Bonus Epilogue
BONUS EPILOGUE
LOGAN
“ Y ou ready?” Will asked as he pinned the boutonniere to my lapel while a photographer snapped away.
I took a deep breath and tried not to look as uncomfortable as I felt. There were too many people around. Kylie had pulled out all the stops for the big day, and it was...a lot.
“Yep.” I clipped.
“You look like you’re going to throw up,” he said as he slid the floral pin through the fabric of my suit.
“I feel like it. Don’t stab me.”
“Is Logan in here?”
I immediately forgot the photographer and turned at the sound of Erica’s voice. She had kept Liam at her house for most of the day so his routine and nap schedule was as normal as possible. If she was here, that meant?—
Liam’s scream nearly shattered the chandelier in the suite.
“I’m so sorry,” Erica said as she bounced Liam on her hip. “He woke up from his nap and kept asking for Mama. I know it’s earlier than the ceremony, but he’s nearing the point of no return and Leah’s having her portraits done.”
The poor little guy was beet red and angry as hell.
“I figured seeing you might help him settle and then I can walk him around the hotel until it’s time for the ceremony,” she said.
“Come here, big guy,” I said as I picked up Liam and held him in one arm.
It was crazy how quickly he had grown in eleven months. In a few weeks, we’d celebrate his birthday in style: by letting him wallow in cake. Leah already had party decorations stashed away in the house, but we needed to get through the wedding first.
Liam screamed for a second, letting his displeasure be known before finally settling down.
I walked over to the table that had been set up with sandwiches, fruit, and vegetable trays for lunch while my groomsmen and I got ready, and grabbed a blueberry.
Liam’s eyes went wide as he spotted his favorite food as of late.
“Can you say ‘Dada?’” I asked as I held the blueberry in front of him.
“Mama,” Liam said as he reached for the blueberry with grabby hands.
“Try again,” I said, attempting to bribe him into saying it. “ Dada .”
“Mama,” he said as a frown started to form again.
I relented and handed over the blueberry before he shattered the window panes. “Yeah, yeah. Everything is ‘mama.’”
Liam munched on the blueberry with his brand new tooth, then immediately plunked his head on my shoulder and closed his eyes.
“Yeah, it’s hard work yelling at people,” I mumbled in a cheery voice as I found a chair and settled into it.
I had no idea where we were in the day’s order of events, but no one was telling me I had somewhere to be. I closed my eyes as Liam rested against my chest, and felt the stress and anxiety start to fade.
That’s what this was about.
It wasn’t about my sister’s dream of marital grandeur and creating the perfect day for us.
It was about Leah and me choosing us first. It was about our family finally being one. It was about giving our son the promise that Leah and I were all in.
Liam babbled away, telling everyone his incoherent baby thoughts.
Still no ‘dada,’ though.
Time moved at a snail’s pace as it grew closer and closer to the ceremony.
Leah had insisted that the first time I saw her in her wedding dress had to be when she walked down the aisle.
I thought it was a little ridiculous, considering we lived together and had a child. But if it made her happy, I was game.
Kylie was Leah’s matron of honor. Even though she had planned the whole day, Hannah Jane was directing the chaos.
Leah and I had asked Steve Pelham to be our officiant since he had gotten ordained to perform the ceremony when my sister and Will got married. It seemed fitting.
The crowd was small—only immediate family and close friends—but I was still nervous as hell.
“Whatever you do, don’t lock your knees,” Hannah Jane said as I waited for the procession to begin.
“I don’t know why I’m nervous,” I said under my breath as I bounced from foot to foot to make sure my knees were loose.
Leah’s mom was the first to go down the aisle, kicking off the pomp and circumstance of the day by carrying Liam and a cup of Cheerios.
Since Kristin and Will were in our wedding party, that was the extent of the parents. I hadn’t heard from my folks since the Christmas before Liam was born, and we were better for it.
Sometimes redemption and resolution were options. Sometimes repudiating a relationship was the healthiest choice.
Hannah Jane tapped me on the shoulder and I headed down the aisle and took my place beside Steve.
“Got your vows?” he asked quietly as the bridesmaids and groomsmen came down the aisle.
“Yep,” I clipped as a smile worked across my face when I saw Zoey in her dress as she was escorted down the aisle by Hunter.
“Got Leah’s ring?”
Kristin was next, floating down the aisle with Will by her side.
“Yeah,” I said as Kylie and Bryan appeared at the end of the aisle.
It was mind-boggling that, not too long ago, it had been their big day. The day that everything changed for me in the best and scariest way. They took their places on either side of me, and all eyes turned to the back doors.
Gio DeRossi and Eloise Lawson made their way down the aisle as the most dapper ring bearer and adorable flower girl.
Then all there was left to do was wait.
Will squeezed the back of my shoulder as the music reached a crescendo, and the doors opened.
Leah appeared in a white dress, holding a bouquet in one hand while she held on to her dad’s arm. The guests stood and gushed as she walked down the aisle, but all I saw was her.
Will handed me a tissue as I fought back tears. Leah seemed to be fighting the same battle, and took a tissue from Kylie when she handed off her bouquet.
Mr. Holloway gave Leah a kiss on the cheek, then shook my hand and took his seat beside his wife.
“Hi,” Leah whispered as Steve began his spiel.
“Hi,” I said as I took her in.
Her hair was in long waves, making her look like an old Hollywood starlet. The dress was fitted, hugging her curves before it flared out at her knees in a wide train.
“Wow . . . You look . . .”
Steve cleared his throat and cut his eyes at me, but never skipped a beat in his speech.
Leah pursed her lips and bit back a laugh.
I squeezed her hands. “You ready for this?”
It was the same question that had been asked when she went into the operating room for our son to be born. It was the same question that I had been asked all day.
I knew my answer, and I knew hers. We were ready. In all honesty, we had been ready for a long time. This was simply a formality and a celebration of something we had decided long ago.
“So ready,” she whispered back with an ear-to-ear smile as she bounced on her toes in excitement.
Steve paused to turn the page in the little book that held his speech. Liam took the split second of silence to let out an ear-piercing squeal, followed by a belly laugh.
The crowd laughed as Leah’s mom bounced Liam on her knees to try to keep him quiet.
He shrieked again, clapping and reaching for us.
What the hell. This was a family affair, after all.
I jogged over to Leah’s mom and picked up Liam, then walked right back up to the floral arch at the front of the ceremony space and took Leah’s hand.
I expected Liam to want to go to her. But, to my surprise, he sandwiched my cheeks in his chubby baby hands and screamed, “DADA!”
Leah clapped her hands over her mouth. “Oh my god!”
“Dada! Dada! Dada!”
Ah, fuck. One tissue wouldn’t cut it today.
“And on that note,” Steve said, “Logan, do you have your vows ready?”
I kept Liam on my hip, reached into my pocket, and found the notecard that I had used to write and rewrite my vows.
“Leah. If you had asked me, two years ago, what my life would look like today, I’d probably tell you I would be living in a mostly empty apartment, working alone, and not much more. Instead, I got to wake up next to you this morning. I ate breakfast in our house that you’ve made a home. I got to hold our son who has every ounce of your goodness. I got to hear you tell me that you love me, and I got to say it back to you. To a lot of people, all those things might seem mundane. But to me, it’s everything. You are my partner in the good days and the bad days. You’re my best friend, my most precious treasure, and the sweetest haven. I can’t wait to continue living the beautiful life that you’ve given me. So I’ll make the same deal I first made with you. I’ll be your partner. I’ll be your help. I’ll be the one you can count on, and I promise to do better each day.”
Leah dabbed her eyes with her tissue and tried to catch her breath.
Liam took notice and immediately reached for her. “Mama, Mama, Mama.”
Leah scooped him up with practiced efficiency. “Hi, sweet boy.”
“You ready, Leah?” Steve asked.
She turned and took a piece of paper from Kylie. “Logan, there’s something I’ve never told you that I feel like I should confess before we get married.” A sheepish smile curled up on her lips. “The night of Kylie and Bryan’s wedding, I tried to pretend like I was okay and happy. But the truth was, I was struggling. I was heartbroken. I wanted to be a mother so bad, but I didn’t know if motherhood would ever be in the cards for me. You see, there’s all that pesky stuff about finding someone and going through the whole song and dance of dating and getting engaged and getting married and spending a few years like that before finally getting around to starting a family. But, in no certain terms because my mother is two feet away, you made that dream come true when I had let it go. And ever since then, you’ve given me exactly what I needed and more. You gave me a confidante. You gave me a best friend. You became my helpmeet, balancing my weaknesses with your strengths. You pick me up and carry me when I can’t walk. But you always trust me when I say that I can take the next step. You hold my hand and make me truly believe that I’m capable and can do anything, even when life throws us a curveball. It has been my greatest honor to be your friend. You are the best dad, the best partner, and my greatest love. I love you on this day, each one before, and every day that will follow.”
Steve led us through the canned “repeat after me” vows, and we shifted Liam between the two of us while we exchanged rings.
When it was finally time to become husband and wife, Will reached for Liam. Of course, Liam went happily. Will was one of his favorite people.
“By the power vested in me by the State of North Carolina and a very user-friendly website, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Logan—” Steve patted me on the back. “I’m proud of you. I’m proud of the man you’ve become since the night we met all those years ago. So it’s an honor to be able to tell you to kiss your bride.”
I slid my hands into Leah’s hair and cradled her head as we met in the softest kiss.
“I love you,” she whispered. “Today and every day.”