The question caught her off guard. “I don’t know. I’d like to think so, wouldn’t you?”
He smiled. “You know, I like the idea of you and me raising a baby together.”
“I do too.” Claire smiled back at him. Maybe this was a chance she had to take, being with Logan, or she’d spend the rest of her life plagued by what-ifs. She just hoped she wouldn’t spend the rest of her life plagued by a broken heart instead.
“Where are you taking me?” Claire asked Logan the next morning.
They were walking together along Main Street, Logan’s large hand clasped over her eyes. His other hand was anchored firmly to her waist, guiding her to her left.
“You’ll find out soon enough,” he murmured, his lips brushing against the shell of her ear. “Follow me.” His hand left her waist to take hers, pulling her toward him. “It’s a slight step up.”
Claire obeyed, feeling strangely giddy as he led her toward their destination. She knew by the abrupt hush in her ears and carpet beneath her feet that they had entered some sort of building. A sweet scent invaded the air, something florally.
“Where are we?” she asked in a whisper.
“Open your eyes and see,” Logan commanded, his voice low. He removed his hand and she blinked as her eyes came back into focus.
Flowers of every color, shape and size met her gaze. They spilled from rustic clay pots and old tins, from crystal vases and wooden barrels. He’d taken her to the flower shop she’d spied on their way into town yesterday. Wynne’s Flowers, she recalled.
“Pick whatever you want,” Logan said. “I thought it might be nice to have an arrangement in our room.”
Claire didn’t know what to say for a moment. Logan had thought about flowers? For her? This from the man she’d once been convinced only thought about himself. God, with every second he proved just how wrong she’d been about him.
“What do you think?” He looked suddenly uncertain.
“I think it’s a wonderful idea,” she hurried to say, afraid he’d hear in her voice the tears suddenly pricking her eyes. “I love flowers.”
“I know you like to keep an arrangement in your office.” Logan shrugged dismissively, as if to say she shouldn’t read too much into the gesture.
He’d noticed that?
Twice a week, Claire had the florist down the street deliver a new arrangement to her office at LM. It was just an idiosyncrasy she’d always had. She was convinced it enhanced her creativity.
Before she started bawling right there in the middle of the cozy little shop, Claire forced herself to look at the flowers and start choosing them. Logan began selecting some single stems as well, and soon she literally had an armload of them, ranging from coneflowers to hydrangeas.
Logan took the flowers from her and made his way to the front counter, where a woman smiled brightly at them. “Is that everything for you two today?” she asked.
Claire almost did a double take. The woman looked like she could have been straight off a New York runway. She was uncommonly gorgeous, tall and willowy with a riot of red curls falling around her shoulders.
“Yes,” Claire replied before Logan decided differently.
“Where are you two staying?” The woman’s warm smile never faded as she pulled Claire’s bundle of flowers across the counter. “I can whip up the arrangement and have it sent to your hotel, if you’d like.”
“That would be great,” Logan replied easily. “We’re at the Coastal Hotel, just down the street. Room twenty-four.”
“I’ll have it there by this afternoon.” She wrote down the room number and held out her hand for both Logan and Claire to shake. “I’m Wynne, by the way.”
“Mama, can we play dress-up now?” The sweet voice had Claire turning to find a little girl, no older than four, emerging from a back room. Blonde ringlets framed her angelic face, and with her blue eyes and rosy cheeks, she reminded Claire of her niece, Elizabeth. Sophie’s daughter had been about the little girl’s age when the car accident had taken her life.
Claire swallowed past the sudden lump of sadness in her throat.
Wynne’s green eyes sparkled. “And this is my daughter Paige. Sorry for the interruption.” She turned to her daughter. “Sweet pea, Mama has customers right now. Why don’t you go pick out a dress?”
“Okay.” Paige turned and ran from the room in typical childish abandon.
“I’m sorry,” Wynne apologized again, looking embarrassed. “My mother usually watches her while I’m here at the shop, but she’s visiting my brother in Texas this week.”
“It’s no problem,” Claire and Logan assured her at the same time.
