“No, really, what are you doing here? And why is your espresso machine in my break room?”
“The machine is a sign of goodwill.”
“How?” Callie asked, drawing out the word to show her confusion and frustration. She felt lightheaded and dizzy, like she was going to collapse right there in the conference room.
“Because as long as it’s here, you’ll need me to bring you your morning coffee.” Logan held out a paper coffee cup. “I think I remembered your order correctly. Caramel cappuccino, extra foam.”
“You broke my heart, and you think you can fix that all with a cup of coffee?” She asked. She took the cup and put it down on the table.
“Logan, I don’t know how you found out about this, but I’m not in the mood for games. I have to meet my new assistant, and you need to leave.”
“I understand,” Logan said. “I’m just here to collect on the bet I won.”
“Are you serious?” Callie said. “What do you want?”
“I want to bring you coffee, and answer your phone, and do whatever it takes to make you understand how much you mean to me.”
“What are you talking about? I have to meet with the new—” Callie paused for a moment and looked at Logan. “You didn’t.” She braced herself against the wall and felt like she couldn’t move. She shook her head in disbelief. “No,” she said, “absolutely not.”
“Yes,” he replied.
“Amy would never go for that,” Callie said.
Logan laughed. “I convinced her myself,” he said. “It seems that someone had already told her how good I am at this line of work, and, well, she seemed to think that maybe my presence would be good for morale. I think that’s what she said anyway. I might have asked my father for a reference, too. I know what you did with Veronica. You didn’t have to do that.”
“I wanted to do that,” Callie said. “I wanted to give you a chance to start over.”
“I know. And I don’t have to be here. I want to be here. I want to start over, and I want to start over with you.”
Callie didn’t know what to think. Her mind raced as she tried to keep up with everything Logan said. She had convinced herself that he was gone forever, that he wouldn’t step up and be the man she knew he could be. And now he was right there in front of her. Smiling and wearing a suit and looking better than ever. It felt too good to be true. When she first saw him standing in the office, she hadn’t known what to think. Now she was even less sure of what was going on.
“What about your businesses?” she asked.
“I’m the owner. I have business managers to run the day to day for me. Everything will be fine. Besides, I was hoping to get a better impression of DC before I start the process of opening my next one.”
“You’re opening a brewery in DC?”
“Or maybe just a restaurant, or a distillery, or anything, or maybe I won’t open a new business at all. Maybe I’ll hang around here and help you out. Really it all hinges on one thing.”
“And what’s that?” Callie asked. Of course there was a catch.
“You,” Logan said.
“This is crazy, Logan. You’re wearing a suit, and you’re in DC. You hate DC. You hate people who work in offices and worry about politics. You’d never be happy here.”
“Never say never.”
“I thought that was kind of your thing, Mr. never getting attached, never compromising, Mr. Independent.”
“Well, that was my thing. I’ve been thinking about a new thing.”
“And what’s that?”
“Marriage,” Logan said. He dropped down on one knee and took Callie’s hand. “I know this is early, and I know you’re going to think I’m crazy for doing this, but I don’t care. I love you, Callie. And since you left, I’ve been miserable. I was an idiot. I didn’t think I deserved you, and I’m still not sure I do, but I love you, and I need you to know that I’ll do whatever it takes to be with you. I shouldn’t have pushed you away just because everything wasn’t perfect. I shouldn’t have asked you to give up everything just because I didn’t want to change. I don’t want to lose you all over again. And I can’t think of any better way to show you just how much you mean to me.” Logan pulled a ring out of his pocket and held it up. “Will you marry me?”
Callie held her hands over her face. “Oh God,” she said. “Shit.” She felt herself starting to blush, the warmth filling her cheeks. Logan grinned as she tried to process everything. “I mean yes,” she said. “Yes.”