John studied him for so long that Logan had to tamp down the urge to squirm. Finally, he nodded again, as though he’d found the answer he’d been seeking. “You have to earn it, son. And don’t give up. My daughter can be stubborn, you know.”
Was Claire’s father giving him his blessing?
John seemed to sense his thoughts. “I know that my wife hasn’t exactly been welcoming, and that she can be difficult to get along with at times.”
“She seems to despise me,” Logan said.
Claire’s father chuckled. “It’s not quite as bad as that. Give her some time. The most important thing is Claire’s happiness, and I think you may be the only one who can help her find it.”
Logan was torn between the urge to laugh and slam his fist into the nearest wall. If only Claire had the same confidence in him that her father had. If only John knew how desperately Logan wanted to be the man who helped Claire find happiness, the man who made her smile, the man who held her at night, the man who woke up next to her every morning.
“I’ll do my best,” Logan said, his voice hoarse with emotion even to his own ears.
John patted him on the back. “Make sure that you do, son. Make sure that you do.”
Claire’s life settled into a comfortable routine. By the end of January, the world was covered in four inches of white snow and she and Julie were settled back into Sophie’s old house. She was still on maternity leave from LM, but she saw Logan every day. And every day, he seemed to get more wonderful. He was incredibly attentive to both her and Julie. They spent Christmas together and he had spoiled them both terribly. Julie’s nursery was packed with adorable little stuffed animals and dolls she couldn’t play with for another six months.
Life was good. The week after Claire had Julie, Sophie had given birth to a baby boy. Sophie and Trevor had named him Rafe. Marcus had decided that Rafe sounded more like a pirate’s name than a baby’s name, so he referred to him as Rafe of the Seven Seas. Sophie and Trevor didn’t appear to mind, and they were both absolutely glowing with parental pride at their darling baby boy. Claire thought she and Logan must emit the same glow whenever they were around Julie.
Mother was definitely the best role she had ever claimed.
She smiled to herself as she scraped the sides of her mixing bowl, pushing chocolate chip cookie batter back down into the center. Today was January thirty-first, Logan’s birthday, and she was making him a birthday dinner complete with his favorite dessert, chocolate chip cookies. Of course, Logan didn’t know anything about it. She was planning to surprise him when he came over for what he thought was merely an ordinary visit. He hadn’t even mentioned his birthday to her, not since that long ago day when she had driven him home from work when he’d been hit by the migraine. She was beginning to think he’d forgotten all about it.
Her cordless began ringing so she turned off her mixer to answer it before it woke Julie from her midday nap. After washing her hands, she snatched it up. “Hello?”
“Claire, it’s Derek.”
“My partner in crime. Is he home yet?”
“Just pulling up into the driveway now.”
“I have plenty of time then,” Claire murmured. “Try to stall him for a few minutes so that I can get all the cookies in the oven, will you?”
Derek groaned. “Cookies? Not chocolate chip?”
“Yes.”
Another groan. “Is it too late to convince you to ditch Logan for me tonight?”
She laughed. “I’ll save some for you. Don’t forget to stall him.”
“I’ll do my best.”
“Oh and Derek? Don’t expect him home tonight.”
They hung up and Claire went back to the task of dropping heaping spoonfuls of cookie dough onto her cookie sheets. In addition to being Logan’s birthday, it also happened to be Friday night, which meant the work week was over and Logan was hers for the weekend. She was definitely planning to keep him for the entire weekend. Her doctor had given her the green light for extracurricular activities. The days of pecks on her cheek were over. Claire wanted Logan back, in every sense of the word.
And she wasn’t about to stop until she won him over completely.
The telephone rang again as she popped the last tray of cookies into the oven. It was Sophie.
“How goes Operation Get Logan Into Bed?”
“Soph,” Claire protested, feeling a blush coming on, even though it was ridiculous at her age. “It’s a birthday celebration.”
“Mmm-hmm. Followed by Operation Get Logan Into Bed,” Sophie replied, a grin in her voice. She had begun to soften as far as Logan was concerned. After all, he had been taking up his fair share of the parental workload.
“Maybe,” Claire conceded, a secret smile curving her lips. “Do you think I’m making a mistake, Soph?”
