We both freeze.
She’s standing behind us with a raised eyebrow, arms crossed, and pure maid-of-honor authority radiating from her.
“You can’t see the bride before the wedding!” she scolds, pushing him back with one hand on his chest. “Shoo. Go!”
Nate grins, backing away slowly like a guilty schoolboy. “Worth it.”
Alice slams the door and turns to me. “Hair and makeup will be here in five. Go get dressed.”
Then she’s gone, leaving me standing there breathless, smiling like an idiot.
I walk back to the bed, still warm from where I left the letter, and glance at the delicate underwear laid out in lace and satin. My fingers trail over it absently as I touch my lips where he kissed me.
I sit down, my hands trembling slightly. The butterflies that had been fluttering in my stomach before are now in full riot. I try to inhale deeply, but it catches halfway in my chest.
This is happening.
He’s mine.
And in just a few hours—I’ll be his, completely.
Chapter 16
Nate
“You—you shouldn’t be here!” Alice’s voice is sharp as heels on tile, echoing in the hallway behind me.
I don’t stop walking, jaw clenched, heart still thundering from the brief moment I stole with Isabel. “I know, Alice,” I say, rubbing my face in pure frustration. “I needed to tell her something important. Just give me a damn minute, please. Then you’ll see me in church—scout’s honor.”
She plants herself in front of me like a human barricade, arms outstretched. “Don’t even think about it. Whatever it is, it can wait.”
“No, it can’t!” The words tear from me with more force than I intended. “Alice, I have to tell her I love her.”
Her expression softens, the fight leaving her as a small smile curves her lips. “Nathan, she already knows. Go now. You’ll have all your life to tell her.”
But she doesn’t know.
Not really.
Because I’m a coward who never said the words out loud. I showed her with my actions—staying, protecting, loving her quietly—but never once did I give her the words she deserves.
The shame settles in my gut like lead. What if I waited too long? What if she doesn’t say it back?
My phone vibrates in my jacket. I almost ignore it, but the number flashing on the screen stops me cold.
The base.
My stomach sinks as I answer, already bracing for the blow. “Weister.”
“Captain Weister,” the voice says on the other end. “I’m sorry to ruin your day, but the order has arrived. At dawn, you and your team ship out.”
A beat of silence. The kind that carries weight like thunder.
“I see,” I say, barely managing to keep my voice level. The second I hang up, rage explodes inside me. I want to punch something. Anything.
“Fuck!” I slam my fist into the wall next to me, the drywall denting beneath my knuckles.
“Nathan, watch your mouth!” Alice snaps, jerking me back to reality with a tone that only a nanny can manage.
