“Hello.”
He looked around to nod at the tuxedo-clad man who’d greeted him from the other side of the fountain. When the man stepped into the light, Logan recognized him from an earlier meeting. “Aren’t you supposed to be getting married?”
The groom, Tate Webber, shrugged. “I’ve got a few minutes before I have to be in place. Thought I’d take a little walk first.”
Logan eyed him suspiciously. “Not getting cold feet, are you?”
He wouldn’t even be the first client who tried to back out of the wedding literally at the last minute; they’d had a bride who’d locked herself in a bathroom a year ago after a fight with her mother and had tearfully declared that her wedding was off. Kinley had handled the crisis, calming down the hysterical bride and convincing her she did want to go through with it. Kinley had sworn later that she hadn’t strong-armed the bride; had she truly wanted to call off the ceremony, Kinley would have taken care of that, too. He wondered if he was going to have to summon Kinley now.
But the groom-to-be shook his head with a weak smile. “No. I want to marry Becca. Just a little stage fright, I guess. I’m not comfortable standing up and talking in front of people.”
Glancing at the chairs slowly filling in front of the gazebo, Logan said, “Doesn’t look like you invited hundreds of guests.”
“No. We decided on a smallish wedding, just close friends and relatives.”
“Then it’s no big deal, right? Just look at your bride and forget about everyone else.”
“Yeah, I’ll do that. The place looks really nice, by the way. Becca wanted it to look like a fairyland, and I guess that’s what you gave her with all those candles and little lights.”
“Thanks, but I just put the stuff where I was told to. Al— Er, your wedding planner is the one who came up with all the plans for decorations.”
“Yeah, she’s pretty good, huh? I didn’t know why we needed a planner at all. I told Becca I thought we could put it all together ourselves, since we didn’t want anything too elaborate. But I’ve got to admit Alexis made everything a lot easier for us. She took care of the flowers and the musicians and photographers and stuff. She helped everyone find the right clothes and accommodations and she negotiated some pretty good prices for us on stuff. I’m real glad we decided to work with her.”
“She’s worked several events here. Everyone seems to leave satisfied afterward.”
It was the most he would allow himself to praise her, but he’d made his point. Alexis was good at her job, despite the occasional silly request, which he supposed he should blame more on her clients than on her.
“Man, I can’t believe this day is finally here,” Tate said, sounding a little dazed. “We were supposed to get married two years ago, but I was in a bad car accident right after we got engaged, before we even had a chance to set a date.”
Logan wasn’t quite sure what to say. “I hadn’t heard that. You’re okay now, I guess?”
The groom smiled crookedly and only then did Logan notice that one side of the guy’s face didn’t move quite the same as the other. “I had what they call a TBI—a traumatic brain injury. Becca stood by me every minute, even when it looked bad. I had to learn to walk and talk and stuff again. Kind of why I’m still a bit shaky talking in front of people.”
“You’re talking fine to me,” Logan pointed out, impressed by how far the slightly younger guy had come.
“I still stammer a little when I get nervous, but it’ll be okay. Just as long as we make it legal. The whole time I was working to get better, this was my goal, to make Becca my wife.” Unashamedly emotional, the guy swiped at his eyes with the back of one hand. “Sorry. Still struggle with a little lability.”
Logan shrugged, typically uncomfortable with the display of sentiment but thinking no less of the guy for showing it. “You’re not the only groom who’s gotten emotional before the big event.”
Tate’s pocket buzzed and he pulled out a phone and checked the screen. “I’m being summoned. Thanks again for putting up all those little pink and yellow lights for Becca. It’s just what she likes.”
Nodding, Logan held out a hand. “Congratulations. And good luck.”
Tate shook his hand with a broad grin that was no less contagious because of the asymmetry. “Thanks. I figure I’ve been given a second chance. I’m not going to mess it up.”
A second chance. Logan stood for several long minutes without moving after the groom hurried off, replaying those words in his mind. He turned away as the ceremony began, uncharacteristically aware of his slight limp when he moved toward his cottage.
* * *
Alexis sometimes thought her cat could read her mind, which was a rather spooky feeling. Fiona seemed to know Sunday afternoon that Logan was expected, and that Alexis had invited him to bring Ninja, if he wanted. The cat wandered restlessly through the house, meowing and looking at the door as if impatient for it to open, even though she was an indoor-only cat who never wanted out. As restless as the cat, Alexis busied herself in the kitchen making brownies to offer Logan when he arrived. She had just taken them out of the oven when the doorbell chimed. Fiona scrabbled on the tile kitchen floor, then dashed toward the living room.
Ninja greeted Alexis with a nuzzle and a cheery rumble, then trotted off to play with Fiona, who was already winding around him and rubbing her head against him. The little gray cat was dwarfed by the dog, but it was obvious that she considered them equals and friends.
Alexis looked at Logan with a laugh. “That could be the oddest couple ever.”
“They are definitely unique,” he agreed, closing the door behind him. “The house smells good.”
“I made brownies. And coffee. Want some?”