Blue Dahlia

because they didn’t come out of me, then it is you.”
    “I think it takes time to—”
    “You know how you get a strong, healthy plant like this to increase, to fill out strong?” He jerked a thumb toward the passionflower vine. “You can layer it, and you end up with new fruit and flower. By hybridizing it, it gets stronger, maybe you get yourself a new variety out of it.”
    “Yes. But it takes time.”
    “You have to start. I don’t love those boys the way you do. But I can see how I could, if you gave me the chance. So I want the chance. I want to marry you.”
    “Oh, God. I can’t—we don’t—” She had to press the heel of her hand on her heart and gulp in air. But she couldn’t seem to suck it all the way into her lungs. “Marriage. Logan. I can’t get my breath.”
    “Good. That means you’ll shut up for five minutes. I love you, and I want you and those boys in my life. If anybody had suggested to me, a few months ago, that I’d want to take on some fussy redhead and a couple of noisy kids, I’d’ve laughed my ass off. But there you go. I’d say we could live together for a while until you get used to it, but I know you wouldn’t. So I don’t see why we don’t just do it and start living our lives.”
    “Just do it,” she managed. “Like you just go out and buy a new truck?”
    “A new truck’s got a better warranty than marriage.”
    “All this romance is making me giddy.”
    “I could go buy a ring, get down on one knee. I figured that’s how I’d deal with this, but I’m into it now. You love me, Stella.”
    “I’m beginning to wonder why.”
    “You’ve always wondered why. It wouldn’t bother me if you keep right on wondering. We could make a good life together, you and me. For ourselves.” He jerked his head in the direction of the smack of plastic bat on plastic ball. “For the boys. I can’t be their daddy, but I could be a good father. I’d never hurt them, or you. Irritate, annoy, but I’d never hurt any of you.”
    “I know that. I couldn’t love you if you weren’t a good man. And you are, a very good man. But marriage. I don’t know if it’s the answer for any of us.”
    “I’m going to talk you into it sooner or later.” He stepped back to her now, twined her hair around his finger in a lightning change of mood. “If it’s sooner, you’d be able to decide how you want all those bare rooms done up in that big house. I’m thinking of picking one and getting started on it next rainy day.”
    She narrowed her eyes. “Low blow.”
    “Whatever works. Belong to me, Stella.” He rubbed his lips over hers. “Let’s be a family.”
    “Logan.” Her heart was yearning toward him even as her body eased away. “Let’s take a step back a minute. A family’s part of it. I saw you with Lily.”
    “And?”
    “I’m heading toward my middle thirties, Logan. I have an eight- and a six-year-old. I have a demanding job. A career, and I’m going to keep it. I don’t know if I want to have more children. You’ve never had a baby of your own, and you deserve to.”
    “I’ve thought about this. Making a baby with you, well, that would be a fine thing if we both decide we want it. But it seems to me that right now I’m getting the bonus round. You, and two entertaining boys that are already house-broken. I don’t have to know everything that’s going to happen, Stella. I don’t want to know every damn detail. I just have to know I love you, and I want them.”
    “Logan.” Time for rational thinking, she decided. “We’re going to have to sit down and talk this out. We haven’t even met each other’s family yet.”
    “We can take care of that easy enough, at least with yours. We can have them over for dinner. Pick a day.”
    “You don’t have any furniture. ” She heard her voice pitch, and deliberately leveled herself again. “That’s not important.”
    “Not to me.”
    “The point is we’re skipping over a lot of the most basic steps.” And at the moment, all of them were jumbled and muzzy in her mind.
    Marriage, changing things for her boys once more, the possibility of another child. How could she keep up?
    “Here you are talking about taking on two children. You don’t know what it’s like to live in the same house as a couple of young boys.”
    “Red, I was a young boy. I tell you what, you go ahead and make me a list of all those basic steps. We’ll take them, in order, if that’s what you need to do. But I want