Page 15 of Hot Pursuit (Love To The Rescue #1)

LOGAN

The backyard was set up for a BBQ with a little surprise.

I had just finished setting up the balloons, flowers, and banner I had hidden in the garage late last night after Vi fell asleep.

We had been engaged for two months, but with how busy the two of us were, this was the first weekend we had open to invite some of my friends and family over.

Violet had met everyone who was going to be over one on one, but she had no idea this was going to be a surprise engagement party.

My phone pinged, and my lips twitched at Ron’s text.

I hurried to the front door with a smile on my face at the sight of my buddy, one of my closest friends, holding a cake.

“You could have warned me about that bakery,” he started off with, and I chuckled.

“Oh, yeah? What should I have warned you about?” I took the cake from his hands as we both walked towards the kitchen after he shut the door behind him.

“There was nothing but beautiful women working there, man. I would have got my hair cut before going if I had known.” I grunted. I honestly hadn’t noticed. My brother’s girlfriend had raved about the place last time we had dinner with them, so I had gone in and ordered an engagement cake.

“I swear, Lo, every girl who came out of there was prettier than the last.” It almost sounded like a complaint.

“See, you don’t have to try so damn hard on those apps you’re on. Just go get a cinnamon roll,” I teased. Ron grunted as I set the cake on the cake stand. It wasn’t usual that Ron brought up the ladies.

“But the owner… Damn,” he mumbled under his breath in a tone I hadn’t heard from him in a long time. Longer than either one of us would admit.

Once upon a time, Ron had been in a relationship.

An amazing one.

One that had been cut too short thanks to cancer taking her away and leaving him heartbroken and gun shy for the last decade. Not that Ron spoke about Sara anymore. I turned my head over my shoulder to look at my buddy.

“Do I have to call and apologize for something?” I pretended to be clueless about the interest in his voice.

“From me?” He touched the center of his chest. “You know I’m nothing but a gentleman.”

“Yeah, usually,” I grunted, adding a couple of petals around the table from the two roses I’d set aside for it. “What do you think?” I watched him look at the decorated table and back at me.

“I think I would never have seen you get whipped, but damn,” he teased. I rolled my eyes playfully. “Talking seriously, Logan, I’m happy for you. You deserve to be happy. I knew there was something about her that day in the hospital. You were different.”

“When you know, you know.” I shrugged and stared at him for a moment.

It wasn’t the time or place. I wasn’t sure if there ever would be.

Maybe it was true what people said about how people in love wanted to do nothing more than have those who mattered around you as happy as you were. “What about you?”

“What about me?” he laughed, but we both knew it was fake.

“Don’t you deserve to be happy?” I asked as I led us to the backyard. We stepped out, and my attention moved to him as he soaked in the sight. I could see the wistfulness in his eyes. These were all things he and Sara weren’t able to do.

“Damn, Logan, you really went all out. If you ever want to leave the force, you might have a future in party planning,” he joked then turned his attention to me. “Wait, and she has no idea about all of this?” I knew what he was doing, and I wasn’t above calling him out on it.

“None. She’s in our bedroom getting ready. But good try changing the subject.”

“Logan,” he warned. His face turned terse.

“Breathe, brother,” I muttered with a pat to his back. “I want you happy, too, man. That’s all. I just think…” I let the words hang between us. If he told me to drop it, I would.

“What?” I could tell it cost him. He didn’t want to ask but did at the same time.

“I think it’s time for you to move on.”

“Move on,” he repeated roughly.

“Sara—“

“Logan—“

“Sara was great. She was beautiful and kind and warm. It sucks but, man, I hate that what you two had ended so quickly. A love like that? I bet it feels like for it to happen, it would be a lot like lightning striking in the same place twice.”

“You done?” I shrugged.

“She would want you to be happy,” I told him then patted his back. “Now I’m done.” My phone magically pinged right at that moment. “Nate and Chris are here with the food.” I started to walk but turned. “And just so you know, if you ever wanna talk, I’m here.”

“Jesus. Okay, I get it. And I know you’re there. Just like you know I’m here.” He laughed and shook his head. We stepped in and both stopped at Vi standing in front of the cake.

“Shit.” “Crap,” we both said.

“I’ll go help with the food,” Ron said before hugging Vi and walking out, leaving the two of us alone in the kitchen.

“Food?” she repeated, her eyes locked with mine. “What did you do?” I couldn’t take my eyes off her.

She looked beautiful. She always looked beautiful, but dressed in a white sundress with a delicate pink floral print that floated three inches above her knees, her pretty hair down and her lips shiny with gloss I knew first-hand tasted like cupcakes, all I wanted to do was drag her into our bedroom and show her my appreciation by messing it all up.

“Logan? What did you do?” she repeated, snapping me out of my dirty thoughts. I couldn’t do any of that at that moment. Not only were my buddies just outside, but my family would arrive any minute. I stepped forward and pulled her into my arms, resting my hands on the small of her back.

“Surprise.” I grinned, and her pretty lips twitched.

“Surprise?” The tips of her fingers doodled on my chest.

“I love you, Vi. I want us to celebrate everything, especially us getting engaged, surrounded by our friends and family,” I explained.

I knew our situation was different than most. We were new and moving fast, and while I had too many people to count on my side who were jumping at the chance to celebrate and show their joy for us, she didn’t.

The only people she had were the couple of friends she had just made working at the bookstore.

“Baby.” Her eyes softened. “You’re too good to me.” She sighed. “You didn’t have to surprise me with this. I could have helped?—“

“You could have.” I stroked her face. “But I wanted to. I didn’t get to give you a special moment when I proposed and?—“

“What are you talking about?” she laughed. I wiped away a tear that rolled down her face.

“I proposed right here, baby, in the kitchen. I didn’t give you that special moment you can think back to and—“ I didn’t get another word out as the tips of her fingers touched my lips and her glassy gaze locked with mine.

“It was perfect. You asked in one of my favorite places in your, our home. Which makes sense to me since that’s what you feel like to me. You feel like home to me, Logan. The first real home I’ve ever had.”

“Fuck,” I cursed, taking her lips with mine, knowing there was no way I could show her just how much I loved her right in that moment. Not when the front door opened and the guys were talking as they walked in.

“Later, I’m going to show you just how much I love you and how fucking good you look in that dress,” I promised.

I could see it in her eyes just how much she was looking forward to it.

And damn, I was a lucky son of a bitch. I had no idea what I had done to find a princess like Violet in the middle of chaos, but I would be damned if I ever did anything less than trying to make her smile for the rest of our days.