Four Weddings and a Werewolf

Logan could hear nothing but heartbeats as the unmistakable scent of adoration swirled through the room.

“I raise my glass to you both and wish you every happiness in the world.”

Veronica smiled and averted her gaze to the guests. They went wild, clinking their glasses, applauding and “oohing” when Jake planted a kiss on his bride’s mouth.

As the happy couple tore their lips apart, Veronica took the mic. “I don’t have much to say, other than I love you both so much. You’ve shown me what true love looks like, and I can only hope to be as happy in my own relationship as you are in yours. Although it’s crystal clear how much you love each other in this moment”—her gaze set upon Logan—“when you look back on this day twenty years down the road, may you find that today is the day you loved each other the least.”

Those were his words. The ones he’d spoken to her on the dance floor last weekend.

Tearing up, Veronica handed the mic back to Jake and embraced her sister. When they separated, Jake tugged her into his arms.

“You’re my sister now, too,” he said. “I’m honored to be a part of your family.”

Veronica pulled back and smiled, her expression glowing with happiness.

As the room began to flutter with table talk, Logan stole behind the head table, took Veronica by the hand and led her to the elevator. The doors swept open and he pulled her inside.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

“Don’t worry. I’ll bring you right back.” Logan held on to Veronica’s hand. He couldn’t let go. Not now.

“I guess I can leave for a few minutes.” When the elevator doors peeled apart and she set her eyes upon the rooftop, she gasped. “Holy crap, it’s gorgeous up here!”

Guiding her by putting his palm to her back, Logan ushered her onto the roof. “It’s great, right?”

Great wasn’t the word to describe the rooftop. At least not in Logan’s book. It was magical. Lining the edges of the roof, plate glass had been erected to act as a wind buffer. In the center, a hollowed-out half-domed building allowed people to lounge and gaze out over the city. A couch was nestled inside it. Candles covered the floor. Overhead, branching from the structure to the plate glass and back again were strands of tiny white lights. The setup was cut straight from The Bachelor, not that he watched it.

“It’s more than that,” she said, walking beneath the lights. “It’s breathtaking. Starlight Tower must set it up for guests.”

“Yeah.”

It’d only taken six of Starlight Tower’s staff to string the lights and strike up the candles. They did superb work, considering the short notice he’d given them. When he first requested the roof to be set up, he thought it might’ve been for nothing. He simply wanted the chance to talk with Veronica alone, away from the worries of the wedding and the stalker who was still out there. From the cold shoulder she’d given him the past week, Logan wasn’t sure she’d even join him. But after the words she’d spoken at the ceremony, he knew he’d made the right call.

She cared for him.

He wasn’t going to lose her.

Veronica wandered to the edge of the roof, went elbows-down on the flat ledge of glass, and looked out over the city. Logan took off his coat and draped it around her shoulders. She flinched at first, but when a cool gust of wind hauled over the top of the building and nailed them, she nestled deeper into the coat.

“It’s not very often I get to see the city this way,” she said. “I’m used to looking up from down there. Look at all those lights…seeing the whole picture like this…it really is beautiful.”

“It’s all about perspective.” Logan stood beside her, watching a helicopter land on a rooftop a few blocks away. “You did well tonight. I liked your toast.”

“You would.” She laughed nervously. “It came from you.”

Turning, Veronica sauntered to the half dome, then took a seat. Logan waited, his back to the plate glass, unsure whether she would want him sitting beside her. The last thing he wanted was to spook her when she had finally opened up enough to be close to him. She patted the cushion beside her. Logan made himself walk slowly to her side, but his nerves were leaping.

“I think I owe you an apology,” she said, as he plopped onto the plush couch. “You’re not the wolf who attacked my sister. I shouldn’t have taken out my anger on you. That wasn’t fair.”

He leaned back and slid his hips out, making himself more comfortable. “That must’ve taken a lot for you to say.”

“It did.”

“I should’ve told you what I was from the start,” he said.

“Either way, I would’ve had the same reaction.” Veronica stared into the sky, her gaze jumping from one twinkling star to another.

“Your sister and Jake are really happy together,” Logan said, putting his hands in his lap. “The wedding was perfect. Under the pressure you’ve had this week, it was a miracle.”

She glared. “I thought you hated weddings.”

“Not all of them. I don’t have a problem with Jake and Leah getting hitched, not when it’s so clear to see how right they are together. And I thought my Alpha and his mate should’ve bonded before they actually did. When a couple are truly made for each other, you can tell.”

“So you aren’t against marriage in general, just not interested when it comes to you?”

“I think big, elaborate ceremonies are designed to distract the guests from seeing the blemishes in the couple’s relationship.”

“You didn’t answer my question,” she said.

It was time he answered every question in her head, and her heart.

“I’ve never wanted to get married. I’ve always looked at weddings and seen two people who are pretending to be happy. My mother was never happy. Never. Not when she planned one wedding after another. Not when she finally met her Luminary, her fated mate.” Logan shrugged, and his hands started to clam. “I bet she’s still unhappy.”

“Just because your mother got married a handful of times, found her Luminary, and still wasn’t happy doesn’t mean that you’re going to follow in her footsteps. It’s just like the wolf that attacked my sister is one wolf out of the pack. It’s easy for me to think that you’re all the same, but when it comes down to it, there are crazies in every race, every breed.”

“You’re absolutely right.”

Before he’d met Veronica, Logan never wanted anything serious with his previous girlfriends. He’d never wanted someone to greet him when he came home from work or someone to hog his half of the bed. But when he thought of Veronica filling those places, it seemed right. Like he’d miss those things if he didn’t have them. To keep her in his life, he would gladly stick with the bodyguard role for his pack and ditch the hit man status. It was probably time to pass the torch anyway. Thinking of the change in occupation didn’t bother Logan as he thought it would. Actually, it didn’t bother him at all.

Say it. His heart clenched. Don’t let her walk away again.

He squeezed her hand and took the leap he’d been aching to make since he met her. “Veronica, I know how you feel about my kind, but I can’t keep quiet any longer. I don’t know what you’ve done to me the last few weeks, but I’ve felt myself changing. Little by little, you’ve wrapped yourself around me and now I’m not sure what it’d feel like if you let go.”

“That’s sweet,” she said. “Especially coming from a friend.”

She didn’t understand the gravity of what he was saying.

“I never wanted anything long-term because I didn’t think the trouble of a relationship was worth the fleeting glimpses of happiness it brings. I was wrong.” His stomach flipped. It’d been Veronica all along. “I want to be with you, and I want much more than your friendship.”

She shook her head and scooted back on the couch.

“Look at me,” he whispered.

“Keep talking.” Her eyelashes fluttered against her cheek. “Don’t stop.”