Wedding Cake Wishes (11 page)

Caroline looked so fresh today, her skin free of makeup and her hair pulled back from her face and secured with a clip at her nape. From her blue holiday T-shirt to her khaki shorts and her little socks and tennis shoes, she looked like a teenager.

Logan tried to come up with something clever to say, and, for once, he had nothing. Instead, he cleared his throat and looked to Dylan to fill the silence.

Dylan looked at him with surprise before he turned back to Caroline. “Are you kidding? This is male territory you're entering here. Don't emasculate us by trying to take away our grilling tools.”

Caroline snapped her fingers. “I should have known. Here I'd been thinking that the old boys' club did all their important business transactions in the corporate men's room or on the links, but all along the good stuff was happening around the grill.”

“I don't know about corporate America, but around here we're just competing to see who can make a superior steak,” Logan said. He leaned over conspiratorially to her. “Just in case you don't already know the answer to that, it's me.”

Caroline sank her front teeth into her bottom lip and looked past him to Dylan before she answered again. “It's just like when you two were kids. Always competing. Are you planning a spitball contest next?”

“We might, so watch out.”

Her mother called her over then, so Caroline continued to the picnic table, leaving Logan alone with his obviously curious brother. Logan considered finding an excuse to get away, too, but he wasn't fast enough.

“What was that all about?”

“I don't know what you're talking about.” Logan didn't look at him, focusing on the women bustling around the picnic table.

“Only that there were enough sparks flying around here to start a fire nowhere near the grill.”

“You're imagining things, brother.”

“Maybe,” Dylan said in a tone that suggested he was pretty sure he wasn't imagining anything. “I hope you know what you're doing.”

Logan only made an affirmative sound since any real response would open him to more questions he wasn't prepared to answer.

Dylan must have figured he wasn't likely to hear more because he continued, “Well, whatever you're planning, be careful. No matter how much we wish it otherwise, people don't usually change who they are.”

“Jenna did.”

Dylan nodded at his brother's mention of Jenna's transformation last summer, but then he shrugged as if that didn't affect what he'd said before. “Hey, can you do this? I have to go help Jenna with the ketchup and mustard.”

Logan accepted the spatula into his hand. Whether
his brother had been talking about him or Caroline in his comment about change, he wasn't sure, but the words struck home either way. He was who he was, and she was who she was, and neither of them was likely to change.

Whatever you're planning…
Again, his brother's words struck him. Was he really planning anything? Or would he choose to let the tide take him to her no matter how unwise the decision, no matter how much of a mistake it would probably be?

Managing to finish the meat without burning it, Logan carried the tray of hotdogs and hamburgers over to the table, where the others gathered with Amy's wheelchair parked at the end. Logan slipped onto one of the benches, and Caroline sat next to him in the only remaining empty spot at the table.

Trina took hold of her best friend's frail left hand, and then she reached out for Matthew's hand on the other side. Soon, the whole group was connected in a circle that began and ended with Amy Warren. Maybe a little different, but it was a Warren-Scott dinner.

This was what Logan had hoped and prayed for. So why during this important moment was he spending all his energy trying to ignore how soft, how small and delicate Caroline's hand felt in his? Trying not to think about how right it felt with this one woman at his side?

As if she knew he wasn't paying attention, Trina cleared her throat and began the blessing.

“Father God, thank You for looking down on us today,” Trina prayed. “Thank You for Your healing power that You've showered on our dear Amy. Please
continue to work Your miracles with her and in all of our hearts.”

Trina stopped as she and his mother often did when they wanted to offer the others an opportunity to contribute to the prayer. Usually Matthew would have picked up next, but something felt different to Logan today. He felt compelled to speak next.

“Lord, thank You for bringing us all together again. Thank You for the gift of each Scott and each Warren sitting around this table—even those we have yet to meet. Thank You for relationships that last a lifetime.”

He stopped there before he said too much, though he suspected he might have already. For several seconds, no one said anything, as if they were either digesting his words or waiting for the next one to speak.

“Thank you, Jesus, for the food,” Lizzie said in a small voice. “Amen.”

As soon as they opened their eyes, they all started laughing. Lizzie laughed the loudest.

With regret, Logan released Caroline's hand, but when he gave her a sidelong glance, he caught her watching him. If shock, need and uncertainty could all be reflected in a single gaze, those were the things he thought he saw in her eyes. It was all he could do not to reach out to her again in front of all their relatives and beg her to tell him what she was thinking. He'd thought his feelings for her had been one-sided. Was he wrong?

“Were you in a hurry to finish that prayer?” Jenna asked her niece as she pulled one of her pigtails.

“I'm hungry.” Lizzie grinned and reached for a hamburger bun.

“Me, too,” Matthew leaned over and snuggled against
his daughter's ear, making her giggle again. “I didn't think Uncle Logan was ever going to be finished.”

“Me, neither.” Lizzie giggled.

Dylan passed the tray of meat down to some of the others. “That was a new thing. Usually Matthew's the one who always prays until all the food gets cold.”

“Sorry about that.” Logan held his hands wide. “I got a little long-winded.”

The others laughed and then got down to the business of passing dishes of deviled eggs, potato salad and chips around the table and devouring those things, plus the hotdogs and hamburgers.

As Logan filled his plate, he could sense Dylan watching him, but he refused to look at him. He was having enough trouble trying to keep from staring at the amazing woman seated next to him and to keep from coming out of his seat when her elbow accidentally touched his to worry about his brother's questions. They would all be answered soon enough. One way or another.

He'd lost his appetite, but he forced himself to take a few bites anyway. The sooner they finished the meal and cleaned up, the sooner they could get to Markston Central High School's football field for the fireworks. He no longer resented time passing because he was looking forward to the chance to talk to Caroline. This time he would do all the talking.

Finally, Logan relaxed into his seat and started eating with gusto. He even participated in the enthusiastic dinner conversation that was part of Warren-Scott tradition. It was freeing to have a plan. For the first time in weeks, he knew exactly what he was going to do.

T
he evening sky exploded with light and color, but Caroline was too unsettled to marvel at the pyrotechnics as she rested on one of her mother's quilts among a sea of holiday revelers. Though applause broke out around her, she hardly noticed the starbursts, geometric shapes and the sparkling flag that lit the sky.

She was too busy trying not to notice—and noticing nonetheless—every movement of a particular fireworks fan farther down on their group's line of blankets.

“Wow, did you see that one?” Jenna elbowed her in case she hadn't.

“Uh, yeah. That was great,” she answered, but she would have been hard-pressed to describe the colors if quizzed on it. “Too bad Mom was too tired to join us. She's going to be sorry she missed this.”

Caroline shifted to make her lap a more comfortable pillow for Lizzie, who'd been so excited to see the fireworks but had settled in for a snooze after only the first few explosions.

Jenna reached down to brush their niece's head. “How can she sleep through this?”

“That's the worry-free sleep of the young.”

“Must be nice to sleep like a stone the way she does.” Jenna adjusted the sweatshirt they'd draped over Lizzie's little body before she looked up. “Hey, what do you have to lose sleep over? You're not planning a wedding.”

Caroline sat up, startling Lizzie, but the child only snuggled closer and continued dozing. “I don't know. Unemployment, maybe.” That wasn't even close to the whole story, but she hoped her sister would accept it.

“Oh. Right,” Jenna said with a nervous giggle. “Forgot about that. Have you heard back from any of the companies you've approached?”

“Not many. I've received a few rejection letters, but I'm still waiting to hear from most of them.” She shifted her position, trying to get comfortable without waking the child. “I can't live with Mom forever, you know.”

“Why not? Her spare bedroom will even be free after—” Jenna stopped herself as if a thought had struck. “Oh, my. Can you believe Dylan and I are going to be husband and wife in only eight days?”

“It's about time.”

Caroline smiled up into the vast blanket of twinkling lights. With the clock ticking down to the wedding, it had been easy to distract Jenna from her question. If only she could find a way to divert her own attention from the man who'd been at the center of her thoughts for days.

Automatically, her gaze returned to Logan, who sat next to Matthew and Haley. He was looking back at her, just as he had been every time she'd sneaked a peek all night. Did he ever stop watching her, or could he just sense when she was about to look at him so he could catch her in the act? Either way, she was all flustered
like a teenager with a secret crush. If this was a crush, she was doing a lousy job of keeping it a secret.

She looked up in time to see the sky awash with light in the grand finale. Booms continued to pound in her ears as the last remnants of color and light drifted toward the ground. At once, the stadium lights of the football field started to come to life, first in a dull glow and then brighter to guide spectators to the parking lot.

Matthew reached Caroline first and crouched next to her, reaching for his daughter. “Here, let me get her.”

Caroline stood on unsteady legs as one of her limbs had gone to sleep beneath the weight of the sleeping child. Immediately, there was a hand beneath her elbow.

“Need a little help there?” Logan asked.

“No, I'm fine.” But she didn't shake his hand away as she would have a month before. She wasn't even offended by his assistance.

Dylan stepped closer, a folded blanket under his arm. “Who's going in which car?”

Caroline noticed first that Logan's hand fell away from her arm and then that the two brothers exchanged an odd look that she guessed had everything to do with her.

“I don't care who I go with, but Mom took my car, and it's an awfully long walk back to her house, so…” Caroline let her words trail off, hoping that someone would volunteer.

“I guess we could take you since we're going to the same house,” Dylan said, frowning.

Matthew snickered. “And miss out on a chance for that private good-night kiss with Jenna? That would
be a cruel thing for us to do to the almost newlyweds.” He tilted his head so it brushed against Haley's as she snuggled against his side. “Remember how we used to be?”

“What do you mean
used to be?
” Dylan said.

Haley shook her head. “Anyway, we can take you.”

“Why would you do that?” Logan wanted to know. “It's out of your way to go by there. And you have to get Lizzie home to bed. I'll take Caroline.”

“You're sure?” Jenna asked, not seeming upset with the idea of having a few minutes of alone time with Dylan.

“It's on my way,” Logan said without inflection, but he looked away when Dylan glanced at him.

Caroline didn't say anything—wasn't sure she could. She'd sensed that something was different with Logan tonight, and the anticipation inside her seemed to confirm it. He was only giving her a lift home. She'd done the same thing for him a few times when he'd ridden his motorcycle to work on sunshiny mornings that produced rainy afternoons.

But this was different. She understood that deep in her gut. She almost expected Logan to explain why as they trudged in silence to his truck, but he was silent. Once he'd opened the door for her and climbed in on the driver's side, she couldn't take the silence anymore.

“Why do I get the feeling I've just been passed around like an unwanted storage box?”

“Why do you think that?” He turned on his lights and inched the truck forward, but it would be a while before he could move into the line of cars heading toward the parking lot exit. “I can still wave down Dylan and Jenna if you're determined to be a third wheel.”

“No, thanks.” She chuckled. “I do wonder why you volunteered to take me instead of letting Matthew and Haley do it. It's not really that much farther for them.”

Logan wasn't looking at her as he finally got a break in traffic. He waved at the other driver and pulled into the line. “They have Lizzie. And Haley had to be tired.”

“That was nice of you.”

“I didn't do it to be nice.”

“Then why did you?” Caroline studied his profile, but his expression didn't give anything away. The anticipation she'd felt earlier might turn to foreboding if he didn't speak up soon.

“I thought you and I should talk.”

“Okay. Let's talk.”

But instead of doing that, he became as quiet as he'd been on the walk to his truck. He drove from one end of downtown to the other without so much as clearing his throat. Soon they were on the street in front of her mother's house, and she still didn't know what was so important that he'd felt the need to orchestrate the chance to drive her home.

“Logan? Didn't you want to talk?”

“In a minute.”

He passed Dylan's car, which was parked right in front of the house, and stopped his truck a few houses farther up the street. After he shut off the engine, he turned in his seat to face her.

“I didn't think it would be this hard. I never had trouble with this stuff before.”

She opened her mouth to ask him what he was having trouble with, but he lifted a hand to tell her to wait.

“Have I ever mentioned that patience isn't one of your virtues?”

It would take the patience of Job to wait around for him to get to the point,
she thought, but remained silent.

“I was talking about how hard a time I'm having asking you out.”

Caroline started coughing into her hand, and it took her several seconds before she could control it. Her pulse raced, and her palms were so damp that she had to wipe them on her jeans. “Asking…me…out?”

Logan breathed out a heavy sigh. “You're choking. I guess I should be grateful you didn't start laughing. I guess that's something. But clearly I've lost my touch.”

“That's not what I meant. I mean…is that what you're asking? Because maybe we should really think about it before… You know.” She pressed her back against the door, fighting the impulse to reach for the door handle and bolt. Only now could she admit to herself that she'd wanted him to ask, and now that he'd done it, all of her uncertainties were lining up against the idea of accepting.

“Come on, Logan. We've known each other all our lives. I can still remember the time—”

“Don't.”

He hadn't even raised his voice, and yet the word reverberated off the walls of the truck cab. Caroline stared at him, her hands gripping together in her lap.

“What?” she asked.

“I know this makes you uncomfortable, but I don't want you to come up with some funny story about something I did as a kid or something you did in your baby
sitter role.” He folded his arms. “You're older than I am. We both know that. Now get over it. We stopped being those kids a long time ago.”

Caroline blinked. How could she answer him when everything he'd just said about her was true? She opened her mouth, hoping her mind would catch up and give her the words, but finally she gave up and closed it.

“Good,” Logan said. “Now I have to know if you would be willing to go out with me on a real date. As us. As the people we are now.”

Her pulse pounded in her ears. She was facing a moment of truth, and she realized she'd known the truth all along. “Where do you want to go?”

Logan must have expected an argument to his suggestion because he began, “I don't care if there are good reasons why we shouldn't—”

“That's not what I asked.” Caroline surprised herself by sounding confident instead of hesitant, the way she really felt.

“Oh. Right.” But then he leaned closer to her, his gaze narrowing. “Is that a yes, then?”

“Yes,” she answered in a small voice.

“So…does it make a difference where we go?”

She smiled this time. “No.”

Logan smiled back at her. “Then bring your riding boots because tomorrow we're taking a ride out to my favorite place in the world.”

It sounded great and scary at the same time. Rather than let him come around the truck to open her door, Caroline let herself out just in time to see Jenna kissing Dylan good-night on the front porch. She couldn't allow herself to think about whether her outing with Logan tomorrow would end in a kiss. It was enough to
acknowledge that he'd asked her on a date, and she'd accepted, and it felt like the best decision she'd made in a long time.

 

Logan rested his booted feet on the pavement as he parked the motorcycle and shut off the engine. He'd already taken the long way to get here, but he wished he could have stretched out the ride a little longer. Having Caroline riding behind him with her arms draped around his waist had been as close to a perfect moment as he could remember.

But her hands fell away then, and she scooted back from him. Logan climbed off the bike, setting the kickstand, and he helped her down. Though she was the one who'd been nervous all day at the bakery, always fidgeting and avoiding looking at him, he suddenly had misgivings. He'd all but browbeaten her into going out with him last night, and now he wondered if he should have pushed so hard.

Maybe she had been right: maybe they should have thought this through before they made the leap to going on a date. Even if they'd been wise enough not to tell their families about their plans today, he had no illusions that this would be an average first date. No matter what happened today, things between Caroline and him would be different.

“That was amazing!” Caroline yanked off her helmet and finger-combed through her hair that she'd tied back but was still hopelessly tangled. “I've never felt anything so wild and freeing. Why didn't you talk me into taking a ride sooner?”

He grinned at her as he removed his helmet and sat it on the bike. “I wasn't sure I would be able to get you
on the bike
this time.
I thought you were going to have a panic attack.”

“Well, I did ride it, didn't I?”

“Yes, you did. And you even learned to lean with me in the turns.” He rubbed the back of his head. “It might be a few days before my head recovers from you banging into me all the time with your helmet, but otherwise, it was a great ride.”

Caroline gave him a mean look, but when she grinned, Logan could finally relax. This wasn't going to be one of those awkward first dates, where they walked on eggshells around each other until they got sick of the misery and went home. It was just another outing with his friend; only the setting had changed. He would worry about any changes in titles later.

As Caroline took a few steps away from the parking lot, Logan waited to hear her reaction to the scenery. He'd never brought a date here before, and he didn't want to examine why it was the first place he'd thought to bring Caroline. Had he been saving it for her?

“I didn't want the ride to end,” she said and then gasped. “Oh, my, Logan. This is so beautiful. This is that place you were talking about, isn't it?”

He crossed the lot until he was standing a few steps behind her. The scene had always been amazing, but it was perfect now with Caroline in the center of it.

She turned back to him. “This is where you went on that date with a place rather than a person.”

“You remember me saying that?” He stepped next to her and watched her as she stared out into the open space.

“I remember all the things you say.” Her gaze flitted his way, but then she turned back to the lookout. “I kept
wondering that day about the beautiful woman you had to be out with.”

“Were you jealous?”

She didn't look at him or answer, but a pretty pink flush spread on her cheeks. “Well,
she
was a looker, wasn't she?” He waited to catch her eye and then gestured to the expanse before them.