“How is the little one today?”
A sudden wash of emotion hit her hard in the chest. This was how it was supposed to be. She stared down at his hand and imagined a larger swell. She was only just now starting to pooch the slightest bit, but in a few months, she’d round out quite nicely.
She had fantasies about lying between him and Rhys, their hands on her belly feeling the baby move. Gentle kisses and late night conversations with their son or daughter.
“Why do you look so sad, baby?” Logan whispered.
She shook her head, refusing to voice aloud her innermost wants and dreams. As long as she kept them closely guarded, they remained hers. The moment she let them go, they entered the realm of harsh reality.
He stroked her cheek, light and loving. Then he kissed her eyelids before backing away.
“Are you not going into the office today?” she croaked.
He smiled. “Nope. Rhys and I are working from home. Paige is more than capable of running the office along with her new staff. I think she’s loving her new digs.”
“Staff?” she echoed in disbelief.
Logan and Rhys didn’t have a staff. They had Paige who they piled way too much work on. They had a secretary who worked on an as-needed basis, and they had one or two temps who filled in during busy times, but a staff? Logan was too much of a control freak to relinquish the running of their business to staff members.
“She’s on quite a power trip,” Rhys said in amusement. “It’s why Logan and I are hiding at home today. She’s holding orientation and letting her new worker bees know exactly what she expects from them.”
Catherine laughed. Rhys froze and stared at her with a fierce expression.
“That is the most beautiful sound,” he murmured.
Her chest caught, and her heart fluttered uncomfortably.
“So what’s with the decision to hire a staff?” she asked casually, afraid to read too much into their action.
“It was way past time,” Logan said. “Rhys and I have been too set on doing everything ourselves. It wasn’t fair to you, and it wasn’t fair to Paige, who we also took advantage of. We’ve made it up to her. We’re still making it up to you and will be for a long while.”
He spoke with such seriousness and determination. Against her will, excitement rose, unfurled like a budding flower.
“Are you ready to talk about us?” Rhys asked quietly.
She froze. No, they hadn’t pushed her. In fact they’d been nothing but patient. But the issue had still taken up residence. The gigantic elephant in the room, always watching.
“I need to call and confirm my appointment with the obstetrician for tomorrow,” she said as she hastily rose from her seat. “I’m getting an ultrasound.”
“We know,” Rhys said, his gaze directed on her. “We’ve made arrangements to go. We wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
She held her breath, trying not to hope, yet grabbing on to his promise with sick excitement. On some level she felt like a complete idiot for placing that kind of faith squarely back in their hands when they’d let her down time after time.
Despite the effort they’d put into spending more time with her, she still couldn’t keep the doubt from creeping in. All it would take was one little problem. Some deal going south. An issue with the new staff, and they’d quickly drop her to go fix it.
“We’ll be there,” Logan said calmly. “You’ll be riding with us.”
***
The next morning, Rhys got up and dressed for work, but to Catherine’s shock, Logan stayed in bed, his arm draped possessively over her body.
She was debating whether or not to wake Logan when Rhys returned to the bed and bent over and kissed her.
“I have to run in for a few minutes and sign a few documents for Paige, but I’ll be back in time for your appointment.”
“Rhys, what about Logan?” she whispered.
Rhys smiled. “What about him?”
“Would you two please be quiet,” Logan said in irritation. “It’s damn hard to sleep with you carrying on a conversation in my ear.”
Rhys chuckled, kissed Catherine one more time and headed for the door.
She turned as best she could under Logan’s arm so she could face him. “Are you sick?” she asked. “Are you feeling okay?”
He pried one eye open and stared balefully at her. “I’m fine.”
“Logan, you’ve never slept this late in your life. You never miss work.”
“I do today.” He leaned into her and kissed her. His hand glided up her body until his palm cradled the side of her neck. “And I plan to do a lot more of it. Is that going to be a problem for you, Mrs. Wellesley?”