"Kids, listen up. Something is a little different this year. You see this beautiful lady by my side?"
"She's your PA," one kid said.
"Now she's my wife. Anya accepted my proposal."
"Does that mean you're in love?" another kid asked.
"Yes, very much so."
"Do you have to go away?"
"No, not at all. Nothing is going to change. Not for me."
She smiled at everyone, leaning against Xavier's side, hating the attention.
They had all gathered around her, including Logan, the little boy they had found together. She didn't like how sick the boy was looking.
"Did you have to make a big speech?" she asked.
"Of course. These kids, they're like my family, and I love them."
She looked up at him. "You said love."
"I did, didn't I?" He pressed a kiss to her lips. "Then maybe one day in the future I might just surprise you."
Anya stared into his dark eyes. Was he trying to tell her there was a chance he could fall in love with her? The Xavier she knew didn't believe in love.
Do you?
Staying by his side, she forced a smile to her lips so the kids didn't have a clue how tormented she was. Xavier kept hold of her hand as he talked with each of the kids. They were all vying for his affection, and she noticed Logan stood off to one side. Letting go of Xavier's hand, she made her way toward him.
"Hey, Logan, do you remember me?" she asked.
He was sitting on the bench, and he turned toward her. "Yeah, you're Xavier's wife."
"Wow, yeah, I guess I am."
"Were you his wife when you got me?"
"Yes, I was."
"Why didn't you say anything? Why did he say you were his friend?" Logan asked.
"I was nervous about being Xavier's wife. He's so handsome, and I'm not."
Logan frowned, staring at her. "You're very pretty."
"Thank you. I'm not like the women that he usually dates."
"Do you love him?"
Kids were so damn hard, and they didn't know when to stop. Her feelings for Xavier had changed over the past few weeks. The man at the office was not the man he showed to her when they were alone.
"Yes, I think I do."
"That's not very good. If you don't love each other then you're going to have babies, and abandon them like I was."
"No, no, no, that would never happen, Logan. I love Xavier. I do." It was the strangest thing in the world. The moment she said those words, she meant them. It was like a switch went off inside her head, and everything fell into place. Glancing toward Xavier where he was playing ball with several of the kids, she had flashes. Moments of their time together before he even wanted her to have his kid.
The guys she had dated, she'd always kept at arms' length, never wanting to get too close. Whenever a new woman entered the office, she always felt a pain jolt right through her heart. It was instant, and it made her feel sick to her stomach just remembering. Had she been in love with him all this time? Biting her lip, she turned back to Logan.
"For grownups, it's just harder to say how you feel."
"Mom didn't love me. She left me there ‘cause her boyfriend hated me."
Anya pushed some of his hair off his face, hating how lost and alone he sounded. "Have you had any breakfast?" she asked.
"I'm not hungry."
"I don't think so. Eating helps make us strong. It's what keeps us going." She took hold of his hand. "I smell pancakes, and I'm not going to stop until you eat an entire stack. I also spotted some pick and prize games. Come on, Logan. Let's go and have some fun." She walked him toward the pancake stand, ordering them both a stack, and taking him to the nearest table. Placing one in front of him, she took one herself.
His eyes lit up, and his tongue licked his lips.
"Dig in. Don't be afraid to eat up. Come on, you've got to make me look like a lady now."
Logan took a large bite, and frowned at her. "Why wouldn't you look like a lady?"
"Because I love pancakes." She took a bite, and moaned. There were chocolate chip, and fluffy, with lots of syrup. "Now that is a pancake worth getting fat for."
"Am I missing something?" Xavier asked, taking a seat beside Logan. He ruffled his head, and stole one of Anya's pancakes.
With the new revelation of her feelings, she wasn't sure what to do with him close. She was scared that he'd see, and that meant their deal would be off the table. She could be pregnant now. Xavier wouldn't do that, would he?
Crap, her feelings were now causing her to have doubts about him. Well, not doubts about him, but his reactions to her. Was there any way that Xavier could love her?
"Anya got me pancakes," Logan said.
"Anya is amazing. Can you believe this gorgeous woman agreed to be my wife?"
Logan chuckled.
"I'm serious. I may look like a damn good catch, but some ladies really want you to work for it."
"Did you work for it with her?"
"Yes. I did."
She looked up in time to see him staring across the bench at her.
Her mouth went dry, and her pussy grew slick at the heat and promise within his gaze.
"Thank you for coming, Xavier," Logan said.
"You know I wouldn't miss this for the world, buddy." Xavier ruffled his hair again.
Once Logan finished his pancakes, and Xavier finished hers, she took Logan to go and win some prizes. First one was throwing balls into a hoop in order to win a bear. Logan won a small bear while she sucked at it, coming away with nothing.
"Here," Logan said, holding out his prize.
"Don't you want it?"
"No. I want you to have it."
Bending down, she looked into Logan's eyes, and saw the pain there. The pain and the loneliness, and it broke her heart. "You deserve to have this, Logan. No one is ever going to take this away from you."
He wrapped his arms around her, and she held on tightly to him.
For the next hour, she held his hand, and took him from one game to another. Xavier came and spent time with her in between acting like a big kid. They stood on the sidelines watching the games they played. Slowly, Logan started to let loose, and several kids came up to take him to play. She watched to make sure Logan was okay.
Shannon, the woman in charge of Logan's fostering, came up to her. "It just breaks your heart, doesn't it?"
"They all do." All the kids deserved a home. She would have given a home to all of them, but that wasn't possible.
"Most of these kids won't get a home. Some are too old, and people don't want the trouble that comes with taking on a troubled kid. Logan, though. He's ten years old, and he was dumped in foster care because his mother liked the high life, and her boyfriend hated him. She was given an ultimatum. The boyfriend, or the kid."
"She picked the boyfriend."
"The same night. She packed Logan up, a few of his things, and dumped him."
Anya shook her head, angry at the woman that she didn't know. "That is cruel."
"I know. We can't do anything about it. People drop their kids into foster care all the time. Sometimes it's because they're going through a bad patch, and at least in care they're given food, security, and a roof over their head. When they're back in a comfortable situation, they're back to collect them."
"Everyone is different."
"I wanted to offer you my congratulations. Xavier, he's amazing, and a true inspiration for the boys."
"Thank you. He's really something."
A something I'm falling in love with.
"Xavier, this is my mom and dad, Emma and Harold Miller," Anya said.
The two people were a lot older than Xavier imagined, but he saw that they were loving, caring people. The kindness in their eyes showed through. While he'd been participating in this yearly event of torture, "taste the food", he'd noticed her parents arrive. The care they gave to each child was something he admired.
"Hello, it's great to meet you," he said.
"It's about damn time we met you. Been married for what? A month or so, and we're only getting to meet you now. It's a disgrace."
"Dad, stop it," Anya said, chuckling. "We've been busy, and we both know you'd have needed to calm down before you could even accept him into your life."
"Yeah, well, a father is still allowed to be … annoyed."
Xavier smiled as he noticed Harold hesitated before saying something, making sure kids didn't hear any cussing words. According to Shannon, the event was a roaring success. Xavier would double, maybe even triple, his donation this year. Every now and then, he noticed that Logan would go off, and sit on a bench. His mother leaving him had really cut him deep.
Several of the kids had asked if he would be willing to foster Logan. It was insane. Most of the time kids were desperate to get noticed, to get the attention from willing parents. These kids, they saw how broken Logan was, and they had banded together like a brotherhood, hoping that Logan got picked first. When Xavier said it wasn't fair for him to take Logan, the kids had thought it was stupid of him. None of them expected him to take them all on. Logan was special. He needed this chance, and Xavier agreed with all of them. It was breaking the little guy. The other kids were more than happy with him, desperate for him to take Logan.