Chapter 20
Reed woke to the smell of bacon.
For a moment, he lay still in the early morning light filtering through his bedroom windows, letting the scent wash over him.
Bacon and something else—eggs, maybe—and the rich aroma of fresh coffee.
Sounds drifted up from the kitchen below: the sizzle of a pan, the soft clink of dishes, the barely audible hum of someone singing to themselves.
Elena.
The realization hit him like warm sunlight breaking through clouds, and Reed was smiling before his feet even hit the floor. He threw back the covers and pulled on a T-shirt, not bothering with anything else as he padded barefoot toward the stairs.
One week. It had been one week since that night at La Prince, since Webb’s death.
Fortunately, the government had confiscated all of Webb's assets and anything connected to WATCHDOG. Therefore, all contracts on Elena had been cancelled.
Seven days that had felt like both an eternity and the blink of an eye.
The first few days had been hard. Elena had been exhausted in ways that went deeper than physical fatigue—the kind of bone-deep weariness that came from carrying an impossible burden for five years and finally being allowed to set it down.
She’d slept a lot. Cried sometimes, when she thought he wasn’t looking.
Spent long hours sitting on his back deck, staring out at the lake like she was trying to convince herself it was real.
But she’d recovered quickly. That was Elena—resilient, determined, stronger than anyone he’d ever known.
By the fourth day, she’d joined him for their morning runs again, her stride matching his as they circled the lake in companionable silence.
By the fifth day, she had laughed at James’s terrible jokes and let Walker’s toddler climb all over her while his wife, Sabrina, looked on with knowing eyes.
Reed hadn’t gone to work all week. His assistant had handled everything at the office, sending him occasional updates that he’d barely glanced at before returning his attention to Elena. To being with her. To remembering what it felt like to have her in his life again.
They’d talked for hours. About everything and nothing—the five years they’d spent apart, the futures they’d imagined, the faith that had sustained Elena through her darkest moments.
They’d watched terrible movies on his couch, her head on his shoulder and his arm around her waist. They’d cooked dinner together, bumping elbows in his kitchen and stealing kisses over the cutting board.
Normal. They were finding their way back to something like a normal life.
Reed paused at the bottom of the stairs, his hand moving instinctively to the pocket of the sweatpants he’d thrown on. The small velvet box was there, right where he’d placed it last night after coming home from the jeweler.
He’d bought it yesterday afternoon, slipping away while Elena was video calling with Terrel about some technical matter Reed didn’t pretend to understand.
The ring had been sitting in a display case at a small shop in Pike Place Market—a single round diamond on a delicate gold band, elegant in its simplicity.
The moment Reed had seen it, he’d known.
It was Elena’s ring. It had always been Elena’s ring.
He’d planned to wait. Maybe another week or two, when things had settled more, when the shadow of Webb and WATCHDOG had faded further into the past. He’d imagined taking her somewhere special, but standing here, Reed knew he couldn’t wait another minute.
He’d already waited five years. That was long enough.
Elena stood at the stove with her back to him, spatula in hand, her dark hair pulled up in a messy ponytail.
She was wearing one of his old Navy T-shirts over a pair of yoga pants, and the sight of her—so comfortable, so at home in his space—made Reed’s chest ache with a happiness so intense it was almost painful.
Thank You, Lord, he prayed silently. Thank You for bringing her back to me.
He crossed the kitchen without making a sound, his bare feet silent on the hardwood, and wrapped his arms around her from behind.
Elena startled slightly, then relaxed into his embrace with a soft sigh. “Good morning,” she murmured, tilting her head back to look at him.
Reed pressed a kiss to her temple. “Morning.”
She turned in his arms, rising on her toes to kiss him properly. Her lips were soft and warm, tasting faintly of the coffee she’d already started drinking, and Reed lost himself in the sensation for a long, perfect moment.
When they finally broke apart, Elena was smiling.
“You didn’t have to make breakfast,” Reed said, his thumb tracing gentle circles on her hip.
“I wanted to.” Elena reached up to touch his face, her fingers brushing along his jawline. “You’ve been spoiling me all week. Taking care of everything. I want to help.”
“You don’t have to—”
“I know I don’t have to.” Her dark eyes sparkled with warmth. “I want to. There’s a difference.”
Reed stared at her—at this woman who had survived impossible odds, who was standing in his kitchen wearing his T-shirt and cooking him breakfast like it was the most natural thing in the world.
He couldn’t wait. He couldn’t wait another second.
“Elena.”
Something in his voice made her go still. Her eyebrows drew together slightly, concern flickering across her features. “Reed? What is it?”
Instead of answering, Reed reached into his pocket and pulled out the velvet box.
Elena’s breath caught, her eyes going wide as understanding dawned. “Reed—”
He dropped to one knee on his kitchen floor, right there in front of the stove with the bacon still sizzling in the pan behind her. Not the romantic setting he’d imagined. Not the grand gesture he’d planned. But somehow, it felt exactly right.
“Elena Vasquez,” Reed said, his voice rough with emotion as he opened the box to reveal the diamond ring glinting in the morning light.
“I fell in love with you over coffee and quiet conversations five years ago. I mourned you when I thought you were gone. And when you walked back into my life, I promised myself I would never let you go again.”
Elena’s hand rose to cover her mouth, tears already spilling down her cheeks. But she was smiling—that beautiful, radiant smile that had become the center of Reed’s universe.
“You are the bravest person I know,” Reed continued. “The smartest. The most stubborn.”
That earned him a watery laugh.
“You challenge me. You terrify me. You make me want to be a better man.” He reached for her free hand, threading his fingers through hers.
“I don’t want to spend another day without knowing that you’re mine forever.
So I’m asking you—officially, properly, down on one knee the way you said I could—will you marry me? ”
For one heartbeat that lasted an eternity, Elena was silent. Then—
“Yes,” she whispered. “Yes, Reed. A thousand times yes.”
Reed’s hands trembled as he slipped the ring onto her finger. The diamond caught the light and scattered it across the kitchen walls in tiny rainbows. It was a perfect fit, like it had been made for her. Like she had been made for him.
“I love you,” Elena said, her voice breaking. “I have loved you for five years, across distance and darkness and everything that tried to keep us apart. I will love you for the rest of my life.”
“I love you too,” Reed replied, rising and pulling her close. “More than I have words for.”
And then he kissed her.
It was different from every kiss they’d shared before—deeper, more certain, carrying the weight of a promise that would last a lifetime.
Elena’s arms wound around his neck, and Reed pulled her against his chest, holding her like he would never let go. Because he wouldn’t. Not ever again.
When they finally pulled apart, both breathless and laughing, Elena held up her hand to examine the ring. The diamond sparkled against her skin, and Reed felt a surge of pride and possessiveness that was entirely new.
“It’s beautiful,” she breathed.
“You’re beautiful.”
Elena laughed. “You’re such a sap.”
“Your sap,” he corrected, kissing the tip of her nose. “Forever.”
“Forever,” Elena agreed, and the word sounded like the most beautiful prayer Reed had ever heard.
Behind them, the smoke detector began to shriek.
They both burst out laughing as Elena scrambled to her feet and rushed to save what was left of their breakfast. Reed stayed where he was a moment longer, watching her wave a dish towel at the smoking pan, her newly ringed hand flashing in the morning light.
Thank You, he prayed again, his heart so full it hurt. Thank You for this. Thank You for her. Thank You for second chances.
“So,” Elena said, turning to face him with a rueful smile and a pan full of charcoal that used to be bacon. “I guess I’ll have to make breakfast all over again.”
Reed pushed himself to his feet and crossed the kitchen to wrap his arms around her once more. “Or we could go out. Celebrate properly.”
“Celebrate?”
“We just got engaged.” Reed grinned down at her. “I think that deserves pancakes. Maybe even mimosas.”
Elena’s smile widened. “Are you asking me on a date, Mr. Star?”
“I’m asking my fiancée to have breakfast with me,” Reed replied, and the word fiancée sent a thrill through his chest that he suspected would never get old. “Is that a yes?”
Elena rose on her toes and kissed him once more—soft and sweet and full of promise. “That’s a yes,” she whispered against his lips. “To everything. To all of it. To you.”
Reed Star had spent fourteen years as a Navy SEAL, facing down enemies and impossible odds without flinching. He’d built a corporate empire from nothing, weathered grief that had nearly destroyed him, and walked into a firefight to save the woman he loved.
But nothing—nothing—had ever made him feel as invincible as the sight of Elena Vasquez standing in his kitchen with his ring on her finger and forever in her eyes.
“Come on,” he said, taking her hand and leading her toward the stairs. “Let’s go tell my brothers before James finds out some other way and never lets me hear the end of it.”
Elena laughed, the sound echoing through the house that would soon be theirs together.
And Reed Star, the man who had once believed that love was a weakness he couldn’t afford, followed her into the morning light, ready to begin the rest of their lives together.