Page 61 of Shadow Strike
“I’m still processing it.”Regan stared at her plate.“It would mean stepping back from the bar.Maybe finding someone else to manage things.And I don’t know if I’m ready to?—”
“You’re ready.”Lucy’s voice was firm.“Sweetheart, journalism has always been your first love.Your father knew that.It’s why he gave you the bar—not because he expected you to run it forever, but because it was to support you until you were ready to embrace journalism full-time.”
Regan looked up, her eyes stinging.“But it’s his legacy.Your legacy.I can’t just?—”
“You can.”Lucy reached across Pete to squeeze her daughter’s hand.“You’ve saved this place.You’ve made it something he’d be proud of.Now it’s time to go build something of your own.”
The table had gone quiet.Regan felt the weight of everyone’s attention pressing in around her like a warm current.
CB squeezed her knee.“Your mom’s right,” he said quietly.“You don’t have to control everything, Regan.You can let go and trust that the people you love will catch what you leave behind.”
She blinked back tears.This was what he’d been teaching her all along—not just with words, but with actions.He’d stepped into the chaos of her life and showed her what partnership really looked like.Not rescuing.Not controlling.Just standing beside her and sharing the weight.
“Okay,” she whispered.“Okay.I’ll call them back Monday.”
Lucy beamed.Pete raised his glass.Claire started a round of applause that made Regan’s face flush crimson.
CB just smiled.
The meal wound down slowly, plates emptied and refilled, the conversation shifting to lighter topics.Ian told a story about a disastrous Thanksgiving from his SEAL days that had Garrett laughing so hard he nearly choked on his wine.Vivi shared updates on the SPS expansion plans.Wade and Jimmy argued good-naturedly about the best route for the Christmas ride.
When the last of the pie had been consumed, Regan started gathering plates—but CB caught her wrist.
“Leave it.”
“But the youth dinner starts in a few minutes, and we need to?—”
“Leave it.”He stood, and something in his expression made her pause.“I need to say something first.”
The table went quiet.Regan looked around at the faces watching them—her mother’s knowing smile, Wade’s soft expression, Claire’s barely contained excitement.
“What’s going on?”she said.
CB pulled something from his pocket—a small velvet box.
Regan’s heart stopped.
“I had a whole speech planned,” CB said, his voice rough.“About how you changed my life.How you made me want to be better, do better, build something worth protecting.But you already know all that.”He opened the box, revealing a simple diamond ring that caught the afternoon light.“So I’m just going to ask.”
He lowered himself to one knee.“Regan Hill, will you marry me?”
The room held its breath.Regan stared at the ring, then at CB’s face—the hope there, the vulnerability, the absolute certainty in his green eyes.That damn easy smile that made her heart beat too fast.
She thought about everything they’d been through.The fear, the fighting, the moments when she’d doubted him, and the moments when he’d proved her wrong.The nights they’d spent talking until dawn, the mornings she’d woken up wrapped in his arms, the steady way he’d taught her to trust again.
She thought about the list on the kitchen bulletin board.Rules they’d built together, each one a small piece of the language that belonged only to them.
And now, Rule 10:Say yes to opportunity.
A laugh bubbled up through the tears streaming down her face.“See Rule 10,” she said.
“Is that a yes?”Wade murmured from the end of the table.
Regan smiled so wide it hurt.“It’s a yes.A hundred times, yes.”
CB was on his feet before she finished speaking, sliding the ring onto her finger with hands that trembled slightly.Then he lifted her off the ground in a bear hug that drove the breath from her lungs.
She didn’t care, didn’t care about anything except the solid warmth of him and the knowledge that this was real, this was hers, this was forever.
