Page 127 of Luck Be Mine
They were missing the sunset, but she couldn’t look away from his eyes. “Mine, Hunt. You are mine and always will be.”
“I have scars, Cait, and I’m not talking about the ones you can see. Some are deep. Ivers made me recognize a few things.”
“List them. Put it on the table, and let’s talk about it.”
“I went to therapy because I want back on ops and because I hurt you. I needed help figuring out how I screwed things up so badly.”
“I’m still here.”
“Thank God. I wanted to protect you the easy way, but never go deep enough to expose myself. Ivers made me face that I wasn’t protecting you, I was protecting me. Somebody in my past convinced me I wasn’t worth caring about.”
“You are worth it. To me.” She would always push back on his parents’ falsehoods. “I keep going back to the year I spent without you. I will never do that again. It hurt too much.
“Yes, it did. We’re supposed to be here. Together. I’m meant to be alive, right now. It wasn’t my time.”
She touched his face, nodding at the truth.
“Ivers told me I needed the sessions for me. He’s right. You don’t need to bear the load of our emotional life. I can’t change the SEAL part. I won’t. I’m not ready yet.”
“I’m not asking you to change anything. You gave me the right to make those career choices. I’m giving you the same.”
He raised her hand to his lips. His warm breath caressed her skin, and she cupped his face, wanting his kiss more than anything.
“Will you marry me again? Fresh start. New wedding. Reception with all our friends. Honeymoon. Let me be beside you?”
Tears filled her eyes. “Yes.”
Hunt squeezed her hand. “That’s it? Yes?”
“Absolutely, yes.” She took a breath. “Why not?”
Hunt’s face was a mix of confusion and relief. “You’re angry with me.”
She gently kissed him. “One doesn’t have anything to do with the other. I love you. I want our life together. I want you to feel secure with me, able to say and do what you need to. When you turned away, I felt you didn’t need the safety or love I could give you. I will protect you, no matter what. Safe harbor isn’t only a house.”
“At the time, I couldn’t put what I was feeling into words. Protecting myself seems to interfere with my ability to share, to trust. I can’t say it won’t happen again, but I’ll figure this out, I promise.
“I believe you. But are you sure you want the full wedding? We already did that once.”
“A wedding you only remember half of, my beautiful wife. Let’s make a memory we’ll have on our fiftieth. It’ll be a great day to begin again – on our fifth.”
Cait slapped a hand on his chest and gasped. “Hunt! That’s in three weeks! You want me to pull off a wedding in three weeks?”
He smiled. “We have friends.” He leaned in and kissed her.
Chapter Twenty
◊ Wedding: Take Two ◊
The six-story headquarters of QM International stood out in the industrial corridor, a sleek concrete-and-glass structure crowned by a discreet mirrored-black logo on the top floor. By late afternoon on December fourteenth, the usual flow of personnel and company vehicles had given way to a lantern-lined drive and crisp floral accents, welcoming formally attired wedding guests. When SEAL Team Three arrived in dress whites, traffic stopped.
Inside, the space had undergone a breathtaking transformation. With Elizabeth and Niles working their magic, could it be any different? While the third, fourth, and fifth floors bustled with friends and family getting polished and pressed, the sixth floor was complete. What began as an empty cavern with an annoying echo now shimmered as a winter fairyland with twinkling lights, white lilies, and a “we still do” spirit.
Though the rest of the building stood austere and unassuming, the wedding areas glowed with candles, lights, and greenery. Tall windows framed the horizon, the coming sunset spilling color into the room. Sheer fabric draped from the beams and veiled the steel and candlelit altar in a hush of quiet elegance. White chairs waited in precise rows, while tall glass cylinders traced the path ahead, ready to scatter light across the polished floor.
On the opposite side of the room, round, white-clothed tables circled a gleaming dance floor. A s’more station with marshmallows, chocolate, and graham crackers promised indulgence, and long banquet tables waited for the sumptuous Italian feast Niles had organized.
Outside, the rooftop glimmered in simple greenery and candlelight. String lights twined along the railings, their glow mirrored into the building’s glassy façade and blended with city lights beyond. There was not a detail Elizabeth had left unaddressed.
