I was going to have to work extra hard to keep Noah from retreating into the lost boy he’d been at the beginning of the voyage. We’d made so much progress, but it was during the high adventure of vacation. I think he could sense that the fun was speeding to an end, and he was going back to the real world.
A staffer peeked in to let us know they were ready for us, which meant I needed to step into my role as temporary court jester. I made up silly songs as we headed for the press area on the sunny dock and managed to coax a couple of smiles out of Noah.
I gulped when I saw how many reporters were waiting, and Noah slowed down.
“All good,” I sing-songed to him. “Just a couple of silly pictures, then we’re done!”
I think we both knew it was a lie.
We took our position in front of the Ashford-branded step-and-repeat as Logan stepped up to the podium.
“Welcome everyone,” he boomed into the mic. “What a voyage that was!”
The crowd cheered, and he launched into the rest of the opening remarks. I kept my eyes on Noah. Thankfully, he relaxed once he figured out that I’d been telling the truth, and all we had to do was smile.
Until it came time for Q&A.
The first few questions were for Logan, but then one of the reporters decided to shake things up and ask me directly about our surprise wedding. Logan looked back at me like it was no big deal and beckoned us up to the microphone.
I gulped, squeezed Noah’s little hand, then slowly walked toward Logan.
Shit-shit-shit! I’d thought I was ready, but this felt like I was about to take a test I hadn’t studied for! Logan was used to delivering remarks, but me? I wondered if my flop sweat was going to puddle at my feet. I took my place beside Logan at the podium, and he rubbed my back briefly.
Just that little touch was enough to calm me down a few notches.
“Hi,Mrs. Ashford.” The reporter hit my new name with a smile. “Of all of the places you could’ve gotten married, why Nésion? Is there some sort of significance to the location for the two of you?”
The implication was loud and clear: Why the hell would two sane adults in what they claimed to be a committed, loving relationship choose to have a quickie wedding at party central during the middle of a very important business venture?
I felt like I was still out on the water. My vision turned blurry and my legs went rubbery. I decided to cling to the story Logan had hinted at outside the theater.
“We’ve been dreaming about our wedding day for a long time,” I began.
“Louder!” one of the reporters shouted at me.
Noah took a half step behind me.
I leaned closer to the mic. “Our wedding day was a big topic of conversation, for quite a while. The problem was we had too many options.”
Someone laughed. With his resources, Logan could’ve gotten married on the moon if that’s what he wanted.
“Neither one of us could make up our mind about where we should celebrate it. And that night on Nésion…” I glanced over at Logan, and he gave me a tiny wink to let me know that I was doing fine. “That night, I think we just decided that making it happen was more important thanhowit happened.”
“But where’s your engagement ring?” Someone yelled out.
The crowd murmured like they sensed a story brewing.
Logan stepped up to the mic. “That’s on me, folks. It’s sort of ridiculous, but I keep upgrading her ring. Every time I’m convinced I’ve found the perfect stone for her, I stumble on an even more beautiful option. She told me that she was going to stop wearing anything until I pledged to stick with what we had.”
“So how many rings is that?” A voice called out.
“Um, four, I think?”
Damn. The man could think fast on his feet. Yeah, it was a sort of ridiculous explanation, but it was one that actually felt pretty on-brand for him.
“Consider this my official promise.” Logan turned to me. “Sweetheart, I vow to stop giving you new engagement rings, even though I love buying diamonds for you.”
“Awww,” the crowd murmured in unison.
