she heard the sound of heavy, decisive footsteps heading up the metal stairs to the jet’s cabin.
Josephine looked at the doorway curiously; both Ian and Jordan stood up.
“It’s real nice of you to finally show up, Logan!” Jordan called out to the best man teasingly.
Logan Wolf, still in his uniform, stepped into the jet’s cabin.
“Hey...” Logan smiled charmingly at Jordan. “Don’t blame me, blame the San Diego PD.”
Jordan hugged Logan in greeting before he shook hands with Ian.
“I’m glad you could make it, man,” Ian said.
“I appreciate the invitation,” Logan replied. He could feel Josephine’s eyes on him, but he’d deliberately waited to look her way.
“Logan, I’d like you to meet my sister, Josephine.”
Josephine stood up and extended her hand.
“Oh...” Her eyes locked onto Logan’s. “Trust me...we’ve already met.”
“Wait, what?” Jordan asked, her expression a mixture of surprise and intrigue.
“Officer...Wolf, is it?” Josephine slipped her fingers free of his.
Logan rested the duffel bag on the seat next to him and smiled warmly at her. “Lieutenant, actually, but I think it’s all right for you to call me Logan now, Josephine.”
“Hell-o?” Her sister was impatient for details.
“As it turns out...” Josephine paused, looked skyward with a little shake of her head, before she continued. “Logan is the reason why I was late.”
Logan told Jordan and Ian, “I pulled her over for speeding.”
And here it comes, Josephine thought.
Jordan’s eyes lit up, as did her face. First, she smiled broadly like a Cheshire cat, and then she tipped her head back to laugh out loud.
“You got a ticket?” Jordan gleefully exclaimed. “Holy crap! Miss ‘I haven’t gotten a ticket in ten years’ actually got a ticket?”
Logan said, “She shared that fact with me during the stop.”
“Of course she did,” her sister chirped. “Trying to worm her way out of the ticket, no doubt.”
“Don’t you think that you’re just a little too happy about this, Jordy? I mean, really.” Josephine had her arms crossed over her chest, not enjoying this conversation nearly as much as Jordan.
Ian had taken his seat and Jordan flopped down next to him. “Oh, please, you know exactly why I’m enjoying this so much!” To Logan, her sister said, “You have to understand, Jo has been harassing me about my driving for years!”
“In my defense,” Josephine explained to Logan, “Jordy has had her license revoked twice.”
“Irrelevant!” her sister exclaimed. “Because now you can’t wear your perfect driving record like a badge of honor when you’re lecturing me about my driving.”
“You are a menace to drivers everywhere.” Josephine had relaxed her arms as she relaxed into the conversation. “You ride that Ducati of yours like you’re a bat out of hell.”
“I’m a great driver.” Jordan put her hand on Ian’s leg to get his attention. “You trust me when I drive, don’t you?”
“Absolutely not,” Ian replied with a deadpan expression. “I am grateful every day that I can afford a driver.”
“That’s a horrible thing to say, GQ!” Jordan punched her fiancé lightly on the arm. “Now do you see what I have to put up with, Logan?”
“I do see,” Logan nodded thoughtfully, playing along.
“That is why you are officially my hero for the day.” Jordan pointed at Logan.
“But let’s be clear,” Josephine said. “He’s not a hero for putting on a uniform every day and risking his life. You’re saying he’s a hero for giving me a ticket so I can’t harass you about your terrible driving anymore. Right?”
“What’s your point?” Jordan asked with a shrug.
Josephine looked at Logan. “Do you see what I have to put up with?”
“You’re in a no-win situation, buddy,” Ian warned his longtime friend.
“I see that, too,” Logan laughed good-naturedly, then lifted the duffel bag off the seat. “Hey, before we take off, I’d like to change out of this monkey suit into some street clothes.”
“Straight back to the bedroom.” Ian pointed in the direction of the back of the jet. “You can change in there.”
“If you’ll excuse me, then. I came here straight from work and I’d really like to feel like I’ve started my vacation.” Logan’s arm brushed Josephine’s when he walked past her to get to the back of the jet.
It wasn’t long before Logan returned carrying the duffel bag in one hand and a garment bag in his other.
“Is there some place I can hang up my uniform?” he asked.
“Closet’s right there.” Jordan pointed. “You can put your bag in there, too, if you want. While you were in the back, the pilot said that we’re about ready to taxi out to the runway, so grab a seat and make yourself comfortable.”
Logan did just that. After he hung up his uniform and stowed his bag, he took the seat across from Josephine’s recliner. Logan Wolf had been noticeably handsome in his uniform, and he was just as attractive in his crisp jeans, tucked-in short-sleeved green polo and San Diego Padres baseball cap. She was in a long-term relationship, yes, but she still had eyes and could see if a man was good-looking or not. Logan was a good-looking man. But then again, so was her Brice.
Thinking of Brice, Josephine checked her phone to see if he had called her. When she left for the airport, things were still messy between them. Normally, he would have called her by now; he would have tried to smooth things over before her flight. But this time, he hadn’t. What did that mean?
Not wanting to spend the beginning of her sister’s wedding trip dwelling on her problems with Brice, Josephine turned off her phone and prompted Jordan to tell her all about the latest wedding plans. Ever since she was a young girl, she had loved all things wedding, and hearing about all of the latest details of her twin’s upcoming nuptials would be the exact distraction she needed.
While Jordan excitedly shared the latest details of her wedding with her, the pilot taxied the jet out to the runway and they took off for Helena, Montana, soon after. Jordan, who had always been a nervous flier, had stopped talking and held on tightly to Ian’s arm while the jet quickly ascended to the level of the clouds. Once the jet leveled off, Jordan opened her eyes again.
“You’re much better than you used to be, that’s for sure,” Josephine complimented her sister.
Jordan hugged her fiancé’s arm more tightly and smiled at him. “Being with Ian has really helped me.”
“Not as much as being with you has helped me.” Ian brought her hand up to his lips and kissed it.
Josephine was so happy for her sister. But she felt a twinge of jealousy whenever she saw Jordan with Ian. He loved her so much; it was plain to see in the way he spoke to her, the way he spoke about her and in the way he touched her. She knew that Brice loved her, but he wasn’t, by nature, a demonstrative person. And even though she had accepted that part of Brice’s personality, she couldn’t stop herself from craving what her sister had