Chapter 24
S itting only inches away from Melanie while he ate was excruciating. Her smell alone was enough to make his anger subside. But he felt like this was important. He needed her to believe him when he said he wanted to be here. Because if she couldn’t trust that he knew himself well enough to make that decision, what else could she not trust?
And that was not the kind of relationship he wanted to have.
And her not telling him about the offers she was receiving only added to his anger. He knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that she loved her studio and wanted to be in Cedarville. So why couldn’t she believe in him?
He wanted the kind of relationship that his parents had. That when faced with a decision, the other person comforted and supported the way his dad had when he’d asked his mom to work at the gallery. If Melanie couldn’t give him that, then...well, he didn’t know what he’d do. Living without her wasn’t something he’d ever thought would happen.
He was sitting on his front porch waiting for her to show up. She had told him that she needed about an hour and then she would be over. That meant he had an hour to go over what he wanted to say.
When he finally saw his Jeep pull in, he exhaled, thankful that she hadn’t just given up on him.
It was dark and he watched as her silhouette, walked toward him and then sat on the bottom step, several feet away from him.
“Hey,” she said. “Thanks for letting me take your Jeep.”
He nodded. Yes, he’d just seen her an hour ago, but she looked so beautiful that it took everything in him not to reach out and touch her. This woman was his and he had to find a way to make this work. No matter what. He could not live without her.
“I have a lot to say,” she said. “And I really hope you’ll listen.”
Again he nodded and just let her talk.
“When this,” she indicated with her hand between the two of them, “first started, I didn’t know what was going to happen. I knew what I wanted to happen. I wanted you to love me the way that I had loved you for years. I wanted us to be together and be happy. And then you went and said that you wanted to build a gallery here. I thought that you were only doing it because you thought that's what you needed to do to be with me. I didn’t want you doing that if it wasn’t what you truly wanted. So I began to reach out to people I knew might have been able to help.”
She paused and looked down at her feet. “Then things changed again. And here we were in this full-fledged relationship and you were buying a building.” She snapped her fingers. “In the blink of an eye, I felt like you were changing every piece of who you were.”
“And that's not allowed?” he questioned.
“No, it is. I just didn’t want it to be for me. I wanted it to be because you wanted it. And instead of trusting you, I kept on with my search to find you galleries to get into. But somewhere along the way, I stopped. I know now that it was too late and how wrong I was for not just believing in you, but I can’t take that back.” She looked up at him through eyes that were sincere.
“It hurt me to find out that you didn’t trust that this is where I wanted to be.”
“I know. And I know that I can’t ever undo that.”
“Why didn’t you just tell me?”
“Because I knew you wouldn’t understand and I knew that I had no explanation for not trusting in your feelings.”
Deciding that it had been long enough without touching her, he moved down three steps until he was sitting next to her. Reaching for her hand, he heard her breath hitch.
“Why didn’t you ever tell me about the offers you were getting to teach?”
“I never even considered them. The second I decided to open a dance studio of my own, the New York City dream vanished. It’s like it was never there.”
He knew how that felt. “What do we do now?” He rubbed his thumb back and forth over the top of her hand.
Instead of answering she said. “Do you know when I decided that I was finished trying to find you a new life? It was when you told me that your mom said yes to running the gallery.”
He looked at her sideways. “Why would asking my mom change your mind?”
“The pure happiness that radiated off of you was something that would not have been there, if being here in Cedarville, forever, was not what you wanted. You were like a kid in a candy store. And I remember having that same feeling when Carly said yes to opening a studio with me.”
He looked down at their joined hands. There was still a small piece of him that was angry that she didn’t immediately trust in his feelings, but now that he’d heard her out, he understood more of where she had been coming from.
If only he had let her talk that morning, he wouldn't have had to spend a miserable day without her.
“Thank you for telling me and I’m sorry I was too upset this morning to talk. I know now that this is not the way to handle things.”
“There’s something else.”
“Okay.” He looked at her quizzically. She seemed hesitant yet at the same time her body had this weird sort of energy that he couldn’t place.
“I’m selling my house.”
He couldn’t have been more shocked if she had said anything else. She loved that house, had since she was a little kid and visited her grandparents. And when they had passed away and she’d found out that they’d left the house to her, she had wept with so much happiness. Logan remembered the day so vividly, in fact, he had pictures from that day.
They were some of his most cherished.
“Why would you sell your house?”
“Because you already have a house, and if you are in Cedarville, then I want to be with you.”
Shocked again, he asked, “You want to live with me?”
“Yeah, don’t you want me to?”
“Fuck yeah,” he swore. “But maybe I want to live at your house.”
“Why would you want to live at my house when you have this gorgeous place right on the lake?”
“Melanie, you love your house. I can’t ask you to sell it.”
“That’s just it, you aren’t asking. I’m doing it to show you that you mean more to me than anything, even my house.”
He shook his head and stood. “No. You are not selling that house. I won’t let you.” He paced his porch. “I get it, you love me and want to show me just how much you are willing to give up, but I can’t let you do it.”
“Logan,” she stood and walked to him. “Don’t you understand, you are all I need. I don’t give a flying fuck where we live, as long as we are together.”
Understanding what she was trying to tell him, he cupped her face. “Baby, I will live in a tent in the park with you if that’s what it comes to, but you don’t need to sell your house. Even if we choose to live here, we can keep your place.”
She searched his eyes. “I’m trying to do something here so that you’ll know that I one hundred percent trust in your decisions. Why won’t you just let me?”
He kissed her lips lightly, smiling against her mouth. “I know you do and I realize now that I was wrong for not taking the time to hear you out before I let my emotions get the best of me. But I’m new to this relationship thing. I don’t know right from wrong yet.”
“You think I know right from wrong?” She shook her head side-to-side. “This is all new to me also, and most of the time, I feel like I am drowning in a pool of my own emotions.”
“We can learn together, and the first part of that, is knowing that selling your house is not right.”
“I’ll agree to not selling it, but I want to live here. I’ll let Carly keep the house and she can stay as long as she wants. But I want something that is just ours and this place is a place where we’ve already made so many memories. It’s where we got our start.”
He rested his forehead against hers. This woman was amazing. How he had ever gotten so lucky, he’d never know. But one thing he did know was that he was going to love her until the end of time.
Slowly he began kissing down her face. Her skin soft beneath his lips. Finding her ear, he gently nipped it.
“Logan,” she murmured, her hands running up his arms. “We might want to go inside now.”
In complete agreement with her, he backed her up until she hit the front door. He never stopped his exploration of her ear and neck as he turned the knob. Guiding her inside, he kicked the door closed with his foot and then spun them both around so fast that it had his head swimming. When her back connected with the door, he was practically on top of her.
“I can’t get enough of you,” he said against her skin. She was on fire under his hands and mouth.
“Me neither.” She was sliding her legs up and down his, aligning herself right where she could feel the most pressure.
He helped her out, by lifting her leg and wrapping it around his back. She took the hint and picked the remaining one up, doing the same thing. This position allowed his cock to press in the perfect spot, making her moan loudly.
“Ah fuck, yeah,” she swore.
Her hands were gripping his neck forcefully as if he had any desire at all to let go. What he really wished was that he had stripped them both naked before pushing her up against the damn door.
“I need you naked.”
“Then what are you waiting for?” she answered back.
Pushing her legs down, he stepped back and together they wasted no time, ripping each other’s clothes off. Both naked, she reached for him, but he stopped her. She was magnificent and he wasn’t sure if he’d ever told her.
“You are perfect.” He ran a hand up her side, feeling her skin pebble beneath his fingers. “In all my years of taking pictures, nothing or no one has ever looked as perfect as you do.”
The only sound that he could hear was both of their breathing and he was pretty positive that hers was getting heavier. Darting his eyes up to her face, he saw her mouth open and her eyes trained on him.
“Please,” she said. Just the one little word and like a bullet out of a gun, he pounced on her.
Their lips clashed in a frenzy of movement, both of them desperate for each other. Lifting both her arms above her head, he pinned them against the door with his own and continued to devour her mouth. Her whole body was on fire against his and he was doing everything he could to put it out.
Letting go of her wrists, he hitched her legs up and pressed her body against the door. He was just about to enter her when he remembered the condom.
“Shit,” he swore. “I don’t have a condom.”
“We don’t need one.” She was shaking her head. “I have an IUD and I trust you completely.”
Hearing that...that she trusted him completely, was the final nail in the coffin for him being able to go slow. Pushing forward, he entered her in one quick motion. And holy hell did it feel good. He’d never had sex bare in his life, and being able to have it with the woman he loved, was better than anything he’d ever experienced.
It was magic.
Another time, when he wasn’t so frantic to have her, he wanted to sit and relish in the feeling of just being inside her.
But right then, he had to move, and from the way she was squirming against him, she felt the same way. Needing the support, he braced his hands on the door and hoped like hell she was holding on for dear life. With each push, he swore he was going deeper, and each time he pulled back he felt her grip him tighter. And when he felt her shake and her legs tremble around him, he quickened his pace, and together, like they’d been doing it forever, they flew.
And flew.
Until their breathing slowed and his body ached.
They flew.
And it was perfect, and amazing, and right.
Helping to lower her legs, he stepped back and slowly pulled out. Her skin was red from the exertion and glistening with their combined sweat.
Had someone had asked him in that exact moment to describe what sexy was; Melanie, just like that, would have been what he’d describe.
“How ‘bout a bath?” he asked.
“Only if you join me.”
“Try and stop me.”
She laughed, and together, they walked naked to his, soon to be their, bathroom.
“Are we really going to do this? Live together?” She asked as they settled into the tub.
“Second thoughts already?” He stroked her back.
“No, more just wondering if it's truly something you want, or if I pushed you into it.”
“You're joking right?” He scooted back forcing her to look up at him. “Living with you, being with you every day, that's my holy grail.” He furrowed his brow. “That's actually not true. You, me, married with kids, is my holy grail. But this is a close second.”
Her face went slack. “Marriage?” She choked out.
“Did I just freak you out?” He asked. He wanted all his cards on the table and for her to know what he saw in their future.
“Kinda. But not because I don't want to. Because it's so soon.”
“You don't have to worry,” he smiled down at her, “I'm not proposing. I'm old fashioned that way. There will be candlelight and champagne and a ring so big it'll blind you. I just wanted you to know that marriage and kids...those are where I see us going.”
Seemingly relieved she snuggled in once more. “That’s where I see us going too.”
“But just for clarification, why do you think it’s too soon?” He had no desire to argue with her ever again, but he wanted to know her thoughts on things. And this was a big one.
“We haven’t been together that long.”
“Long enough to live together but not long enough to marry?” He wasn’t mad or upset and he kept his voice level to let her know that he was just trying to understand.
“I guess to me, marriage is something that you don’t go back on. I don’t believe in getting a divorce just because you rushed into things and want a quick way out. Marriage is sacred and divorce is not an option. But if you live together, there is still a way out.”
Logan sat up and turned to look at her. “Listen to me right now, Melanie, I am in this forever. There is no divorce and no moving out once you move in. You and I, we are it. We are the thing that people all around the world strive for. Real, honest love. A love so big that it consumes us. We are the American fucking dream and I am never letting that go.”
“I love you so much, Logan. So much that when I even think about us not being together, I don’t want to live.” She reached for his hand. “I want marriage and kids and hell, a white picket fence if you want. And I’ll take it today, tomorrow or any other day that works for you.”
He smiled so hard that his cheeks hurt. “Maybe we can just continue to practice the baby making part, and when we both decide we are ready, we can go from there.”
“That’s a pretty good idea.” She scooted closer, and climbed onto his lap. “Maybe we can start right now.”
“Goddamn I love you.”
She threw her head back and laughed, and he loved that from that day forward, his life was going to be everything he had always wanted, plus much, much more.
Melanie was his from now until the end of time.
Life was never going to be boring again.
I hope you enjoyed Capturing Us.
Keep reading for the first chapter of the next book in the series, Choosing You.