Ready to Wed (Ready #1.5)(13)
“Got it. Be awesome. I can do that.”
“I have specifics.”
“Of course you do,” Colin sighed.
“When I need something, you’re there. If Clare and I need to duck out for a few minutes….half an hour, you make excuses. If I need a good hiding spot, you find me one.”
My eyebrows rose at this odd request. I gave him a look, and he grinned.
He leaned in, close to my ear and whispered, “Did you think I’d be able to wait all night to take my wife?”
Instant red flushed my face, and I turned away, trying to hide my obvious embarrassment. Colin was now grinning as well, and I pretty much wanted to die right then and there.
“Anything you want man, I’m there.”
I was getting married tomorrow, and it was shaping up to be a very interesting day.
~Logan~
I had no idea she was going to speak, until she was tapping her fork against her wine glass to gather everyone’s attention. We had decided not to give speeches. Too many emotions, and neither one of us wanted to break down in the middle of our rehearsal or reception. So, we were going to leave the speech making to everyone else, if they wanted. We still weren’t sure we’d survive that so we weren’t holding anyone to it. With lives like ours, celebrations went beyond champagne and fancy food. It was the ability to celebrate that was worth the celebration, and no one knew this better than the woman standing before me.
“Thank you all for coming. I know a lot of people say that at things like this, but I truly mean it. I know it was last minute and far away, but not a single one of you ever complained. Each one of you, the people who mean the most to us, happily took vacation days, did some last minute packing and hopped on planes to celebrate this special occasion, and it wouldn’t be the same without you.”
Clare briefly glanced down at me, giving me a faint smile. I took her delicate hand in mine, weaving our fingers together like I always did and smiled back.
“Life is full of unexpected surprises. Some good like the blessing of a child, and some not so good…like losing a loved one way too early.”
She paused for a moment, gathering her thoughts and calming her emotions. I held on to her hand still, caressing her soft skin with the pad of my thumb.
“Logan is one of those surprises in life that takes your breath away, leaving you completely awestruck by the enormity of the gift. But sometimes, wonderful, sweet and even incredibly sexy gifts are hard to accept.”
Our small group chuckled, and I looked up to give her a quick grin.
“How do you comprehend such an amazing blessing, when your life has already been filled with them? This was the question I struggled with. When you’ve already been given so much, can you really take more? Many of you don’t know this, but before Ethan died, he wrote me a letter. I was supposed to open it when I was ready, but until recently I didn’t know what I was supposed to be ready for. In that letter, Ethan gave me my answer. Life is too short to worry about the why, or the how or the what-ifs. Love is a risk, there are no guarantees. But in the end, it is always, always worth it.”
Through my very unmanly blurry eyes, I looked around to find an entire room of matching tear stained faces staring back at us.
“I’m sorry to make all of you cry, but before all the craziness of tomorrow, I wanted you all to know how much of a gift Logan is to my life. He has taught me how to remember without being sad, how to live again, and most importantly, how to love again. I couldn’t have picked a better man to love my daughter and complete our family.”
Clare then quietly sat in her seat, and our eyes met. Everyone else in the room disappeared.
“Thank you for walking into that exam room, and for being brave enough to take on two redheads for a lifetime. I love you.”
The small amount of space that separated us was suddenly too much. I reached out, wrapping my hand around the back of her head and pulled gently until our foreheads touched. Her brilliant green eyed gaze bore into me, seeing the deepest parts of my soul.
“I love you, Clare.”
I closed the gap, kissing the lips of the angel who would soon become mine in every way.
Chapter Eight
~Clare~
“I look like a peacock,” I said, staring at the scary reflection of myself in the hotel salon.
“A very cute peacock,” Leah amended, before asking, “What exactly did you tell the woman to do?”
“I told her I wanted an updo. Something classy.”
“Well…I’m not sure I’d say it’s classy, but it’s sure something.” I could see her trying to hold back a laugh.
Just about the time I was about to disown her as my best friend and maid of honor for laughing at me in my hour of need, Maddie came bouncing over. She’d just had her hair done, and of course, her hair was gorgeous. A pile of perfectly curled red ringlets flowed down her back. It was pinned at the sides with tiny sparkly pins that matched her coral colored dress.
“Mommy! Look how pretty I am!” she exclaimed.
“Oh baby! You look beautiful!” She twirled around and both Leah and I clapped and “oohed” and “ahhed” at the right times. She loved every minute of it.
After a few minutes of undivided attention, where she showed us her perfect hair, sparkly pins and every single detail of her dress and matching shoes, she looked up and paused.