Single Mom’s Guide to Love (Guide to Love #2)

28. Logan

28

logan

“Well, don’t you look dapper?” Kat exclaims as she walks into my bedroom.

I chuckle as I finish putting on my watch, the last accessory needed to complete my outfit for tonight’s Christmas party. “And here I thought you didn’t want me wearing my green tuxedo jacket.”

I make a show of showing off my ensemble to Kat, making as if I’m some sort of runway model.

“Save it for America’s Next Top Billionaire. We have things to go over. Where’s Maeve?”

“I’m here, I’m here,” Maeve says as she walks into my bedroom, trying, but failing, to put on the diamond necklace I left in her room.

And looking so bloody gorgeous I can’t breathe.

“Here, let me help.” I walk up to her, taking the necklace from her as she turns around to stand in front of me.

“Jewelry is very cliché, Mr. Matthews.”

I smile as I take the tiny clasp in my hand and gently drape the diamonds around her neck. “Some say cliché. I think it’s classic. And most important? It looks beautiful on you, Mrs. Matthews.”

I kiss the top of her shoulder, and if I’m going to be honest, I don’t know how I’m not going to just do that all night. The strapless, red, floor-length gown she’s wearing is stunning. It fits her like a glove and somehow makes her seem taller than she is. Her brown hair is down and over one shoulder in soft waves. She’s a breathtaking vision of beauty.

And she’s mine.

“Get a room, you two,” Kat groans.

“I have one. You’re in it.”

Maeve giggles as I place one more kiss on her shoulder, not wanting to ruin her makeup.

Yet smudging that red lipstick does sound fun…

“Okay, love birds, we have some things to go over tonight since this is actually your first appearance as husband and wife since you two decided to play hooky last time.”

Maeve and I sit on my bed, feeling like scolded schoolchildren.

“The floor is yours, Katherine,” I say. “Give us the instructions.”

Kat’s look goes from stressed to murderous. “Why did you just call me Katherine? Are you teasing me? Do I look like I’m in the mood to be teased?”

“Apologies,” I say. “Just trying to lighten the mood.”

“There’s no light mood tonight. Tonight we have specific things to accomplish, and since I can’t be with you both at all times, I need to tell you who to talk to, what to say, and most importantly, what not to say.”

Maeve and I listen intently as Kat goes through the guest list and the order of events. She goes over talking points, topics to avoid, and the pictures we need to make sure to take.

“This doesn’t sound like a party,” I protest. “It sounds like work.”

“Because it is,” Kat says with a heavy sigh. “But before I tell you to try to have fun despite the work, I have one more thing.”

“What’s that?” Maeve asks.

“Your ex is coming.”

Maeve’s eyes are wide and my blood pressure just spiked.

“My ex? As in Josh Tucker?”

“How the fuck did he get invited?” I ask.

“Walker Boone’s record label bought tickets,” Kat explains. “I’m guessing Josh schmoozed his way from there.”

“Lovely,” Maeve mutters. “He’s going to have a field day that—God forbid—Jayce is spending the night at my parents.”

“We’ll worry about that later,” Kat says. “Also, Logan, Candace Kross will be here—also known as Farmville model, if you don’t remember from your string of horrible dates. I don’t think she’ll be a problem, but I just didn’t want you shocked.”

“Who the hell is she here with?”

“She was just listed as a date for someone who knew someone. I don’t ask questions I don’t want answers to.”

Okay. That’s fine. We went on one date, and I barely talked to her. “Anything else?”

Kat looks at her iPad and shakes her head. “I think that’s it. Just remember, you two are married. You’re happy. You hold hands and smile and kiss if you want. Which, I’m guessing by events of the last week, won’t be hard.”

I sneak a look at Maeve, whose cheeks are as red as her dress.

“Maeve, if Josh or the wannabe mom from the Parent Trap say anything to you, nod and move on. If they try to cause a scene, call me, and they’ll be out of here faster than she was out of that shitty reality show.”

Maeve stands up and goes over to hug Kat. “Thank you. For everything.”

“Yeah, yeah,” she says, patting Maeve on the back. “Now I’m going to go and get ready and say a thousand prayers to nonexistent gods and Lady Gaga for a smooth night.”

“Relax, Kat,” I say, shooing her away so I can steal one more minute with Maeve. “It’s just a party. What could go wrong?”

“Bloody hell…is this the same place?”

I’ve had a front-row seat for the past month to watch Maeve turn my once empty, all-white house into a home. But looking at it tonight? With every inch decorated to perfection? It’s like I’m seeing it for the first time.

Greens, whites, and golds, with subtle touches of reds, are sparkling through the foyer and down the hallways. There isn’t an inch of the staircase that isn’t covered in lit garland, accented with white and gold poinsettias. The tree that’s in the corner is at least twenty-feet tall, and I don’t know who Maeve hired to decorate it, or what kind of ladder she used if she did it herself, but it could be featured in a magazine spread.

In fact, this whole house could be.

Oh…I should make a phone call.

I wanted to make an entrance with Maeve, but she insisted on going downstairs before me, wanting to make sure every piece of decor was perfect before guests started arriving. Which is why I find her at the bottom of the steps, toying with a ribbon on one of the numerous trees in the foyer.

“Gorgeous,” I whisper, slowly putting my hands on her hips. She jumps slightly, then quickly relaxes into my touch. “And the tree is lovely too.”

She slowly turns toward me, and the only reason my knees don’t give out is the hold I have on her. I know I saw her just moments ago, but that doesn’t mean she’s any less stunning. Maeve wears makeup daily, but something about tonight makes her look even more beautiful than she already is. She’s wearing a red lip that is sending a straight shot to my cock. Her eyes have some sort of smoky look to them. And her cheeks are sparkling and rosy, and not from the blush that gives her away.

She’s magnificent in every sense of the word.

Her hands travel up my chest as she lazily, and unnecessarily, fixes the lapels of my deep green tuxedo jacket. “So this is it, huh?”

I smile and take her wrists into mine. “The official debut of Mr. and Mrs. Logan Matthews.”

We both look to the entryway as a host of people start entering. The sound of Christmas music from the quartet Kat hired starts playing from a nearby room, and servers are bustling around, offering guests hors d’oeuvres and champagne.

“We can do this,” she says, and I don’t know if that’s to herself or me, but we could probably both use the reminder.

“We’re just going to be ourselves,” I say. “Talk to people. Mingle. And if people ask why we got married seemingly overnight?”

“We say ‘when it’s right, it’s right.’”

“And then if it becomes too much?”

“We find each other. And go find the calm in the chaos.”

I smile and press my lips to her forehead. “That we do.”

I take Maeve’s hand and lead her toward the door, stopping to say hello to people as they come in. Of course, I introduce Maeve to everyone, making sure they know that not only is she my beautiful wife, but also the ultra-talented designer who’s responsible for my new Nashville residence.

As I figured she would be, Maeve is a pro. She’s talking with everyone she meets, doing a good mix of small talk while also getting to know people. She’s even networking a bit. I think I overheard her talking to one of my board member’s wives about redecorating their vacation home in the Hamptons.

At some point we got pulled apart, but now that’s giving me a chance to watch her work the room. She’s a vision in that dress. And the way she’s talking with everyone, despite me not being next to her, is something not every person can do. But Maeve? It’s as if she’s holding court, and these are all her subjects.

“She’s got a way about her, doesn’t she?”

I didn’t see Josh come up next to me, and I do my best not to have a visible reaction to Maeve’s ex-husband being in my vicinity.

“That she does.”

The two of us don’t say anything for a minute, both watching a woman who has a meaningful place in our lives talk to a group of women, and I don’t know what she just said but they are all holding their stomachs in laughter.

“When we first met, I was a dumbass bartender,” he says. “Thought it was a great job. Good tips. My pick of women. A bachelor’s dream.”

I don’t say anything, wondering where he’s going with this.

“Women came into my bar every night. But that first night I saw Maeve, it’s like I couldn’t see anyone else. She has that way about her, you know?”

“Oh I do,” I say, thinking back to that first night I saw her at the airport bar. “Why are you telling me this?”

“I don’t know,” he says. “All this fighting we’ve been doing, I forgot until right now about the girl at the bar I first fell in love with.”

I snap my gaze to him, but he’s immediately shaking his head. “It’s not like that, man. Did I love her? Yes. But we weren’t right for each other. We tried to force it for Jayce’s sake. But she’s the mother of my kid, you know? And I think I’ve lost sight of that…”

I don’t say anything, not wanting to push this too far, but also at the same time wondering where his new wife is.

“Thanks for attending,” I say. “Now if you’ll excuse me.”

Josh tips his head, and I make my way toward Maeve.

“Ladies, can I be so rude as to steal my wife?”

Maeve waves goodbye as I place my hand on her back, leading her toward what I’m calling the dance floor in the main room where guests have gathered.

“What are you doing?” she asks as I pull her in tight to me.

“I think it’s about time we find a little calm.”

As if I gave them some sort of cue, the string quartet changes from a Christmas song into a popular ballad. Maeve leans into me, resting her head on my chest as we move to the melody of the song. I close my eyes, not wanting to catch the eye of anyone else here, only wanting to focus on the woman in my arms.

“I remember the last time we danced,” I whisper. “I thought that at any moment this was going to end. That you were going to be a snapshot in time, never to be seen again.”

“Am I a horrible person for saying that I hoped to never see you again?”

“You’re not,” I say with a laugh. “And if I didn’t know it when you snuck out of the room, I would’ve figured it out on the plane.”

“You mean the most embarrassing hour of my life?”

“You were cute,” I say. “All flustered and covered in drool.”

She narrows her eyes at me in a mock glare. “Watch it, Matthews. I know where you sleep.”

I twirl Maeve out, before bringing her back in. “And I know how to make you scream.”

Before she can respond, I press my lips to hers, deepening the kiss as I dip her low. Is the kiss a little much for a room full of CEOs, celebrities, my board, and a handful of media? Probably. I feel the cameras flashing. I know what they’re doing.

And I couldn’t care less.

Because I’m kissing the woman of my dreams.

The woman I married for convenience.

And the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with.