Page 50 of Isolated (Harper Security Ops #21)

Iris

Seven Months Later

“I can’t believe we’re doing this.”

The light was shining in Landen’s eyes. “I can.”

“Really?”

He nodded, holding me close. “From the moment you told me I was your girl the next time this opportunity arose, I couldn’t stop thinking about it happening. Whatever it took, I was going to make sure you were with me.”

My hand rested on his shoulder, my body pressed close to his. Landen was holding my other hand while looking at me like I was the most precious thing in the world.

And we were finally doing it.

We were dancing together at a wedding. Our dearest friends, Hart and Reagan, had tied the knot today, and I couldn’t have been happier for them.

It felt a bit surreal to be here, to be so happy to the point of delirium .

After what had happened seven months ago, things hadn’t been all rainbows and sunshine.

I’d decided to open my own marketing agency.

I had enough knowledge about and contacts within the industry to be able to establish the business quickly and garner clients faster than I would have if I’d attempted to do something similar ten years earlier.

But it wasn’t without struggle.

As rewarding as opening my own business was, it was also a lot of work. And I wasn’t immediately able to hire employees.

Fortunately, within two months, I hired my first employee. My sister.

Since all the campaign work was falling on my shoulders, I needed someone to handle my books. Eleni was perfect for the job. And since her house had sold in Grouse, she was easily able to make the move to Steel Ridge.

Our relationship had improved tremendously ever since Landen and I had made that initial trip back to Grouse to figure out precisely what had been going on with my sister. She was still just as outspoken as she always had been, but the bitterness was gone.

And she’d had time to grieve for the loss of her pregnancy, too. Flora and I had bent over backwards to be there to support Eleni through that healing, even if she was getting the opportunity far later than I thought she should have.

In the end, my decision not to return to Mono Mark Solutions after Robert offered me my former position had been the right one. Despite the uncertainty that came along with it, at least I was the one in control of my future.

I could find comfort in knowing that everyone at my former job knew the truth.

Two days after I’d walked in and given Robert the evidence on Brett as well as a piece of my mind, I’d gotten a call from Steph and Kasey.

They’d called to share that Robert had organized a company-wide meeting where he shared the full truth about what happened.

Everyone knew that I’d been sabotaged, and that Brett was the one responsible.

My former friends wanted to apologize to me for how they’d cut me out, but in the end, I couldn’t bring myself to reconcile with them.

I couldn’t get past how they’d watched me get escorted out of the building the day I’d been fired and not once reached out to me afterward to check on me.

For me, it was a true representation of the way they viewed our friendship, and I’d told them as much.

They were sad about it. I was, too. But I believed I was better off in the end to start fresh and build trust with new people.

As for his part, I didn’t know why Brett chose to target me. The best I could assume was that I was so successful, and he’d gotten a better offer from Turnkey Strategies if he’d help them bring Mono Mark Solutions down. Nothing else made sense.

The best part of all that had happened over the last seven months had been Landen.

Not only had we spent tremendous amounts of time with one another, but he’d brought new relationships into my life.

He and I had finally had that first double date with Hart and Reagan.

Landen and Hart were already such great friends, so it was truly the icing on the cake that Reagan and I had hit it off.

The two of us got together for lunch regularly without the guys around.

And over time, I’d met more and more members of the Harper Security Ops team—both the employees and their spouses. I had more friends than I knew what to do with.

“I’m the happiest I’ve ever been in my life, Landen.”

“Barring that one small complication back at the beginning, you’ve always been so happy.”

“But it’s different now.”

“How so?”

My hand slid away from his shoulder, up the back of his neck and into his hair.

“I thought I was happy before. I truly loved my life. But there was something missing. I knew it was love I was looking for, and I had dreams about what it would be like when I got it. The daydreams were rather spectacular. But they don’t compare to the reality of having you.

Of having your love. I truly feel so fulfilled.

Like I finally have everything I could ever want and need. ”

His features softened, his thumb stroking absentmindedly at my back. “Are you sure about that? You have everything you want?”

I nodded. “Yes. Don’t you?”

He shook his head. “No.”

“What else do you need?”

Landen tore his attention away from me and looked around the room. When he returned his gaze to me, he said, “I want this. I want the happy ending. And I want to build a family with my wife.”

The corners of my mouth tipped up. “You’re right. I don’t have everything I want yet.”

He chuckled. “I’m glad to hear that.”

I shot him an expectant look .

Landen saw it, understood the questions in my stare, and revealed, “You’re the one I want it with, sunshine. Our time is coming soon.”

Satisfied with that, knowing he hadn’t disappointed me once yet, I said, “Okay.”

“Now, let me spin you around in this dress. I’ve been thinking about doing it since I pulled into the driveway and saw you standing there in it.”

Without giving me a chance to decline, Landen spun me around in my gown. He made me feel like such a princess, and it would have been a chore to contain the joy I felt. So, when I was facing him again, I beamed at him, pressed up on my toes, and touched my mouth to his.

A lifetime.

I could easily spend a lifetime in this man’s arms.

I couldn’t wait for him to make it happen.

Landen

Two years, three months later

I stood across the room, watching.

Watching and feeling such peace and love and euphoria at the sight before me.

My wife.

My beautiful, pregnant wife.

She was standing there with a smile on her face and a hand resting on her rounded belly.

God, she was breathtaking.

Beside her was Walter.

Iris and I had gone out yesterday to purchase the crib for the baby’s nursery following her twenty-week ultrasound on Friday. And because I refused to have her even think about picking up something so bulky, she decided she’d get Walter to help me carry it inside.

I probably could have managed on my own, but Walter liked to help. He enjoyed being useful. So, whenever the opportunity arose, we included him.

Just like we included him in today’s celebration.

Yes, celebration.

We’d decided to have my mom, Iris’s family, and Walter over for what they all believed was a family dinner. What they didn’t know was that we intended to reveal the sex of the baby to them today. She glanced at me from across the room, and I couldn’t miss the joy oozing from her.

Always so happy.

“This is it.”

I looked to my side to find my mom smiling at me.

“What?”

She placed her hand on my shoulder. “That feeling inside, that’s it. That’s the thing I wanted you to feel for so long. The love for her and your baby. I wanted you to have that. Now you know why I pushed so hard for you to find someone.”

I wrapped my arm around her back and squeezed her opposite shoulder. “I understand it now. I couldn’t rush it, though. It wouldn’t have been this way with anyone else, so I’m glad I waited for her.”

My mom tapped her hand on my chest. “Me, too.”

In the time I’d spent conversing with my mom, Iris had moved from where she’d been standing. Her hand touched the back of my arm. “I’m sorry to interrupt.”

“Oh, you’re not interrupting,” my mom insisted. “I was just telling Landen how happy I am you two found each other.”

“You and me both, Lucy.”

Both women laughed, the sound like music to my ears. Not that I’d had any doubts, but my mom and Iris got along from day one. And they often found time to get together without me. I loved what they’d managed to give to one another.

Glancing down at Iris, I asked, “Is it time?”

She nodded. “Everyone is here.”

I released my hold on my mom, took Iris by the hand, and got everyone’s attention.

As Walter, my mom, and Iris’s parents, grandparents, sisters and their spouses brought their conversations to a halt, I said, “Iris and I wanted to thank all of you for coming today. We’re going to sit down for dinner in a minute, but before we do, we wanted to share some news with you. ”

“I went for an ultrasound on Friday,” Iris shared. “And not only did we learn that the baby is growing perfectly healthy right now, but we also learned the sex. We thought we’d share it with you tonight.”

My eyes slid across the hopeful faces of everyone in the room. I was convinced nobody was breathing.

Iris and I looked at one another, grinning. She gave me a nod. Then I announced, “We’re having a boy.”

I couldn’t make out one specific comment from anyone as screams and shouts of joy filled the air around us. Laughter sounded from the woman beside me, and that took the moment up several notches for me.

Iris and I were married, and we were having a son. Our family was with us, and surged forward with their congratulatory words, hugs, and thrills of excitement .

And though the joy didn’t quite wear off, it had diminished enough for everyone to settle down and enjoy a family dinner together.

As I sat there with them, knowing this was just the first of many moments of joy for us and our changing lives—the Harper Security Ops team would be just as thrilled when they heard the news—I felt even more convinced about the words I’d said to my mom.

I couldn’t have rushed myself into this.

And it didn’t bother me so much now that I was the last guy at Harper Security Ops to finally get his happy ending.