He'd spoken with Shannon, and she said she'd get the papers ready for him. Now, he just had to speak with Anya about it. In theory, this took away his need for an heir, which took away his need for her.
But it didn't. Damn, he couldn't lose her. Not now that he had her in his life. The last four years had been torture when it came to Anya. The employer and employee relationship stopped him from crossing that line that was always drawn in these situations. He'd hated watching her go out on dates with random guys, getting pissed that they could touch her when he couldn't. All the time, he'd tried to brush off his concern.
Since having her in his life, with her beneath him, he'd seen how wrong he'd been to keep her at a distance. She was beautiful, loving, caring, and everything he'd ever wanted in a woman.
When he was in foster care growing up, he would imagine being with someone when he was older, someone who loved and cared about him. Someone who meant something to him. The more he looked at Anya, the more he saw that she was the woman he'd always imagined. The woman he'd always wanted.
"Here, eat this," she said, handing him a hot dog covered in lots of chili. "It may take the rancid taste away."
The food tasting event had been one of the worst he'd endured.
"There were a few times I thought you were going to vomit," Harold said.
"There were. It wasn't exactly the best decision I had to let them do this."
"You clearly upset a lot of people this year," Anya said. "I didn't vote for this though."
"What did you vote for?"
"The waterslide. What else? Raising money should be fun. The whole tasting food that had a risk of being vile never appealed."
He kissed her head. "I love you."
Emma tapped Harold's shoulder, and smiled. "See, honey, it is love."
For him it was love. Wrapping his arms around Anya, he pulled her against his side, and inhaled the floral scent that he'd come to associate with his woman. She was perfect in every single way for him. He loved her, and it was damn hard at times having feelings for someone he didn't know if she even loved him back.
"We're following you home tonight, right?" Xavier asked.
"You sure are," Emma said.
"You'll be staying in the spare bedroom."
"Dad!"
"No, my house, my rules, and no naughty business in my house. It has never happened."
Anya rolled her eyes. "How did I come along?"
"Not in the house."
Anya's face went bright red.
"We were wild once as well," Emma said.
"I don't need to hear this. Children do not need to know what their parents get up to behind closed doors."
"Oh, sweetie, it wasn't always behind closed doors."
Xavier adored her parents. They clearly loved their daughter, and he'd seen so many parents who really didn't care. There was a darkness that came with fostering that not many spoke about.
"The event is winding down." Most of the kids had already started to board certain buses that would take them back to their homes.
"Do you need to stay ‘til the end?" Anya asked.
"No. I'll be in touch on Monday, and settle everything." He'd make a further donation, and then he'd start planning for the next event.
Taking hold of Anya's hand, he made his way toward the car, and helped her inside. He liked securing her in, before he went toward his side of the car.
"Thank you," she said.
Starting the car, he pulled in behind her parents, and waved back at them.
"I love taking care of you." There, he told her the word again. A simple four letter word that was so hard to say, and yet he was telling her how he felt. If he kept on saying it, maybe she would get the hint that for him, it was starting to mean a hell of a lot more.
"I love you taking care of me, too."
"There's something I want to talk to you about," he said.
"There is?"
"Yeah. Logan."
"I adore him, Xavier. Is there anything we can do to put a smile on his face? It breaks my heart seeing him like that."
"There is something we can do." This was the best time to talk about it. "We can adopt him. The kids that live with him, they asked for me to take care of him, and I want to. I want to look after him. Give him a home, love him."
"We can do that?"
"Yes, I'm getting Shannon to draw up the paperwork. I'll have to work from home, and take plenty of time with him. I'd want you there, by my side." They came to a set of traffic lights, and he turned toward her. Taking hold of her hand, he kissed her knuckles. "This changes nothing to me."
"What do you mean?"
"I want us to have a baby. I want us to be married, Anya."
"Why wouldn't we be?"
"I'd have a son."
"Oh, you'd have an heir." She smiled. "I didn't even think of that."
"I want you, Anya. I want us to have a family. I saw the way Logan leaned on you today. We could make this work, together, as a team."
"Xavier, I get it. I'm not running away." She patted his hand, releasing him long enough for him to follow her parents. "I always wanted a family. My parents, as you can see, started late in life, and they always regretted that." She blew some hair out of her face. "I want kids."
"When I asked you, you seemed shocked."
"I was shocked of course. I mean, Xavier Leigh wanted to have kids. He wanted an heir, and I was there, and it was just surreal. If I didn't want kids, I wouldn't have said yes. I do love kids. Did I mention they eat a hell of a lot, and I love to cook?"
"You do love to cook."
"I do, and Logan ate a lot of pancakes. I could do some really wicked experiments."
Xavier couldn't keep the smile off his face. He was in love with a woman with a kind heart, a beautiful soul. Now he just needed to tell her exactly how he felt.
"I just want to warn you that I don't see a divorce in my future," he said, and winced. How the fuck was that telling her how he felt?
"Don't worry. I'm not going to divorce you. Besides, I wouldn't leave Logan either. How long do you think we'll have before he's ours?" she asked.
"Providing nothing goes wrong, a couple of weeks."
"That's good. I like that."
They were starting a family. He only hoped Anya realized exactly how much he loved her.
It didn't matter if she realized it. He was going to show her.
Chapter Nine
Anya watched as Xavier spoke with his clients. It had been a week since he'd asked her about Logan. Things were moving slowly with Logan, but Shannon was reassured that they would be able to have him by next week. Until then, they both went and visited, getting Logan used to them.
The boys with Logan weren't angry or upset that he was coming home with them. In fact, they were damn happy. She was shocked by the love the boys showed Logan, and she was proud.
The workplace gossip had died down now. No one was whispering behind their hands, looking at them, and laughing. It was the laughter she'd hated more than anything. Xavier wouldn't let them hide their relationship anymore, and for that she was glad. She'd never enjoyed hiding that part of herself, and it never felt natural for her to.
"Here you go," Lottie said, interrupting her.
"So sorry, I was away in a different land there," she said, taking the mail from her.
"Marriage must really suit you."
"Why do you say that?"
"You're practically glowing. You're really happy, and it's nice to see you so happy."
Anya nodded. "I am happy. Last week we went and stayed at my parents' place."
"How was it?" Lottie asked.
"Kind of scary. We're both adults, but still, he was meeting my parents, and that can be really scary."
Lottie chuckled.
"It went well though. I had no complaints." She glanced through the mail. "How was your weekend, and week?" They had been so busy with one problem and another with work that she hadn't caught up with Lottie.
"Not a lot. My husband was poorly this week, so I nursed him back to health."
"Everything okay now?"
"Of course. He always acts sick, but I have a trick up my sleeve." Lottie leaned in close. "I wear my nurse's outfit, and he's always ready to get back on the horse, if you know what I mean."
Anya burst out laughing. "Men, huh."
"Yeah, men."
Lottie left soon after, and Anya was still smiling at her story. It was funny, and it was good to laugh.
The weekend with her parents had actually been a blast. Her father adored Xavier, and they had both gone fishing down to the lake back home. She stayed with her mom, cooking up a storm. It was great to get into a nice, big kitchen, and just create. The downfall to living in an apartment was the size of the kitchen. It wasn't great. Also, her mother often sent food out to the neighbors. Living in the city, that was kind of dangerous to do, and not something she recommended to anyone.
In the evening they'd sat playing board games, and Xavier loved it. He loved being surrounded by family, and it made her realize everything that he had missed out on. Xavier didn't have a family, nor did he have many close friends. He had colleagues, business associates, contacts, nothing personal. No friends, nothing.