Kit and Ivy: A Red Team Wedding Novella by Elaine Levine Page A

him was like staring down a wolf in a long chute where you couldn’t escape or look away.  
    When they were separated by the space of the living room, his cold blue eyes, as pale as Ivy’s new aquamarine, made a slow pass over her outfit, snagging on the bare skin her jacket revealed before returning to her eyes. She thought about dodging him by stepping into the living room or walking out the front door, but that felt cowardly. They walked straight to each other like a clamp slowly being tightened. Selena’s heels made her almost six feet tall, but even in them she still had to look up to see his eyes.  
    “Nice outfit.”
    “Val chose it.”
    “Of course.”
    “I hate the freaking rose.”
    He smiled, and what that did to his face made her stop breathing. In an effort to return things to normalcy, she drew up the hems of her pants and showed him her ankle holsters and calf Ka-Bar sheath. And…judging from his reaction, that was a stupid thing to do. Great. Like a real woman would ever do something so graceless. Or an operative something so needless. He made her feel thirteen again.
    “Do you ever really let your hair down?” he asked, his voice rough around the edges.
    “Not when I’m on a 24-7 assignment, like this.”
    “And that, Selena, is why you’re here.”  
    He stepped away from her, moving into the living room. She went in the opposite direction, making straight for the front door. Only half an hour now before the ceremony. She’d make a quick circuit of the area, then come back to follow behind Ivy as she walked outside.

    * * *

    Ivy opened her bedroom door a few minutes later. Her father stood there. “It’s time,” he said. He took her hand and led her out into the sitting room. “For some reason, I feel as nervous as the day I married your mom.” He looked at his wife. “Maybe it’s because that was the best day of my life.”
    “Dad—”  
    “I can’t believe you’re letting me give you away, letting me be part of this day.”
    “Dad…” Ivy couldn’t find words that didn’t involve choking on a mouthful of tears.
    “Don’t get her started, Adam,” her mom said as she came out of the room. “We’ve only just gotten her calmed down. You’re beautiful, sweetheart.” She kissed Ivy’s cheek, then hugged Casey. “I’m going to go sit down.”
    “We’ll go with you, Helen,” Mandy said as she made a last adjustment to Ivy’s hair.  
    Fiona hugged Ivy, then handed her the bouquet. “I can’t wait to watch Kit’s face when he sees you.”
    “Ready, Casey?” Ivy asked.
    “Mom, I’ve been ready for this since I found dad’s first letter to you in your jewelry box.”
    Ivy laughed and hugged her daughter. “You know the best part of today? Besides having your grandparents with us? With the wedding happening now, and not before you were born, you get to be here too to see us get married.”
    “I like that.”
    “Ready?” her dad asked. She nodded. He tucked a hankie in his hand. “Just in case either of us needs it.” She smiled and looped her arm through his. They moved down the hallway and into the living room. When Greer saw them, he winked at Casey, then started the wedding song. Casey stepped out first, moving slowly down the aisle toward her father.  
    Ivy, still in the shadows of the living room, could see Kit outside in the sunshine. He looked as beautiful to her now as he had the day he’d graduated. She looked up at her dad, thinking how different his loving hold on her now was from his angry grasp then. As if reading her thoughts, he nodded.  
    They started forward. Ivy could barely hear the music for the way her heart hammered in her ears. Casey was standing in front of Mandy. Kit was standing next to Ty. His team and all the people she’d become so fond of came to their feet. Fee was next to her mom. Ivy started smiling, and try as she might, she couldn’t stop. She looked at Kit. He wasn’t smiling. Far from it. The muscles bunched in