Epilogue 1
SCARLETT
Six months later…
The veil wouldn’t cooperate. I adjusted it for the third time. The hairstylist had pinned it on before she left, but it wasn’t perfect. I stared at my reflection in the mirror, letting my gaze wander around the beachside bridal prep suite at Gideon Tremaine’s Sapphire Cove Resort.
Six months ago, I’d been racing through Naples trying to stop a bioterrorism attack. Now I was sitting in a simple silk crepe wedding dress, about to marry the man who’d somehow gotten past every wall I’d ever built.
The door opened behind me. “Are we allowed in yet?”
I turned to find my parents in the doorway—my mother in a structured navy silk dress, and my father in a dark suit that fit better than the prison uniforms he’d worn for twenty years.
“The veil’s crooked,” I said.
Dad crossed the room and studied the veil situation. He adjusted something in the back, moved another part over my shoulder, and pulled out a bobby pin.
I watched him in the reflection, still unsure how to navigate this new chapter in our lives.
After Brie had sorted through enough details she’d obtained from the Fenix server in Mnemis, Dad had refused to withdraw his guilty plea.
But after Martinelli and the rest of his cronies were in jail, he finally relented.
Mum only gave us the updates she deemed necessary, but it was clear at least a few favors were called in, because just three weeks ago, he’d received a full royal pardon. They’d set him free. Just like that.
Twenty years of visiting him through glass, and now he could just… fix my veil.
“There.” He stepped back. “Perfect.”
It looked the same as when I’d been adjusting it, but somehow, it also looked right. Finally.
“Nothing about today is perfect,” Mum said, her light British accent more prominent today.
Maybe she was tired; maybe she no longer felt the need to hide it, since we all knew the truth about her background.
“The east wing is still undergoing repairs after the hurricane, the flowers arrived late, and Will apparently spent the entire morning on his laptop reviewing satellite design.”
I bit back a laugh. He’d been so jealous of Pendragon’s toys that he thought he could compete—at least technologically—with the military contractor by putting up his own satellite.
He swore he’d finish it before the wedding, but my little sister had made too many software changes, so they’d had to push back the launch date.
“How do you walk in these things?” said Brie as she stepped out of the dressing room. She ungracefully held out one foot, showing the white satin pumps I’d picked for her.
“Practice?”
She wore a simple white dress, like mine, befitting our double beach wedding. It fell to her knees, as mine did, but the neckline was a little higher, and hers had straps, where mine didn’t. “I’m going barefoot.”
“Me too.” Jenn, my maid of honor, trailed after her and kicked off her own shoes. “Scar, you’re crazy if you think heels are appropriate on a beach.”
Not having to hide my career from my best friend was another big adjustment. “Sweetie, I have ziplined into museums and evaded more than one henchman on foot while wearing stilettos. A little sand won’t slow me down.”
“She has a point, darling,” cooed Mum, erasing her accent in Jenn’s presence. Unlike me, she was not adjusting to Jenn being in the loop. In fact, Mum still glowered at Emmett from time to time for spilling so much.
I cocked an eyebrow at my mother.
She did the same back.
Dad laughed. “You still think eyebrows are an effective communication tool, Evie?”
Mum narrowed her eyes at him, almost imperceptibly. “You’d be surprised, dear.”
Were my parents teasing each other? Hell, were they flirting with each other?
I’d been so young when he was taken away that I barely remembered how they were together. They’d been a solid team. Didn’t fight. That much I could pull up in my memory. But their daily interactions?
And how the hell were they picking up as though twenty years hadn’t passed?
Jenn’s phone buzzed, and she grabbed it from where it sat on the table. The smile that lit up her face told me it was my brother. “Emmett says Malcolm’s wearing a groove into the floor from pacing.”
My toes began to scrunch inside my shoes, releasing emotions no one could see. But then I caught myself. Today wasn’t about control. Today was about joy, love, and family. I could let people see me happy. Especially today.
“Are you okay?” Dad asked.
“Better than okay.” I smoothed my dress, letting myself actually feel the moment. “We’re all here. All safe. All happy.”
My mother’s expression softened—that rare, genuine warmth she usually kept hidden. She smiled at my father, who wrapped an arm around her waist. “We deserve that.”
Through the window, I watched the guests being seated on the beach. White chairs sat in neat rows, facing an arch draped with tropical flowers that had only actually arrived fifteen minutes late. The water stretched out beyond the beach, showing us all why the island had been named Blue Haven Cay.
My entire extended family was gathering. Not just blood, but the family I’d chosen over the years. My other besties from childhood were out there, everyone from the company, and friends we’d picked up along the way. Even Gideon Tremaine himself was in attendance.
A knock came at the door. “Flower delivery for Scarlett Reynolds.”
Dad answered, accepting a bouquet from the resort staff.
White lilies.
My stomach did a small flip as I took them from him, already knowing what I was looking at. I found a card tucked between the stems.
Handwritten in a far-too-familiar script, it read: The dress is beautiful. If you ever get bored of the boy toy, come find me.
I cast my gaze heavenward, as though I’d find an explanation up there for why he continued with this ridiculous game.
“What is it, darling?” asked Mum.
White lilies had been my favorite. It was what Noah would bring as an apology or when we celebrated. He’d brought them to my room in Venice before nearly getting into a fight with Malcolm. He’d left them in my house before I got home from Rome.
And he liked calling Malcolm ‘the boy toy.’
I let out a long breath, staring at them. Beautiful, expensive, perfectly arranged. Just like everything Noah did—beautiful on the surface but ultimately ugly underneath. “They’re from Noah.”
“So…” sighed Brie. “The Carabinieri didn’t find him, after all?”
“It would appear not.” I picked up the vase and walked to the desk in the corner.
Tough luck for him. I’d found someone who fit into my life perfectly.
Malcolm didn’t need me to be anyone other than exactly who I was.
He didn’t play games, leave coded messages, or show up uninvited with grand gestures.
He stood up to my mother, was best friends with my brother, and made me feel more special than Noah ever had.
I rolled my eyes and dropped the lilies into the trash, card and all.
Jenn wrapped her arm around my waist. “Done?”
“So done.” I leaned my head on her shoulder. “And so ready to get married.”
As if on cue, there was another knock at the door, and Ashley entered, wearing the same dress as Jenn. She took one look at Brie and said, “We’re going shoeless? Perfect!”
I glanced at my mother, who cocked her eyebrow yet again. At least she was reasonable enough to keep her shoes on.
Outside, gentle stringed music began to play. That was our cue.
I glanced outside and waved Brie over to see our men. Our future husbands.
She held my hand, practically bouncing. Emmett had claimed to have been rooting for Brie and Will to get together for years.
Even Malcolm had asked about their relationship the day he met the two of them.
Somehow, I’d missed it. They’d been best friends since they were little, two halves of the same whole.
“My remarkable daughters.” My mother joined us and kissed both my cheeks, then Brie’s. Her voice caught slightly. “I’m so happy for you both.”
She left first, composing herself as she walked out the door toward the beach. Jenn squeezed my hand, then walked out with Ashley.
The music changed—our cue.
Dad offered us each an elbow. “Ready?”
Brie took his left arm, and I took his right.
“Thank you,” Brie said softly to Dad as we walked. “For being here.”
“Thank you for working so hard to free me, and for still wanting me after all these years.”
We stepped out into the evening sun, the path to the beach lined with more flowers. Will stood at the altar, radiating more confidence than I’d ever seen in him.
Malcolm stood beside him. Tall and steady and absolutely jaw-droppingly gorgeous.
He’d always looked good in a tux. Images flashed through my brain of the first time I’d seen Blue Eyes staring at me from the lobby of Philip Maguire’s mansion.
Then, when I’d snuck the girls out the back door when he showed up at my home, and I’d pulled a gun on him.
My cheeks started to ache, remembering how I’d zip-tied him to my car and pulled a hat over his whole head.
That time he’d kissed me in the light well at the Albrecht house.
When he’d come to a tiny little island in the Venetian Lagoon to save me from Noah the first time.
The music swelled. The guests stood. Malcolm smiled at me.
And I stepped out of my shoes.