Elena rose on her toes and kissed him once more—soft and sweet and full of promise. “That’s a yes,” she whispered against his lips. “To everything. To all of it. To you.”
Reed Star had spent fourteen years as a Navy SEAL, facing down enemies and impossible odds without flinching. He’d built a corporate empire from nothing, weathered grief that had nearly destroyed him, and walked into a firefight to save the woman he loved.
But nothing—nothing—had ever made him feel as invincible as the sight of Elena Vasquez standing in his kitchen with his ring on her finger and forever in her eyes.
“Come on,” he said, taking her hand and leading her toward the stairs. “Let’s go tell my brothers before James finds out some other way and never lets me hear the end of it.”
Elena laughed, the sound echoing through the house that would soon be theirs together.
And Reed Star, the man who had once believed that love was a weakness he couldn’t afford, followed her into the morning light, ready to begin the rest of their lives together.
CHAPTER 21
Six Weeks Later
Reed Star had faced down enemy combatants in six different countries, survived ambushes that should have killed him twice over, and built a corporate empire from nothing but determination and the ghosts of his grief.
None of that had prepared him for this moment.
He stood at the altar of the small chapel overlooking Lake Washington, his hands clasped in front of him, watching the double doors at the end of the aisle. The late September sun streamed through stained glass windows, casting diamonds of colored light across the wooden pews where his family and closest friends had gathered.
Walker stood beside him as his best man, steady and calm as always. But when Reed glanced at his oldest brother, he caught something in Walker's expression—a softness, maybe, or recognition. Walker had found his own second chance with Sabrina. He understood what this moment meant.
"You doing okay?" Walker murmured, his voice low enough that only Reed could hear.
"Is she going to actually say 'I do.'"
Walker chuckled softly. "She's going to say it. That woman crossed oceans to get back to you. She's not changing her mind now."
Reed knew his brother was right. But the irrational part of his brain—the part that had spent five years believing Elena was dead—couldn't quite silence the whisper of fear that something would go wrong. That she would vanish again before he could make her his forever.
In the front pew, James fidgeted with his tie, looking profoundly uncomfortable in formal attire. His shoulder had healed well in the weeks since Vancouver, though Reed had noticed his youngest brother unconsciously favoring it when he thought no one was watching. The scar would always be there—a permanent reminder of what they'd survived together.
But it wasn't the tie or the shoulder that was making James restless. Reed had caught him checking his phone three times since they'd arrived at the chapel, his jaw tightening each time he read whatever message had appeared on the screen.
"Problem?" Reed had asked him earlier, while they were getting ready in the chapel's small dressing room.
James had shoved the phone back in his pocket with more force than necessary. "Nothing. Old business."
But the look in his brother's eyes had told a different story. Whatever—or whoever—was on the other end of those messages was anything but old business. Reed had recognized that particular brand of tension. He'd worn it himself, once, before Elena had walked back into his life.
Beside James, Terrel sat perfectly still, his dark eyes fixed on something only he could see. Of all the Star brothers, Terrel had always been the hardest to read—quiet where James was loud, methodical where Walker was intuitive. The tech genius of the family, the one who could hack into any system and solve any puzzle.
Except, it seemed, the puzzle of his own heart.
Reed had noticed the way Terrel's gaze kept drifting toward a woman seated three rows back—a striking redhead in an emerald green dress who Reed didn't recognize. Elena had mentioned inviting a few colleagues from her old network, people who had helped her during her years in hiding. Maybe the redhead was one of them.
What Reed found interesting was how the woman seemed equally determined to look anywhere except at Terrel. Every time his brother's eyes found her, she turned away—studying the stained glass, examining her program, adjusting the strap of her purse. The dance was elaborate and obvious, at least to someone who knew what to look for.
There was history there. The kind of history that left marks on a man's soul.
Reed filed the observation away for later. Today was about him and Elena. But he made a mental note to ask his brothers about it eventually. Both of them, it seemed, were carrying secrets they hadn't shared with the family.
The string quartet began to play, and Reed's heart stopped.
The doors at the end of the aisle swung open, and there she was.
Elena.
