31. Logan
31
logan
The first board meeting I ever attended was the most nerve-racking day of my life. There I was, a twenty-something video game geek who had barely any idea what he was doing when it came to running a corporation, sitting in front of titans of industry. I think I sweated through my suit that day.
Those nerves are nothing compared to the ones I’m feeling now as I pull into Maeve’s childhood home on Christmas Day.
“Relax,” she whispers. “They’re going to love you.”
“I’ve never met parents before,” I say. “Let alone siblings.”
Maeve takes my hand in hers as I put the SUV in park. “My Dad is the most relaxed man on the planet. He’ll just want to talk stocks. My mother will smother you because she’s just happy I’m not going to die alone. The sisters won’t let you breathe, they’ll be asking you so many questions.”
“What about your brother?”
“He’s the wild card. On paper, you two should get along swimmingly. But I can also see him trying to assert some sort of fake dominance. Just roll with it. He doesn’t mean anything by it. And as a last resort, start talking to him about your plane. He seemed oddly fascinated by that.”
“Good to know.”
Today has been…surreal. It’s been years since I’ve had a proper Christmas. Growing up, it was a day with a few presents under the tree and everyone waiting on pins and needles for my parents to start fighting. In college, I never left for holiday, choosing to stay in the dorms they kept open for students who couldn’t travel. As adults, I’ve occasionally gone with Kat to visit her family, but always felt like an odd man out.
But this morning? This morning felt like a dream. Jayce ran into our bedroom—yes, my wish came true and my bedroom is now the one I share with Maeve—to announce that it’s Christmas and that Santa came. I felt like we had just gone to sleep, and in reality, I wasn’t wrong, considering it was six-thirty in the morning and Maeve and I didn’t finish wrapping and setting up until after one.
Maeve, though, being the thoughtful, yet exhausted, mother she is, came up with an idea so she could get five more minutes of sleep. She sent Jayce back downstairs with the directions of grabbing all of our stockings. He was to get them, bring them to our room, and we were going to open the presents in our stockings from bed. Jayce’s eyes lit up at the idea, and the kid went sprinting out of the room. Maeve went back to sleep for five minutes. I figured my energy was best used to make Maeve coffee, grab juice for Jayce and tea for me, and to make sure Jayce was able to carry everything.
We then spent the morning cuddled in bed, unwrapping the small presents in our stockings before going down and watching Jayce rip through the larger items under the tree.
Seeing Christmas through the eyes of a child is truly a thing of wonder. The excitement he got with every gift. How he wanted to inspect every single toy and begin playing with it right away, Maeve having to remind him that he had others to open. Watching him jump up and down for the new bicycle and wanting to ride it in the living room.
But the biggest highlight for me, and I realize I’m biased, was his reaction to the newest, one-of-a-kind, SpaceCraft action figure I had developed specifically for him—of course with help from my lead designer. It’s of a character we’ve never made a doll or action figure of, and it’s one of Jayce’s favorites. Seeing his eyes light up is a memory I’m never going to forget. Nor is the hug that I received after he jumped onto my lap to thank me.
It’s been a Christmas morning like no other. And I have a feeling that trend is going to continue on as I meet Maeve’s family.
“Let’s go!” Jayce yells. “It’s Christmas!”
We laugh as Jayce expertly lets himself out of his seatbelt and opens the door, sprinting to Maeve’s parents’ front door and letting himself right in. I know we need to follow, but I have one more question that I didn’t want to ask in front of Jayce that Maeve and I haven’t talked about.
“What are we telling them?”
After the Christmas party, there wasn’t a magazine or gossip column in the world that wasn’t putting together some sort of story with the headline, “The new Mr. and Mrs. Matthews hard launch relationship with charity party.” None of them said anything bad, or accusatory of our speedy marriage, but you can’t walk through a grocery line, according to Kat and Maeve, and not see our faces plastered on the cover of a magazine.
Her family knows, and thankfully, they haven’t pushed her too hard for details. However, I have a feeling that’s not going to happen now that everyone is in the same room.
Maeve takes in and lets out a deep and thoughtful breath. “I hate lying to my family. And frankly, they know something is up. They aren’t dumb, and they know me. They know I wouldn’t do something like get married without a reason. Quinn has clocked us since the first day. Stella sniffed out your PR relationships before we met. So, if it’s okay with you, and only if the conversation comes up, I’d like to tell them. We can trust them. They won’t blab. If it’s one thing the Banks family does well, it’s having each other’s backs. But only if it’s okay with you.”
I lean in and kiss Maeve, just a small one, before pulling back and letting our foreheads rest against each other. “I’ll follow your lead. If you’re comfortable with it, then so am I. But Love? I need you to know something.”
“Yeah?”
“I’m in this. I know we said that this would last until we didn’t need it anymore. Until you figured out the custody and I had my situation under control. But I love you. I love you and Jayce and this family we created in a blink of an eye. I want more Christmases like this morning. I want birthdays and vacations and lazy Sundays. I want it all.”
“Logan—”
“Let me finish,” I say, wanting to make sure I get everything out that I need to. “I love you. When we walk inside that house, I want your family to know that I love you and that I’m your husband in every sense of the word, not just on paper. That I’ll be?—”
Maeve cuts off my speech in the best way possible—her lips on mine.
“What I was going to say is that I love you, too. That I know we still have a lot to figure out, and we did this completely backward. Have we even gone out on a real date? Anyway, that’s beside the point. I’m starting to catch up. And…I love you too, Logan Matthews.”
My heart grows three sizes with her words as I bring her in for one more kiss. I probably let it deepen a little too much when we’re interrupted by a pounding on the door.
And window.
And the windshield.
“Come on lovebirds!” a sister, who I’m going to guess is Quinn, yells. “Quit making out in the driveway.”
Maeve and I laugh as the harassment subsides and we get out of the car.
“You know, one of you could have come and got us,” Maeve says as we unload the presents. “Did we really need the cavalry?”
“They made me do it,” another sister says. That must be Ainsley.
“Like she didn’t know that.” Quinn makes her way over to me, hand extended.
“I take it you’re Logan.”
I switch the present in my hand to shake hers. “And you must be Quinn.”
“You’re the sudden husband who was her slump buster?”
Oh, I like her. “And you’re the sister I call when she’s being stubborn.”
The two of us give each other one knowing look before shaking hands.
“He passes! Now let’s open some presents!”
The three sisters talk and giggle as they head back into the house. When I turn to Maeve, her face is completely red, and I don’t think it’s from the bite in the cold air.
“I’m going to kill her,” Maeve groans.
“She wasn’t so bad.”
Maeve shakes her head. “That was her warm-up. You’ve been warned.”
“Is it true you’re worth six billion? Or is it eight? I’ve seen both.” Quinn asks before Stella chimes in.
“Were any of the relationships real?”
“Oh! Yes!” Ainsley chimes in. “Didn’t you date Sabrina Rome? Because she’s my favorite singer of all time, and I need to know everything about her.”
“Can you all stop,” Maeve says. “It’s Christmas. Not an interrogation.”
“I’m sorry, we can’t help it,” Stella says. “And actually, this is your fault for keeping him hidden for so long. If we would’ve met sooner, all of these questions would have been out of the way.”
“She’s right,” I say, giving her a quick kiss on her temple.
“I know you’re trying to score brownie points with them, but remember who you have to go home with.”
I know she’s trying to act tough. But I also know exactly what I could do to her in five seconds that would make her forget that at any point today she was annoyed by me. “Whatever you say, wife.”
“Did he just call you wife?” Ainsley asks. “Oh my God, Maeve. You have a real-life book boyfriend.”
“Book husband ,” I say confidently. “And thank you. I appreciate that.”
“Whoa!” Simon shouts. “He’s a book boyfriend? I’m one! Aren’t I?”
He looks over to his wife, Charlie, who’s holding their daughter while she waves around a piece of wrapping paper. “Of course you are, dear. Just the best.”
This gets a laugh from everyone in the room but Simon. “Really? You’re going to side with them? I have money. I look good in suits. I know people. And might I remind you, my lovely future wife and mother of my child, that I bought you a whole-ass restaurant.”
“Well...” This comes from Emmett, who I’ve learned is Stella’s boyfriend, and Simon’s business partner. “Did you really buy it for her?”
All eyes turn to Simon, including Charlie’s. “Let’s not play the semantics game, Mr. I Started Dating My Business Partner’s Sister and Hid It From Him.”
Emmett rolls his eyes. “Yep, best book boyfriend-slash-husband ever. Logan and I can’t even compare, so we should stop trying.”
“Damn straight,” Simon says.
Emmett looks over to me and stage whispers, “It’s just easier to agree with him. You’ll learn.”
I return Emmett’s fist bump as the laughter continues in the room.
“Enough already!” Quinn yells. “Stella stumbled into a bar and met her true love. Apparently my brother is super. That’s just great. Let’s get back to the skinny on Logan.”
“Quinn, quit badgering the poor man,” Maeve’s mom, Demetria scolds as she brings me a glass of eggnog. “You keep this up and he’s never going to want to come back here again.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Banks, but I’m fine,” I say. “I’m just glad that I could finally meet everyone.”
“Logan, please. Call me Demetria. Or Mom. Whatever you’d like.”
“Jesus Christ,” Maeve groans. “Mom, you’ve known him four hours . He can call you Mom?”
She shrugs. “He’s your husband, Maeve. Therefore he’s family.”
“You never let the first husband call you Mom,” Quinn notes with a raised brow. “Just stating facts.”
“Oh? Didn’t I?” Demetria holds up a finger like she just got an idea. “You’ll have to excuse me. I hear the timer going off in the kitchen.”
Everyone in the room snickers as Demetria not so slyly avoids Quinn’s statement.
“Should we do our gift exchange?” Ainsley asks. “I feel like that would be best.”
Everyone agrees—I don’t weigh in because I’m the new guy and I don’t feel like I have enough time in to vote on anything—and the gifts start being passed around. Maeve explained to me that for the past few years, the siblings and significant others decided to start doing Secret Santas instead of everyone buying for everyone. And even though I came into the picture pretty late, they were able to include me, which I appreciated.
Especially because of who I got.
“All right, oldest to youngest,” Quinn announces.
“Damn straight,” Simon says as he starts tearing open his gift.
“We did oldest first so he didn’t get fussy,” Maeve says. “Again, it was easier.”
I sit back and smile, my arm around Maeve as Simon starts tearing into his present.
“Who had me?” he asks.
“You know you’re not allowed to ask that,” Ainsley says. “Will you ever follow the rules?”
“You should know that answer by now, little sister.” Simon continues working the tape and ribbon that Maeve expertly wrapped for me and finally gets to the non-discreet box. He’s still mumbling something, but stops when he opens the actual present.
“Are you kidding me?” Everyone’s eyes are on Simon as he takes out an original Nintendo gaming system, along with add-ons for up to four players.
“It’s the original,” I chime in. “Not the new ones that claim to be. I took a pass through it, and it should run as good as new. And there are extra controllers in there so four people can play. I threw in a few games, too.”
Simon has a look on his face like Jayce did this morning when he unwrapped his SpaceCraft toy. “Oh my God! It’s the fucking Turtles !”
Everyone laughs as Simon shows Charlie, then Emmett, then each of his sisters the present. He even starts explaining it to his baby daughter, Lainey, who tries to get one end of a controller in her mouth before Simon gasps and snatches it away.
Simon walks over to me and extends his hand. When I reciprocate, he pulls me up and brings me into a hug. “Welcome to the family, Logan.”
Family. That one word from Simon hits me in the heart.
I sit back down and watch as the rest of the group open gifts. I look over to Jayce, who’s playing with one of his many toys on the floor by the fireplace. I glance at Maeve, who’s laughing and smiling and looking as free as maybe I’ve ever seen her. Demetria is sitting next to her husband, who I’ll only call Mr. Banks despite him wanting me to use his first name, and they’re looking on at their children, enjoying them all in one space.
This room right now is filled with love and warmth.
This is family.
This is what I always wanted.
And all because of one night, and then one decision, I have it.
And like hell am I going to let Josh, or anyone else, take this away.
“Hello? Logan?”
“Hey Callum. Happy Christmas”
I don’t know why I was nervous to call Callum today. It’s not like we haven’t spoken in years. We have, but not frequently. We both have our lives going on—me here in the states with GameTech and him back in England playing professional rugby. Between time zones, careers, and personal lives, we don’t talk nearly as much as we should—or maybe better said —as much as we promised to when we struck out on our own.
Spending today with Maeve’s family reminded me how important family is. And what better day than Christmas to let your loved ones know that you’re thinking of them.
“Happy Christmas to you,” he says. “And, might I say, congratulations.”
I laugh and have a seat on the stairs, away from the commotion of Maeve’s family. “Thanks. I’m sorry I didn’t call and tell you about it. It’s been a crazy few months.”
“I understand,” he says. “From what I read, it seemed like it was quite sudden.”
“You can say that again.”
For the next few minutes I fill Callum in on Maeve and brush over the important parts of our relationship. I know Maeve wanted to tell her family the truth about us, and I support that, but I’m not sure if telling my brother I married a woman for convenient reasons is the wise choice after not talking for the better part of the last six months.
“Enough about me,” I say. “What’s going on with you? How’s the season treating you?”
Callum pauses for a second before answering. Which isn’t unusual. He’s done it since we were lads. It started then because he was careful about what to say, not wanting to feel the wrath from our father. It continued into adulthood to make sure he didn’t give away more than he wanted.
“We’re in season now. Off a few days for the holiday.”
“Did you spend today anywhere?”
“Didn’t leave my flat,” he says. “I was invited to one of my teammate’s family dinners, but I politely declined.”
He doesn’t need to say anything else. If I wasn’t with Maeve, I’d have done the same thing. Holidays were always a sore spot with our family. They started off full of hope, but usually by the end of the day mum and dad were at each other’s throats again.
“Is the season going well? I apologize that I don’t check the scores as much as I should.”
“Big brother…are you telling me you don’t live stream every one of my matches?”
I hesitate for a second before Callum starts laughing. “I know you don’t. And it’s fine. I wouldn’t be streaming a video game league if you were playing in it.”
“Good to know,” I say with a smile. “But please, fill me in. How are things with you?”
“Nothing much to report,” he says. “Season is going well. I haven’t got injured yet, which is always a good thing.”
“Is there anything besides rugby going on?” I ask.
“Is my suddenly-married big brother asking me if I have a personal life?”
“I am,” I say. “I know how hard you worked for this. And I’m bloody proud of you. But burnout is real. And you chose a career that has a younger retirement age than most fields of work. I just don’t want your career to come to a close and then suddenly you don’t have anyone around you.”
This is the most I’ve ever vocalized to Callum about the fear I’ve always had for him. Rugby is an insanely physical sport. Every match he puts himself at risk for injury. But this has been his dream since I can remember, so there was never a backup plan. He never even considered going to university as he knew he’d go to an amateur team, then pro as soon as he could. We both knew it was his path.
I’m just worried what his path will be once the game is up.
“Don’t worry about me, big brother. I’m fine. Trust me.”
“I do. I just…”
I trail off as I see Maeve peek her head around the corner, signaling that it’s time for dinner.
“Callum, I hate to cut this short.”
“No apologies needed. I’m glad you called.”
“I am too,” I say as I stand up. “Talk soon?”
“I’d like that.”
We say our goodbyes as I walk into the dining room where a feast is laid out on the table. I feel Maeve’s arm around my waist and I lean into her touch.
“Everything okay?” she asks.
I lean down and kiss the top of her head. “Everything is perfect.”