Four Weddings and a Werewolf (Entangled Covet) (15 page)

There should’ve been screaming. Fighting. Clawing. Wolf hair flying through the room as every packmate shifted to avenge his friend.

Instead, Logan stole behind the drunken fool and snatched his arms, twisting them behind his back. The guy seemed to be fighting, squirming, and spitting, but he wasn’t getting anywhere. In fact, once Logan had a hold of him, it looked like the guy was barely able to move a muscle. Logan’s packmates followed his lead, holding the other idiots in the same arresting maneuver.

“I apologize for the scene here tonight,” Logan said calmly, holding the idiot with one hand. “If you don’t mind, I’m going to take out the trash. We’ll return shortly.”

As they left the private room, the remaining bridal party returned to their seats and started talking again like nothing had happened. A waitress and busboy cleaned up the mess and re-set the table. The tension in the room deflated and the air returned to Veronica’s lungs.

It took her a couple seconds to register what had just happened.

Despite some idiot’s cheap shot, Logan’s friends held it together. They didn’t shift. They didn’t fight back. If someone kicked Jake in the crotch, and Leah were here to see it, she would’ve come unglued and rightly so. Likewise, if someone hurt Leah, Veronica would’ve jumped down his throat. Yet these
wolves
exhibited insane levels of self-control.

What the hell was going on?

The packmates had a greater rein on their self-control than she’d given them credit for.

She couldn’t help but feel that the monsters in the room weren’t the ones who could shift into howling canines. The monsters were the men who should’ve known better. The real men were the ones who did.

Damn it, she’d been prejudiced against every werewolf she’d ever met simply because one had attacked her sister. She’d dated men who were pigs, hung out with guys in high school and college who acted like imbeciles. She’d given them the benefit of the doubt more than Logan, Jake, and the packmates in the bridal party. The unfairness of her paradigm had never struck her before. Not this hard. Veronica felt hollowed. Gouged.

This could’ve been a real mess. They could’ve been kicked out of the restaurant, or worse, out of the entire building. This could’ve gone more sour than she dared imagine. But it hadn’t. And she didn’t have to run through worst-case scenarios in her head.

All because of Logan and the members of his pack who were here tonight.

God, she owed them all an apology.

Chapter Eighteen

After Logan escorted the jackasses out of the building, and everyone finished dinner, the remaining members of the bridal party moved upstairs to the rehearsal. In that short amount of time something changed. Veronica looked at him differently. She thanked him, and genuinely thanked his packmates.

Logan could’ve keeled over, then and there. The elevators whisked them to the top floor of the tower. Having a wedding rehearsal when the bride and groom couldn’t attend sounded bonkers, but he went along anyway.

Further proof that when it came down to it, weddings were one big show that meant little.

The spacious top floor was split into two massive sections. To the left, through a set of gold-trimmed glass doors, row upon row of white folding chairs had been set up facing a window wall that overlooked the sparkling blue waters of the Puget Sound. Through a second set of doors on their right was a bar, a black-glossed dance floor, and roughly twenty tables covered with heavy black cloths.

If classy was the mood Leah and Jake had wanted, that was precisely what Veronica had given them. This place had to cost an arm and a leg to rent out. A waste, in Logan’s opinion. The view was nice, and the open bar was convenient, but other than that…totally unnecessary. Did people think a wedding full of glitz and glamour would keep them together when their marriage staled?

Veronica and Logan entered the left half of the building, where the ceremony was being staged. Heather stood against the back wall with an iPad cradled in her arm. She must’ve still been working out last-minute kinks. Veronica left Logan with his packmates and approached Pastor Bennett, who was already in position, standing between two six-foot-tall pedestals that were lacking their flowers. The pastor looked the exact same as he had last weekend at the Sanchez wedding. His pin-striped suit was perfectly pressed and his hands were folded in front of him. His hair was slicked back with shiny goop and his dark eyes were much too friendly.

As Veronica stood in front of him, Logan picked up the soft scent of adoration buried under something musky. It was a strong scent, overpowering, nearly burning Logan’s nose. He’d never smelled something that funky before. Was it coming from her, or him?

“Thank you for being here, Patrick. If I knew Leah wasn’t going to make it, I wouldn’t have had you come. I think this is just going to be practice for the bridal party.”

“That’s no problem,” he said, raising his hands from his sides. “I was pleased when Leah personally asked me to marry her. You two used to be like sisters to me.”

“I’m sorry you couldn’t make it to the dinner tonight. It would’ve been nice to catch up.”

“I had some last-minute business to take care of, but I appreciate the invite.” He smiled, his expression wholesome and sincere, conflicting with his distasteful mobster suit. “We’ll have to catch up over drinks at the reception tomorrow night.”

Veronica nodded. “I’d like that.”

Logan fought the urge to punch holes in Pastor Patrick’s holy face.

“Everyone, if I could have your attention.” The wedding planner mask slid back onto Veronica’s face as everyone’s attention focused on her. “Bridesmaids and groomsmen file out near the elevators. The best man and I will enter last, and we’ll line up by height, so the tallest of us will enter toward the end and the view from the chairs will be a descending arch. Ladies, if the guy you’re walking in with is missing from tonight’s lineup, I trust you’ll put them in line tomorrow.”

Damn, she was good. Natural in her element and a people person. So unlike him.

“Let’s go!” she said, clapping her hands.

Drill Sergeant Vale escorted the group out the doors and lined everyone up in seconds. Veronica stood next to Logan, but they were at least two feet apart. He held his elbow out from his side, waiting for her arm to fill the gap.

“This’ll only last a few seconds,” she said, staring at the back of the heads of the wedding party. Slowly, she threaded her arm through his. “We can get through this.”

Was she talking to herself? To him?

He squeezed her arm, and started the walk down the aisle. The chairs were empty, the flowers were missing, and the decorations were still in boxes. Why, then, did this feel like the real thing? A trickle of sweat rolled down his temple. Had someone cranked up the heat?

Every second dragged in slow motion…

The bridal party split apart and took their places effortlessly. Veronica’s arm started to slip from his, and the urge to keep her there, tucked against him, startled him. Was he walking through quicksand? Why did his feet want to stop in front of her pastor friend?

“Let go,” she whispered, shooting him a curious glare.

He hadn’t even realized that they should’ve parted a few steps before. The pastor raised a quizzical brow, then shook his head and watched Veronica take her place.

This was wrong. She shouldn’t be over there. She should be standing beside him, her hand in his.

“Here’s where the bride and her escort part ways and she joins hands with Jake,” Pastor Bennett said, pretending they were standing in front of him. “They say their vows, and we move on.”

“Wait,” Heather said from the back of the room. She was sitting in the last row, and rose off the seat to get a better view. “I think you should run through the vows, too, just so we get an idea of the length of the service. Not everything, but a gist. It’d be good practice for you, too, to get the kinks out.”

“We can do that.” Pastor Bennett smiled. “Would you like to be Leah for the night?”

She shook her head. “The maid of honor and best man should stand in.”

…

Veronica shot Heather a dirty look. She was an excellent assistant, but her meddling was getting extreme. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. Logan wouldn’t be up for it anyway. He hates weddings. It’d freak him out.”

But he’d already stepped into place.

She frowned. “What are you doing?”

He held out his hand. And damn it, he looked sincere with his puppy dog eyes.

“This isn’t necessary for—” Patrick began, but the sound in Veronica’s ears went fuzzy as her feet moved forward of their own accord.

She took Logan’s hand, feeling that spark that was always there when she touched him.

“Dearly beloved, we’re here to join Leah and Jake in holy matrimony, and this is the part when I go into detail about what marriage means…” Patrick looked between them, not meeting either of their gazes. “There’s a candle they’ll light…”

His voice zoned out and Veronica gazed up into Logan’s eyes. They were softer than she’d ever seen them. He was looking at her almost like…like he wanted to be standing here with her. But that couldn’t be right. He couldn’t see himself settling down with anyone.

“Then we’ll have the vows,” Patrick said. “Leah and Jake wrote their own. Since we don’t know what they are going to say, we’ll skip right over that part.”

Logan opened his mouth to say something, but he didn’t have to speak a single word. He squeezed Veronica’s hand and brushed his thumb over the ridges of her knuckles. His lips twitched and his gray eyes softened. She remembered Logan in wolf form, and the way those same eyes had pierced her then.

He really was the same, wasn’t he?

Whether he was covered in fur or skin, Logan was Logan. Why was that so far-fetched to believe? Her sister had shifted countless times since she first transitioned—though Veronica had never seen it happen firsthand—and Leah was still Leah. She had the same goofy laugh, the same demanding nature. Leah simply had strange shifting abilities added on to those things.

She was falling for Logan before, that much was clear…but falling for a werewolf?

What would that even
mean
? Would she have to turn into one like her sister so that she could live with him as long as he lived? She shuddered at the thought of herself in wolf form. The amount of hair that would clog the drain when she showered would be unmanageable! She shed a ton as it was. Add a couple pounds of dog hair and she’d have to invest in Drano. And what did wolves eat? Where did they go during the full moon?

Logan squeezed her hand again and smiled, as if he could see the wheels in her brain turning.

Veronica smiled back and suppressed a whimper when something in her chest cracked like an ice sheet. Warmth spread beneath her skin, and her lungs filled with deep, glorious breaths of air.

Heavens above, she could breathe again.

Chapter Nineteen

Veronica drove back to Hotel Monaco after the rehearsal, watching the headlights of Logan’s truck follow her from the Starlight Tower. Turn after turn, he was there, ever present. She couldn’t get him out of her head, and after seeing the way he gazed at her at the rehearsal, she realized he might be stuck in her heart, too. She turned into the self-parking garage, craning her neck around to see where he parked.

Directly across from the hotel.

She pulled into the first spot on her left and got out of the car. Instead of skirting to her room as quickly as possible so she wouldn’t be seen, she strolled across the street. Before she reached the driver’s door, Logan rolled down the window.

“What are you doing?” he said. “It’s cold. Come on, I’ll take you inside.”

She couldn’t go into the hotel where she’d have to tell him good-night and watch him walk away from her. Again. It didn’t feel right.

“Can I get in for a minute?”

There were things they needed to talk about.

His lips parted as if he was going to argue. She stormed around the hood of the truck as he killed the engine and pushed open the passenger door. She hopped in and stared straight forward, searching for the right words.

“Did you see something?” he asked, rolling up the window before turning to her.

“What?”

“On the drive over? Did you see something that spooked you?”

“No.” She shook her head and brushed her hands together for warmth. “I didn’t see anything. Only you.”

She never failed to spot Logan. Her eyes were drawn to him when he was near.

“I’m confused here, Veronica,” he said, turning the key to allow heat to flow from the vents. “You’re not acting like yourself. Everything all right?”

“Yes.” Her thoughts rattled. “No.”

“Want to shed some light?”

She glanced over at him. His eyebrows were raised in confusion. His eyes harbored a tired shadow. She yearned to slide across the seat and cuddle up to him, to brush her hand over his cheek and fall asleep in his arms. It didn’t matter if they were in the comfiest bed in Hotel Monaco or the lumpy bed of his truck.

She wanted to be by his side.

“Where do we stand?” she pushed out in a single breath.

“I was hoping we could be close.” He cleared his throat as a light sheet of rain started to drizzle on the windshield. “Friends, if you could get over your hatred of my kind.”

Veronica went cold despite the heat flowing into the cab. “Friends. Yeah. That would be great.”

Super-duper.
He’s spoken the relationship-killing word. If she told him what she was feeling, maybe it didn’t have to be that way. If he knew that her hatred had waned, and that she was thinking about giving him a chance—was she crazy to be doing this?—it could change things.

Reality smacked her upside the head. Spewing her feelings wouldn’t change anything.

Logan didn’t want to get married. He didn’t want anything long-term.

“You told me what you wanted from the beginning,” she said, almost to herself. “You were clear about your intention.”

“Veronica, I—”

Logan leaned over, reaching out for her knee, but she flinched. One touch and she’d probably tell him everything. When they stood in front of Patrick, she’d glimpsed a future she never knew she wanted. She had the fleeting thought that they could be something great.

She’d be a fool to express her feelings to someone who didn’t share them. Not to the same extent, anyway.

Logan leaned back against the door, as far away as he could get. It was bizarre, but the bench seat seemed to lengthen, stretching them farther apart.

“When you left the bakery the other night, you seemed pretty damn upset,” he said. “You were eager to dish up dirt on me at the tasting, and edgy at the rehearsal. Now all of a sudden, you hop into my truck and ask where we stand? Why don’t you tell me, since I can’t crawl into that head of yours?”

She couldn’t meet his eyes, so she studied tiny raindrops sprinkling over the glass. “I wonder how far we would’ve gone if I never found out you were a wolf.”

“Not far. No one can live a lie.”

Damn it, he was right.

A few weeks ago, there was no way she would’ve contemplated a relationship with a werewolf. Logan felt the same about being trapped in a marriage. Even if she’d been caught up in the moment and witnessed a hint of promise sparking in his eyes at the altar, she couldn’t change what he wanted out of life. Ending things now, though surprisingly painful, would save her a massive heartbreak later when things got too serious for him.

“I think I was right to keep you at a distance,” she said.

He half laughed. “If that’s the way you feel, what are you doing in my truck?”

God
, she didn’t know. She’d wanted to talk, to figure things out, to salvage…
something.

But she’d insulted him away from the moment she found out who he was. When she discovered his wolf genes, she’d nearly closed him out completely.

He wanted something light. Who could blame him after she’d treated him so horribly?

She’d been completely wrong about him. He wasn’t easy to anger; he was passionate. He was also hardworking, loyal, kindhearted, witty, and protective in the sexiest way. He was
perfect.

And she’d pushed him too far.

Friends.

“See you at the wedding,” she said, and slid out of the truck. She ran across the street, her throat burning with tears.

She’d just driven away the only man she never knew she always wanted.