Turning around, Weslee faced the full-length mirror and stared at her image. The bride gazing back at her looked as radiant as she felt inside. She smoothed a hand over the lacy white material of the floor-length skirt. She had fallen in love with the dress the moment she saw it. The lacy bodice had a high neckline and cap sleeves with a teardrop-shaped cutout in the back. The dress was seamless and hugged her body perfectly, making her feel like a princess.

“Oh, Weslee,” Julia Steele said with a slight wobble in her voice. “You are the most beautiful bride.” Logan’s mother dabbed the corner of her eyes with a white hankie. “I don’t know how my son found you, but I thank the Lord he did.”

“Amen to that,” Inez said, handing Weslee her wedding bouquet made up of yellow roses, tiny white daisies, and vibrant green leaves. “You truly are beautiful, baby girl. Logan won’t be able to take his eyes off of you.”

Weslee gave them a watery smile, willing herself not to cry. Her makeup was perfect. The dress was perfect. This day was perfect because in approximately five minutes Uncle Jon would walk her down the aisle and give her away to Logan. The only thing that would make this better would be to have her parents here. Still, she felt them close by and knew they were happy for her.

“Thank you, ma’am,” she said, giving Julia’s hand a squeeze. “I feel like the luckiest girl in the world to be marrying him.”

Tears formed in Julia’s eyes that were similar to the color of her son’s. “Remember I want you to call me mom,” she said. “Because I already think of you like the daughter I’ve always wanted.”

“You two need to stop this,” Inez said wiping at the corner of her eye. “You’ll mess up your makeup, Weslee, and delay the wedding.” Inez handed her a clean tissue. “And we all know that groom of yours will not be happy about a delay.”

“No, he won’t,” Weslee said with a laugh.

Her soon-to-be-husband hadn’t been kidding about having a short engagement. He’d wanted to get married the day after he was released from the hospital. His mother insisted on two months. Inez voted for three months. Jon voted on a year, which everyone shot down quite vehemently. Especially Logan, who hadn’t had a problem with bad language since the effects of the IV pain meds had worn off while he was in the hospital. However, he’d had a slight relapse when Jon suggested the year-long wait. It was already torturing enough for them to say goodbye each night. She couldn’t imagine postponing much longer.

In the end, Weslee convinced Logan to give her at least six weeks. It wasn’t easy and required a lot of promises she intended to keep—just as soon as they were husband and wife.

Glancing at the wall clock, Weslee was suddenly hit with a bout of nerves. “Logan is here, right?” she asked, placing a hand over her stomach.

Looking at one another, Inez and Julia both started laughing.

“Honey, that boy couldn’t possibly get cold feet,” Inez said a moment later. “He’s like a walking inferno, especially when y’all are together.”

“He’s here, sweetheart,” Julia said tenderly. “And still grumbling about having to wait until this evening.”

“I know.” Weslee smiled, thinking about the text message she’d received from him at 0500 asking her why they couldn’t be married during a sunrise instead of waiting for the sun to set. “But he knows why this time is important to me.”

Truthfully, the timing was just as important to Logan. They’d chosen to be married on the beach in San Diego where they’d first run into each other, keeping the same timeframe too, which was just before sunset. All of his former SEAL team had arrived hours ago to help the wedding planner set up chairs for the guests as well as the pretty archway she and Logan would stand under while they pledged their lives together.

The wedding party wasn’t large. They’d wanted the ceremony to be simple, but she’d quickly learned just how tight Logan and his SEAL team were. She now felt like she had five older brothers. Annoying brothers sometimes, but oh so loyal. They’d do anything for Logan and for her now.

Jace was Logan’s best man. Creed, Baron, Maddox, and Blaine were all groomsmen. Weslee had asked Kate to be her maid of honor. The two of them had become good friends, continuing to go to the spa together at least twice a week after Weslee had relocated to San Diego. She’d taken up residence in her parent’s oceanfront house when Logan had been released from the hospital. Only now she was in the large master bedroom on the first floor, anxiously waiting for Logan to move in with her.

She and Logan had decided to make their home in San Diego for now. She would commute to North Carolina as needed until the new CEO Jon had hired took over Ground Zero. While she would maintain her shares in the company, she wanted her focus to be more on running the charities her parents had devoted most of their time to. Then, once she and Logan started a family, she could pick and choose how her time was spent.

Moving to California didn’t mean she was ready to sever her ties with North Carolina. She loved the memories she had with her parents and didn’t want them tainted by what had happened on Emerald Isle. After talking it over with Logan, she decided to sell the beach house as well as her parent’s mansion outside of Raleigh. They wanted a fresh start and a chance to create new memories in their own beach house. Eventually, they planned on building a vacation home somewhere on the East Coast. As much as she loved Emerald Isle, she couldn’t imagine going back. The community was small, and she knew returning there would make the Whitakers uncomfortable. They were already suffering enough from the events that nearly took Logan’s life.

Hopefully, staying away would also give Robbie and Josh a chance to mend their relationship as Josh received the mental health care he needed while serving out his sentence in juvenile detention. Since he was still a minor and Logan hadn’t died, the kid had been given a break. Both Weslee and Logan hoped the young man could make something of his life. They also hoped Robbie would get the help he needed too. It turned out that he did have a drinking problem. The whole incident with Josh’s girlfriend had happened when he was drunk, and he claimed he didn’t remember much about it or that Josh had known.

“Miss Inez?” Kate called from the large walk-in closet. “Could you help me get the zipper?”

“I knew she’d need help,” Inez whispered.

“I heard that,” Kate said. “And I’m not opposed to asking for help if I need it.”

Inez rolled her eyes and hurried to help the maid of honor. Kate was fiercely independent and didn’t rely on anyone if she didn’t have to. Raised in foster care, Kate had learned that if she wanted something out of life then she had to do it for herself. She’d had a hard time letting go of the belief that trusting someone and asking for help didn’t mean she was weak.

A knock sounded at the door, sending a rush of adrenaline through Weslee. That had to be Jon because Logan wouldn’t have knocked, just barged right in.

“Hello, Jon,” Julia said when she opened the door. “You look very handsome.”

“Thank you, Julia,” he said as color infused his face. “You look absolutely beautiful.”

Weslee bit back a smile as she watched the couple with tenderness. The two of them had become good friends when Logan was in the hospital, but something had shifted in their relationship the past few weeks. There was definitely a spark between them.

Logan hadn’t liked it at first, but after seeing his mom with adult eyes rather than his boyhood perspective, he had changed his mind. He and his mom had finally openly talked about his father’s death and how it had affected both of their lives. His mom admitted that her grief had been so overwhelming that she never wanted to marry again. She felt bad that she hadn’t adequately followed up with Logan as her heart had healed. She wasn’t opposed to marrying again, she’d just never found anyone to fall in love with again. To be fair, Logan hadn’t made talking about it easy. The two of them had fallen into a pattern of avoiding the subject.

Jon’s gaze landed on Weslee. “What a beautiful bride you are, Weslee my girl,” he said, walking over to give her a kiss on the cheek. “Are you ready for this?”

“More than ready,” she said. It was past time she married her Hot Navy Guy.

“Good, because I’ve got six Navy SEALs breathing down my neck to come and get the bride or they are going to do it their way.” He wiped his forehead with a handkerchief. “I don’t even want to know what their way entails.”

“Probably not,” Weslee said with a giggle. Logan had told her at least five different ways he could get in and out of the house with her and no one would even know he’d been there.

She believed him. Last week, he and Jace had gone on a special ops mission they’d said was confidential. However, a few days later, Jon miraculously found a file sitting on his desk with information about Dax Hamilton stealing company secrets, as well as proof that he’d altered his contract with Ground Zero by removing the non-compete clause.

Weslee had known exactly where the file had come from, but when she confronted Logan about it, he’d just grinned and told her that the information was classified and that she didn’t have the proper security clearance.

It had only taken a few persuasive kisses to get him to admit he and Jace had let themselves into Dax’s house to look for incriminating evidence. They claimed it wasn’t breaking and entering since technically they didn’t break anything.

“Let’s get this show on the road,” Kate said as she and Inez entered the room. She looked beautiful in the ice-blue dress Weslee had picked out for her friend. “Wow,” Kate said, stopping in front of Weslee. “You look so gorgeous I might consider doing this someday.”

Her comment was progress. Kate vehemently swore that marriage wasn’t for her. Weslee was just waiting for the day when her friend met her match.

“Thank you.” Weslee handed her maid of honor a small bouquet of white and yellow daisies. “You look beautiful, Kate. The single guys Logan invited are going to be fighting over you.”

“Oh please,” Kate said. “That’s funny considering I could probably kick all of their butts.”

“Ladies,” Jon said. “Logan is going to break down this door if we don’t get going.”

That got everyone moving. Inez and Julia left to find their seats. Then the music started and Kate preceded Weslee down the pathway that was lined with rows of flickering lanterns on both sides. As soon as Weslee stepped onto the start of the makeshift path, the wedding coordinator cued the music for the bride. An acoustic instrumental version of Ed Sheeran’s Perfect started playing. It was the song Weslee and Logan had danced to at the charity ball and shared their first kiss to.

The audience rose, but Weslee had eyes for only her groom. The awed expression on his face melted her heart, and she had to check the impulse to break out into a run to get to him quicker.

Logan stared at his beautiful bride as a wave of emotions slammed into him. His eyes stung and, for the first time that he could remember as an adult, he felt like crying. He didn’t, but a burning sensation pressed against the back of his eyes and his chest tightened as love for this woman filled every part of him.

“Dang, she looks beautiful,” Jace said under his breath. “You’re one lucky son of a gun.”

Logan couldn’t agree more. He felt bad about ever giving his married friends grief about handing over their man card to tie themselves down to a woman. Giving his heart to Weslee was the best decision he’d ever made.

His eyes locked with hers, and she curved her lips into a soft and sexy smile as if she could read his thoughts. He smiled back, not caring if everyone present saw how much he loved her. It’s not that he’d tried hiding his feelings, he had just grown very impatient with only telling her how much he loved her. Waiting to show her how he felt about her had been difficult, but he loved her too much to push for more.

The wound in his thigh twitched, reminding him of how close he’d come to dying. Thinking of it still had the power to humble him. Without Weslee’s actions that day, he would’ve died. The amount of blood loss for a man his size had been significant. The trauma surgeon had estimated Logan had lost forty percent of his blood volume and had been minutes away from his heart stopping. He hated to think about missing out on a life with Weslee, especially as her husband.

The walk down the pathway seemed to take forever. Finally, she was near enough he could hold out his hand. Euphoria washed over him as she placed her hand in his. “Hi, beautiful,” he whispered as he lifted her hand to his mouth and pressed a lingering kiss to her knuckles, all the while maintaining eye contact with her.

“Hello, handsome,” she whispered back.

He knew he wasn’t supposed to kiss her yet, but he couldn’t help it. Grinning, he pulled her to him and kissed her soundly on the mouth. The audience chuckled, and he heard his mother mutter that her son never did anything the conventional way.

Cannon, a former SEAL and Navy chaplain, cleared his throat. Logan and Weslee drew apart and faced the man who had the authority to make them husband and wife. Cannon grinned and addressed everyone in attendance. “I guess since these two are anxious to get to the kissing part, I’ll have to skip the lengthy oration I had planned.”

“My future husband and I appreciate that very much,” Weslee said, making Cannon, the wedding party and the audience all laugh.

Logan was tempted to lay another kiss on her sassy mouth when Cannon started the ceremony by welcoming everyone. “We are gathered here in this special setting to celebrate the love between Weslee and Logan, by joining them in marriage.”

Although he tried to listen to each word spoken by the chaplain, Logan was distracted by his beautiful bride. With Cannon’s prompting, they each repeated their vows. Then it was time to exchange rings. As much as Weslee loved the ring he’d made from one of his bracelets, it wasn’t practical. His mom had come up with an idea of how to preserve them. She’d taken both of the bracelets and had them framed along with a quote by Thomas Jefferson that talked about the price of freedom. It now hung on the wall of the bedroom he would soon share with Weslee.

Jace nudged Logan and handed him the ring. Logan had designed the diamond ring himself. He’d wanted Weslee’s ring to be as unique and special as she was. Without a doubt, he knew she was the only one for him. His hands were surprisingly steady as he slipped the one-of-a-kind ring onto his bride’s finger, repeating the words that bound them together.

After Weslee slipped his ring on, Cannon finally pronounced them husband and wife. “Now, you may kiss your bride,” he said to Logan.

As the crowd clapped and cheered, Logan held Weslee’s face in his hands and touched her lips softly, reveling in the feel of his wife’s silky mouth. My wife. Just the thought that she was finally his sent his pulse skittering. Remembering they had an audience, he checked the banked passion that begged him to deepen the kiss.

“We’ll finish this later,” he murmured against her lips. After giving her one last tender kiss, he drew back and swooped her up in his arms. “Let’s get this party started,” he said, carrying his wife down the pathway.

His groomsmen all hooted their approval as the DJ started the playlist he and Jace had come up with. The reception was set up on the back terrace and pool deck of their house. The food was delicious, but it was the chocolate chip cookie dough that was the most popular. Logan even caught Inez tasting the specially made dessert that was safe to eat since it didn’t contain any raw eggs.

The celebration was amazing, but Logan was anxious to get his wife alone. They planned to leave soon after their first dance as husband and wife. Until that time, he and Weslee made the rounds, visiting with each guest. They posed for wedding photos, cut the cake and then it was time. As the DJ asked the crowd to clear the dance floor for the bride and groom’s first dance as husband and wife, Logan led Weslee to the center of the floor. He didn’t bother with a formal dance hold, wanting her as close to him as possible.

“I love you,” he said, gazing into her eyes as they slowly swayed to the original soundtrack of Perfect.

“I love you, too.” She fingered the hair of his neck and gave him a secretive smile that hinted at things to come. “I can’t believe we’re really married.”

“I can’t believe you made me wait so long.”

“Good things come to those that wait,” she said, giving him that smile again.

“I’m glad you brought that up,” Logan said as the song neared the end. “What about those wedding-date negotiations?” Now that they were married, he felt like it was only fair that she told him a little more about the promises she’d made to him.

A spark of mischief flickered in her eyes. “Sorry, Lieutenant Steele, but that’s classified information.” 

Giving her a roguish smile, Logan leaned down and brushed his lips over hers. “There’s one thing you forgot, Mrs. Steele,” he murmured against her mouth.

“Oh?” she whispered back.

"I now have security clearance."

She giggled softly as Logan caught her mouth in a kiss, his lips moving tenderly over hers with thorough deliberation. The sweet scent of her skin flooded his senses as Weslee pulled back, wrapped her arms around his neck, and whispered something only he was authorized to hear.

Logan’s breath stilled and then he laughed, knowing his life would never be the same, except this time the thought didn’t scare him. Sweeping her up into his arms, he kissed her again as he carried her off the dance floor. Good things do come to those who wait, and she was definitely worth the wait.