Page 72 of Single Mom's Guide to Love

“What are you doing?”

He just sends me a dazzling smile as I walk out of the elevator. “I know roses are cliché. But I was also once told that there’s a difference between classic and cliché.”

For the first time in three days, I feel myself smiling. “She sounds like a smart woman.”

“And beautiful.” Logan gives me his arm, offering to escort me down the hall. “Even in a wedding like this, every bride should have a bouquet.”

An unexpected tear threatens to burst through, but I push it back. I know he doesn’t know, and no way could, that when I married Josh, I didn’t have a bouquet. I forgot all about it, and so I walked down the aisle with a single flower we picked from the park across the street from the courthouse.

“Come with me,” Logan says as he guides me down the hall. As we turn the corner, I see Kat sitting on a bench, typing something furiously on her phone.

“You look beautiful, Maeve,” Kat says as she stands up. “Fair warning, Logan: A crime reporter fromThe Nashville Bannersaw you coming in. Questions are being asked. We might need to put on our game faces quicker than we expected.”

I nod and take a deep breath.

You’re doing this for Jayce. For your family. This is how you fix the problem.

“Okay,” I say as I look up at Logan. “Should we go in?”

He shakes his head. “I know we need to get a move on, but I have something for you first.”

I’m speechless as Logan takes a ring box out of his pocket. “I know the tradition is to do something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue, but since I didn’t have much time, I had to combine a few of them.”

When Logan opens the box, my jaw nearly hits the floor when I see the gorgeous aquamarine ring. “We’ll consider this something new and something blue. I hope it’s okay. It reminded me of your eyes.”

I nod furiously, trying my best not to cry, though that’s proving futile.

“I thought you could borrow this for the day,” Kat says, handing me a beautiful vintage handkerchief. “I don’t cry much, but on days like today, it’s good to have one just in case.”

I nod and hug Kat, who I’m quickly realizing is just as great as Logan said she is. “It’s like you can read my mind.”

When I back away and lightly dab my eyes with the something borrowed, I turn back to Logan.

“I don’t have a lot of old, for obvious reasons,” he begins as he takes his wallet out of his back pocket. “But I guess for us, we’ll consider this old.”

I look down as Logan opens his wallet and takes out what looks like a key card.

Is that…

“Yes, I kept it,” he says, handing it to me. “I wanted something to remember that night by.”

Now I’m not a crier. My sisters joke that at some point over the years, Mama Maeve’s heart turned black. And I don’t disagree with them.

But this? What Logan’s doing right now? And not just the gifts, but agreeing to marry me, to help me when he didn’t have to? Let’s just say I’m glad Kat lent me the handkerchief.

“Thank you,” I say, doing my best to keep every emotion at bay. “But you didn’t have to do this. Any of this.”

Logan takes my hand and brings it to his lips. “Oh, Love…one of these days you’re going to realize I know I don’t have to. But I want to.”

“Matthews-Banks wedding? We’re ready for you.”

Our names being called breaks the spell Logan cast over me. I dab my eyes one more time, slip the key in the purse, and turn back to Logan.

“You ready?”

He nods and takes my hand, bringing it to his lips. “Let’s go get married.”

“Have either of you prepared vows and would like to speak them at this time?”

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