Forged in Steele (KGI #7)(113)

When Maren and her father reached the front of the church, just a few feet from where Steele stood, her father kissed her cheek, tears glittering brightly in his eyes. Maren hadn’t worn a veil, and Steele was glad because he didn’t want any part of her beautiful face obscured. He wanted to see her eyes, see the love for him shining in their depths.

Her father then took her hand, pulling her toward Steele. As Steele reached to take her from her father, Matthew Scofield said to Steele, in a low voice, “You are getting one of my greatest blessings in my life. Take care of her and love her always.”

“Yes, sir,” Steele said gravely. “She is my life.”

Nodding his satisfaction, her father stepped back and went to join Maren’s mother and brother in the front pew.

And there was Maren. Standing next to him, so radiant and breathtaking that it was like being punched in the stomach. Her smile lit up the entire church. There was such joy and . . . peace . . . in her eyes. And love. Most of all love. All for him. It still awed him. This woman loved him, accepted him. She had his back and was fiercely protective of him. For God’s sake, it was his job, his duty, his honor to protect and love her, but damned if she wasn’t just as fiercely protective of him. She amazed him every single day, and he’d never take that love and support for granted. It was a gift he’d cherish for the rest of his life and beyond.

He hadn’t wanted to wait to marry her. He’d wanted her tied to him the minute she was released from the hospital, but she’d wanted to wait until they were both completely healed. She’d been adamant that she wasn’t walking down the aisle with a sling, nor would he marry her with broken ribs and his fingers in a splint.

So they’d spent their recovery together at his home in peace and solitude, discovering each other more with each passing day, confirming their growing love. Those days were special, ones he wouldn’t trade for anything. And now he was glad they’d waited, because he wanted nothing to interfere with their honeymoon. And he was definitely taking her on a honeymoon. Just the two of them. Somewhere private where he could spend his days making love to her with no impediments.

His gaze dropped to the now discernible bulge at her waist and he felt the betraying sting of tears. God, he couldn’t lose it. Not now. Not on the most important day of his life. He couldn’t lose it in front of his team and the others. But she undid him. The knowledge of their daughter resting in her womb overwhelmed him.

Their daughter. Their child. His family.

Maren squeezed his arm, her eyes softening, almost as if she knew exactly what he was feeling. Then she nodded toward the waiting minister, indicating they were all waiting for him to proceed.

It was then that he defied convention. He knew there were set rules about ceremonies. Hell, they’d even had a rehearsal—as if he needed to be coached on how to marry a woman that meant the world to him.

But none of that mattered. He couldn’t go another moment without holding her. Without kissing her and telling her he loved her. Now. Right now. Even before their vows.

He pulled her into his arms so that their child was solidly between them. His throat closed in when he felt the faint patter of a kick, almost as if their daughter understood what was happening. He lowered his mouth to Maren’s, kissing her softly at first and then more deeply, allowing every emotion to bleed into that kiss.

She sighed into his mouth. He heard light chuckles from the pews, but he ignored everything but the gorgeous woman in his arms. Shining brighter than the sun. Her love for him. There was nothing that compared.

The only thing lacking from this day was his own family. His parents and his brother, Griffin. But somehow he knew they were up there, smiling down on him and Maren and their daughter. He knew his father would be proud of him. He knew his mother would have loved Maren as much as he did.

When he finally pulled away, there must have been something in his eyes that told Maren what he was thinking. She reached up, ignoring protocol every bit as much as he was, and stroked her hand over his cheek and then down to his jaw.

“They’re here,” she whispered. “They’ve always been with you. And though I know you love and miss them, you do have family. Everyone here.”

She turned, gesturing to the assembled congregation, her smile warm and soft and so filled with love.

“They’re all your family. Mine too. We’re lucky, Steele. So very lucky. And now you have me and our daughter. You’ll always have us.”

The minister cleared his throat and there were smiles from his team and the Kelly wives who stood on either side of Maren and Steele, but he ignored them again as he pulled Maren to him one last time. The last time he’d hold her before they were officially pronounced man and wife.

“I love you,” he said fiercely. “Of anything I ever give you, know this above all else: You will always have my love.”

She smiled back, uncaring as he was that they were holding up the ceremony. “And you’ll always have mine, Jackson Steele. Now, what do you say we get married?”

TWO MONTHS LATER

Steele stood anxiously by Maren’s bedside, her fingers firmly entwined with his as she breathed through another contraction. God, how much longer would this go on? He’d been there when Rachel Kelly had delivered the twins, but it hadn’t taken this long, had it?

No, she’d had a C-section. It hadn’t taken but a few hours. Maren had been in labor for eighteen hours. Eighteen of the longest hours of his goddamn life. She had to be suffering. Her face was pale and sweaty, and yet she looked utterly serene, her eyes warm and full of love, even as she breathed through her contractions. She was taking this a hell of a lot better than he was, because he was about to lose his mind.