Page 113 of Wait for Me

The beautiful medley of old hymns that accompanied the bridal procession across the lawn made Marie praise God and desperate to sing along. The small orchestra from Midtown Chapel had played at weddings many times, but this medley was a special arrangement that Marie and Logan had commissioned.

Marie held on to her father’s arm for support. This was the second time Father was giving her away—to the same man.

Behind Marie, an unarmed Esperanza held the hem of her ivory train.

Marie smiled when her eyes met Logan’s. When Father handed Marie to Logan, she saw the tears in Logan’s eyes.

There were no longer any unsealed secrets between Marie and Logan. She had told him what she did for INTERPOL all those years. As much as she could, anyway. He had taken it surprisingly well, and was especially pleased that she had not killed anyone—to her knowledge.

He joked that he didn’t want to marry or remarry a killer.

Marie explained that for the most part, she simply translated. Sometimes she was required to go undercover, and that was part of the job.

She didn’t tell him that the dangers had only increased exponentially since the FBI and then, Esperanza, got into the arena.

Otherwise she led a lackluster life on the job.

Ironically, since the formation of Mendenhall Security, with well-defined roles within legal boundaries, Marie’s new job saw her sitting at the desk most of the time, translating back and forth in several languages. The rest of the time, she filed reports.

And she loved it.

Because she could go home at the end of the day to her soon-to-be husband again and their son.

Marie and Logan chose to repeat the same vows they had before. This time they meant it with all their hearts.

From this day forward, they would be transparent with each other. In fact, they had started to be honest with each other since the day of their engagement in August, when Marie had told Logan everything she could, including the fact that she had worked for INTERPOL throughout their entire marriage, but due to the nature of her assignments, she had to keep Logan in the dark for his own safety and that of their only son.

Esperanza had come in later to fill in the rest of the information that Marie couldn’t talk about—after Logan signed a confidentiality agreement to allow his company to invest in Mendenhall Security.

The wedding ceremony almost hit a snag when the ring-bearer could not be found.

Marie and Logan looked at each other, alarmed.

Where is Jonas?

“He was here a minute ago,” the wedding planner said. Her face was bright red.

Marie scanned every row to see if Jonas might be sitting with his friends. She couldn’t see him anywhere.

Mrs. Ping left her captain at his seat and halfway ran across the lawn back to the house, followed by half of Mendenhall Security on duty.

They’ve lost my son.

Marie nearly stepped off the platform to go after them.

Logan held her back.

“I’ll go.” Esperanza kicked off her heels and bolted down the aisle barefooted.

The orchestra began playing a soft melody as time stood still.

Marie leaned toward Pastor Moss and whispered something in his ear.

He nodded. Flipped through his Bible and began reading Ephesians 5. When he reached the twenty-eighth verse, Jonas—and the wedding bands—still hadn’t appeared.

“‘So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.’” And he kept reading.

Marie prayed silently like she had never prayed before.

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