Never Let Me Go: The Complete Set (22 page)

“I WANT TO LOVE YOU
forever, Kitten, to take care of you and grow old with you. I want a big house that’s filled with our kids. Little girls with your smile and boys with your passion for life. I want it all baby. Marry me, Grace. Marry me and make me the happiest man alive.”

My hand covered my mouth as tears streamed down my cheeks. “Logan, I….” I couldn’t believe he was asking me to marry him. Was I ready for that? For all that being Mrs. McFadden entailed? I had just gotten Grace back; was I ready to trade her in for someone else?

“You’re freaking me out a bit here, Kitten.” He looked up at me expectantly.

“Logan,” I whispered. The look in his eyes erased all of my doubts. “Yes.” God help me, I wanted it all, everything he was saying. I wanted the house and the kids, but most of all, I wanted him. I wanted the world to know that he was mine forever.

“Yes?” He jumped to his feet. “You’re saying yes? You’ll marry me?” His eyes were shining. God, this man had my heart.

“Yes. I’ll marry you,” I screamed. The emotion I had been holding back flooded out of me in a rush. Tears streamed down my cheeks as he slipped the ring on my finger. He was really mine now. All mine. Forever and always.

“You have no idea how happy you’ve just made me.” He swung me around. I clung to him, raining kisses on his cheeks and lips.

Applause filtered into our little world, and we noticed a crowd of people standing off to the side watching us. I should have been embarrassed, but somehow it felt right. Here in this place with all the love around us. The memory of Logan proposing to me would forever be remembered in the lock we had placed here. We could come back and relive it anytime.

“She said yes!” he yelled to them before kissing me.

They all screamed and cheered for us as we walked past, on our way to wherever he was leading me. This day couldn’t get any more perfect. I couldn’t stop smiling, my heart was so full. I looked down at the beautiful ring on my finger and couldn’t believe this was really my life. Six months ago, I was still single and wishing I would meet Mr. Right. Now I had him. He was not at all what I had been looking for, but I found him all the same.

“Are you happy, Kitten?” He pulled me tight against his side as we walked.

“Do you even have to ask?” My cheeks hurt from smiling so much. “This feels like a dream, Logan. I’m afraid I’m going to wake up and it’s not going to be real.”

He stopped and pulled me against a street lamp. His lips were against mine before I could react. I could feel his hunger as keenly as I felt my own. His fingers slipped beneath the hem of my shirt and tickled my skin. I wrapped my arms around him and pulled him in closer. When he finally pulled away, I was breathless.

“Still feel like you’re dreaming?” He winked at me.

“If I said yes, would you do that again?” I smiled seductively.

“You better watch it, or I may just forget that we’re in public,” he growled and gave me a rough kiss, nipping at my lip.

“How soon until we can get back to the hotel?” I was totally turned around.

“Soon, but we have plans with Leah in an hour, so we’ll have to wait,” he groaned.

As much as I wanted to meet Logan’s sister, I was dying for some alone time with him. I looked down at my new ring sparkling in the sun. I was going to be a Mrs.!

“Do you think you can wait until tonight?” His lips were close to mine; I could feel his breath on my skin.

“I don’t want to, but I will.” I sighed and leaned my head against his.

He took my hand, and we began walking again.

“Where are we meeting your sister?” I asked.

“At her house. She wanted to show off the nursery.” He grinned. I could feel his excitement for me to meet his family. The same as I felt when I met Shaileen. He was proud to call me his.

Instead of going back to the hotel, Logan decided to take me shopping. Not my favorite thing in the world, but this was Paris. How could I refuse shopping in Paris? He took me to a street that I would never be able to remember or pronounce and whisked me inside Dior.

I felt a little bit giddy. Everything was stark white and pristine. Beautiful clothes hung on racks and hangers. Impeccably dressed women milled around chatting in lilting French. Even for a non-fashionista like myself, this was an incredible moment.

I was almost afraid to touch anything. I didn’t want to leave my fingerprints on the gleaming white surfaces.

“Kitten, it’s a clothing store, not an operating room. Go look around. Find something you can’t live without.” He grinned and kissed my cheek before giving me a pat on the butt to send me off into the store.

I wandered around the pristine floor, listening to women talk in a language I couldn’t understand. It was kind of relaxing. I found myself walking toward a wall with white dresses. Could be the recent engagement or just that I liked the color white. These were certainly not wedding dresses. Very modern and feminine, and I loved them.

Logan came up behind me. “Find something you like?”

“Yes,” I sighed, feeling very girly as I eyed the beautiful dresses.

“Go try one on. Tell them you’ll need matching shoes, a jacket, and a purse.”

I started to tell him no, that it was too much. But I could see the joy on his face at the idea of spoiling me.

As I slipped into the lacy white and black dress, I felt excited. I looked down at my finger, at the ring designed for me by Logan. This was real; this would be my life now.

The saleswoman was only too happy to complete the look for me. I felt like a completely different person when we stepped back out onto the street thirty minutes later. The coat we had gotten skimmed my calves, the same length as the dress. The heels were sky high and white patent leather—they would kill me, but they were beautiful.

At some point in the shuffle, Logan had disappeared to do a little shopping of his own. He was now dressed in black slacks and a blue cashmere sweater. The things that
he did to clothes should be illegal. He looked entirely too good for a dinner at his sister’s house.

A sleek black BMW pulled up to the curb, and Logan held the door open for me. I almost pinched myself to be sure I wasn’t dreaming. There was no way this was my life.

“Tell me what you’re thinking?” he murmured into my ear as we sped through the city.

“That this can’t be real life.” I turned to look at him.

“I promise you that it’s real.” His lips brushed mine.

I was deliriously happy. For the first time in years, I let myself just live in the moment and not care about anything but the man next to me. I didn’t think about my sisters and the problems they had or my work. I just concentrated on the lips pressed against mine.

The car pulled up in front of a beautiful brick building with pretty pink awnings.

“Ready?” Logan asked me.

“I think so.” I took a deep breath and slid out of the car. My heart picked up speed in my chest as we walked through the front doors and stopped by the bank of elevators. To say I was nervous would have been an understatement. I had to keep reminding myself to calm down.

Logan pressed the Penthouse button, and we shot upward with rapid speed. When the doors slid open, a young couple stood waiting for us.

I could tell right away that Leah and Logan were related; they had the same dark hair and green eyes.

“Logan!” she squealed and threw her arms around his neck. When she released him, she puts a hand to her lower back. “This kid needs to hurry up and get here already. My poor back can’t take much more.”

“You look beautiful as usual.” Logan mussed her hair. “Henri, great to see you.” He shook the tall blond man’s hand. “This is my fiancée, Grace.” He pulled me against him and smiled.

“Fiancée?” Leah’s bright smile could rival Logan’s.

I nodded and held out my hand so she could see the ring before she hugged me tight.

“Welcome to the family, Grace,” she whispered.

My nerves uncoiled. I felt better instantly with those whispered words.

SO, THIS WAS HAPPY. I’D
searched for it all my life and never found it until now. Grace. She was my happy ending, the beginning of my future. I watched as my sister, Leah, glowed with happiness as Grace fussed over her and the nursery.

“So, you’re finally settling down?” Henri asked as we sat on the balcony while the women looked at baby things.

I had known Henri for a few years now, and we had a comfortable relationship. He was easy, which was what Leah needed. And he loved her with an intensity that scared me at times because I didn’t understand it.

“I am. Grace is just right. If that makes sense?” She
was
right. In every way, she was right.

“It makes perfect sense. I felt the same way about Leah. I just knew with her.” His English was heavily accented. “Leah is very relieved to have you married off soon. She has been worried about you this past year.”

“Why was she worried?” I was genuinely interested in his answer.

“She thought you would end up alone,” he said matter-of-factly.

I didn’t know how to respond to that, so I just nodded. Leah had always seen more than I ever gave her credit for. “My life up until now has been meaningless. The women, the money, it was all fluff. I didn’t think I wanted marriage, to be honest.”

“We didn’t think you wanted it, either.” He lifted a well-manicured brow. “You were, how do you say, playboy.”

“I was. It doesn’t really seem like my life anymore when I think about it. It seems like someone else.”

“The right woman will do that for you. I wasn’t a saint before Leah. She is my beautiful flower, and now we will have a little one. My life is complete finally.” He radiated happiness.

“How has she been during all of this?” Leah was high strung, not unlike our mother, but that was where the similarities ended. When Jackson was born, Leah was my rock. She stepped in and became more like a co-parent than an aunt to him. Hell, she even lived with us for a while.

“A bit much.” He smiled. “But then she always can be that way. You know how she is.” His shoulders lifted.

“She’ll be an amazing mother,” I said with sincerity.

“I have no doubt about that. She has been wild about my brother’s kids for years.”

I knew how she had been with Jackson, and it made my heart ache for him. Missing him at times like this was hard.

A moment later, Leah called us back in to eat. The table was set family style with mounds of food placed in the center.

“Dig in.” Leah gingerly sat in her chair, careful of her stomach.

Over dinner, I watched Grace as she laughed and became a deeper part of my family. Leah was crazy about her, I could already see that.

“Grace tells me that you’ve moved to Chicago for a while? Why is it that I had to hear about it from her?” She gave me a stern look.

“Thanks for that,” I mock growled at Grace
,
who gave me an innocent look. “It’s not permanent, just for a while. It was important for me to be near this one.” I brought Grace’s fingers to my lips.

“How does your counterpart feel about the change?”

I knew exactly who she was referring to. “He has one of his own to fawn over at the moment and has been spending almost as much time in Chi-town as I am.” I smiled.