Kit and Ivy: A Red Team Wedding Novella (10 page)

“When did he start working for you?”

“When he left the Army this summer.”

“So you haven’t known him very long, then.”

Owen got off the stool where he sat next to Adam at the bar. “You’ll soon meet the rest of our team. And when you do, you’ll know a whole lot more about your soon-to-be son-in-law. Takes a true man to be a leader they’d follow. If I’m ever lucky enough to have a daughter, a man like Kit’s the only one I’d let marry her.” He smiled at Adam. Seeing the tension settle over the man’s face, he guessed it wasn’t one of his warmest gestures. “Enjoy your weekend, Mr. Banks.” Owen went over to one of the armchairs in the far corner and took a seat. It was the best seat in the house to watch what would come next.
 

* * *

Kit came into the room from the hallway. He looked from Owen to Adam. They weren’t sitting together. Whether that was a good thing remained unclear. Adam held up his glass. “Owen shared his Balcones stash.”

Kit helped himself to Owen’s bottle, which still sat on the bar. Helen rejoined them. Adam stood up. She smiled at Kit, then hugged him. He looked down at the tiny woman clinging to him, entirely uncertain what to do. He finally decided to behave as if women hugged him all the time. He put his hands on her back and patted her.
 

“Thank you.” She looked up at him. “You were so brave to make this happen.” She went over and put her arm around Adam. “We would have regretted missing Ivy’s marriage for the rest of our lives.”

“You’re welcome. Mom.” He grinned.

The other guys spilled into the room, causing a dizzying few minutes of introductions as they met the team, their girls, Mr. Broken Knife, and his assistants. The only person missing was Max. Kit hadn’t heard if he was going to be able to get in. They probably wouldn’t know until he showed or didn’t.

Ivy came in last. She had an arm around Casey and a smile in her eyes as she searched for and found him. He smiled back at her. The two of them came straight over. Casey went to stand with Helen and Adam. Ivy put her arms around his neck then kissed him. “I love you.” She hugged both of her parents, then held Casey’s hand as they started a conversation.
 

Val served the women drinks. Iced tea for Helen and Casey, Shiraz for Ivy. Kit looked at the sniper, feeling a little shell-shocked at the changes that had happened today. Val smiled at him and did a fist-bump.
 

Selena stepped out of the elevator into the weapons room the morning of the wedding. The bunker was empty; the guys were upstairs preparing for the big event. The muscles Owen had brought in as escort for Kit’s in-laws were at their posts, giving the team some breathing room for the festivities.
 

Selena opened the door into the operations room as a big guy stepped through from the opposite door. His facial piercings, dark, shaggy hair, and several days’ growth of beard were a stark contrast to his black and white penguin suit and black bow tie. Max Cameron.
 

For a minute, neither spoke. They just squared off. He broke the silence. “Selena. You look different than I expected.”
 

She pushed her hair behind her shoulder. Why the hell had she let Casey and Fiona talk her into wearing it loose? “Huh. It’s the flower.”
 

A little smile softened Max’s features. “Yeah, that’s it. I’m Max, by the way.” They shook hands.

“Kit know you’re here?” she asked.

“Yep.”

“I’m glad you made it.”

He sent her a curious glance. “Why?”

She shrugged. “The guys felt it wouldn’t be a party without you.”

He made a face. “That’s me. A metric fuck ton of fun. Where’s Greer?”

“Dunno. I just came to check on things before it all goes to hell.” Truthfully, she was hiding. Gigs like this weren’t her cuppa. “Well, guess I’ll head up.” Into the fray.

“Sel…” He stopped her. She looked back at him from the doorway to the weapons room. “You sitting at my table?”

“I doubt it. I’m at the kids’ table.” She’d specifically requested that assignment from Ivy.

“We’ll see about that. I don’t think Owen put you in silks to have you wipe infant noses.”

“He didn’t put me in silks.”

“Didn’t he? What the fuck are you wearing?”

“I paid for this.”

“Sure you did. Owen’s good at mind freaks—or hadn’t you figured that out?”
 

The elevator opened behind her. Blade and Kit came into the room, laughing until they saw her. Blade whistled. “You clean up pretty good, Selena.”

“Thanks, Blade.”

Kit put his arm around her shoulder. “Glad to see you decided to join us. Ivy was worried about you.”

“I’ll be there.”
 

Some of the other guys came in from the conference room hall. The small ops room was too tight for all of them. Selena pulled back and stood against the wall, watching the guys greet Max.
 

“So who’s next to bite to dust?” Max asked, looking around the room. “You, Rocco?”

Rocco was leaning against the opposite wall. His arms were folded. He looked at Max but didn’t answer him.

“No. That’d be me and Eden,” Blade said. He sent Rocco a glance. “Not that it’s a race or anything.”

Rocco shrugged. “We’re cool.” Selena had seen him becoming increasingly withdrawn over the last two weeks. She couldn’t blame him. Weddings weren’t her thing either.
 

“I’m going up to check on the girls,” she said.
 

“We’ll be behind you shortly,” Kit told her. “I have something I want to give Ivy.”

Upstairs, Kathy’s helpers were making last-minute adjustments to the tables outside. Eden was casually walking Tank around, having him check out the space yet again. There was a huge awning set up outside with several tables that each sat six. For a smallish wedding, there were more people attending than Selena had expected.
 

On the far side of the tent, rows of white folding chairs were set up in front of a flower-covered archway and podium. Greer’s sound system was placed in a strategic corner. Japanese lanterns had been strung overhead to brighten the long patio for dancers once night fell. Everywhere Selena looked, there were flowers and bows and feminine touches. It looked as if a herd of fairies had sneezed magic dust across the space. For only having a few weeks to put this shindig together, Ivy had done a hell of a job.
 

She went farther down the hall on her way to Ivy’s room. The kitchen was buzzing with workers. Kit had gotten Ivy to relent and bring in her caterers for tonight, using her menu. They’d brought with them several wait staff. Greer had cleared them and Eden had had Tank do his thing on their vehicles and everything they brought into the house. Still, there were so many moving parts that Selena couldn’t fully relax.

Casey came out of her room wearing the sundress Val had picked out for her and her new boots. She had a little lip gloss on and it looked like maybe a dash of blush on her cheeks. And mascara.
 

“How do I look?” she asked Selena, doing a quick circle.

“Stunning. You ready for this?”

Casey grinned. “I’m so ready.”

“How’s your mom doing?”

She made a little face. “I thought it was safer to be out here.”

Mandy came out of Casey’s room with a curling iron and hurried into Ivy’s, waving at Selena as she went past. Selena squeezed Casey’s shoulder. “Good call. I’m going to check on her. If it’s safe, I’ll call you in.”

Ivy’s room looked like a clothes bomb had detonated. Fiona and Mandy were standing next to Ivy at the vanity in the bathroom. Fiona was making some final retouches on Ivy’s complicated braiding, fitting tiny sprigs of flowers into what looked a basket weave of Ivy’s dark hair that circled the crown of her hair. Everywhere the strands crossed other strands, there were flowers or pearls. On her dark hair, the effect was beautiful. Below the horizontal rows of braiding, her hair hung loose.
 

Ivy was grilling Mandy on a list of activities. “The tables are set up,” Mandy said. “All the place cards have been set. The bar is set up. Greer’s ready with the music. It’s all done. All of it. I had the same list you have, Ivy. All that’s left is for you to walk out there and get married.”

“Is the justice of the peace here?” Ivy asked.

“Not yet. But he will be soon,” Selena told her.

“Selena! Look at you!” Ivy got up and hurried over to her. She took Selena’s hands and made her walk forward. “I love this outfit. I’m so glad you picked this one.”

“Yeah. I’ve had three guys ask me to sit with them.”

“Um. No.” Ivy shook her head. “Try five of them.”

“That’s ridiculous. I’m glad you’re putting me at the kids’ table.”

Ivy winced. “I didn’t, actually.”

“What?”

“There is no kids’ table. There’s just Zavi and Casey. Casey will be with us. And Zavi will be with Mandy and Rocco.”

Selena crossed her arms and frowned down at the bride. “Who did you put me with?”

“Owen.”

“Seriously? Owen?”

“And Val.”

“Crap.”

“And a couple of my friends. You met them at the party.” Ivy looked at her. “And Max.”
 

Selena forced herself to smile.

Ivy’s eyes narrowed. “What are you doing?” she asked.

“That’s my happy smile. This is your day. I’ll sit wherever the hell you want me.”

Ivy’s phone rang. She hurried into the other room to answer it. “Hi, Kit. No, you can’t see me. Okay. Just a minute.” She came back into the room and pulled her robe on. “I’ll be right back.”

“Is everything all right?”

Ivy nodded. “Kit just asked if I could come out and see him for a minute.”

Ivy hurried out into the hallway, shutting the door behind her. The women gathered in the short hall that led to the bedroom door, hoping to overhear their conversation. Ivy’s mom waited a little distance from them.

“What’s going on?” Mandy asked, looking at Fiona, who was closest to the door.
 

Fiona shrugged. “I can’t hear.”

“I know what it is,” Helen’s voice came softly into the group. “When Kit invited us out for the wedding, I told him I was going to bring Ivy my grandmother’s diamond and aquamarine earrings. Something blue, you know. He said he was going to have a necklace made to match.” Ivy’s mom had a soft, wistful smile and eyes that were impossibly sad. “I can’t believe I couldn’t see in the boy who stole my daughter’s heart, the man he could become. What a fool I was.”

Mandy gave Helen a hug. “It’s not like life comes with a user guide. You’re here now. Kit’s right—don’t look back.”

The door opened. Ivy and Casey stepped in. Ivy was wearing a beautiful pearl necklace with a big, tear-shaped, light blue stone hanging from the center. The necklace would hang perfectly in the V of her wedding dress. Casey also wore a new pearl necklace. Hers was shorter, made from smaller pearls. Instead of a teardrop pendant, her center blue stone was a round, bezel-set stone. It was a beautiful complement to her pale coloring.

Ivy’s mom came forward and hugged her daughter. “Look, Mom, it matches the earrings you gave me.” She glanced down at her necklace. “Kit said he picked the teardrop because it would symbolize the transformation of our tears from something sad to something beautiful.”

Selena was more moved than she wanted to admit. “Wow. It’s gonna be weird when he’s handing my ass to me somewhere down the line to remember the bastard has such a poetic side.” The girls laughed.

Ivy hugged Casey. “And look what he gave Casey. Isn’t it beautiful?” She touched her daughter’s necklace.
 

“I’ve never had something this nice,” Casey said, reverently holding the necklace forward for the others to inspect it. Ivy wiped at her tears.
 

“Okay. Enough of that.” Mandy grabbed her hand and led her back into the bathroom. “You’re going to ruin your makeup!”

“Casey, come help me straighten the room,” Helen called her granddaughter over.
 

Selena slipped out of the room. The estrogen was playing havoc with her nerves. She thought she’d head down and see if Eden needed any help. She saw Eden, Tank, and Blade step out the front door as she came into the main hallway. At the far end of the hall, Owen was just stepping out of his wing. He wore the same black and white tux Max had. His blond hair was brushed back from his face. His jaw was clean-shaven. His eyes caught hers.
 

Selena cursed silently. Facing him was like staring down a wolf in a long chute where you couldn’t escape or look away.
 

When they were separated by the space of the living room, his cold blue eyes, as pale as Ivy’s new aquamarine, made a slow pass over her outfit, snagging on the bare skin her jacket revealed before returning to her eyes. She thought about dodging him by stepping into the living room or walking out the front door, but that felt cowardly. They walked straight to each other like a clamp slowly being tightened. Selena’s heels made her almost six feet tall, but even in them she still had to look up to see his eyes.
 

“Nice outfit.”

“Val chose it.”

“Of course.”

“I hate the freaking rose.”

He smiled, and what that did to his face made her stop breathing. In an effort to return things to normalcy, she drew up the hems of her pants and showed him her ankle holsters and calf Ka-Bar sheath. And…judging from his reaction, that was a stupid thing to do. Great. Like a real woman would ever do something so graceless. Or an operative something so needless. He made her feel thirteen again.

“Do you ever really let your hair down?” he asked, his voice rough around the edges.

“Not when I’m on a 24-7 assignment, like this.”

“And that, Selena, is why you’re here.”
 

He stepped away from her, moving into the living room. She went in the opposite direction, making straight for the front door. Only half an hour now before the ceremony. She’d make a quick circuit of the area, then come back to follow behind Ivy as she walked outside.