Even Benny’s best friend, Preston, and his parents are here.
Bennett Preston—yes, we changed his last name—and Preston Sanders are going to start school together come fall. Leo and I did a tour of the elementary school, and even though it’s the same one he attended, he wanted me to be sure. I was sure the moment I walked in and could still smell the fresh grass from outside through all the open windows. Benny needs to run, to play, and not be restricted to small rooms and concrete playgrounds. He needs to touch things, to lift, and push and pull things. We learned all this through Benny’s therapist, who he calls his girlfriend, Amanda. Amanda is the same therapist who Logan sees, and she’s been amazing. She understands my fears, and she works with Leo and me through all of them.
As for my therapy, once a month Dad sends his plane during Leo’s days off and we all go to New York for a few days. I see my therapists there, and the come back home. If I need them, they’re just a phone call or text message away. Eventually, I might look into some counseling closer to me, but for now, it works. Besides, it gives us a reason to visit Dad and Tammy.
“Daddy!” Benny laughs out. “Look at Princess!”
I watch Leo squat down to the kids’ level. “What am I looking at?”
Benny reaches behind Katie’s ear and pulls out a penny. “Magic,” he says.
Logan high-fives him. “You’re a champ, Benny. You got that so quick.” Logan and I are... better. There’s still a small level of discomfort when I’m around him and Lucas, but it’s getting easier to manage it. Logan is great with Benny, and Lucas is always around the house, helping Leo with odd jobs—his way of showing he loves us and that he’s sorry without ever saying the words.
Benny gives Logan a megawatt smile. “Mama says I’m smart.”
“Yeah?” he says. “You must get that from her, because your dad—”
“Hey!” Benny growls. “My daddy’s the bestest, biggest, and strongest man in my world!”
Leo crosses his arms, jerks his head at his little brother. “See? I’ve been telling you since we were kids, man. I’m the best.”
Dad and Tammy’s wedding at the farm is both beautiful and completely over the top. The guest list is in the mid-hundreds, thanks to Dad, but the ceremony itself is played down. There are flowers everywhere, thanks to Big H, Holden’s dad. The money my dad dropped on the flowers alone was enough to keep Big H’s nursery going for the next few years, which is a relief to Holden because, according to him, they were one season away from shutting down.
Holden quit his job at Dad’s company to come home and run the family business. He says that the only thing he misses from Boston and New York is the endless p—synonym: cat—word.
The wedding was held in the field to accommodate all the guests. There are decorated tables upon tables beneath white tents. The economy in this town and the surroundings will be booming. There are more people in this field alone than the people who reside here.
As soon as the meals start arriving at the tables, Leo catches my gaze, blue eyes on brown, and he smirks that smirk that I love, love, love.
“Let’s go,” he mouths, and I nod, making an excuse to use the restroom. He grabs Benny, dressed in his little ring-bearer suit, and catches up with me just before we hit the driveway. I’m already laughing, giddy with excitement as he takes my hand and leads me, in a rush, around the house and to Papa’s garden where Gloria—the priest from back home—is waiting for us as requested. Beside her is Miss Sandra, who still works at the diner where she and Leo met. For years now, they’ve kept in touch, mainly through email. He says that during that first summer he was here—the summer when he was filled with so much hate and darkness, Miss Sandra was often the one to shine a little light into his soul. She was the first to see how much I meant to him. So for him, it made sense that she be our witness.
“Are you ready?” Gloria asks.
“I’m ready,” Benny shouts, standing between us.
Leo sucks in a breath, his eyes never leaving mine. “I’ve been ready for ten years.”
Within minutes, we’re saying I do.
And just like that:
I am Mia Mackenzie Preston.
I am the granddaughter of an immigrant dairy farmer, who grew up in pigtails, wearing overalls and rubber boots. My favorite place on earth is exactly 130 feet in the air.
I am mother.
And now, I am a wife.
“Congratulations!” Miss Sandra squeals.
And then Leo kisses me, and it’s a kiss that holds so many promises, so many hopes and dreams for a future. Together. And sure, this may not be the wedding most girls dream of, but this is the one I wanted.
Besides, we fell in love in secret.
And held on to that love in private.
It only seems fitting to seal that love in the same way.
Want MORE?
Read the previous books in the series:
Lucas
Logan
More Than Series
Want more of Cameron and Lucy’s story? You can find out all about them in the More Than Series, particular More Than Forever (can be read as a standalone).
More Than This
More Than Her
More Than Him
More Than Forever
More Than Enough
Also by Jay McLean
More Than Series
More Than This
More Than Her
More Than Him
More Than Forever
More Than Enough
Preston Brothers Novel
Lucas
Logan
Leo
The Road Series
Where the Road Takes Me
Kick Push
Coast
Combative Trilogy
Combative
Redemptive
Destructive
Darkness Matters
Darkness Matters
The Heartache Duet
Heartache and Hope
First and Forever
About the Author
Jay McLean is an international best-selling author and full-time reader, writer of New Adult Romance, and skilled procrastinator. When she's not doing any of those things, she can be found running after her two little boys, playing house and binge watching Netflix.
She writes what she loves to read, which are books that can make her laugh, make her hurt and make her feel.
Jay lives in the suburbs of Melbourne, Australia, in a forever half-done home where music is loud and laughter is louder.
For publishing rights (Foreign & Domestic) Film, or television, please contact her agent Erica Spellman-Silverman, at Trident Media Group.