CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

“Well, here we are again,” smiled Jonas, holding his new wife to his body as they swayed to the music.

“Yes, but this time it’s our wedding, not someone else’s.”

“And I’m not going to run. You look stunning,” he smiled down at her.

“And you are the most handsome man I’ve ever seen in uniform,” she smiled. “And I’ve seen a lot of men in uniform.” Jonas laughed, shaking his head.

“You know, if I were an insecure man, I’d be upset by that. But considering the group of men around me, it doesn’t bother me at all.”

“This is everything I ever dreamed, Jonas. You’re everything I dreamed. Our family and friends around us as we celebrate the most wonderful event of our life.”

“I didn’t realize how much I missed having this at my first wedding,” he said, smiling at her.

“I’m sorry. Does this bring sadness to you?”

“Not at all. All the things that happened led me to you, Khloe. Of course, I wish that my wife hadn’t been killed, that the twins would have lived, but they didn’t. I can’t change that. I know that Kaleigh would have wanted me to be happy. I would want the same thing for her.”

“I’m so glad we found one another,” she smiled. They twirled around the floor as their friends did the same. Seeing someone she didn’t know, she asked Jonas about her.

“Who is that?” she asked.

“Oh, that’s Captain Jill Morgan. She helped us at the Pentagon with Archie’s father while helping Sgt. Hunt. She’s an attorney and is thinking about joining the team later this summer.”

“She’s lovely. Very tall.”

“She is,” nodded Jonas. “Who is that speaking to her?”

“Oh, that’s Christian Abbott. He’s Milo and Lia’s son. I haven’t seen him in years. He’s really changed. He used to be kind of small and scrawny.”

“He’s definitely not small and scrawny,” laughed Jonas. “Captain Morgan is easily five-ten or eleven. He’s gotta be six-six, maybe even six-seven. Isn’t there someone else named Christian on the property? Won’t that get confusing?”

“Well, like everything else at Belle Fleur, it sort of works itself out. Christian is, or was, a Navy SEAL. His full name is Christian Joseph, so they call him CJ.”

“You’re right,” he laughed, “that fixes all the confusion. Now, so there’s no confusion between us, you promise to never risk your life again. No matter what.”

“No matter what,” she said, kissing him. “I promise.”

“Good. How about we start that self-isolation in our cabin for the next four days.” Khloe could only laugh, nodding at him.

“Let’s go, handsome. We’ve got babies to make.”

Lingering on the side of the tent, as they always did, Martha and her fellow spirits smiled at the people dancing.

“I’m glad that one worked out,” she grinned.

“It always does,” nodded Yori. “We’re becoming very good at matching them.”

“Isn’t it deceitful?” asked Genevieve. Franklin chuckled at the young girl, shaking his head.

“Not if we don’t get caught.”