Page 76 of Embattled Return

Giggling, she came further into the office to lean on his desk. “Inmyroom. I didn’t realize how much Grandma could hear from your room until she asked me about one of the cases. She was hoping for something juicy, I think.”

“I think she has ‘fear of missing out’. Although if you tell her that she’ll think it’s a disease or something.”

For a moment, he thought about offering to find a more private place together, which shocked him. He’d lived with his ex, but this felt very different. Occasionally, they hung at his place, but hers was more homey and settled. They both preferred it.

Logan shook his head, getting back to the conversation. “That woman... I have a feeling she ran circles around her husband.”

“Or maybe he’d just been with her long enough to know how to keep her busy.”

“They did have a bunch of kids,” he suggested.

Marigold grinned. “That’s her fault for rubbing his junk when she went to Bingo. And that’s probably one of the tamer things she can tell us.”

They both laughed, and she leaned down to drop a quick kiss to his lips. When she would have drawn away, he caught her hand, looking into her eyes. She seemed to sense his introspection, because she paused and cocked her head. “What’s up, babe?”

For a moment, he couldn’t say anything, just held her stare, the emotion almost smothering him. Yes, he’d been engaged before, but he didn’t remember feeling anything like this with his former fiancée. Amber had been fine to talk to, but he didn’t remember the rush of emotion that seeing Marigold brought. His entire life before his Alive day—the day he survived the bombing—was a bit of a haze. The past month had brought a clarity he hadn’t had in his life ever before, and this woman was a very big part of it.

“I love you,” he told her abruptly.

Her eyes widened, then filled with luminous, glittering tears. “Seriously? You do this now, at work when I have makeup on?”

Logan shrugged, pushing to his feet. He needed to be upright to do this. Reaching out, he cupped her face in his hands, swiping the tears away with his thumbs. “It just seemed like the right time. And you will look beautiful, makeup or not. I prefer not, actually.”

She laughed a little. “Well, of course you do. That usually means we’re in bed if I have no makeup on.”

“Yeah,” he grinned, shrugging. Then, seeing the vulnerable expression in her eyes, he kissed her, noticing that she hadn’t said it back. But she would.

Logan licked and teased at her mouth, his tongue tangling with hers. They’d been together long enough that he knew what she loved, and he did his best to give it to her every time. When he drew back, her irises were blown wide around the pupil, showing him how aroused she was.

“It’s okay if you’re not in the same place I am. I’ve just had a lot of change this month, and a large part of it wouldn’t have happened without you. I was engaged before, but I feel like that was a near miss. I’m glad she didn’t have the stomach to stay with me, because now I have you.”

“Logan,” she said softly. “I’m sorry she hurt you but I’m glad she didn’t stay as well. I would have hated to have to gotten blood on the sheets fighting her for you.”

He gave her a sardonic look. “I think you would have been okay with that actually.”

She grinned, tipping her head. “Okay, yeah, maybe. When you told me what she did I wanted to hang her up by her tits.”

Logan pulled back to look down at her. “You know, I think Grandma Marshall might be a bad influence on you.”

Giggling, she pulled him in for another kiss. “Oh, I don’t know. She told me three weeks ago that we would fall in love.”

His heart stilled. “And didwe?”

She gave him an affronted face. “Well, yeah. You’re not the only one in love, stupid. I have you beat. I knew when you walked in the door of the office that we were going to be together. Something inside me clicked when I saw you. I think my heart stopped, then restarted. Maybe that’s what it was. And I wanted to tell you sooner, but I didn’t want to hold you if you didn’t want to be held. Know what I mean?”

He nodded. “I definitely want to be held. I didn’t at first, I’ll give you that, but I definitely do now.”

Grinning, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders. “I love you, Logan William Vance.”

“I love you too, Marigold...” he hesitated. “What is your middle name?”

She grinned at him and shook her head. “I don’t think I know you well enough to tell you my middle name.”

“What?” He pulled back, looking down into her beautiful eyes. “Seriously?”

Laughing, she gave him a sharp nod. “Maybe if you agree to the tattoo, I’ll tell you...”

Logan laughed so hard tears came to his eyes. “I’m not getting ‘gone to market’ on my foot.”

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