But his eyes.
Heaven help her, those blue eyes that turned much darker when aroused or angry . . .
They were like a lifeline to her soul.
“Y’all should get married for real.” Her mom’s words tore Ella’s attention in her direction, and Ella raised the glass to her lips, hoping the wine would steady her nerves. “Unless Rory pulled another sly matchmaker move on you two and already sent in the paperwork. You know,” her mom continued while playfully waggling her eyebrows, “sent in that marriage license you two signed in front of me to try and sell the wedding idea as real.”
Ella almost choked on her wine as the door clicked shut. Beckett was there too, standing behind Jesse, and well, he looked less scowly. A good sign.
“Darn.” Rory lightly smacked a palm to her forehead. “I wish I’d thought to do that, but I didn’t.”
“But I did.”
Ella nearly dropped her glass as Jesse slowly moved toward her, a sexy smile on those gorgeous lips of his.
“What?” Ella mouthed, unable to get her voice to work as he dropped to one knee, pulled a small black box from his pocket, and opened it.
My rings.
“Ella Mae, will you stay married to me?” Jesse asked, his voice rough as he lifted the box and presented her the diamond and band. It was then she noticed his wedding band was already back on his ring finger. He followed her gaze there and said, “I’m being optimistic.” Then he shot her a devilish grin that had her insides melting, but she also could see the emotion in his eyes.
Ella stole a quick look at her older brother, and Beckett nodded his approval, which meant . . . he and Jesse had made up. And that was the best “engagement-marriage” present ever.
“Well?” her mom prompted, and Ella fell to her knees before her husband, tears filling her eyes as she nodded.
“Is this the middle place?” she cried. “Are we officially there?”
Jesse tipped his head and smiled. “If that place is being happy, being your husband, then hell yes, we’re there.”
Her heart slammed against her rib cage, and she ignored the rings to fling her arms over his shoulders. “Yes, yes, yes. I’d love to stay married to you.”
Jesse brought his mouth to her ear while gently cupping the back of her head, his warm breath making her shiver as he whispered, “Good girl.”
Epilogue
Walkins Glen, Alabama – Four months later
“Mom really should start a wedding planning business. And your wedding can be her next gig.” Ella elbowed her brother, Beckett. “Your date is gorgeous. How come I don’t know her? She’s not from here.” And was this the first time she’d seen her brother on a date?
Ella’s gaze cut to McKenna, who was laughing at something A.J. was saying while they danced, and it was such a relief that her niece was doing well after everything that had happened. The family had immediately gotten her into therapy to manage any post-traumatic stress she might be experiencing, but McKenna seemed more concerned about a boy she liked in school than anything else. Normal thirteen-year-old-girl stuff, thank God.
And seeing McKenna was a reminder of Zoran’s son. Nikola had been adopted by a family in France. The DGSE had pulled some strings, and from what Ella had learned, he was also thriving.
Turning her attention back to her brother, Ella noticed his focus wasn’t on the date he’d brought to Savanna and Griffin’s wedding. No, his eyes were on Sydney Archer as she danced with her son, who was about half a foot taller than his mom. Sydney was mid-twirl when she looked straight at Ella and Beckett as though feeling their eyes on her.
Beckett coughed into a closed fist, shifted to the side, and faced Ella. “What were you saying?”
Ella smiled. Huh, interesting. “The wedding is beautiful. And maybe you’ll get married next, you know, since I’ve already tied the knot. It’s your turn.” She searched the crowd for her other two single brothers, Shep and Caleb. There was a far better chance Beckett would marry before either of those playboys.
“Yeah. Glad they decided to have their reception here,” Beckett answered in a low, almost distant-sounding voice, ignoring the other part of what she’d suggested.
Savanna and Griffin had wed at the local church. The only church in town. But Ella’s mom had transformed the ranch into a wedding site yet again.
Unlike Ella’s wedding, a white tent had been set up, with a makeshift dance floor in the center. And surrounding the dance area and band were round tables with cute cross-back chairs and centerpieces of in-season flowers in various shades of pink, arranged in silver vases.
Strings of lights overhead created a soft glow, which definitely played up the romantic factor. But Ella’s favorite part of the entire night . . .
Savanna’s smile.
Her beautiful best friend looked so happy. And she also looked stunning in the dress Ella had designed for her to wear, which would become part of what Ella was dubbing her “Walkins Glen Southern Wedding Collection.” Well, she was still playing around with the name, but Ella had been more than excited to design a gown for her best friend.
The silhouette was an ivory ball gown with a scalloped chapel train. The sweetheart neckline and Basque waist style looked perfect on Savanna. The fabric was made of tulle and lace, with a sequined net skirt, and pearls and crystals on the corset finished the look.
“Beautiful,” Ella remarked at the sight of the bride and groom on the dance floor. Savanna was absolutely radiant in her gorgeous dress and Griffin looked beyond elegant in his tux. And where’s my husband?
She found Jesse standing at the bar with a few of his Falcon Falls teammates who’d all come for the wedding. The team had taken several jobs since January, but none had been quite as dangerous or high risk as the one with Yuri.
Like Griffin and Savanna, she and Jesse were making things work despite the fact Falcon’s headquarters was in Pennsylvania. For the most part, Jesse was rarely in Pennsylvania. He spent most of his “off op” time at home with her, and he continued making furniture on the side because he was really damn good at it.
She’d moved into his house until they could build their own place. Jesse wanted a new home for the two of them to start a family. A fresh start.
His mom and dad were still separated, and in Ella’s mind, maybe that was for the best. According to Savanna, with the exception of romance books, not all stories had a guaranteed happily-ever-after. And so maybe, the story for Rory and Jesse’s parents wasn’t a romance. But Ella had to believe his mom would find her way to happiness eventually, whether that was with Jesse’s dad or someone else.
“I’m happy that you’re happy,” Beckett unexpectedly said, almost as if he’d read her thoughts too.
Ella pivoted her focus away from where Jesse was now belly laughing at whatever Jack had just said.
“What about you? Your happiness?” She angled her head. “McKenna wants a mom. She’s said that to me on more than one occasion.”
Beckett frowned, and his shoulders fell, but he remained quiet.
“Not everyone is like . . . her,” Ella softly said. Her. The “her” no one dared talk about in Walkins Glen. McKenna’s mom.