Page 111 of Delta Force Defender

She looked over her shoulder at the long tables where Caradine had set up her offerings and was now standing off to the side, looking mulish and put out.

Everly grinned. “For those of you who aren’t lucky enough to know my friend Caradine, she’s famous here in Grizzly Harbor.”

“I wasn’t told there would be speeches,” Caradine muttered.

“Suck it up,” Isaac suggested from beside her, winning a scowl for his trouble.

Everly was addressing the crowd again. “When I firstarrived in Grizzly Harbor, looking for Blue, I made the mistake of trying to order something from Caradine’s café.” All the locals groaned at that, and Everly laughed. “The thing about the Water’s Edge Café is that you don’t order. Caradine gives you what you want, whether you want it or not, and you accept that. Because it’s usually the best food you’ve ever had in your life.”

Caradine’s brows rose. “Usually?”

Isaac only grinned.

“When Blue and I decided to get married here,” Everly said, pausing for a moment to smile up at her brand-new husband, who gripped her hand like he had no intention of ever letting go, “we knew that no celebration could possibly be complete without Caradine’s food. In true Caradine style, there have been no tastings, no consultations, and Blue and I have absolutely no idea what we’re about to feed you.”

Everly looked over at Caradine then, her eyes full.

And, if Isaac wasn’t mistaken, Caradine’s eyes were suspiciously bright as well. Though if he pointed it out, she’d deny it. And probably hit him.

“But I already know one thing,” Everly said, her voice a little thick. “If you could put love on a plate, that’s what Caradine does, every single day, as long as I’ve known her. This is going to be the best food you’ve ever had at a wedding. Maybe in your whole life.”

And it was.

Later, after the crowd had stopped cheering at all the speeches, the ones that made everyone laugh, and the ones that made them cry, Isaac found his favorite caterer standing by herself, her arms crossed, biting back a smile while Blue and Everly had their first dance.

“If you came over here to say nice things to me,” Caradine told him, scowling ferociously to hide the hectic glitter in her blue eyes, “you can stop right there. Mariah hugged me extensively and without my consent.Katealmostdid, which was worse. And thenBethangot emotional about my salmon. I’m full up, Isaac.”

“Too bad, baby,” he replied.

He took her hand, still amazed that he got to do that. Right here in public, where everyone could see. Hewantedthem to see.

He drew her out with him as other couples joined Blue and Everly on the dance floor. Mariah and Griffin. Templeton and Kate. Blue’s mom and stepfather. Everly’s parents.

Isaac pulled his woman into his arms, where she still fit. Perfectly.

“I don’t dance,” Caradine told him.

He grinned down at her. “You do with me.”

And the Alaskan winter would come in hard, the way it always did. Life would do the same, throwing up obstacles and testing them to see what they were made of. To show them who they were.

Luckily, they already knew.

He spun Caradine out and she laughed, tossing back her head and letting out a sound of pure delight. He couldn’t get enough of it. And when Isaac glanced around the tent, he could see the startled looks on the faces of all these people here who loved her, too. From the bride and the groom right on down to crotchety old Otis Taggert.

Because this was family. And Caradine was theirs.

And Isaac planned to dedicate his life to making her happy, but these were the people, and this was the place, that would help keep the both of them whole.

“I love you, Gentry,” she said when he spun her back to him.

“You used to call me that when you wanted to keep me in my place. Now you do it when you’re holding me close. You can see how that’s confusing.”

“Isaac,” she said, her face open and bright and all his.Just as she was all his. “I don’t ever want to be predictable.”

“You say that like you could be if you tried.”

Her smile widened. “I don’t think we have to jump through any hoops to get a happy ever after, by the way. I’m pretty sure it’s already started.”

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