Chapter Sixteen
The only bright spot in Sabrina’s life was an exuberant call from her literary agent a few days later. Her book had sold to a publisher for mid-six figures. At least she felt more confident that her practice would thrive again once the book came out. Of course, that was more than a year away, and her earlier enthusiasm for writing it had dimmed considerably. How could she be enthusiastic about committed relationships when her own relationship was such a disaster? She hadn’t heard from Logan and hadn’t seen him at the office either. Not because she was avoiding him. She figured he was done with her, tired of dealing with someone who sucked at relationships. But what was she supposed to do when so much was still up in the air? How could she move forward with Logan not knowing which direction his life was heading?
The day after her big book news, Thursday, she headed out for Lexi’s appointment at psycho Tara’s office. Sabrina had it all planned out what she was going to say. She was sure they could talk this through. They shared a common goal, helping couples stay together in committed relationships. She’d emphasize that her own book deal could never eclipse the great accomplishment of Tara’s wonderful book, which was well researched and well written. Sabrina had read it in preparation for this meeting. And, most importantly, there were plenty of clients to go around, especially in this high-population part of Connecticut. Plus, Tara had a second office in the city teeming with troubled couples.
Sabrina showed up at Tara’s office five minutes before the allotted time and took a seat in the empty waiting room. She was still in her work clothes, a pale pink silk blouse with black pants and heels. She figured her outfit would help project a professional image and keep their conversation on a professional level. She silently rehearsed her speech and then checked the time on her phone. Any minute now. She’d just clicked record on her phone when the waiting room door opened and Logan strode in.
She gasped. He looked like six feet of powerfully determined man heading straight for her. For a brief heart-pounding moment, she thought he might scoop her up, toss her over his shoulder, and take her back to his bed like a sexy caveman. Instead, he took the seat next to her without a word. She breathed in his familiar fresh masculine scent, all of her longing to touch him again. He was in his usual work clothes—long-sleeved black shirt, worn jeans, and sneakers. Her mind immediately flashed to the finely formed muscles of his shoulders and arms, his chest…and more. She shifted her gaze up, surprised at herself. Maybe after all they’d done, she’d never be able to see him again without remembering how he looked underneath it all.
She studied his handsome profile, his short light brown hair, his nose that tilted up at the end, his sexy lips, his neatly trimmed beard. For a moment she forgot why they weren’t together. Then he met her eyes, his expression serious, and it all came flooding back. That was exactly how he’d looked when he broke the baby news to her.
“What’re you doing here?” she whispered. She’d told him she wanted to do this alone.
His voice was low and deep. “I wanted to be here for you. Lexi gave me the time and place.”
She ground her teeth. Lexi, you will pay.
She kept her voice low. “Get out. I’m supposed to be here for an individual appointment.”
He whispered directly in her ear, “You don’t know what this woman is capable of. She’s been manipulative, vindictive, and threatening you.”
She shoved his shoulder, but he didn’t budge. “Go.”
“I really do think we need relationship counseling,” he said without a trace of humor.
“Well, we’re not getting it here!”
The door to Tara’s office opened. There she was, looking just like her picture, her blond hair styled in a layered cut, her angular face hard and thin. Her blue eyes shot fire. “You!” she spat, narrowing her eyes at Sabrina. “I saw your book just got a bigger advance than mine did. Don’t even try to tell me you’re not trying to squeeze me out.”
Logan stood. “Hey, let’s all just stay calm.”
Sabrina put a hand up to Logan and walked over to Tara. The woman radiated pure venom, her blue eyes icy with rage. “Tara, I came here today to reach out to you, counselor to counselor. We both share a common goal of helping couples keep their commitment, and there’s no shortage—”
“I’m the Commitment Counselor!” Tara slashed her hand through the air. “That’s my thing. I trademarked it. You stole it. That’s all you’ve been doing these past several weeks, siphoning off my hard work. Do you know how difficult it was to get where I am today? Now I look like a has-been, and you’re the next pretty young thing.”
“I’m sure you know it has nothing to do with appearances. Our work depends on our qualifications, our client satisfaction—”
“Oh, shut up. You’re an idiot if you believe that.”
Logan appeared at Sabrina’s side. “Don’t talk to her that way.”
Tara’s lip curled. “Well, if it isn’t the fake husband with a pregnant ex. Thanks for making it so damn easy for me. I only had to pay one guy to get the ball rolling, and you two took it from there.”
Sabrina jumped on that. “So you admit to paying someone to write negative stories about me.”
Tara smiled, a wide evil smile. “Only a few, you did the rest just by being your stupid self.”
Sabrina’s temper broke her calm composure. “And you stole my clients! Offering them fifty percent off. I lost half of them to you! That’s a serious loss of income.”
Tara pursed her lips. “I’m sure your book deal will make up for that.”
Sabrina scowled. “My clients are everything to me.”
“Your clients are idiots,” Tara scoffed. “I got them in here so easy, did one session, and told them they were cured. They left here thinking you’d been stringing them along for months for no reason. Except money, of course. Word spreads quickly. Have you checked your reviews online?”
Sabrina saw red, her hands in fists. “You bitch!”
Tara got in her face. “Ooh, you’re mad now. Go ahead and hit me. This’ll be the last nail in your coffin.”
Logan spoke in a low voice. “Sabrina, no, let’s just go.”
She gritted her teeth, fuming. Tara flicked her fingers in a get lost gesture.
Sabrina turned to go, and Tara pushed her from behind, making her stumble. Logan caught her before she could do a face-plant.
Sabrina whirled. Tara was smiling like she’d won. Sabrina had never wanted to slap someone so much in her life. No, rise above. Big picture, she had everything she needed from Tara recorded on her phone, all the damning evidence admitting what she’d done.
“You’ll be hearing from my lawyer,” Sabrina spat.
She didn’t wait for a response, hightailing it out of there. Logan followed close behind, shutting the office door behind them.
Tara yanked open the door, hollering all kinds of names at Sabrina, but Logan blocked the doorway, not letting Tara get to her.
“Go back inside, Tara,” Logan said calmly. “This isn’t going to help your case.”
Sabrina stalked away, her adrenaline slowly draining from her, leaving her shaky. Tara didn’t care about her clients. She only cared about the gloss and shine—her big trademarked self-appointed title and her bestselling book. She wasn’t fit to be a counselor.
She moved in a fog, leaving the building and heading to her car, slipping into the driver’s seat. The passenger-side door opened, surprising her, and Logan got in.
“Drive,” he said.
“But your car’s here.”
“You can drop me off later to get it. I want to talk to you, and I don’t want that crazy woman watching us from her office.”
She pulled out of the parking lot, eager to get away from Tara. “I’m a little shaken up right now.”
“You were a total badass. That should be your new trademarked title, Badass Counselor.”
She laughed despite the dire circumstances. Logan could always make her laugh.
He gave her shoulder a squeeze. “I know you didn’t ask me to be here, but I had a bad feeling about her. And the truth is, I thought it would be better if you had a witness to the whole thing.”
“I recorded it on my phone.”
“Me too.”
She glanced over at him. “Thanks.”
“Pull into that park up there, just past the light.”
A few minutes later, she parked in the lot of a large empty park. The snow had melted, and everything was gray and brown. Fallow. Some people saw it as dead, but she’d always thought nature was hibernating, waiting for the glorious rebirth of spring. Being a cockeyed optimist was how she’d gotten to where she was in her career, the recent drama being very much the exception. Only somehow her optimism never carried over to her relationships.
Logan took her hand. “It’s only been a week, and I miss you so bad I want to punch something.”
“I miss you too,” she managed over the lump in her throat.
“I know we don’t have a conventional relationship with all the shit going on—”
“It’s a terrible start for any relationship.”
“Agreed. We need to go back to square one.”
She was afraid to ask, the pressure on her chest making it hard to breathe. “Friends?”
He exhaled sharply. “No. We absolutely cannot be friends anymore. I know what you look like naked. I know what you taste like—”
“Logan!” God help her, she was getting sucked in. But what about Olivia and the baby?
He lifted their joined hands and brushed his lips across her knuckles, bringing warm tingles, his beard brushing the sensitive skin. “So dating, we need to date. At some point you’ll trust me enough to get over your commitment phobia. I know that’s the real reason you bailed on me.”
She stared at him in shock.
He released her hand, watching her steadily.
Was it true? She’d thought she’d moved past that when she finally crossed the line of friendship with him. Oh, shit, it was true. She’d had one foot out the door the entire time. How could she ever expect to deeply connect when she was afraid to be dumped or, worse, feel unloved like when she was a kid?
“I’m working on it,” she finally said.
“Olivia was an old love I needed to let go of, and I have, okay?” He framed her face with his hands. “No matter what happens, you’re the one I want. You’re the one I’m in love with, and that’s not going away. It’s deep and it’s messy, but I promise you it is real.”
She sucked in air.
He kept talking. “The love was already there, building between us as we got to know each other as friends.” He kissed her, a swift hard kiss. “I worried it was too fast, but then…when you left, my house felt so empty. Cold and dead. Which doesn’t make sense because we never even got to live together, but I kept imagining you there, cooking up a storm in the kitchen, curling up with me on the sofa, or warming my bed.” His forehead dropped to hers. “Sabrina, you belong with me.”
Her throat was tight, her heart pounding, her stomach fluttering because suddenly she could feel his love. It was deep and it was real.
“I love you,” she managed. “I never stopped.”
“You agree you belong with me?”
She nodded, tears blurring her vision.
“I love you too. I want you in my life.” His voice choked, and that made her get even more choked up. He tipped her chin up, meeting her eyes directly. “Whatever happens, just be with me. That’s all I need. The rest we’ll work out together.”
He didn’t wait for her response, instead kissing her tenderly before pulling away, his fingers trailing down her throat. “I want you to move back in with me, but I can wait.” His voice was husky, his warm brown eyes intent on hers. “I don’t think it’ll take long before you’re ready to take it to the next level.”
Her breath hitched. “Which is?”
“Marrying me.”
She smacked his chest, her eyes welling again. “Shut up.”
He held her hand against his heart beating strong and steady. “I’m serious.”
Her fingers clutched his shirt. “But you said it was hard to imagine committing to forever when the odds are stacked against a successful marriage.”
He loosened her grip on his shirt and took her hand in his. “When did I say that?”
“Before. When we were friends having lunch in my office.”
“Ah. There’s your answer. That was before we connected.” He smoothed her hair back with his other hand and cradled her jaw. “Before I knew you were my soul mate. Before I knew how deep love can go, how strong the pull to be with one person forever. That’s who you are for me, Sabrina. You’re my forever.”
She burst into tears, blubbering about the order of things, the uncertain future, and what was he thinking?
“We’ll talk it out, all the messy details.” He hugged her and wiped her tears before whispering in her ear, “Tell me when you’re ready to marry me. I can’t wait to start our life together.”
She raised a shaky hand to cup his cheek, her voice quavering. “You’ll be the first to know.”
~ ~ ~
Logan flew out to California the Monday after his big talk with Sabrina, demanding a paternity test from Olivia and refusing to leave until they got one. Sabrina needed that peace of mind and so did he.
They got tested that day, and he flew home. Three days later, they got the results. He wasn’t the father. Olivia confided in Logan that she hadn’t known if the baby was his or Anil’s, so she’d told both of them it was theirs to see who would step up. Turned out both he and Anil had wanted to be part of the kid’s life, but all along it was Anil she loved. She also confided how worried she was because her parents didn’t approve of Anil as a husband because he was Hindu, and his parents didn’t approve of her because she wasn’t Hindu. None of that fazed Logan. He was truly over her. So he gave her his best wishes and told her to let Anil know the baby was his and see what happened.
The very next day Olivia texted Logan a happy note that she and Anil had just eloped in Las Vegas. Logan was glad for her. Pissed she’d put him through all this, even knowing it might not be his, but ultimately he couldn’t waste any of his energy worrying about what she did.
His future was with Sabrina.