Kellan examined his reflection in the mirror in the small room at the front of the church, wanting nothing more than for the next few minutes to fly by so they could get this show on the road. The last three days had been a blur of last-minute preparations, family gatherings, and early holiday celebrations, and even though he and Isabella had spent much of that time together, he’d barely seen her alone since the night she’d arrested McManus and fallen apart in his arms.

After the interview that had resulted in his confession, McManus had cooperated with both his attorney and the D.A.’s office, agreeing to plead guilty to all nine crimes in exchange for no death penalty. Since he’d also agreed to serve consecutive life sentences with no chance of parole, both the D.A. and Isabella had been okay with that. Telling her family that they’d finally found Marisol’s killer had been emotional as hell, of course. But the closure seemed to have calmed Isabella, enough that she’d agreed—albeit grudgingly as hell—to let her team have her back so she could take a little extra well-earned time off.

God, he and Isabella had come so far from the people they’d once been, both so guarded and wary and alone. Now Kellan couldn’t live without her, and she trusted him to have her back, to hold her up when she needed him most.

Talk about full circle.

“Hey!” Kylie poked her head past the door, a giant smile on her face. “Merry Christmas and happy wedding day! Can I come in?”

Kellan laughed. “Do you even have to ask?”

“Eh, good point.” She scooped up the hem of her long, dark red dress, the material swishing softly as she made her way across the room. “I thought you might want a little company since Devon’s dealing with the ushers.”

“Sure.” He turned, letting her straighten his tie. The scent of roses and pine needles wafted up from the lapel of his charcoal-colored suit jacket as Kylie smoothed her hands over the fabric, and she turned suddenly and noticeably pale.

“What’s the matter?” Kellan grabbed her hands, stilling her motions. “And don’t insult me with a ‘nothing’. Your face is the color of those Christmas lilies over there.”

“Ugh, no flowers,” she said, covering her mouth with one hand. “I refuse to throw up right before you get married.”

His gut perked with worry. Kylie might be an adult, and a highly accomplished, fiercely smart one at that, but she was always going to be his younger sister. “Are you sick? I can go see if Quinn and Luke are here yet.” The paramedics were the best around.

“I don’t think Quinn and Luke have anything that’ll fix this,” Kylie said, biting her lip, and what was that look on her face?

“Don’t be silly, Ky. If you have some sort of stomach bug, I’m sure we can—”

“I don’t have a stomach bug, Kellan. I’m pregnant.”

And whoa. “You’re what?”

“I’m ten weeks pregnant,” she said with a soft laugh. “I was going to wait until after you and Isabella got back from your honeymoon to tell you, but between my queasiness and the fact that I needed the seamstress to work some serious voodoo on this dress last night to have a prayer of getting into it, Isabella just figured it out.”

“She is a detective,” Kellan allowed, still blinking past his shock. “So, wow. Congratulations.”

“Thanks. I don’t mean to hijack your wedding, but…well, it was kind of killing us not to tell you.”

“You’re not hijacking anything,” he said, angling the flower on his suit jacket away from her before leaning down to fold her into a hug. “This is great news. You and Devon are going to be parents.” As weird as the thought was, it was also pretty cool. “You know I’m going to be the crazy uncle who loads this kid up with sugar and buys him drum sets and video games that make all the annoying noises, right?”

Kylie laughed, and man, it looked like he wasn’t the only one who had come full circle. “You might want to wait until she’s bigger than a cherry tomato for that. Also, just remember. What goes around comes around. I’ll save those drums for when it’s your turn.”

“You want to let me get married first? I mean, I am already in the suit.”

As if on cue, Devon opened the door. “Hey, you two. It’s time.”

“Go,” Kylie said, tears rimming her big, blue eyes. “Go get your girl, big brother.”

She kissed them both before heading to the hallway leading to the back of the church. Devon tipped his head, his grin unmistakable as he asked, “You ready?”

“Since the day I first laid eyes on her, man.”

A few more minutes had them at the front of the church, standing beside the minister. Even Kellan, who had never much cared for a whole lot of fanciness or fuss, had to admit that the church looked pretty, with pine wreaths at the end of every pew and snowy-white candles sending a glow over the stained glass. He caught sight of his fellow firefighters, a smile moving over his face as he nodded first at Gamble, then at Shae and Slater and Quinn and all the guys on squad. Everyone from the intelligence unit was there, too, and January and Finn were arm in arm, rounding out the bunch. Soft music drifted from overhead as Isabella’s parents walked down the aisle and lit a candle at the front of the church, her mother stopping to plant a quick kiss on Kellan’s cheek before taking her seat. Kylie did the same, giving up an exaggerated wink to go with it that made him and the other churchgoers laugh.

The music changed to the bridal march, and Kellan’s heart stuttered in his chest at the sight of Isabella standing at the back of the church. Her dress was lacy but not overdone, hugging every one of the curves he loved before tapering down to a wider skirt below her knees. The material must have had tiny beads sewn into the lace, because every time she moved—even slightly—the fabric glinted and glimmered, making her look like an angel. Her dark hair was pulled back in an understated knot with wisps breaking loose to frame her face, and oh God, she was so beautiful that it actually hurt.

But then she caught his eye, grinning that wild grin that never failed to steal his breath and make him fall in love with her all over again, and Kellan couldn’t stop his feet from kicking into motion. A muted gasp rippled through the church, the sound quickly turning to a collective sigh when his path became clear.

“I’m pretty sure I’m supposed to come to you,” Isabella said, her eyes full of laughter as he met her halfway down the aisle.

“I know, but I love you, and I couldn’t wait another second to start our forever.”

She smiled, reaching out for his hand and squeezing it tight. “Well, I can’t think of a better way to begin than together. You wanna get married?”

Kellan squeezed her back, knowing that as long as he had Isabella, he’d never need anything else.

“I do.”