Prologue

      “SHE’S NOT COMING. I knew it!”

      Trevor McQuillen shifted uncomfortably. There was nothing more terrifying than being alone with an unhappy bride on her wedding day. Except perhaps a crying unhappy bride. When tears pooled in Kate’s eyes, Trevor knew he had to take action. “Listen, maybe she just got caught up—”

      “No, she’s not here because someone told her Eric was going to be at the reception. She told me not to invite him and I swore I wouldn’t, but I—I just had to do something!” Her bottom lip began to quaver. “I just wanted her to be happy. Like I am with Mike. Viv and Eric belong together and I thought once she was here, with all the sentimentality of the wedding—” She broke off on a gulp of air and a noisy sniff.

      Okay, Trevor schooled himself, don’t panic. Five minutes, that’s all Mike had asked. Keep her company for five minutes until her dad arrived. Trevor had commanded sensitive covert operations in four different countries over the past five years. Surely he could handle one crying woman. Mike would never forgive him if he handed over a blubbering bride.

      So he did what Lieutenant Commander Trevor McQuillen did best. He assessed the situation and took command of the operation. Kate wanted Vivian to be in her wedding party. If Trevor could fly halfway around the world to stand up for his best buddy, this Vivian could certainly get over herself and whatever problems she’d had with Eric to do the same for her best friend. “Do you know where she is?”

      Kate was rubbing her nose with a wad of tissues, and his barked order made her jump. “Wha—? Where Viv is?”

      Trevor clamped his jaw tight and willed the tic under his right eye to stop jumping. For once he was happy he was an only child. In a gentler tone, he said, “Yes, ma’am. If you’ll direct me to where she is, I’ll go and get her. Bring her here.”

      Kate was already shaking her head, but the way her watery blue eyes lit up with hope, Trevor knew he was going to do this, even if he had to personally put this Viv into her bridesmaid’s dress and truss her into the back seat of his rental sedan.

      “She’s—she’s probably at home. I got Tricia to call her, but she didn’t pick up.”

      Trevor had no idea who Tricia was—probably one of the dozen or so bridesmaids presently dressing and chattering in the room above the alcove they were standing in. “But you think she’s there?”

      She hiccuped and nodded. “I don’t know where else she’d go.” Fresh tears threatened as she gulped in a deep breath. “What was I thinking to play matchmaker on my wedding day?”

      Trevor wondered the same thing, but time was of the essence here.

      “I just thought it would be so romantic, you know?” She tried to smile as her breath hitched. “I know they still love each other. What better place to realize that than at a wedding?”

      “But you believe she’s at home now?” Trevor silently begged her to focus on the solution, not the problem. He’d been risking his life for too long making solutions happen despite people’s refusal to focus. Apparently turning civilian wasn’t going to end that job description. At least not yet. “How far away is it?”

      “Five, maybe ten minutes tops.”

      He handed her his handkerchief when her tissue finally gave out, trying not to wince when she used it noisily.