I married Logan because I love him and I want to spend the rest of my life with him.’
A huge ball of emotion rose up from Logan’s chest and thickened his larynx. Everything in her expression was sincere. It was a public declaration of her love for him. Sophie, who’d had her heart broken before, and who’d been hurt by him, now lay her soul bare. The unfamiliar sting of tears that he’d only just managed to control pricked at his eyes more persistently as he acknowledged just how much he loved this brave, beautiful woman. Here, in the courtroom, where he was bound to sit in his seat and wait for the proceedings to finish, he could only hope she would read his emotions in his expression and know that her love was reciprocated.
‘So you’re telling the court that you love your husband?’
‘I am truly, madly and deeply in love with my husband.’
‘But, you’ve been married before and that didn’t last. Did you feel that way about
your former husband?’
‘Objection!’
‘Sustained.’ The ruling was quick and stern. ‘Counsellor, this is a custody hearing,
not a trial.’
The counsellor gave a grudging nod in acknowledgement and paced away a few steps before he turned on his heel and resumed his attack. ‘Just how much time do you think you’ll be able to give Charlotte when you’re in charge of a multi-billion dollar company, Mrs Jackson?’
‘Like most people, I’ll be a busy, working parent,’ she replied, looking completely unfazed. ‘Like Charlotte, I was orphaned as a child, and I know how important it will be to her to have Logan and I as a constant presence in her life. The court may be rest assured that Logan and I will ensure Charlotte has our love and support.’ She looked at Logan and smiled. ‘We’re both agreed that she will not be a child who’s packed off to boarding school and that she won’t be slotted into our lives like an appointment in our diaries.’
‘You expect us to believe she’ll receive so much of your loving, undivided attention, even though she isn’t your daughter and you had no close personal connection with her parents?’
The expression on the lawyer’s face was an ugly sneer, and Logan knew an intense desire to haul the guy out of the room and go one-to-one with him.
‘It would be impossible not to give Charlotte my love and support. She’s an adorable little girl who’s been through the trauma of losing her parents. I may have no blood tie to her but I will always care for her, and assure you she’ll never again be left unsupervised in a car in a parking lo —’
‘I have nothing further.’ The lawyer spoke in a raised voice, attempting to drown Sophie out and cut her off before she could reinforce what the court already knew — that Charlotte had suffered at the hands of her maternal grandmother.
Logan’s chest swelled once more with admiration for Sophie. Thea Winston’s lawyer looked suitably rattled. He had been well and truly bested.
The counsel for Logan approached Sophie. ‘Is it your testimony today, Mrs Jackson, that you are in a loving, committed relationship with my client, and that you are more than willing to find the necessary time to nurture Charlotte?’
‘Yes.’
‘I have nothing further for my client’s wife, Your Honour,’ Logan’s lawyer declared.
‘You may step down, Mrs Jackson,’ the judge instructed. ‘Do either parties have any more testimonies to be heard?’
When both lawyers indicated they didn’t, the judge said, ‘The court will adjourn until three o’clock.’ The gavel was brought down once again.
‘All rise,’ the bailiff cried.
It was as much as Logan could do to stand still while the judge left the room. Every muscle was restrained because he wanted to run to Sophie and hold her tight. Finally the judge disappeared through a door and he could move.
‘Logan!’ she exclaimed when they reached each other.
‘It’s so good to see you,’ he told her as he wrapped her in his embrace.
‘Well done, Sophie!’ Daphne’s declared from behind them.
‘Not here, you guys,’ Melissa instructed.
Knowing his sister was right, Logan took Sophie’s hand. ‘Thanks for everything, ladies. We’ll catch up with you later.’ With that, he led Sophie through a side door wanting to escape from prying eyes.
A reporter headed toward them. Searching the corridor frantically, and seeing nowhere to have the private conversation they needed, Logan was relieved when his lawyer’s clerk ushered them into a room close by.
Once the door was closed behind them, the clerk said, ‘You can wait in here until court resumes, or at least for twenty minutes or so. I’ll let the media pack think you’ll be here until three o’clock.’
‘Thanks.’
When the clerk left, Logan searched Sophie’s eyes. He noted the shadows underneath them that spoke of the sleepless nights she must’ve had. ‘Did you mean what you said?’
‘I was under oath.’ She smiled. ‘Of course I meant it!’
That was it. He couldn’t resist kissing her for a second longer. Holding her against him where she belonged, he poured his heart, soul, and all of his passion into his kisses. As she melted against him and responded, he knew a deep sense of rightness in their being together. When he finally came up for air, he confessed, ‘God, Sophie. I’ve been such an idiot.’
‘You have,’ she agreed breathlessly. ‘I’ve been in hell being away from you.’
‘Yet you wouldn’t let me near you,’ he groaned. ‘Thank God for Daphne and Melissa. I was pinning everything on the return of the diamond mine and signing over the share options into your name.’
Her face filled with exasperation. ‘You really are an idiot, Logan. That wasn’t what convinced me.’
‘It wasn’t?’
‘Absolutely not.’ She shook her head in denial. ‘Those documents may have been meant to provide me with proof that you weren’t after control of Carlisle, but they still didn’t prove that you wanted me.’ Her voice softened and she dipped her hand into her shoulder bag, withdrawing the flower he’d sent. ‘It was the single red rose that did that.’
&
nbsp; He smiled. ‘So you know the meaning of that rose?’
‘I think every woman on the planet knows that red roses are for romantic love and the deeper the colour red, the deeper the love.’
‘Ah, but did you notice that the red rose is also thornless?’
Tilting her head to one side she said, ‘I have no idea what that symbolises.’
‘The red thornless rose symbolises love at first sight.’
‘Are you telling me —?’
‘Yes.’ His arms tightened around her. ‘I think we’ve established that I haven’t been very good in expressing myself in our relationship to date. I couldn’t when I was so busy deceiving myself about my feelings, but I realise now I truly was a goner from our very first date.’
‘Is your communication always going to be this complicated?’ Her tone was exasperated.
He merely laughed, and was then treated to a severe look as he took her bag and the rose and set them both down on a nearby table.
‘Logan, are you finally going to admit out loud that you love me just as much as I love you?’
‘Yes,’ he told her seriously. ‘Truly, madly and deeply.’
‘Say the words, Logan. I need to hear them.’
‘Sophie Jackson,’ he said solemnly, as he took her hands in his, ‘I love you with all that I am. You mean more to me than anything I possess and if you’ll only let me, I intend to spend the rest of my life proving that to you.’
Her lower lip trembled a little as her eyes became awash with tears. ‘That sounds wonderful.’
‘I never believed I’d be capable of loving anyone the way I love you.’ The kiss he pressed to her forehead sealed that admission.
‘Just as well,’ she sniffed, ‘because I meant what I said about your playboy days being over.’
‘Absolutely. We’re married, sweetheart, and I mean to honour every word of our wedding vows.’
One lacquered fingernail jabbed against his chest in accusation as she questioned, ‘But you just didn’t know it at the time?’
Roses For Sophie Page 24