BWWM Interracial Romance 3: Family Heart (9 page)

“I do. I’m one of the editors, so I’m in charge of all the writers in my section.” Jessica told the boy about her job—about going to events, about giving her staff assignments and reviewing their work. Logan’s parents hung back, conversationally; his mother, small and slightly plump in her curviness, smiled broadly but spoke little, giving Jessica a few amused glances as Zachary chattered on about his ambitions to be a baseball player as well as a scientist as well as a builder. Jessica was just as charmed by Zachary—albeit in a different way—as she had been by his father, and joked with Logan before a confused Zac and his knowing grandparents that if she were Logan, she would not be looking forward to the day that Zachary discovered girls.

Jessica was almost disappointed when the initial meeting came to a close, and Logan’s parents led Zachary to their car; but she knew that she and Logan would have the rest of the weekend to themselves, to make up for the time that they had lost in the weeks they had been separated. It was—for her, anyway, and for the moment—a perfectly acceptable trade-off.

Months after Jessica and Logan reunited, almost a year to the day after they first began seeing each other, Jessica was putting the final touches on Zachary’s birthday party plans. “It’s just his sixth,” Logan had protested when he heard her intentions. “It’s not even a big, important one!” Jessica insisted that since she was involved in Zachary’s life—and since she had no children of her own, not even nieces or nephews yet—she was going to help Logan plan a blowout.

“I want to spoil him for his birthday and you don’t have the guts to stop me,” she told him teasingly as she made her phone calls. Zachary had developed quite the obsession with science, and Jessica, with her connections, wanted to indulge his academic enthusiasm with a few choice appearances. She and Zachary had bonded, and with Rosanna more or less out of the picture, Jessica had taken the place of a kind of favored aunt with the five-year-old.

She called on some favors and convinced an astronaut to visit the party, along with a TV science program host, who would bring his entire kit of experiments to keep the kids entertained. There would also be great food, of course—a local barbeque restaurant, whose business had spiked after the Texan featured them in the Best of Houston contest, was more than happy to provide pans and pans of macaroni and cheese for Zachary, along with barbecue and other favorites for everyone else. “I don’t think there’s a single six-year-old in Texas that will have a better party than this,” Logan admitted once the plans were all in place. He had finally relented on the need to pay for everything himself, knowing that with the favors that Jessica had called in, she was getting the best possible deal—and a better deal for what they were getting than what Logan could ever hope to secure.

In the months since they had finally reunited, Logan and Jessica had fallen into spending time at each other’s homes as a matter of convenience, with Jessica spending nights at her lover’s home on an increasing basis. They hadn’t fully addressed the idea of moving in together, but Jessica knew that it was coming—and she welcomed it. Jessica’s mother approved of Logan, though after the drama of their brief separation she had been difficult to convince the first few times Logan came over. Logan’s dedication to his son, the fact that he was incorporating Jessica into his life—and had put his ex-wife firmly behind him—had finally won Jessica’s mother over, and he was almost as welcome into Jessica’s mother’s home as he was in his own.

They had gone to Sarah’s wedding together as well; a week after they had started their relationship over, Jessica told him about her sister’s upcoming nuptials, and the fact that she had intended to ask him to be her date. The wedding had—because of Sarah’s penchant for planning—been beautiful, and a weekend away together in Austin had been a major mark in the progression of their relationship together. When they weren’t participating in pre-wedding events, they spent most of their time by the hotel pool, or in their room, cuddling and exploring each other’s bodies. There had been an awkward moment when Sarah had been making her rounds at the reception and came to a stop at their table, talking to Jessica a while before she turned her attention to Logan and asked him when he intended to make her sister an honest woman—but Logan had laughed it off, saying that they were both enjoying a little dishonesty first. That night they had gone back to the hotel room, intending to make an early night of it—they both had to get back to Houston and their respective busy schedules—but instead of going to sleep early, they had spent the whole night sipping champagne in the room and enjoying each other’s bodies, bathing together and cuddling in the bed between bouts of lovemaking.

For the first time in years, Jessica finally felt safe and secure, happy in her relationship. She had finally given up the last vestiges of her grief over Evan’s sudden death, and had learned to accept the fact that she was moving on. She couldn’t think of a single man that she would rather have in her life than Logan, and she wanted to do everything that she could to make sure he knew it as often as possible. Logan encouraged her to only give her job the hours it deserved, instead of overworking herself with only vague ideas of what “getting ahead” could mean for her; but he also supported her dedication and ambitions, using his own connections to give her leads on good stories to assign the writers under her management.

In her own turn, Jessica had noticed that since she and Logan had gotten back together, he took his job more seriously. “I have to think about this as Zachary’s college, too,” he told her one night while they lay in bed together. “It’s not just what I’ve got going on right now—it’s putting aside money for his future. Hell, maybe I’ll give him a house for his graduation present.” Jessica had laughed at that, knowing that however extravagant her party for the child might be, Logan’s wishes and ambitions for his son were always going to outstrip her capacity to spoil him. Logan stayed late many times a week, but as their relationship matured and developed—with their new-found ability and willingness to communicate—Jessica never wondered what he was doing. Instead, she let herself into the house, with the key that Logan had given her a month after they had started dating once more, and made dinner for him; she was almost always waiting for him in the living room, with Zachary doing his homework at the kitchen table, when he got home after a late night.

The fact that Logan not only welcomed her into Zachary’s life, but encouraged her and Zachary to spend time alone together, gave Jessica a comfortable confidence in their relationship that no amount of lovemaking or time alone together could possibly have accomplished. While she knew they were still a long way away from getting married themselves, she was content to know that Zachary trusted her as much as any other adult in his life, and that he accepted her as his father’s girlfriend—though his idea of what that meant was still a little bit murky.

The day of the party arrived, and Jessica found herself running around the back yard, putting the finishing touches on the decorations and setting up the stations that she had discussed with the men who would be coming to entertain the children. Zachary had invited all of his classmates, and once they had known what the theme of the party would be—and considering Zachary’s popularity amongst his peers—it was no surprise that almost all of the twenty-three kids in his class had agreed to come. “Oh my God, how are we going to deal with all the presents?” Logan had asked when the last of the reservations had come in from the eager parents.

“I told you, Zac-aroni is going to be spoiled rotten. You’re just going to have to give him more chores to offset it and teach him responsibility,” Jessica had replied, teasing. She admired the way that Logan interacted with his son, and respected him more and more as she spent more time around them. While Logan was a carefree person, he was determined to give his son a sense of pride in good work, and a strong sense of ethics and morals. While they weren’t big church-goers, Zachary had a list of chores to do around the house every week, and he understood that in order to be able to play, he had to first finish his homework. The first time that Logan had asked Jessica to pick Zachary up from his grandparents’ house and bring him home, the boy had tried to game her—thinking that she didn’t know the rules, and more than willing to take advantage of her ignorance. But she had been firm on the expectations that Logan had given her, and when he had arrived home, Logan had backed her up on it, telling his son, “Jessica might not be your mom, but she is in charge when she picks you up and takes care of you—I expect you to listen and mind her the same way you would me, or your teachers, or anyone else in charge.”

At first there had been a small amount of tension between them, with Zachary uncertain of just what position Jessica occupied in his life—but when Jessica shared his enthusiasms, and got down in the dirt with him to play, their relationship had loosened, and they became friends.

“I don’t even understand how you’re pulling this off,” Logan said, climbing down from a ladder, hammer still in hand from the bunting he had put up. Jessica laughed, straightening the table cloth on one of the tables—one that would bear all the presents that Zachary’s friends would be bringing.

“Planning! Organization!” Jessica mentally compared her desk at work—packed with paperwork but neat—with Logan’s desk, covered in invoices with no apparent scheme or method behind it. “I don’t know how you manage to run your business.” Logan kissed her lightly on the lips, echoing her laughter with a chuckle.

“I put people in place that know how to manage things for me—above and beyond what I can do myself. Just like I have you in place to keep my life from running to chaos.” He draped his arms around her waist, pulling her close.

“Ah, so that’s why you’re dating me—a kind of personal assistant and day-runner,” Jessica joked.

“Damn straight! Who better to tell me what to do?” Logan kissed her again before breaking away, moving off to work on the next chore in the process of getting Zachary’s party off the ground.

By the time the party started, everything was in place—the food was scheduled to arrive on time, right about when the kids would start feeling hungry and the Science Dude and the astronaut had arrived. It was time for Jessica to hang back and see where she was needed, intervene if necessary, and meet parents. She had been ambivalent about inviting Rosanna; on the one hand, she had thought it would be unseemly to snub Zachary’s mother on the big day, while she definitely didn’t want the woman around. Logan had told her not to worry about it, but in the back of her mind, Jessica could still see the way that Rosanna had hung on him, the way she had flirted and tried to interrupt their times together, to interpose herself in Logan’s life. In the end, Gail had suggested that she invite the woman—that Rosanna wouldn’t want to have to be a guest at a party organized by Logan’s new lover, one that was guaranteed to be a success, and one that she couldn’t take any credit for. Gail had been right. Rosanna had replied to the invitation, saying—oh so sweetly—that while she appreciated being included, she had her own plans to celebrate Zac’s birthday the following weekend.

The backyard had been transformed by Jessica’s and Logan’s efforts, and kids began to stream in, their parents following in the wake. “Peter, Sandy,” Logan said, grabbing Jessica’s hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze. “Have you met Jessica yet?” Although she had become closer and closer to both Logan and Zachary in the previous months, she had stayed away from Zachary’s school, content to keep her mothering to the weekends and the evenings—and sometimes the mornings.

“No, we haven’t! This is some party you’ve put together.” The Science Dude’s theme music was playing over a rented sound system, the kids humming and buzzing with excitement at the show about to commence.

“It’s all her. She’s apparently a close, personal friend of the Science Dude, and of course working at the Texan, Jess here has a lot of access I can’t even imagine.” Logan grinned, and Jessica freed her hand from his comfortable grip to shake the hands of the parents that came by, complimenting and commenting on the fun atmosphere on their way to drop off presents. She had been a little worried about meeting the parents of Zachary’s classmates—after all, she thought, she was something of an outsider—and while she hadn’t confessed her anxiety to Logan, he had noticed it, and it comforted her to see him making such a big deal about her involvement in Zachary’s life.

The steady stream of arriving guests began to peter off, and Jessica found herself off to the side, watching the festivities. “Hey, Jess,” Logan said, catching her by the hand and giving her a little smile. Jessica saw the secretive merriment in his eyes and wondered at it. “Everyone’s busy at the play stations you set up, so come inside for a moment.” Jessica wondered what could have gone wrong—but let herself be led into the house, through the kitchen and living room and into the bedroom.

“Logan, we can’t do this! Not right now—it would be rude!” Logan laughed and gave her a kiss before reaching into his pocket.

“I don’t intend to have a roll in the blankets with you, but I wanted a moment to myself.” He took something out of his pocket and looked at her, the merriment lost in his dark eyes, replaced by a more serious expression. “I know we’re not living together yet, but there’s been something I’ve wanted to ask you for a month or two, and today seemed like a good day.” He dropped onto his knee in front of her and took her hands in his.

Jessica stared at him in unabashed shock as he opened one hand to reveal a small, velvet-covered box. He opened it and turned it around to show her the contents: a bright, sparkling ring, a diamond nestled down in the middle of emeralds—her favorite gem stone. Jessica gasped in surprise at the sight of it, her gaze traveling from the ring to Logan’s face. “Is this—are you—?” Logan laughed.

“Yes, this is an engagement ring, and yes, I am asking you to marry me.” Jessica shook her head, staring down at the ring for a long moment as she processed what had just happened. “I figured it would be a good present from me to Zachary—you know, on top of the super deluxe experiment set.” He was smiling slightly, his dark eyes shaded with just a little bit of doubt while Jessica stood there, too stunned by the proposal to immediately respond. “You like emeralds, right? I could have sworn you liked emeralds.” Jessica’s surprise finally broke and she laughed.

“Of course you big dummy, I love emeralds!” she reached down and pulled him up to stand with her, kissing him passionately. “But—are you sure you want to marry me? I mean—we haven’t even lived together yet.” Logan laughed, holding her tightly.

“We’re practically living together already. Zachary loves you, and I love you too. I want to make it official—you’re part of our lives for good. Please say yes.” Jessica kissed him again before reaching down to take the box from his hands and admire the ring.