Serve ‘N’ Protect by Tee O’Fallon

Epilogue

Six months later

Heart palpitations. If Markus had any more of them, he’d pass out long before Cassidy arrived.

The sun was out, and a light breeze had picked up, rippling the surface of McIntosh Run, one of many inland waterways leading to the Potomac River. Soon, a white limousine would pull up on Washington Street, and Cassidy would walk down Leonardtown Wharf Park’s long stretch of brick. And become his wife.

The days he and Ghost still worked at the White House, Cassidy stayed with him at his Virginia house, conducting her growing accounting business on her laptop. When he was off-shift, they spent the time at her Craftsman, renovating it to be all that she’d ever dreamed of.

Good thing they’d chosen the waterfront for their wedding venue. Seemed like half the town had turned out. Guests lined the walkway leading to the sun dial mosaic where he and his friends stood. More people watched from the curved sidewalks surrounding the sun dial, spilling over into the nearby playground. There had to be three hundred people here, so many that the sounds of their talking and laughing made it hard to hear himself think. That and the three-piece string ensemble set up in the park to keep the crowd occupied.

To his right were Cassidy’s two sisters, her soon-to-be sister-in-law Cherisse, and three of her friends whom he’d met at their engagement party.

He glanced to his left, grateful that his friends were here. Kade stood next to him, followed by Matt, Dayne Andrews, Eric Miller, and Nick Houston. Wearing classic black tuxedos, they looked like a row of enormous penguins. Except for Ghost, who sat on Markus’s right and was lucky enough to wear only a black bow tie.

Close by were some of his Secret Service colleagues and the rest of Cassidy’s family, talking it up as always. Markus’s sister, Kelly, and her husband and kids were also here, along with John Freeman, who’d just returned from the Middle East and was thrilled to hear that his house had been instrumental in bringing Markus and Cassidy together. The only one not present was Jamie Pataglio, who was still MIA on an unofficially official matter, at an undisclosed location nobody would talk about. Wherever Jamie was, Markus hoped he was okay and not dodging bullets.

Although it was a cool, early June morning, sweat rolled down Markus’s temples and between his shoulder blades. Still no limousine. He looked at his watch then down Washington Street for the third time in the last two minutes.

“Nervous?” Kade held out a silver flask that Markus declined. “Don’t worry, man. She’ll show.”

“I don’t deserve her.” He stuck his fingers between his neck and shirt collar. The damn tuxedo was strangling him.

“Yeah, you do,” Kade countered. “She loves you. You love her. Just don’t fuck it up.”

That’s the one thing he didn’t worry about. He was the luckiest schmuck on the planet, and he knew it. Once Cassidy said I do, he planned to spend the rest of their lives making her happy because hell, he was also the happiest schmuck on the planet.

His old insecurities would always be there to some degree, but in the last six months, he’d said I love you so many times he’d lost count. And he’d meant it. Every single time.

Kade pulled his phone from his pocket, then his body went still. He didn’t take the call but waves of tension radiated from his friend like a summer storm front.

“Problem?”

Kade shoved the phone back into his pocket. “Nah.”

Liar.

Before he could interrogate Kade, three hundred or so heads turned as a white limo decked out with streamers and balloons slowly made its way down Washington Street. Inside that limo was the love of his life. Stupidly, that famous movie line came to mind. You complete me. Corny, but truer words had never been spoken. Cassidy Morgan, soon to be Cassidy York, made him whole. Before her, he’d been damaged, broken by circumstances he had no control or say over. Now, his life was about to begin.

The crowd hushed. Since theirs was anything but a traditional love story, they’d agreed to have a non-traditional wedding. Including the song to be played when Cassidy walked down the brick aisle. Instead of “Here Comes the Bride,” the string ensemble played “Storybook Love,” the theme song from The Princess Bride.

“It’s showtime,” Captain McMurray said from behind him. When his captain declared he was an ordained wedding officiant, Markus could have been knocked down by a grain of sand. Turned out McMurray loved weddings. “Ready?” He clapped an affectionate hand on Markus’s shoulder.

“Yeah.” I’ve been waiting for this my whole life.

When the limo came to a stop and the door opened, Cassidy’s father exited first, then turned and extended his hand. In that moment, Markus couldn’t breathe. As he waited for Cassidy to step out, everything else in his world ceased to exist. The crowd of guests. The string ensemble. The wind, the rippling water, and the seagulls cawing overhead. His world—his future—was about to walk down the aisle.

And then she was there.

A gentle breeze caught her flowy white gown, ruffling the gauzy material as she came toward him. With her blond hair piled high with cascading ringlets, she looked like an angelic water nymph. In her hands was a draping bouquet of white orchids. She walked without a cane and without any discernible limp, due in part from the awesome home gym they’d erected in the basement of the Craftsman. They’d broken it in by making love on every one of the workout benches.

Markus’s pulse raced, and Christ… His knees went weak. She was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.

When she was about twenty feet away, Ghost couldn’t take the suspense anymore and started barking, wagging his tail with joy, as he always did at the sight of Cassidy. The barking kept up until Markus hitched his head. “Ghost, go.”

Ghost bolted to her, his tail whipping faster as she leaned down to pet him. Not to be left out, his dog took up a position on Cassidy’s other side, holding his head up high as if he, too, were giving away the bride. Laughter erupted from the crowd as the three of them walked the rest of the way down the aisle.

There could have been storm clouds over their heads, but when she smiled up at him, her blue eyes sparkling with love, his world instantly became bathed in a glowing, ethereal light. Tears stung his eyes, and he couldn’t hold back. “I love you,” he whispered.

“I love you,” she whispered back.

When Ian placed her hand in his, Markus’s heart nearly burst from the love he felt for the woman who was about to become his.

Now that he’d found what was missing in his life, he was never letting go.

Like FREE Books?! Download one of Entangled’s bestselling books here!