Her white gown flashed in her mind. Their wedding had been traditional, on the shores of Folly Beach with her family and friends looking on.
“That was a beautiful day,” she whispered. He placed his hand on top of hers.
“I need that back. I need your beauty in my life.”
Robin closed her eyes. “Then you’d better be ready to do something,” she snapped.
“You think I’m not? That’s why Liam is looking into this and helping me find the truth.”
Robin dropped her head. “If you’re lying to me and just using your friend to help you cover your tracks, I’m leaving for good because I’m not going to keep living like this. I signed up for forever and you’re ruining that.” Her voice was a low and painful whisper.
He nodded; his eyes projected his pain. Robin shoved a forkful of salad in her mouth and decided she wasn’t hungry anymore. She pushed her plate aside and turned to her husband.
“When did you lose your trust in me?” he asked when their eyes met.
“What if you wake up one day and want a child. A family that I can’t help you create.”
Logan dropped his head in his hands. “How many times do I have to say this? You’re all the family I need. As much as you wanted children, I could take it or leave it. But if I was going to have a child, it was going to be with you and no one else.”
“Yet there is a little boy out there . . . .”
“He isn’t my son. Hell, I don’t even remember seeing her pregnant.”
Robin snorted. “You didn’t notice your number one nurse with a baby bump? What about the maternity leave?”
Logan shrugged. “I thought she was on vacation, so when she came back talking about a kid, I was as surprised as everyone else.”
Robin grabbed her wine glass. “When did she tell you he was yours?”
He threw his head back and released a frustrated sigh. “A couple of weeks before those papers arrived.”
She furrowed her brows as a deluge of questions popped into her head. He knew before those papers came that . . . Robin leapt to her feet, nearly knocking over the tray of food. “So, you knew she was claiming that you were the father of her child and you didn’t tell me?!”
“Why would I bring that to you when there was no chance that I was the father? Look at you now, can you imagine what you would’ve been like then? Right when we were looking to adopt a child?”
She shook her head. “You took that choice away from me. You let me be blindsided. Thanks.”
Logan stood up and tried to draw her into his arms, but Robin snatched away. “No,” she snapped. “No.”
“How are we going to work through this if you shut down and throw up this wall every time you think you’re hearing something you don’t want to believe?”
“Can we stop acting like you never cheated before!” There, she’d finally said it.
Logan blinked. “That was over fifteen years ago and . . .”
“But it fucking happened.”
“And you said you forgave me, that we’d moved past it, and you accepted my ring. So, you’ve just been holding on to that all this time?” He stroked his forehead. “Waiting for me to make a mistake?”
“Cheating is a choice, not a mistake.”
“And it’s a choice that I made once. When I said I’d never do it again, I meant it.”
“Yet, there’s a baby and the papers say you are the father. That didn’t just happen by accident.”
“For the last time. That is not my child. I never slept with that woman.”
“Have you seen the little boy?”
“No. I want to take another DNA test, to get the truth. But that means I’m going to have to contact Kamrie.”
“Then we have to do it,” Robin said. “If we’re going to fight for the truth, then we’re going to have to do it together.”
This time, she allowed him to draw her into his arms. Feeling his heart beat against hers, Robin melted in his arms. She tried to pack her doubts away, but she couldn’t. She couldn’t push away the images of Logan and another woman together. His lips touching hers, his fingers running up and down the small of her back.
Every time he did that to her, Robin’s body tingled as if Logan had magic in his fingers. She closed her eyes as he made that move on her right then.
“Robin,” he moaned. “I’m sorry this is happening to us.”
“Not as sorry as I am. I hurt so much.” Her tears poured from her eyes as if a dam had burst.
“Rob, you don’t have to hurt. I didn’t do anything.”
“Maybe not this time, but you’re going to want a legacy, you’re going to want a child and then what?”
He took her face into his hands and wiped her tears away with his thumbs. “My legacy will be helping find a way to end heart disease, discovering a way to help our people live healthier lives. Or maybe even coming up with a less invasive way to perform a heart transplant. Or our legacy will be the babies we adopt and raise to be good people. But one thing my legacy will always include is you and how much I love you.”
Chapter 9
She brushed her lips against his. Logan captured her pillow soft lips in a hot kiss that made Robin’s knees quake. She didn’t think of him and that woman now. She just wanted to make love to her husband. Wanted him to give her the pleasure she’d been missing for the last six months.
Before either of them could change their minds about taking that next step, Logan scooped Robin in his arms and bounded for the stairs. When he walked into their bedroom, Robin was wetter than the James River. He laid her on the bed and stared at her for a moment.
“You know this is where you belong,” he expelled.
“And you’re doing too much talking right now.” She reached up for him and pulled him down on top of her.
Logan kissed her hard and deep and Robin sucked his tongue as if it were giving her life. He moaned as he palmed her breasts. Robin turned on her side and they wound themselves around each other, seemingly becoming one.
She broke the kiss and looked into her husband’s eyes. Logan stroked her cheek.
“Bella,” he whispered. “I love you so much.”
Robin’s lips quivered—she wanted to say she loved him, but she couldn’t let those words escape her mouth, even if they were tattooed across her heart. She slid her index finger across his lips. “Make love to me.”
“Gladly.” He captured her lips and kissed her senseless. She pulled him closer and pressed her body against his. Logan’s erection grew against her thighs and she moaned as he slipped his hand between her thighs.
“You’re so wet for me.” His warm breath heated her body as if she’d been struck by lightning.
“Inside.”
Logan spread her legs, using his left hand to stroke her wetness. Robin moaned and arched into his touch. He pressed his index finger inside her; Robin nearly came instantly.
“Logan!”
He pressed deeper and she screamed. It was as if her soul were opening, ready to be loved again. Why couldn’t everything flow like this? Why did the world have to be waiting outside when they stopped making love?
She bit her bottom lip as he moved his hand away from her wetness. “Please,” she moaned. “Please.”
“I want you on top of me. Need to look at you.” He wrapped his arms around her and rolled over so that she was on top of him. Logan stroked her lower back as she straddled his awaiting body. This sex game was their favorite, making love with their eyes wide open. Robin used to believe that she saw into his soul as those warm brown eyes stared at her. Stripped naked, she and Logan always poured into each other. Always melted as one.
Robin gasped as he entered her. He pulled her closer as she ground against him. “Robin!”
“Yes, baby.” Her words escaped her lips like a guttural moan. She gripped his dick with her sugar walls and bucked harder. Logan’s body went limp as she drained him and he exploded inside her. Robin leaned forward and brushed her lips ag
ainst his.
“Divine,” she whispered before rolling off him.
Logan gripped her shoulder. “Look at me for a second,” he whispered.
Robin locked eyes with him and fought back her tears. Her mind was filled with the image of him being with that woman. Why couldn’t she just live in the moment? Just bask in the afterglow of his love?
You can. Stop being this way and believe in his love. Robin sighed and leaned into her husband’s embrace.
“I’ve missed this so much,” she said. “Missed you.”
“Missed you more. Missed everything about you, Rob.”
She kissed him slow, and as their tongues danced against each other, Logan’s erection grew and all he wanted was to be inside his wife. As if she needed more, Robin threw her thigh over his.
He dove into her wetness, groaning with pleasure and thrusting deeper and deeper. Robin clutched his back, digging her nails into his tender skin.
“Yes! Yes! Oh my God,” she cried.
Logan thrust harder as she rotated her hips to match his rhythm. Falling in sync, they matched each other stroke for stroke, moan for moan. Sweat dripped from their bodies as they reached their climax. Robin closed her eyes and snuggled up to her man. She couldn’t move, her bones feeling like jelly. She welcomed the sleep that took over her body.
Logan watched Robin as she slept. Just holding her in his arms gave him a feeling of peace. He knew this was how his life was supposed to be. He loved Robin with his entire soul, and no matter what it took, he was going to get her back in his life forever. Brushing his lips across her forehead, he watched her eyes flutter open.
“How long have I been sleeping?” she asked.
“Not long. I just wanted to make sure that I wasn’t dreaming.”
Robin stroked his cheek. “That was kind of magical, huh?”
“Understatement of the century.” He took her hand in his and kissed it. “I wanted to do that since you walked in the door.”
She grinned. “Somehow, Christmas just isn’t Christmas if we don’t end up naked.”
“Funny, but true.” He nestled closer to her. “Does your family know you’re here?”
“My dad does. I’m sure he told my sisters, and if I hadn’t left my phone in the car, they would be blowing me up right now. Everyone except for Nina.” Robin smiled, then looked up at Logan. “She was a beautiful bride.”
“Did she wear sneakers?”
“No, Yolanda would’ve killed her. We had to fight her about the boots.”
“Nina always had her own style. Clinton must be a really special guy.”
“He better be,” Robin muttered. Logan felt the subliminal jab but didn’t say anything.
“So, what are we going to do now?”
“Clearly not sleep,” Robin quipped.
Logan was about to reply when his phone rang. As much as he wanted to ignore it, when he saw the hospital’s number on the screen, he figured it must have been an emergency.
“Dr. Baptiste.”
“We need to talk, Logan,” Kamrie said.
“This isn’t a good time and why are you calling me from the hospital?”
“Our son is sick.”
Logan ended the call and turned to Robin. Her face filled with suspicion and concern.
“Everything all right?” she asked.
Sighing, he thought about making up a story about the hospital checking on him, but he’d been screaming about telling her the truth and he couldn’t start lying now.
“No. That was Kamrie.”
Robin sucked her teeth and covered herself with the sheet. “Why is she calling you?”
Logan shrugged. “Said something about her son being sick. This is just a ploy. Just like the Christmas gift.”
“The what? Why are you just telling me about this?” She sat up and threw her legs over the side of the bed.
“Because I was trying to avoid this,” Logan groaned. “I’m not falling for her shit.”
“Again, you mean?” Robin rose to her feet, silently second guessing everything that she’d been feeling moments ago.
“I never fell for anything to begin with. You know what, Robin, we can’t move forward if we’re going to fight about things I have no control over.”
“Like you had no control over what she was trying to do or your wayward dick? I want to believe that you didn’t sleep with her, that the little boy isn’t yours, but you’re not fighting like a man who’s innocent!”
“And how am I supposed to fight, Robin?”
She got up in his face and glared at him. “Loud. You should be screaming from the freaking rooftops about this. You’ve done it before. You were loud about loving me, why aren’t you loud about this?”
Logan dropped his head, hating to admit that his wife was right. He’d sat back and allowed this to snowball into a situation that would make him look guilty no matter what he did.
Had he played into the hands of those who wanted to take him down professionally while sacrificing his marriage? His silence seemed to set Robin off as she stalked to the bathroom and slammed the door. She turned the shower on and ignored Logan’s knocks at the door.
Robin sat on the toilet as she ran the shower and cried. What if she had been wrong about everything and Logan was the father of that child? She dropped her head in her hands and groaned. Family was so important to her and she knew Logan wanted to build a legacy. She couldn’t give that to him and it wasn’t fair that he was denying his son.
But what if it isn’t his son? Why don’t you listen to your husband and move forward?
“Robin, open the door,” Logan said.
“I can’t look at you right now. Just give me a few moments to . . .”
“Open the door.”
She stood up and opened the door. “Coming back here was a mistake.”
He shook his head and pulled her into his arms. “You said we were going to fight for our marriage and I’m holding you to that.”
“You said you didn’t have anything to do with that woman, but y’all are exchanging Christmas gifts and talking on the phone. Are you claiming the child when I’m not around? What the fuck is really going on?”
“I don’t know what’s going on and I’ve been just as confused about this whole situation. Kamrie is trying to ruin my life and I don’t know why.”
“Maybe because you slept with her and lied about it?” Robin folded her arms across her chest and glared at him. She was tired of having the same conversation over and over again. Tired of allowing the same thoughts to creep into her mind and believing that the man she loved could destroy her like this. Logan slipped inside the bathroom and shut the shower off.
“What are we going to do to get past this?” Logan turned to his wife. But she wouldn’t look at him.
“I need to know the truth and I can’t depend on waiting for a report from Liam. I want to talk to Kamrie.”
“You think she’s going to tell you the truth?”
“I don’t even know what the truth is anymore, but I want answers.”
“And you think that you’re going to get them from her?”
Robin groaned and gripped her hair. “Logan. I’m tired of this back and forth. I’m tired of loving you one minute and hating you the next. Do you know how hard this has been for me?”
As much as she didn’t want to cry, tears dripped from her eyes and she wanted to crawl into bed and bawl. Logan sensed her discomfort and drew her into his arms. “Baby.”
“Let me go,” she gritted. “I’m going to see her. What hospital is she in with that little boy?”
“Robin, this isn’t a good idea.”
“I don’t care what you think. If we are going to fight for our marriage then I need to hear from her. Find out why she’s hell bent on destroying us.”
Logan ran his hand across his face. “Fine, let’s go.”
“I need to talk to her alone. You going to the hospital with me is going to cause a scene—well, an even bigger
scene.”
“Why not go tomorrow? You had a long drive here and it’s late.”
“I’m going to sleep downstairs,” Robin said as she brushed past him.
“Wait, don’t do this.” Logan reached out and touched her elbow. “Robin, we keep saying we’re going to work this out, but . . .”
“But what, Logan? She’s calling you, sending you Christmas gifts. What the hell am I supposed to think?”
“I don’t know. But neither of us needs to talk to her right now.”
She raised her right eyebrow at him. “Fine, but here’s the last thing I’m saying about this tonight: If you have any contact with her, I need to be there. Don’t hide anything from me about this. We fight together or there is no need to fight at all.”
“You’re right.”
“And I’m not sleeping downstairs because I picked out this bed and I had a long drive to get here . . . .”
“Robin, you’re going to have to sleep with me tonight, because I’m not passing up the chance to have you next to me.”
She smirked at him. “So, you’re going to force me to do something I don’t want to do?”
“Nah, I’m going to bribe you with more food because I just heard your stomach growl and there is a good chance that I might make a jambalaya tomorrow.”
She shimmied her shoulders. “I see you’re not going to play fair.”
“Nope.”
Chapter 10
It was well after three a.m. before Logan and Robin actually went to sleep. The tension in the house had subsided some as they polished off the salads, pizza, and wine. They’d even shared a few laughs over the new HGTV show that they had watched. But Robin couldn’t get comfortable in her own space with her husband. It came to a head when he’d reached for her foot while they lounged on the sofa and she recoiled at his touch.
“Sorry,” she said. “It’s getting late. My God, is it really this time of morning?”
Logan nodded, but didn’t reveal his pain at his wife’s rejection. “I’m going to clean up these dishes and meet you upstairs.”
Robin yawned as she nodded. Rising to her feet, she reached for Logan. “Good night and thanks for the pizza.”
“Anything for you, Double R.” Logan hesitated to kiss her cheek, because he wasn’t sure how much more rejection he could take from her. It was all or nothing with her. Despite the amazing lovemaking they’d just shared, Robin still didn’t seem like her old self. She didn’t trust him and it showed. He hated that feeling. Hated that he and his wife weren’t in sync like they used to be.
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