He wanted to marry Isabeau. It wasn’t that making him nervous. But what if she changed her mind? He shouldn’t have pushed her so hard. She was young. Nearly ten years younger than he was, and she’d been sheltered. What had he done? Come into her life, exposed her father, revealed she’d been adopted and then dragged her into a very dangerous situation. He took a breath and ran his sweaty palms down his thighs. Okay, she’d been the one to seek out the team for the present job, but truthfully, if he’d ever found out about his brother, he would have gone anyway, and he could have—should have protected her more . . .

The music started. Hushed murmurs rose and he turned his head. His heart stopped beating. The breath stilled in his lungs. Isabeau stood framed in the doorway, her gloved hand tucked into the crook of Doc’s elbow. She was in a floor-length gown that emphasized the curves of her body to perfection. Diamonds sparkled at her throat and ears. She looked ethereal, a princess in some fairy tale. She looked so beautiful his eyes burned and his throat felt raw. His heart managed to kick-start again, this time hammering in his chest. A roaring started in his head and muscles knotted in his stomach. Her wild hair looked elegant, and yet maintained her untamed appearance, adding to the throb in his groin.

He realized his mouth was open and he was devouring her with his eyes, but he couldn’t stop. There was no way to look away from her, a vision, walking toward him. He felt a mixture of emotions, humbled by the fact that she could love him after what he’d done—and what he might have to do. She was everything to him and he knew that emotion was raw and stark on his face for everyone to see, but he couldn’t mask it. He didn’t even want to try.

Mary sobbed in the front row and several other women dabbed at their eyes. One of the men blew his nose loudly. And then she was moving, walking toward him, her gaze on his, and his love grew with every step she took until he felt as if he might burst with it. He didn’t know if every groom felt this way, but in his world, where everything was life and death, where he saw the worst in people, this moment, surrounded by friends and good people, was perfection.