I never would have imagined losing his company could revitalize him so much. Logan has been anything but idle since. His fresh start has brought about such a wonderful change in him. While I wouldn’t have called him brooding and depressed before, there was always a slight darkness around him. He doesn’t like to talk about himself much, but I think he had reached the top and had nothing left to strive for. I even think he’s glad that he was forced to start over.
The best part is he has been working with me as a business partner. He doesn’t give me money, but he has taken me under his wing and started teaching me everything he knows about growing a business from the ground up. And he’s a damn good teacher.
I was able to quit working at Club Crave two months ago after the business started really moving in full swing. Our sex life wasn’t magically perfect after the time he took me blindfolded up the hiking trail, but I’ve thoroughly enjoyed Logan’s creativity. He never seems to run out of ways to chip away at the wall of resistance the years have built up around my sexuality. We’ve also been able to enjoy his play room again, and our newfound trust has helped me to enjoy whatever he’s in the mood for, whether it’s light bondage or the paddle.
I also gave Scarlett a raise, which she was ecstatic about. Her outfits have become even cuter, and she’s starting to talk about opening her own dance business some day. I love that she’s looking at her own future outside of my company. I’ll miss her like hell if she leaves, but I want her to find her own niche too. If graphic design isn’t doing it for her, then I don’t want her stuck in it.
We quickly find the display with my products. Monthly milestone onesies from “I can walk!” to “I can sit up!”. Each onesie features what I hope will someday be our recognizable trademark: the cute cartoony elephant Scarlett designed. Each onesie shows him doing the milestone, whether it’s walking, sitting up, or celebrating his first Christmas. I feel my eyes welling with tears as I lean into Logan and look at the display.
Logan squeezes my shoulder and steps toward the clothes, picking up a little boy’s outfit for “I used the potty!”.
He turns toward me and makes a confused face. “I didn’t realize you included gifts inside the clothes.”
I scrunch my forehead. “What?”
He motions to the pocket on the front of the onesie. My heart stops when I see the circular outline. The small, circular outline.
“Yeah,” he says, smirking and falling to one knee. He reaches in the pocket and pulls it out. “Look at this thing. You’d have to really be head over heels in fucking love with someone to give this to them. You’d have to want to marry them.”
“You would…” I say, voice barely a whisper. The tears that threatened to fall when I saw the display are falling now for a completely different reason.
“Will you marry me, Emmaline?” asks Logan.
I don’t notice the small crowd forming around us. I don’t notice the way my heart is about to explode from overwork. I only see him. I see not just the drop-dead gorgeous man staring up at me, but the patient, thoughtful man who has been willing to work through my problems with me. I see the man who realized I didn’t need his money, who understood me so completely that he never needed to even ask. I see my soulmate. The only man I ever want to be with. Now and forever.
“I do. God. I do,” I say.
He slides the ring over my finger and I notice it for the first time. If I had any breath in my lungs, the sight of the ring would take it away. It’s not so big it’s gaudy, even though Logan could afford a ring like that. It’s elegant and in exactly the style I would have chosen with an almost antique flair to it. He stands, pulling me in for a kiss and then embracing me, just as blind as I am to the applauding crowd around us.
I couldn’t hope for anything more, except maybe a baby of my own to wear the onesies his mommy designed. I smirk into Logan’s shoulder. He may think he has complete control, but I have a feeling I’ll be able to convince him to try for a baby.