“Will there be one?” Lucas raised an eyebrow at his brother.
Logan shook his head. “Definitely not. I really like Vanessa, and for now, she's fun, but spending the rest of my life with her? Nope. Not going to happen now.”
“Have you talked to her about it?”
“She just keeps talking about getting married, and I just don't feel it. I just don’t know how to tell her to back off. I mean, this woman is relentless."
“Maybe try moving in together,” Lucas said. “If anything, it will let you know if it’s meant to be.”
“Really?”
“Yep. When you have to share a bathroom, you figure out how you feel really fast,” Lucas said, laughing. “Thank god we have four of them.”
“Hmmm, living with Vanessa. I don’t know. I’d be afraid that she thinks it’s a sign I’m going to ask her to marry me. What if it doesn’t work?”
"Well, you just have to be honest with her and tell her it isn’t working. Are you afraid of her?” Lucas teased.
“Ha, no, but she can be a bit intimidating at times. I’ll give it some thought. I’ll let you get back to work so you can get out of here. Talk to you later.”
Logan went back to his office and sat down, thinking about his brother’s advice. Could he ask Vanessa to live with him? His place was certainly big enough, and the master closet had plenty of space. Perhaps when they had dinner tonight, he would ask her, but for the first time in his life, he was unsure of his actions. He only hoped he wasn’t making a mistake.
✽✽✽
"So, where are we going for dinner?” Vanessa asked when she got into his car.
“I was thinking The Red Crab,” Logan said. The Red Crab was a small French restaurant that overlooked the harbor and one of Logan's favorites.
“Oh, okay. That’s fine,” Vanessa said quietly.
“What’s wrong? You don’t want to go there?”
“No, it’s fine. I just thought that maybe you were planning on flying to somewhere romantic and different,” Vanessa sulked. “I mean, what good is having a private plane when you don’t use it?”
Logan bit his tongue as he glanced over at her pouting profile. “The plane belongs to Darlington Realty. It’s not mine to use when I feel like it. Arrangements need to be made.”
“Never mind,” Vanessa said sullenly as she looked out the window.
Logan sighed. “The Red Crab is a very nice restaurant. Besides, I want to talk to you about something.”
“Really?” Vanessa said, perking up. “What?”
“Let’s wait until we get to the restaurant,” Logan said as he shifted gears and drove up the hill towards the restaurant.
Once they were sat at their table, Vanessa looked over the balcony rail and smiled. “This is beautiful, Logan. The last time you took me here was in the winter. It is definitely more romantic now,” she reached across the table and took his hand.
“Only the best for you,” Logan smiled, giving her hand a squeeze. “I want to ask you something.”
“Oh, Logan, really?” Vanessa said excitedly, feeling her heart quicken.
The waiter appeared with a bottle of champagne and two glasses that Logan had pre-ordered. Once poured, Logan picked up his glass and held it towards Vanessa.
“A toast to the future,” he said, clinking his glass against hers then taking a sip. “So, I’ve been thinking about what you’ve been saying about weddings and marriage.”
“Oh Logan,” Vanessa squealed, feeling extremely excited at what she thought was coming.
“Yes. So I’m asking you. Vanessa, will you move in with me?”
“Oh, Logan … wait, did you say move in with you?” Vanessa asked, her tone changing dramatically.
“Yes. Move in with me, Vanessa. I think it’s the next step. If it works, great and we can look at the future, but if we realize we can’t make it, we can go our separate ways,” Logan said, wondering why she didn’t seem as happy as he thought she would be.
“Move in with you. That is what this was all about. You want me to move in with you?
“Yeah, I think it’s a great idea. My brother Lucas actually suggested it. It’s kind of like testing the waters. I’m sure we won’t have any problem at all, but it’s what I am prepared to offer you right now. I want to get married one day, I really do. Just not now when we’ve only been together eight months. So, move in with me, and let's go from there.”
Vanessa tried to hide her disappointment. Forcing a smile, she looked at Logan. “Okay, that’s great. When do you want me to move in?”
“How about this weekend? The sooner, the better," Logan said, trying to sound enthusiastic.
“Great. I just have to run to the washroom," Vanessa said, reaching out and giving his hand a squeeze. She quickly walked to the restroom and locked herself in the first stall. Sitting on the toilet, she put her face in her hands and cried softly. She had really thought he was going to ask her to marry him, and now she was bitterly disappointed, but Logan had looked so cute and sounded excited about her moving in; she didn’t want to show how devastated she was and risk losing him.
Unlocking the stall, she went to the counter and washed her hands, and freshened up her eyes and makeup.
“Moving in with Logan will be fun,” she told her reflection. “I’ll just make sure he realizes he can’t live without me.”
Giving her hair a quick lift with her fingers, she headed out the door to enjoy the rest of her evening.
Chapter 6
On Saturday morning, Logan was sat in the kitchen, enjoying a coffee. It was moving day, but he hadn’t heard from Vanessa yet. Checking his phone for missed calls, he smiled to himself. “Maybe she changed her mind,” he said out loud, but then there was a loud knock on the door, interrupting his thoughts.
When he opened it, two burly men were stood there looking at him. “Are you Logan Darlington?”
“Yes, I am,” Logan answered, gulping at the size of the moving truck parked in front.
“We have some furniture that is being moved here and boxes. Lots of boxes," one man said, holding out a form for Logan to sign.
“Oh, you guys beat me here,” Vanessa called, running up the walkway. “I forgot to mention, Logan, I have some stuff. Not a lot.”
Logan looked at her and shook his head. “You told me your apartment had come furnished, so you had no furniture?"
“I don’t really, well, except for my desk and I have a weight machine and some other exercise equipment, and, of course, all my clothes and shoes.”
“Where do you want the exercise equipment?”
Logan signed. “I guess you can put it downstairs. The basement isn't finished, but we can do something about that later.”
"Ohhhh, now down in a dark, dingy basement, Logan! I was hoping to be able to set it up in one of the spare rooms. I really need the sunlight to give me the incentive to work out. You know, make it my own room,” Vanessa said, pouting.
“I only have three bedrooms, one of them is my office, and the other is my music room. I guess we can move the piano and the other stuff and put it downstairs. I don’t really use it,” he said, looking at the moving guys. “Can you move all the stuff out of that room and put it in the basement so the weight machine and desk can fit in there? I’ll pay you for the extra trouble.”