by Claire Adams
“You spent the night with him, and now he’s introducing you to his family. You’ve done your research on him. You have to know this is a big deal.”
I did know and my stomach was filled with butterflies. But Lily made everything seem so dirty somehow and I really didn’t want her to taint this for me. “Listen, Lily, I like Logan. For some reason, he seems to like me. There is nothing happening here though beyond two people just getting to know each other. I’d rather not make it any more, or less, than it is.
“I know his reputation, but honestly, that has nothing to do with me. He didn’t seduce me, he didn’t take me to a hotel room, and my job is not in jeopardy. As a matter of fact, I am helping Josiah take care of one of the biggest clients the firm has. I’m not working directly with Logan most of the time, and our time spent together is separate from work. So, if you don’t mind, that is all I’m going to say. I have to get ready now.”
She raised an eyebrow at me and with an amused expression she asked, “So what are you wearing?”
I sighed again. Subtlety did not work with Lily. I was either going to have to hit her upside the head with a brick or just continue getting ready while she stalked me from the bedroom to the bathroom and back again.
“I laid my outfit out on the bed.” Thankfully, she left the bathroom. With a sigh of relief, I reached over and pushed the door closed and locked it. A few seconds later, the sound of her raised voice burst through,
“You can’t wear a pantsuit to a birthday party for a kid.”
With an actual growl, I pulled open the door. I was getting agitated now. “Lily! Please let me get dressed. I’m not going to be ready when the car gets here.”
“Fine, I’ll go away. But the Moreau family are not formal people for the most part. They were middle class before Logan made all his money. The money didn’t do much to change them. The doctor wears jeans on her days off, the firefighter is always in jeans and a t-shirt, and the parents dress like your typical, middle-aged, middle-class people. Wear jeans.”
“I don’t understand how you know so much about this family.”
“I told you – research.”
“No, I might be naïve, Lily, but I’m not stupid. How are you connected to these people?”
She narrowed her eyes at me, and for several long seconds, I didn’t think she was going to respond. At last, she said, “My sister was married to him.”
I dropped the bottle of lotion in my hand. It hit the floor and lotion went everywhere. Lilliana wiped a blob of it off her cheek and gave me a dirty look.
“Your sister was Logan’s wife? How can that be? The articles I read said she was from Canada? Are you Canadian?”
“She’s my half-sister. Her parents got divorced when she was ten years old. Our father moved to the States and married a woman from New York. I am the product of that union. My sister and I are not close, but yes… Lisa Moreau is my sister.”
“I don’t understand. Why didn’t you tell me this before? You knew I was taking an internship with his company when you accepted my roommate request, and you’ve been practically trying to shove me in this guy’s bed. It seems a little…odd, to say the least, Lily.”
“It didn’t have anything to do with picking you as my roommate. Yours was the best offer I got.
“And, I didn’t tell you about my connection to him because I don’t have one. They were divorced when I was still a kid. I only saw them together at their wedding and maybe a couple more times after that in the two years they were married. My family is not close. I’m extra curious about him, I will admit, because of the connection, but that’s it. No sinister intent, Minnesota.”
“I need to get ready to go.” I was not sure I believed her. She seemed overly concerned about him and the fact that this was the first I was hearing why really did disturb me.
“Fine, I’m out of here – but wear jeans.” She left my room and I closed and locked that door.
Things with Lilliana got more and more curious the more I got to know her. I also didn’t like the way it made me feel like I’d gotten the wind knocked out of me when she said her sister’s name…Lisa Moreau. It’s been eleven years. Why was she still using his last name? More importantly…why do I care?
*****
An hour later, I was finally ready after changing clothes three times. I went with jeans and a nice sweater and boots. I wore my new, suede jacket that I’d bought on the shopping spree with Mel. It matched my boots perfectly. I was happy with the outfit, but hopefully Lily knew what she was talking about. If I got there and they were all in dresses and heels, I’d be looking for a new roommate.
I was relieved she was gone when I came out of my room. I was still bothered by her confession. I looked at the time and saw I still had half an hour before the car was supposed to pick me up, so I did what any irrationally jealous, obsessed woman would do: I got online and typed in Lisa Moreau.
I got thousands of hits, even a link to her Facebook page. The first thing I did was look for a picture of her. The most recent one I could find was taken at some charity event in Vancouver two years ago. She was tall, willowy, and exotic looking — everything that I was not. She and Lily must have both gotten most of their DNA from their father because they did bear a strong resemblance to each other.
I read the interview the reporter did with her and saw that not only was she still using Logan’s last name, but she still seemed to be using her connection to him, as well. The charity was raising money for families of civil servants who had been killed in the line of duty. She mentioned Logan’s brother and said that was when she became interested in helping the people who were left behind.
The reporter seemed more interested in the fact that she was Logan’s ex-wife, rather than in her charity work. Lisa Moreau didn’t seem to mind talking about him; she was even passionate about it. She didn’t say anything very personal, but she did seem to be impressed with his business acumen.
I realized when the buzzer rang to announce the car had arrived that I had a huge knot in my stomach. Reading all of that had left me filled with anxiety. Wondering again why it bothered me only made it worse.
I sucked in a deep breath and grabbed the gift I’d gotten for Logan’s niece. He had told me the roller derby tickets were going to be from both of us, but I didn’t want to show up empty handed. I grabbed my purse to and pushed the buzzer. “I’ll be right down,” I said into it.
As I rushed out the door, I didn’t hear the reply. When I got to the last step, and I saw Logan’s face through the lobby door, I almost died. He hadn’t told me he was coming. He’d simply said he was sending a car for me.
My face was flushed with embarrassment as I pulled open the door. “Hey, I didn’t know you were coming.” He smiled at me and that same, warm feeling I got every time he was near me washed over me.
“I thought it was the gentlemanly thing to do. I felt really badly about not picking you up for dinner the other night.”
“Thank you,” I told him as we walked down the steps of the building and onto the cracked sidewalk in front of it. Logan had enough class not to mention the state of the building I lived in and I didn’t mention it. We both got into the car that stuck out like a sore thumb in this neighborhood and as soon as we were on the highway headed out toward Long Island, he said,
“You look beautiful. I like that color on you.”
I wasn’t sure if he was talking about the jacket or the sweater but I was happy to see Lily had been right so far. Logan wore jeans and a long-sleeved, blue t-shirt with a black, leather jacket. It was a name brand shirt and the jacket was probably worth a fortune, but like everything else he wore, it made him look good enough to eat.
“Thank you. You look nice, too. I wasn’t sure what to wear, to be honest with you. My roommate helped me.”
“Well, she has good taste,” he said. “That’s the girl that was at the Halloween party with you, right?”
“Yeah, Lilliana.”
“She loo
ks really familiar to me.”
“She’s your ex-sister-in-law,” I blurted out. I watched as surprise colored his face.
“Lilliana, Lisa’s sister?” I nodded. “Wow, that’s a-”
“Coincidence?”
“Yeah, that’s the word.”
“I actually just found out this morning, and to tell you the truth, I found it a little strange.”
“Did you know her before you moved to New York?”
“No. I answered her ad online for a roommate. She chose me out of a few options, I guess.”
“Did she know that you were coming to intern for me?”
“Yeah, she did. She denies that had anything to do with choosing me.”
“Well, it is a strange coincidence. But Lily was just a kid when I married her sister, and as far as I know they’ve never really been close. Besides, I can’t imagine what she would think she’d get out of being roommates with one of my interns.”
“Me, neither. I just thought it was weird.”
He pulled two bottled waters from the mini bar and handed me one. “Does she know we’re seeing each other?”
“Are we?”
He chuckled. “Well, we had dinner, sex, and now we’re on our way to my niece’s birthday party where I plan to introduce you to my entire family… So, yes, I like to think we’re seeing each other.”
“Well she knows we had dinner, she assumes we had sex, and she knows about the party, so I’d have to say yes. Is that a problem for you…her knowing?”
He scooted over closer to me and put his arm around my shoulders. His simple touch made me feel like I was melting, and I molded my body into his.
I felt his lips brush the top of my head before he said, “You can take out an ad in the New York Post if you like and it wouldn’t be a problem for me. I’ve been divorced a long time. I haven’t even seen my ex-wife in over five years. I’m not sure what interest her little sister would have in me, and I really don’t care. Does that sound harsh?”
He had just said I could advertise to all of New York that we were “seeing” each other; I was not sure anything he could say would be “harsh” enough to take away the joy that made me feel. Even the anxiety that still fluttered in my stomach because of the way things were moving so fast didn’t do much to damper it.
I really didn’t have any expectations, but I did plan on enjoying this for however long it lasted. I didn’t really have a choice. Logan Moreau was like a magnet and I was steel, and until he decided to release me from his magnetic pull, I was trapped.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
LOGAN
There was little conversation during the first part of our drive to Long Island. I was wondering about the coincidence, and I thought maybe it was still on Chloe’s mind, as well.
I couldn’t imagine what Lily might want from me. I knew with Lisa it was usually about money, but she hadn’t approached me in years. I couldn’t imagine she’d send her little sister to do it, no matter how desperate she was, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that something about it was not right.
I was also slightly intoxicated by my passenger. Chloe always smelled so good, but it didn’t smell like the perfume most women I worked with and dated bought at more than a hundred dollars an ounce. It was much subtler than that. It was more of an organic smell, like passing a field of wildflowers with your window down, and I only got a whiff of it every so often, unless I had her in close quarters like I did then.
My mind flashed back on the night we had spent together. The next day, I’d told my housekeeper not to change the sheets. I wanted to smell her fragrance on my pillows and even as I lay in bed the next night and breathed in the fragrance she’d left behind, I chastised myself for becoming so attached.
I wasn’t going to keep her, so these little things that I kept noticing about her and letting myself revel in really needed to stop. Chloe was a means to an end, and a nice girl to spend time with in the meantime. That was it. I needed to keep that in the forefront of my mind since I was well aware that she was having an effect on me unlike any other woman had – except my ex-wife.
“So, who will be there, at the party?” she asked, breaking the silence.
“Mostly family. My parents, of course, and my sister and her husband, and my brother Frank and Caroline. My sister has Kimber, who is turning ten today, and she also has a seven-year-old boy, Noah. Frank has three boys: Mikey, Peter, and Greg. They are eight, four, and two, and they are something else.
She laughed. “If they’re anything like my nephews, I can only imagine.”
“They’re like wild little Indians. But, I love them so I haven’t called out the Cavalry on them yet.”
“What about you?”
“Me? I’ll be there.”
She laughed again. “Thank goodness.” I reached for her hand. She was trembling slightly. I hadn’t given much consideration how nerve-wracking meeting my entire family would have to be for her. “I meant kids. Do you hope to have some of your own someday?”
That was a loaded question.
I’d always wanted a big family. I came from one. When we were all kids with my two brothers and my sister, the house was always loud and chaotic, and I had loved every minute of it. It took me a long time to get used to living alone.
I kicked myself in the ass almost daily for ruining my reputation on Long Island. I loved living close to my family and having them in and out on a whim. I loved Sunday morning breakfasts and playing catch with the boys as the sun was going down in the evenings. I missed it, and most days, I was tempted to say the hell with my reputation and move back.
But I’d long since given up the idea of having my own family. Lisa hadn’t wanted to start a family yet before we ended up divorcing and looking back on that now, I was glad. I didn’t want to raise kids in a broken home. But being thirty-seven years old, it felt like it was almost too late.
“Honestly, I’m not sure any more.” It was the shortest answer I could muster without going into a lot of my life I wasn’t in the mood to talk about at the moment. I brought her hand to my lips and kissed it. “Are you nervous about meeting them all?”
She nodded and smiled. “A little.”
“Don’t be. They’re going to love you.”
I thought about the next words that came out of my mouth before I said them. I knew my past would have a large bearing on whether Chloe would agree to marry me. She had to believe that my philandering ways were in the past. Truthfully, they were, at least until after I married Chloe and got my citizenship taken care of.
I was already worried about how all of this would make her feel. I wasn’t about to do anything to make her look foolish in the process.
“I’m sure you’ve either heard the rumors about me or you’ve read the tabloids online yourself?” She looked reluctant to answer, so I said, “It’s okay, Chloe. I know what people say about me.”
She nodded then, and I continued, “Unfortunately, most of it is true. I got married too young and after my marriage broke up, I went a little wild sowing my oats. Every time I have done anything since then, there seemed to be a reporter or a photographer lurking somewhere nearby.
“For a long time, I didn’t care. I let what they said about me feed my own narcissism. As time went on and I began to realize this reputation was not good for my image as a respectable businessman, I did my best to tone it down. That was the point where they began to make things up.
“So, a lot of what you’ve read and heard is true and a lot of it is embellished. Either way, I wasn’t the best person I could be for a long time. But now that I’m older and finally maturing, I think, I’m doing my best to change my ways.”
She smiled and squeezed my hand as she said, “I’ve read a lot of what they say. It’s not my business, and I’m not one to judge. I like you, Logan. I like the person you are right now.”
Her genuine sweetness overwhelmed me sometimes, almost to the point of backing out of this whole thing. “Thank you, Chloe. Oh,
we’re here,” I said when I realized the car had turned into the long driveway of the small compound my family’s homes sat on.
Chloe sat up straighter and looked out the window. As the main house where my parents lived came into view, I saw her pretty eyes widen. “Wow, that house is amazing.”
My parent’s house had been in Architectural Digest and featured on the cover of Better Homes and Gardens. I’d hired an architect from France who was highly regarded for his ability to put the character of the homeowner into any structure he built. He’d spent weeks with both me and my parents, and when he finished, it was like a dream we’d all participated in.
Then, he moved on and did the same for my older sister and brother and their families. Their houses were each two miles from the main house and not visible from the main road.
There was one other house on the compound, a smaller guest house that sat way back on the property, nearest to the private part of the beach I owned and the ocean. That was where I usually stayed when I was in town. It was more of a haven to me than my penthouse, and I didn’t even realize how much I missed it until I came back out for a visit.
“Thank you. It is my favorite house in the world,” I told her with a smile. “You’ll have to come back closer to Christmas and see how my mom decorates it. She goes all out. A few years ago, the community even requested that they open the grounds so that visitors could drive by and see it. Some nights before Christmas, the drive is so packed with cars, it’s almost impossible for my family to get to their own houses.”
“How fun! My mother is like that, too, about Christmas. It’s another thing I’ll miss this year.”
The driver pulled the car into the circular drive and turned off the ignition. I stepped out and gave Chloe my hand to help her out of the car before I led her up to the door. The poor thing was almost pale with fear by that time, but I knew my family well enough to know that they’d put her at ease in minutes.
I could hear the chaos in the house as soon as we walked in the door. I helped Chloe with her coat and hung it on the coat rack before taking her hand and leading her into the living room. No one in my family knew about my immigration status and not even one of them would approve of my methods to fix it, so I had to convince them that I was in love with Chloe as much as I had to convince her.