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He was gazing at her with that beguiling smile of his. The man had disarmed her over the past few days. He had become her knight in shining armor, saving this wedding single-handedly.
She mouthed, “Thank you” to him as she passed, and his grin grew wider while one eyebrow lifted in a sexy expression. Even after the wedding was over, she felt the night would not end until much later.
Caitey’s stomach jumped into her throat. Good grief, these peculiar feelings for Logan’s best man were so unexpected after their first encounter two days ago that she didn’t know quite what to make of them.
Even so, the tingles running up and down her skin werereal.
Standing on the opposite side of Jenna and Logan as the minister began the proceedings was a bit surreal. Caitey couldn’t stop herself from repeatedly catching Marcus’s eyes—it was hard not to when those deep chocolate pools were directly in her line of sight!
A slow grin crossed his lips as if Marcus could read her mind. He smiled gently and slightly nodded, showing her that he was gazing at her just as much.
Caitey forced her eyes toward Reverend Callaghan after he had spoken a few words of marital advice and began the official ceremony.
“Do you, Logan Hearst, take Jenna Thornton to be your lawfully wedded wife? To have and to hold from this day forward, in health and sickness, for richer, for poorer, for as long as you both shall live?”
“I do,” came Logan’s strong reply as he lifted his hand to kiss the back of Jenna’s hand. “For the rest of my life and beyond,” he added in a low voice.
Soft laughter followed. Then the minister turned to Jenna asking her the same questions, and Caitey noticed her cousin’s eyes brimming with happy tears. When she said, “I do,” she and Logan immediately kissed and embraced each other.
Then Logan dipped her downward, kissed her again like a hero from an old movie, and gently raised her up again while the room exploded with clapping and laughter.
Marcus scrambled to the stereo panel, and the triumphant “Wedding March” began. Everyone began chattering and congratulating the newlyweds.
After a few minutes, Marcus lifted a hand and said, “Before we sit down to the wedding dinner, we’ll have the bride and groom’s first dance as husband and wife. Following that, a few minutes of dancing for anyone ready to kick up their heels.”
“Or kickofftheir heels,” Caity muttered before realizing the room had quieted for a split second. The entire group heard the murmured remark and burst into laughter.
Reginald appeared in the doorway. “Ladies and gentlemen, the wedding dinner will be served in fifteen minutes in the dining room. The place settings are marked with each guest’s names.”
“Thank you, Reginald,” Charles Hearst told him. “The bride and groom dance first, please. Logan, please escort your new wife to the dance floor.”
The music changed again, and the lovely sounds of Christina Perri’s voice floated over the room while she sang, “I have loved you for a thousand years . . . I’ll love you for a thousand more.”
After a few moments, Marcus was at Caitey’s side. He leaned into her, touching the back of her hand with his. “You’re looking a little melancholy, Caitey girl. You okay?”
“Oh, yes, I’m fine! I just . . . get a bit emotional at weddings, especially when it’s people I love so much. And this song . . . it’s perfect, Marcus. It’s anexcellent choice for this evening. It’s one of those songs where you dream about that one person you’ll love for a thousand years . . . forever.”
“And is that why you became a wedding planner?” Marcus asked softly.
“It’s because I was a disaster at everything else,” Caitey said with a touch of laughter.
“I doubt that.”
She glanced up at him and coyly batted her eyelashes in sarcasm. “You do not know the half of it, buddy. I’ve been fired from so many jobs. At least now I can work for myself—even if I have to rely on a lot of vendors to come through—but I can pick, choose, and charge what I want. Although I’m still paying off student loan debt.”
“Where’d you attend?”
“UC San Diego, of course, my hometown college.”
“I remember at dinner your first night, you saying that you’d majored in business and interior decorating. Sounds like the perfect combo for a wedding planner. You did a wonderful job here—before and since your arrival at the intimidating Hearst Estate. It’s not an easy feat to come into a place like this. I certainly didn’t grow up like this, even though I spent a lot of my childhood here with Logan.”
“Well, thank you for that. My early life was modest until Dad went into politics a few years ago and became an ambassador. His ancestors are from Portugal, so he worked that angle to get the position. He even speaks Portuguese.”
Marcus lifted his eyebrows. “You do have a moreEuropean look about you. You must be giving off vibes. Will you tell me sometime about those other ‘jobs’?”
“Maybe,” she said, giving him a sassy smile.
“Before this beautiful love song ends, will you please do me the honor of this dance, Miss Caitey Belgrave?”
