Page 92 of The Wedding Wrecker

"I just don't know," the bride-to-be was saying. "What if we're moving too fast?"

Emma caught my eye across the table, her lips curving slightly. We'd been doing this long enough that I knew my cue.

"Let me ask you something," I said. "What scares you more—the idea of marrying him, or the idea of losing him?"

The woman—Jessica—twisted her engagement ring. "Losing him. Definitely losing him."

"Then you're not moving too fast," Emma said gently. "You're just nervous. Which is completely normal three weeks before your wedding."

I watched Emma guide the conversation, drawing out Jessica's real fears. Not about her fiancé, it turned out, but about living up to his family's expectations.

"My parents were farmers," Jessica admitted. "His family... they summer in the Hamptons. Whatever that means."

"It means they're probably incredibly boring," I said, making her laugh. "But you know who isn't boring? Their son. Who chose you exactly because you're not like the country club crowd."

By the time Jessica left, she was smiling. Emma waited until the door closed before crawling into my lap.

"You're getting good at this," she said.

"I had a good teacher." I pressed a kiss to her temple. "Who knew wedding wrecking skills would translate so well to wedding saving?"

"Speaking of saving..." She toyed with my collar. "Maggie called. She wants us to invest in her new coffee shop expansion."

"The one in Denver or the one in Savannah? I’m starting to lose track."

"Denver. Marcus already approved the business plan, but she wants us as silent partners." She pulled back to study my face. "What do you think?"

I thought about how far we'd all come in the past year and a half. Maggie's coffee empire was taking off, thanks to Marcus's guidance. She still sold her flavor bombs, but now guests could buy them in brick-and-mortar stores and combine them with her custom blends of coffee, too. Lily had just opened her fourth Pawsh Pets location. Even Derek, my old business partner, seemed to have really found his calling working as our intensive cases counselor.

"I think," I said carefully, "that we should probably discuss it over dinner. Maybe somewhere special?"

Emma's eyes narrowed. "How special?"

"The kind of special that requires that blue dress I like."

"James Carter." She poked my chest. "Are you planning something?"

"Always." I caught her hand, pressing a kiss to her palm. "Pick you up at seven?"

"We live together."

"Humor me."

She studied my face for a long moment, then smiled. "Fine. But only because you're cute when you're being mysterious."

“Good,” I said, “I’ve got a few things to handle before dinner tonight. I’ll see you at seven?”

Emma narrowed her eyes at me. “You’re leaving the office before me? Something is definitely up.”

I smiled, kissed her on the cheek, and thought about the first time I saw her in that castle in Ireland. She'd been so focused on perfection then, and I'd been so determined to see the worst in every relationship.

Now here we were, building something real together. Something beautifully imperfect.

I drove off from the office with the engagement ring’s box still straining against my pocket. It had been months since I got this thing, but tonight was finally the night. I’d even gone the traditional route and asked her parents for their blessing a few weeks back.

After that, I called my own parents. That conversation had been... complicated. But necessary.

"You're sure about this?" my mother had asked. "After Katie..."

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