“It’s my pleasure,” he said in his unplaceable accent. “Pasha and I wish you and Cannon the very, very best.” It was easy to see where his daughter got her manners from.
Daisy and Talia made their way outside, to where their father was waiting behind a wall that obscured him from the rest of the patio. He took a good look at her, and said, “Oh Daisy. I’m so happy for you.”
She hugged him, so happy he was here. Things had improved in her relationship with her parents recently as well.
“Go time?” asked Talia.
Daisy nodded, scared to speak.
Talia gave her one more hug and whispered, “Don’t forget, I want you to help me find a SEAL as soon as you get back from your honeymoon.”
Daisy chuckled as her sister walked over to the DJ, then made her way to the front. Most of Cannon’s SEAL buddies were getting snatched up recently. There was something in the water around here. Or maybe after Corbin started it all, they felt like they had to follow suit to feel like part of the team. Either way, Daisy would do what she could to get her sister hooked up.
The day was perfect, low 70s, some cloud cover, a fresh breeze rolling in off the ocean bringing a fresh salty scent. The wedding march started up and Daisy felt a rush of excitement. She wanted to dance up the aisle to her man, but forced herself to walk in a measured pace at her father’s side.
Cannon was waiting for her, smiling bigger than she’d ever seen. He was clean shaven and wearing a tuxedo that made him look like an international spy. But it was his eyes that she loved the most. Those emerald green eyes that looked at her with such focus and love. Daisy never had to worry about a single thing with him in her life.
Talia, and the other bridesmaids were lined up on one side: Maia, her college roommate, River’s new bride Ally, and Corbin’s wife Delaney. On the other side stood all of Cannon’s buddies: River, Zane, Blayze, and Corbin. He had refused to pick a best man among them.
Her eyes went back to Cannon, and she wasn’t even tempted to make up a fantasy story in her head. Nothing could ever be better than this.
Before she knew it, she was at Cannon’s side, and her father handed her off. The men shook hands, and he took a seat in the front row next to Daisy’s mom.
Cannon winked at her and Daisy just wanted to run off alone with him, but she forced herself to face Pastor Riley, a man she’d grown to know well through Cannon’s involvement as a lay pastor. The ministry plans were going perfectly. It would launch officially in a month.
The wedding was planned to be short, and passed in a blur. All she remembered was cute little Pasha coming up the aisle with the rings on a pillow and one line from Cannon’s vows.
“You are the most important thing in my life, and I’ll never ring the bell.”
Oh, and she would never forget looking into her real fiancé’s eyes and saying, “I do.”
“… now pronounce you man and wife.”
That was it! That’s what she’d been waiting for.
Apparently, Cannon had too because even though he’d been staring at her, he snapped to attention, grabbed her and dipped her into a kiss—firm and soft, protective yet demanding. Warrior and lover. The kiss was everything he was and she wanted all of him forever and ever.
When they finally came up for air, they were still staring into each other’s eyes. She said, “We should probably go meet our guests, my real husband.”
“What guests?” he said with a wink. “The only one I see here is you.”
He kissed her again and Daisy kissed him back, so happy for this fantasy her life had become.
The Peaceful Warrior: Navy SEAL Romance Page 16
