Disclaimer: Only borrowing these wonderful characters from Rob Thomas. I sadly own nothing, but wish I did.
Chapter 25 - Relaxation
As the early morning light flooded through the windows of the yacht, Logan stirred from his sleep. He was spooned up against Veronica and could feel the tickle from strands of her hair that had fallen against his cheek. He inhaled happily and tightened his embrace around her slightly, burying his face farther into her hair. He would never get tired of waking up with her in his arms, and at this moment he really didn't want her to go back to Massachusetts even if it might be the right thing for her to do for her career. He closed his eyes and listened to her breathing peacefully as she slept. He could feel her heartbeat under his hand that was wrapped across her chest. He nuzzled his face closer to her shoulders and placed some light kisses at the base of her neck.
The light kisses woke her up and a satisfied smile crossed across her lips. She pressed her body closer to him and reached an arm back to run her fingers up his naked thigh. "Good morning Captain," she said in a sleepy sultry voice. His light kisses became deeper as he worked his way from the base of her neck, around to below her ear and then down to her shoulder. She stayed still for a few moments, enjoying the feel of his mouth on her skin, before she rolled over, still in his embrace, but facing him instead. He saw the blissful smile on her face, and pressed his lips to hers.
As he started to pull his mouth away, she moved after him and lightly bit on his lower lip before kissing him deeply again. "I wasn't done," she teased as their lips parted for a second time. His blissful expression matched hers, and he rested his forehead against hers while he gently rubbed his nose against hers.
"Whatever the lady desires, the lady can have." He said in a sensuous voice, placing another soft kiss on her lips.
Her expression became a bit more mischievous. "Hmmm, I can't decide between breakfast or another round in bed with you then."
"I vote for the latter first," he said in a low growl as he moved his lips toward hers again and kissed her passionately. They were quickly consumed by their heated desire for one another and quickly escalated beyond just kissing.
"I want to wake up that way every morning," Veronica purred breathlessly in his ear much later as she lay beside him. He was lying on his back next to her catching his breath, and a euphoric smile spread across his face as he tilted to the side to kiss her temple, and run his hand along her naked body.
"I'm more than happy to make that wish come true, you know?" He said softly as he nuzzled his nose into her hair. She smiled shyly back at him and gave him a gentle kiss. He could tell from her expression that she knew he meant it, but there still seemed to be some hesitance to her fully committing to something permanent. He ran his fingers across her cheek and gave her a loving look that was full of compassion. He wasn't going to push her for more than she'd already given him.
"So breakfast now?" He asked as he smiled happily at her. "I want to make sure my girlfriend is completely satisfied in every way possible." He gave her a suggestive wink and kissed her lightly on the lips again.
She smiled as he called her his girlfriend. She was still worried about what would happen if she decided to go back to Massachusetts though. She'd blurted out girlfriend the day before because she was feeling threatened by yet another woman he seemed to be close to, but after she said it, she was glad she had. She really did want to be his girlfriend again and didn't want him to doubt that.
"Mmmm… you really are the best you know?" She said taking a deep breath as his lips moved away from hers.
"I know," he said with a slightly cocky tone, and she laughed and poked him softly in the ribs.
"So what are we doing today, besides having lunch with Vanessa?" She asked as she gazed into his eyes, running her palm across his chest.
His expression became a bit secretive and he grabbed her hand and gave it a quick kiss, then placed it back on his chest over his heart with his hand resting on top of it. "Would you rather be surprised or do you really want to know?"
She thought about it for a moment, and then decided she'd had enough surprises in the last week, and said that she wanted to know.
He laughed at her and replied, "I didn't say I was actually going to tell you. You'll have to wait and see."
She shook her head and narrowed her eyes at him. She swiftly climbed on top of him, and rested her hands on his sides where she knew he was extremely ticklish and applied a little pressure with her fingers, causing him to squirm slightly. "I have ways of making you talk, mister." She said with a playful glint in her eyes.
He laughed at her and then grabbed her wrists, pulling them up above his head and causing her to fall onto his chest. He quickly rolled them over so she was pinned beneath him with her hands stretched above her head. "Not so fierce now, are you Bobcat?" He leaned into kiss her again, and was met with a playful bite on his lower lip. She smirked at him as he pulled away, although he retaliated with his own nipping along her shoulder.
"Okay, I give up," she said in a playful defeated tone, "at least until you feed me and I'm revitalized again." He gave her a quick kiss on the lips and hopped off the bed. He reached out his hand for her and pulled her up, leading the way to the shower.
After they ate breakfast, he sailed the boat back to the visitor mooring area. He still hadn't told her what they were doing, but said the casual dress she had picked out to wear would be fine. This time they took a taxi and he handed the driver a slip of paper with the address, giving her a sly smile since she still didn't have any idea where they were going. She shook her head at him and rolled her eyes at his antics. Soon they were pulling up in front of the very luxurious looking Island Spa Catalina, and Veronica gave him a sly grin as she realized their destination.
He'd arranged for a couples massage in a cabana near the ocean. The view and facilities were just perfect, and after an hour, Veronica couldn't remember a time she felt more relaxed and happy. Logan gazed lovingly at her from his massage table, pleased that she seemed to be enjoying it. After their massages, they sat in the cabana for a while in big fluffy white robes, watching the waves hit the rocks, snuggled together on a giant lounge chair. The staff had brought them a tray with fresh fruit and mimosas, and they were enjoying the drinks as they blissfully relaxed together.
"You know you're going to regret spoiling me like this when I expect it all the time." She said as she flashed him a devious smile.
He squeezed her tightly, and replied, "I'd gladly spoil you like this every day if you'd let me." He placed a loving kiss on her lips and ran his hand through her hair.
"You're also making it pretty impossible for me to want to go back to Massachusetts, you know?" She gave him a sly look as she smiled at him.
"That may have been part of my master plan." He kissed her softly again. "But I'm pretty sure I can spoil you like this on either side of the country, so you wouldn't need to let that influence your decision. But there are lots of other reasons to stay out here, like your dad and your friends too."
She ran her hand over his cheek and tipped her head up to capture his lips in another kiss. "You're a pretty good salesman."
He gave her a playful wink as he replied. "Always good to have another career option to fall back on when this Mayor gig comes to an end."
She smiled playfully, "Which is that, salesman, or my boyfriend who's only job is to spoil me and cater to my every whim?"
"You have to ask?" He jokingly asked as he pressed another kiss to her lips.
After spending a couple hours at the spa, they left to go meet Vanessa for lunch. Veronica noticed he was a little tense as they arrived at the restaurant. So much for a relaxing massage beforehand, she thought to herself as they climbed out of the taxi and headed into the restaurant. Vanessa was already seated at a table with an ocean view and waved them over. Veronica noticed he relaxed when he saw it was only her and that Tyler wasn't with her.
Vanessa stood as they approached the table and gave them both a hug before they sat back down. Veronica was quickly noticing how different Vanessa was from Alexis. She had such a cheerful and friendly demeanor it was hard to believe they were actually sisters.
Logan gave her a questioning glance, "no Tyler today?"
She smiled mischievously at him, "He had to work…. and he seems to still be afraid of you."
"Good." Logan replied with a smug grin on his face.
Vanessa shook her head at him and took a drink of the lemonade that she'd already ordered. A waitress stopped by a moment later to get drinks for Logan and Veronica and to see if they wanted any appetizers before they ordered lunch. They decided to split an order of deep fried mozzarella and the waitress left to get their order started.
"I'm so thrilled that I ran into both of you yesterday." Vanessa said as she beamed at them. "I've started to get a little lonely here since most of my friends are all back in L.A."
"Maybe you should go back to L.A. for a while and see some of them," Logan said, clearly with an ulterior motive in mind.
She caught on immediately and rolled her eyes at him. "Stop worrying so much Logan, Tyler really is doing much better. You haven't seen him in years. He's actually gone to rehab now and he's doing really well."
Logan gave her a skeptical look. "So what's he doing for work these days?"
"He's still working with some of the charter boat companies. He's been thinking of getting his own boat, but for now there are several boats that he enjoys working on and it gives him more flexibility. He's also still in a band and they play quite a few gigs at some of the bars and resorts around the island."
Logan didn't look terribly convinced that he was completely on the straight and narrow now. "You know I'm just worried about you kiddo," he replied when she gave him a questioning look.
She nodded and smiled, "I know. I've actually missed your over protective big brother lectures you know." She paused for a moment, "speaking of pseudo siblings, how's Heather these days?" She turned to Veronica and confided, "I actually like my pseudo siblings better than my actual sister." Veronica smiled in understanding.
Logan shook his head slightly before replying. "Heather's doing really well. She started at Hearst this year and has been keeping out of trouble and focusing on her school work."
Vanessa laughed, "Or at least that's what she's been telling you. Like she'd admit it if she wasn't. I sure miss her. Tell her I said hi when you talk to her again. Hey, maybe you can bring her out to the island some weekend soon and we can all hang out together. You too of course, Veronica," then she lowered her voice, "but not Lexi." She gave Logan a little wink, "just the fun kids."
Veronica smiled knowingly at Vanessa. "So when are you due?" Veronica asked trying to participate in the conversation too.
"Around Valentines day," Vanessa answered, then she laughed again. "Maybe we'll name him Cupid Calloway-Christensen if he's born that day."
Logan shook his head and smiled. "If you're going to give him that horribly long hyphenated last name, you'd better give him a nice simple first name, like Sam or Ed. Do you know for sure that it's a boy?"
She looked down at her drink for a moment and Veronica thought she saw a sad look cross her face before she looked up again with the cheery smile back in place. "Yes, it's a boy." She paused for a moment, "Actually I've already decided to name him Jackson." The cheery smile looked a bit forced as she said it, and Veronica noticed a quick flash of sadness pass across Logan's face too.
Logan reached across the table and squeezed Vanessa's hand. "I'm sure your parents will like that."
Vanessa's smile faltered again, and a few tears formed in her eyes and she looked up at the ceiling trying to force them back. Logan gave Veronica an apologetic look, then slipped around the table to sit next to Vanessa and put his arm around her.
"Hey it's okay, Nessa," He said softly as she leaned against him.
"I'm sorry, it's these crazy pregnancy hormones you know, one minute happy, the next minute sad, and the next minute a raging lunatic." She wiped at the tears on her face. She turned to look at Logan, who was looking at her with concern in his eyes. She tried to smile again, "Could you imagine if Lexi ever got pregnant, those would be some scary mood swings for sure!" Veronica noticed Logan's expression changed momentarily from being concerned about Vanessa to a brief flash of sadness and then back to concern again.
Vanessa's smile was short lived and she was fighting her tears again. "I've just been really missing him lately you know," she said in a weak voice as she tried to contain her tears. "It's probably just all these hormones and then when I was thinking of a name when I found out it was a boy."
Logan gently rubbed her shoulder. "Maybe you should call Lexi and go and visit her for a few days," he said softly.
Vanessa shook her head and took a big breath of air, trying to regain her composure. She looked sadly at Veronica, "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to fall apart at lunch, you probably think I'm just a mess."
Veronica wasn't sure what the full story was, but she could tell enough to know that whoever Jackson was he'd meant a lot to her. "You don't need to apologize, it's fine." Veronica gave her a compassionate smile, and reached over and squeezed her hand for a moment too.
Vanessa looked sadly back at Logan again. "Lexi still blames me you know, and that's why I don't want to see her. She'll just blame me for screwing up something else since I accidentally got pregnant. I'll call mom in a couple weeks, but I don't want to see Lexi."
Logan shook his head, "Hey, Lexi doesn't blame you. It wasn't your fault. I know she can be difficult, but she's still your sister and she loves you."
Vanessa sobbed slightly, "But if he hadn't been coming to see me, he would still be alive."
Logan squeezed her a little tighter and she rested her head against his chest. "You know Jackson would never want you to blame yourself either. He loved you both, Nessa, and if he knew his sisters barely talk to each other because of him, it would break his heart. Lexi doesn't blame you sweetie, you have to know that. Nobody blames you. I'll go with you to talk to her if you want."
She nodded her head against his chest and wiped at her eyes. She sat up and forced a smile back on her face.
"Did you two do something fun this morning?" She turned to look at Veronica with a sincere look on her face and an obvious desire to change the conversation.
Veronica smiled softly and told her all about the massage and spending time at the spa. The change in topic seemed to help Vanessa recover her composure again.
The waitress had stopped by again to take their lunch orders and deliver their drinks and appetizer. Vanessa told them about the two months that she was in Vienna before coming back to Catalina while they waited for their lunches to arrive. Logan had shifted back to Veronica's side when the waitress brought their drinks and they were holding hands under the table and occasionally giving each other adoring looks.
After their lunch had arrived, Vanessa asked Veronica about Massachusetts. "You work in the DA's office there right? Logan had mentioned that before I think."
Veronica nodded and took a drink of her Iced Tea.
"Pete Bauer, right?" Vanessa asked before she took a bite of the salad she'd ordered.
Veronica was a little surprised that Vanessa knew the DA's name, but nodded in reply.
Vanessa smiled, "My Uncle's a lawyer too. He works for some big law firm in New York. He went to law school with Pete. I think I actually met him years ago at an anniversary party for my Aunt and Uncle. He seemed like a really nice guy from what I remember."
Veronica smiled politely, but Logan caught a bit of a surprised look pass over her face. Vanessa however was just trying to be friendly and connect with Veronica and didn't notice anything. "Do you like working there?" she asked with genuine interest.
Veronica relaxed a bit and started sharing some of the things she liked about working there, as well as a few things she wished were different. Vanessa listened intently to Veronica and smiled politely when she was finished. Then Vanessa smiled mischievously at Logan, "So is he trying to convince you to come back out here?"
Veronica smiled and nodded. "He's made several convincing arguments." Logan leaned in and kissed her gently on the lips.
"Well I'd love it if you were here with him," She said with genuine sincerity in her tone. "I can tell you make him really happy."
Veronica blushed a bit and smiled bashfully at Logan. He wrapped his arm around her and kissed her on the top of the head. "That's what I've been telling her too," he said lovingly. "But it's not always that easy when you're trying to build a career like Veronica is. She's going to talk with the Neptune DA though and I'm hoping she might decide to come out and work for him."
Vanessa smiled warmly at the two of them. As they finished their lunches, they chatted about various topics including some of the crazy pregnancy cravings she'd been having. When they said their goodbyes outside the restaurant, Vanessa promised she'd call her mom soon and let her know about the baby and that she was in Catalina. Logan said he'd check in with her again soon to be sure everything was going well. She gave Veronica a big hug and thanked her for being so kind and understanding of her crazy life.
"I hope you both come back and visit again soon now that you know I'm here." She said before she gave Logan a hug good bye and headed down the sidewalk to where she'd parked her car.
"Do you want to walk around the bay a little bit, or I could get a taxi to take us back to the boat, thought it's not really too far from here?" Logan asked as he watched Vanessa turn the corner to the parking lot.
Veronica gave him a sweet smile and took his hand with hers. "Walking sounds nice." They headed down the sidewalk back toward where the boat was moored.
"Thanks for being understanding about Vanessa." Logan gave her a loving smile as they walked together.
She nodded and gave him a reassuring look. "Did you know Jackson too?" She asked curiously then hesitated, "I'm sorry, if you don't to talk about it, that's fine too."
He removed his hand from hers, wrapping it around her waist instead, and pulled her closer as they walked. "It's fine. Yes, I knew Jackson. He was two years older than Alexis. He didn't die until about half way through our senior year at Hearst." He sighed sadly, "He was driving up to visit Vanessa at Stanford, when a drunk driver crossed the divider and hit his car head on. Vanessa was just a freshman when it happened." Veronica felt his body tremble slightly before he continued. "She of course took it really hard and dropped out of school after it happened. Her parents had wanted her to go back to college, though they were understanding about giving her some time to deal with it when it happened. She eventually did go back to Stanford, but it took quite a while. She was supposed to be going to school in Vienna to work on a master's degree but obviously that didn't happen." He sighed and looked sadly out toward the water.
"I thought things had gotten better with her and Alexis, but apparently they haven't. Vanessa's such a sweet girl, and Alexis can be so difficult that Vanessa still gets intimidated by her and then just gives up."
Veronica squeezed him a little tighter, "I'm really sorry Logan." He nodded and kissed the top of her head softly as they continued to walk.
They walked a few minutes in silence glancing out at all the boats in the bay and watching other people walking and biking by.
"That's sort of random that Vanessa's family knows my boss." Veronica finally said.
Logan let out a small huff of air. "Yeah, sorry, I probably should have mentioned it, though it seemed like a strange topic to just work into a conversation. Unless of course you're Vanessa."
"So you knew?" She asked with a thoughtful look on her face.
He sighed before he spoke, "I found out when I'd mentioned to Alexis and Vanessa that you got a job at the Cape Cod DA's office. They told me then that their Uncle knew the DA there." He paused to gauge her reaction. He wasn't sure what to expect her to do.
She didn't say anything for a few minutes as they kept walking. He waited to give her some time to process. "Did you know their Uncle very well?"
"I met him once. It was before Jackson died. The four of us all went to New York once and we had dinner with him and his wife, but that was the only time I'd ever talked to him." He thought for a moment. "And of course that was before you were even in Law School."
She nodded and looked out at the boats again. They walked another block in silence. He was starting to worry a bit about what she was thinking, but didn't want to get into anything out in public, so stayed silent as well. They were nearing a little seating area that jutted out over the water and she angled toward it. She took a seat on a bench that looked out over the water and he sat next to her, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. She leaned into him resting her head lightly on his shoulder, looking out at the boats.
"Any other strange coincidences that you want to mention before they pop up unexpectedly?" She asked finally, turning to look at him with a curious expression on her face.
He looked up at the sky watching a few fluffy clouds float by and took a deep breath. He turned back to look at her again and smiled, "Nothing comes to mind, but a lot of things have happened in 8 years, so I really hope you won't hold it against me if something I've forgotten pops up later." She looked at him a little suspiciously. "I promise if I think of something I'll tell you as soon as I do." He smiled lovingly at her and brushed some strands of hair out of her face.
She sighed and her expression softened. She leaned closer and pressed her lips to his. "Sorry, old habits." She nuzzled her nose against his and gently kissed his lips again.
He rested his hand on the side of her head and rested his forehead against hers. "Total honesty, remember? I really should have figured out how to mention that. I'm sorry."
She shook her head and kissed him again. "You don't have to apologize about it. It's fine." She gave him a small smile then gazed back out at the bay again. She wanted to ask about the quick look she'd caught when Vanessa mentioned Alexis getting pregnant, but wasn't sure the best way or how that was going to go. She sensed there was certainly something there with the way Logan's expression had changed though. She hoped her approach would be indirect enough not to make him defensive. She figured if they were engaged though, they may have discussed having kids at least.
"Did you and Alexis talk about having kids when you were engaged?" She asked with as neutral an expression as she could, though she figured he would read more into it than the simple question she had asked given his reaction at the restaurant.
He took a deep breath and looked down at his lap for a moment, making it difficult for Veronica to see his expression. After he exhaled the breath, he shrugged, still looking down, "Sort of. We had one of those possibly-pregnant scares that catch you totally off guard when we were just starting our senior year at Hearst." She noticed his voice was a little shaky and he seemed to swallow a lump in his throat. He was still looking down at his lap and not making eye contact with her. "It turned out to just be a false alarm, but before we knew that, we did talk about it." He sighed again and shifted his gaze out to the bay, "I was surprised at myself about how once the initial shock wore off, I was actually a little excited about the thought of being a dad. I never expected that, given the messed up childhood I had. And then of course I was disappointed when it turned out she wasn't. Alexis was not happy about it at all and really didn't want to have kids, and she wasn't sure if she ever wanted to. At first it bothered me, but it hadn't been something I'd initially thought I'd want either, so I tried not to dwell on it."
Logan finally turned to look at her again with a troubled expression on his face, "Look, we don't need to have this conversation here do we?"
She should have known better than to bring it up now, and nodded and gave him a reassuring smile. "So what else do you have planned for our day?"
He reached out his free hand and took her hand that was resting on her leg, gently squeezing it, and gave her a grateful look for dropping the conversation for now. "I was thinking we could take the yacht around the island and find a secluded cove to anchor in and just relax on the boat. It's warming up quite a bit, so we could do some swimming too. We can also talk more then if you want." She nodded slightly, knowing what he meant. He paused another moment before he continued, "And then we can either head back to Neptune tonight, or stay the night on the boat and sail back in the morning." He was watching her to see what she thought of the idea. "I don't have any early meetings, so there's no rush for me to get back early, and Roger said anytime after lunch that you wanted to stop by would be good for him, if that works for you."
Her smile turned a bit seductive, "I'd love to spend the afternoon in a secluded cove with you." He sighed and gave her a quick kiss. "And spending one more night on the water would be wonderful too." He stood up and extended his hand for hers and they headed back to the yacht.