Say You'll Marry Me

And now it didn’t matter. She lifted her left hand with Logan’s ring, eyeing the diamonds and emeralds. If only—

No! Don’t go there.

She dropped her hand to her side and called out, “Ready, Grandma?”

“Yes, dear.” Clapping came from the living room, along with a couple grunts from Sweet Pea. “Hurry up. We can’t wait to see it!”

The excitement in her voice was a welcome relief. Grandpa had had a rough morning with her after the pet store, so they’d come home instead of staying in town for lunch. Even after he left to pick up a tractor part in Green Bay, it wasn’t until Joy suggested modeling her wedding dress that her grandma had calmed down. Anything wedding related seemed to do the trick these days, and with canning season no longer an option to keep her occupied, Joy would use whatever worked.

When she stepped out into the living room, Gram swiveled to watch her round the couch. Her hands rose to cover an appreciative gasp. “Oh, my, aren’t you a vision. You even did your hair.”

She’d run a brush through the humidity induced curls, then pulled them up into a hasty, messy twist with a few strands framing her face. The style fit the dress, along with the crystal and pearl jewelry set from standing up in Tara’s wedding earlier in the summer.

“All you need is a veil.”

“I wasn’t sure I was going to wear one.”

“Oh, no, you must have a veil.” She jumped to her feet, and Sweet Pea grunted again while lifting her head from her new bed. “Let me go see if I can find mine in the back of my closet.”

Joy had seen her grandma’s closet—the search could take a while. “You don’t need to do that, Gram.”

“I want to. You’ll see exactly what I mean when I put it on you.”

“You want me to help?”

“No, you’ll get your dress dirty.”

Her grandma hurried toward the bedrooms in the back, and Sweet Pea lurched to her feet to lumber after her.

Smiling, Joy watched the odd pair’s retreat before padding barefoot into the kitchen for a glass of water. With each exaggerated sway of her hips, she enjoyed the airy, silky swish of the sweetheart train against her bare legs.

At the sink, she lifted the faucet handle to fill a glass while her glance through the window spotted Logan’s truck out on the road, headed toward his place on his way back from Redemption. Her stomach dipped at the thought of seeing him again, a combination of excitement and nerves after last night’s kiss and her secret mission this morning. Good thing he hadn’t gone into town sooner to spot her car parked at the bank.

She shut off the water and took a sip. Of course, she knew she had to tell him what she’d done, but definitely not while wearing this dress.

“Wouldn’t that just freak him out,” she murmured.

Then her stomach flipped as she watched his truck slow to make the turn into the driveway.

It flipped again when he drove right past the barn.

Full-on nosedived as he parked at the house.

“Shit.”

Apparently she didn’t have as much time as she had hoped to figure out what to say. One glimpse of his dark expression when he slammed his truck door had her setting her glass down and hurrying outside to meet him on the porch. This would not be something for Gram to hear.

She pulled the short train of her dress clear and eased the screen closed behind her as Logan stomped up the steps. Just in case Grandma passed through the kitchen, she sidled away from the door.

Logan caught sight of her and paused mid-stride. Surprise flashed in his eyes, then anger returned while his gaze swept down the length of the white wedding dress and back up to lock on her face.

“You’ve got some nerve,” he practically growled on his way up the last two steps.

“Let me explain,” she said, careful to keep her voice low. Without her shoes on, he had a good six inches on her, and she forced her chin up to meet his angry gaze.

“What’s to explain? I told you I didn’t want your money, and you still snuck behind my back to the bank.”

“Yes, I did,” she retorted, defenses kicking in. “Because you’re helping me, so why can’t I return the favor?”