Page 26 of The Replacement Fiance

I sigh, pushing the thought away. I can't break that bubble now, not when my family loves him. And for Dad to proudly show off his classic red truck to Logan speaks volumes. He didn't even do that with Elliot who had no interest in old things, his attention only on the newest models. And while Forrest is a whiz when it comes to fixing things around the lodge, my brother drew the line with engines.

"They're getting along great," Emily says as she stands beside me, watching the men in the garage. "So when's the wedding date?"

My heart skips a beat. "I... I haven't decided yet."

"You haven't decided yet? You're a florist, Mariah. I remember with Elliot, you had everything arranged eight months in advance."

"And look what happened, Em," I say through gritted teeth. "Mom and Dad were on the hook for most of those arrangements, from the reception to the flowers to... everything. They lost thousands of dollars in deposits alone and they refuse to take any payment from me."

"I'm sorry, Mariah. That was rude of me to bring him up," she says quietly. "But you know what? This is probably the most you've spoken about it. You just... you just disappeared into your shop and you refused to talk about it with us. At least, to get it out of your system."

"Well, it is out of my system," I say. "I'm engaged, aren't I?"

She nods. "You know, when Mom first told me that you were engaged, I thought you honestly hired someone to pretend to be your fiancé. There was a movie about it years ago. A rom-com."

I feel my face turn pale.Are we that obvious?

"But then, here you are with Logan and you're wearing his ring and you two look... well, you guys look too madly in love for it to be fake."

I stare at her. "We do?"

She laughs. "Yes, silly, you do. In your own inimitable stoic Mariah way, you're in love. And I'm really happy for you. I really am. It's a good F-U to that guy next door and his... his whatever."

"His wife."

"I'm actually glad Elliot and Minerva showed their true colors when they did," Emily says, "because if he didn't, then you wouldn't have found Logan."

I chuckle, hoping my nervousness doesn't show. "Guess not."

"He's crazy about you, you know," she says. "I've seen the way he looks at you."

I feel myself blushing. "How does he look at me?"

Emily smiles. "Like you're Christmas, New Year, and Valentine's Day all rolled into one."

* * *

We're going through pictures on Harper's phone when we hear the sound of an engine warming up and Forrest and my dad's excited yells from the garage. We run toward the window to see Dad sitting behind the wheel while Forrest stands along the side, his hands on his hips. Logan is standing by the hood, checking on something.

"He got the engine running?" Mom asks excitedly as she emerges from her office.

"Looks like it," Emily says. "Guess you and Dad will be taking your little baby for a ride next."

"Oh, not just rides, honey," Mom says, laughing. "You don't want to know all the fun we had in that truck."

My sisters and I bring our hands to our ears as Mom starts counting the things they did in the front seat, laughing the whole time. My mom has never gotten rid of her hippie ways and while it used to embarrass us when we were kids, these days, we laugh it off but not before covering our ears.

"You guys need to have more fun," she says after a few moments, shaking her head in disappointment. "Let me go out there and check on your dad."

A few minutes later, Logan steps through the door looking just like the Logan I used to see at their shop, a bit grimy from working on engines but with a huge grin on his face. "Sorry it took a while."

"You've made Dad so happy," I say above the sound of an engine revving up.

"I'm going to take a quick shower upstairs and we can hang out and do whatever you want," he says as I give him a quick kiss on the cheek before he makes it up the stairs and into the bedroom while Emily and Harper hoot their approval.

"He fixed the truck, honey," Dad announces the moment he steps inside the house with Mom right next to him. "What a Christmas present, eh?"

"Does that mean you approve of your soon-to-be son-in-law?" Mom asks and he nods.

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