by Hart, Taylor
“Can I tell you something?” He asked.
She hesitated, sensing the gravity of her words. “Of course.”
“I didn’t tell you one thing about the night I got the scar.”
His admission took her by surprise. “Okay.” She turned in his arms and repositioned so she could see his face.
He frowned. “The night my team was captured …”
She blinked and thought of what he was sharing with her. Something he’d probably never shared, according to him. “You were captured?”
He waved his hand in dismissal like this was a side detail. “Yeah, anyway, their ship took us to an embankment. It was dark. My face was bleeding. The guys I was with, one of them was moaning from his injuries. Another was crying. There was nothing I could do about it, and I remember thinking, ‘Why the hell am I here and what am I doing this for?’”
Uneasy, she breathed, “And …?”
“I think this moment, right here with you, is the answer I’ve been waiting for.”
A thrill ran up her spine, and she turned and looked up at him. Tears were in his eyes. One was falling down his cheek. She was stunned that he’d shared that with her.
“Moments like this, when a man holds a woman bathed in moonlight, the world feels right somehow. That’s how it feels with you, Shay. It just feels better. It makes everything I went through feel worth it.”
Without saying anything, she leaned up and brushed her lips across his. They tasted like peanut butter. He deepened the kiss, and she wondered if there would ever be a more perfect moment in her whole life than right now.
“No one said the code word.” He grinned.
She rolled her eyes. “Maybe we skip the code word.”
He laughed and kissed her again.
Chapter 25
Scar and Shayla headed back to her townhome, the blanket draped over both of them. He loved the feeling that he could protect her right here. That nothing could go wrong with her right by his side.
He wasn’t sure what she would do when they got to the townhome; all he knew was he didn’t want to leave her for the night. It was stupid. Security was up to par, but man, he didn’t want to leave.
They walked up the stairs, and he opened the screen door for her. She punched in the new code on the lock. “Thank you. So much. For having all this security put in.”
Nodding, he loitered on the porch.
For a moment, neither of them spoke a word. Then she sighed. “Well, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow?”
Every part of him wanted to keep seeing her tonight, but he agreed. “Sounds good.”
“Okay. Thank you.” Then she grinned. “Hey.”
He broke into a laugh and crossed the doorway. “Hey.” He pulled her into a kiss, keeping it light and sweet. He ended it by kissing both of her cheeks and holding her close to him. Slow, he reminded himself. This was not a girl to take things fast with.
Pulling back, she nodded. “See you in the morning.”
With an insane amount of self-control, he pulled back and moved out of the doorway, pulling the door shut behind him. He took the bike he’d rented off the porch and hopped on. It was dark, but the moon lit up the sky and there were lights on the boardwalk back to the hotel. He biked by a few random people, couples, and some military runners. It was strange to him that even though he should be tired from all they’d done together, he only felt awake and alive. He decided right then what he would do. He would follow the same trail that they’d taken the other day, and he would push out a bike ride around the island.
Going hard and fast, he took off. It felt awesome. He was soaring, flying. He crossed the street by the hotel and went down the other boardwalk along the other side of the island. The breeze was cool and perfect. He thought about how the air in San Diego felt so different from Texas. San Diego actually cooled down at night, and the breeze was heavenly.
Once more, he thought about how he could be in San Diego full time. How he could relocate. Was he willing to give up football? As he pushed around the rest of the island for the next hour, he liked the idea of being in San Diego. Liked the idea of doing the vet sparring full time, running the gym, expanding with other gyms, maybe even doing tours with his brother.
Most importantly, he could be with her. Every day. Eventually, every night too.
With her. Married to her.
Getting back to his room, he took another shower because he was gross and saw it was only ten-thirty. As he got all his clothes together for the laundry, he made a list of all the things they would do the next day. He couldn’t stop smiling as he thought of the pillow talk they would have when he called her in just a bit.
Then he got a text. Thinking it was her, he was going to reply, Already miss me?
But it wasn’t. It was from Anthony Kincaid. Bro and Dad want to chat about project. Sending the jet for you at eight am tomorrow.
Annoyance rippled through him. He did notice the irony of this situation, because he liked being on the Kincaid team. He liked the power they could wield with their charitable forces and the vision he had with this program. However, at the moment, he felt like he’d been summoned by the king, and he did not like that.
He texted back. Okay. What else could he do?
Plus, a small part of him thought this might be an opportunity to talk to them about relocating here. They also had to talk about football. Sure, they could replace him, but they were a team. He would miss them.
He grinned thinking they wouldn’t miss his trash-talking. Thinking about it made him smile. You don’t try to compete in trash-talking with an ex-Navy SEAL. You just don’t.
His phone rang, and he smiled as he answered. “You just can’t get enough, Kansas.”
She hesitated. “Ya know, I guess I don’t mind my other nickname so much.”
He laughed, and felt something stir in his breast at how much he wanted this woman. How completely he wanted her. “You got it, dream girl.”
A chuckle rang over the line. “I miss you.” She sounded vulnerable.
He wanted to offer her to come stay, but he didn’t want to do anything he would regret, and he did understand the need for boundaries, guidelines, and discipline. It was what had gotten him this far in his career. “I miss you too.” He didn’t want to tell her this, but he had to. “I was just summoned to Mt. Olympus by the Kincaids.”
“Oh, the guys that run your charity?”
“Yes.”
“O-kay.” She sounded uncertain.
“I hate to do this to you, but I have to leave at eight in the morning. With time changes, I think I can be back by dinner. Will you go out to dinner with me?”
“Well, I did have plans with this hot former Navy SEAL all day, but …”
He liked the fact she called him hot. “Oh, really? Just how hot is this guy?” he asked, smiling, hating that he was fishing for compliments.
She skittered out a laugh. “The downside to him is that he’s cocky and arrogant. The good thing is that he’s brave and extremely funny and outrageously sexy.”
Man, did he want to pull her in for a kiss right now. “Hmm-hmm. Keep going.”
She laughed. “I think my favorite thing about him is he makes me feel smart and important and like I can do anything. Like I should follow my dreams because they might be important too.”
His heart raced. He wanted to ask her to marry him right now, which was crazy, but by now the idea had grown too big to ignore. He would get a ring tomorrow, and when he got back, he would ask her to marry him. “So you’ll make that home-cooked meal for me? Say, seven?”
“I would love to.”
His heart somersaulted. He turned off the lights in the room and lay across the two pushed-together queen beds. “Are you in bed?” he asked.
“Yes, you?”
“I am just now lying down.”
She sighed. “There were so many favorites about this day, but one of the best was waking up with your hand in mine.”
Another shot
of warmth to his chest. “Mine too. I loved watching you surf, though. You’re gorgeous, dream girl.”
She didn’t say anything for a minute. “And you’re not bad yourself.”
“Your flattery overwhelms me.”
She let out a sigh. “What do you want me to say? You kind of have an amazing body.”
Liking her blatant compliment more than he should, he grinned. “Uh, yeah, that’s good. Say that.”
She laughed. “And your tattoos, even though I don’t know what they mean, are pretty awesome.”
“The trident.”
“What?”
“On my shoulder I have the Navy SEAL Trident. It is an eagle holding a gun, a trident, and an anchor. The pendant is one officers get when they’ve accomplished the BUDS training to become a SEAL.” Come to think of it, he normally didn’t discuss his tattoos with anyone—not even the woman he’d dated last year.
“You’re pretty amazing.” She sniffed. “I cannot believe this day. I cannot believe I met you. That we …”
“Fell in love,” he finished for her. He couldn’t believe he said it, but then again, he could. It was her. Maybe he was wearing rose-colored glasses, but he wanted to wake up next to her for the rest of his life.
“Yeah,” she said quietly. “Which is so strange, because it feels so different from anything I’ve ever felt.”
Scar’s mind flashed to her old boyfriend. It was stupid, but he wanted to deck this fictitious guy he’d never met. He had to be fictitious, because everything between him and Shay felt so real.
“Scar?” she asked.
“Sorry, yes, it’s different for me too, dream girl.” His voice was soft and he thought about how he’d never seen this coming.
She sighed. “I saw some of your past girlfriends on the Internet tonight.”
“What?” He didn’t like thinking she was looking at pictures of his dates with other women.
“It’s … wow, some of those girls had it all.”
He knew what she was thinking. They looked like they had it all because it was all fake. “I …” He tried to explain. “That’s not my type.” He defended himself.
“Hmm,” she said.
He hated that he wasn’t there to talk to her about this in person. “I …” His heart raced at what he was about to confess. “I went for a bike ride tonight.”
“Tonight?”
“Yeah.”
“Of course you did, Rambo.”
He smiled.
She exhaled. “My legs are shaky and my upper body strength is wasted, but you go for a bike ride.”
He grinned even wider, not hating how she was complimenting him on his manliness. Of course, she would never say it that way. “My point is that when I was on that ride, all I could think of was how the past couple of days have felt so real to me. That you, being with you, has felt more real than any part of my life ever has.” He swallowed, feeling the emotion swell up. “I want a life with you, Shay. I do. I know this might be too fast. I’ve been wanting to say it, but I haven’t wanted to scare you off. You’re so much younger than me, and so innocent. But I want to tell you ….” He trailed.
“Just say what you want to say.” She spoke softly and it sounded like a challenge.
“I’m in love with you, Shay.” The words tumbled out before he could take them back. His heart thumped madly, but he didn’t care. It was true.
She took an audible breath, then said, “I think I’m in love with you too.”
At that moment, he didn’t care if it was jockish or competitive. He made a fist and tugged it into his side like he would if the Titans scored a touchdown in a close game. “Yes!” he said aloud.
That made her giggle. Then she sniffed.
“Are you crying?” He sat up in bed.
“No,” she said quickly. “Yes.”
He couldn’t stop himself from jumping up and putting on his tennis shoes. “I’m sorry, Shay, but I have to come see you.”
He ended the call and took off out the door and down the stairs. Not bothering with going to the parking lot to get his car, he flat-out ran to her house, guessing he probably made it just as quickly as if he’d been driving.
There she was, standing on the porch, laughing and dressed in pajama bottoms and a tank top with a blanket draped around her. “Hey.”
“Hey.” Feeling ecstatic, he pulled her to him and kissed her, knowing he wanted her to be the last woman he ever kissed.
Chapter 26
The next morning, Shay woke up, and he was gone. He’d stayed on top of the covers next to her in bed. They’d fallen asleep talking and dreaming about a life together in San Diego, where he would run his ‘Sparring for Vets.’
She’d seen his vision as he laid it out and as he’d traced his fingers over her hands and spooned up against her back. He’d whispered about all the new adventures he would show her around San Diego. He’d told her of places he wanted to go all over the world.
The best part was that she’d seen the vision too. Even though it overwhelmed her, the thing she was the most sure of was him by her side, hand in hand as they started a life together.
Knowing that he would probably wake and leave to catch his plane, she hadn’t expected to wake up at almost nine o’clock in the morning. She laughed and rolled out of bed, happy to see a rose on the chair by the bed and a note that said, Hike to Loma Point today, and we’ll talk about it tonight.
How had he gotten a rose? She smiled even wider as she smelled it. She buzzed around her apartment excitement, getting everything in order, taking a shower, pulling out chicken for the crockpot. She got out some chili powder and salsa and thought she’d make chicken fajitas for dinner, letting the chicken sauté all day. It would be heavenly, and she wanted that for Scar.
He’d told her he would be back by seven and that left the whole day for her. Taking her time, she packed a light lunch.
Shayla paused next to her bucket list wall, reviewing all the things she’d put there. Then she came to one on the list. Marry Jason on the beach. She pulled it off the wall, crumpled it up, and tossed it in the trash. It amazed her how easily it came off the wall and went into the garbage without regret. Sure, it had been over a month now, and she had had time. For so long, he’d been part of her dreams.
She hummed with a sense of accomplishment as she drove to Loma Point. It was on a naval base that was also a state park, and she was amazed to see all the barracks for soldiers and the graveyard. She paid ten dollars to get in and smiled, thinking that Scar would have insisted on paying. Actually, he probably would have somehow talked the guy into getting in free. Her thoughts were flooded with Scar. He was a man among men, a larger-than-life guy. When she’d first met him, all those qualities kind of bugged her. He was sassy about life and was confident that he could do everything and handle anything.
She thought of the night she’d been grabbed by that creep. Scar had been there, pulling him off and slamming his fist into the guy’s jaw. He was a man of action, and it just increased her attraction to him. He was raw and real, and she could see him captured and imagine the blood on his face from the scar and feel the fight and drive and desire it took to battle his way out.
As she parked and got out of her car, her heart hammered inside of her chest at the beauty of San Diego Harbor. She walked along the trail to the lighthouse that faced the beach as the waves crashed into rocks. It was so picturesque. She hated that she found herself crying again. She was here. Finally. Why hadn’t she done this before Scar? She could have hiked to Loma Point Lighthouse. It was only ten dollars. Sure, she’d been getting settled, starting school, and working a new job, but she could have done this one night.
It was like all her dreams had been on hold. She had been afraid of the next step, afraid she couldn’t even keep the ground she’d won, until she’d met Scar. He made her feel brave. More confident. More like him.
Getting to the lighthouse, she flitted in and out of the small crowd. She went into the old home
and climbed up the circular stairs, which didn’t go all the way to the top. It disappointed her that the room was closed off.
She headed back down and went into the tiny museum, which housed a replica of the lighthouse. It was beautiful. Its multifaceted light made her think of her own life, how she’d lost her light when Jason had broken her heart. Some of it had shut off. She’d kept going and more light had come into her life. She left the museum, feeling so much gratitude.
She walked to the monument of one of the first sailors from Spain into San Diego Harbor, Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo. There stood a huge stone statue of the man. It made her smile to see his face, because she thought of how Scar had the same determination that this man had obviously had. The statue had captured that ferocity.
Moving around it, she stared out into the bay and was overwhelmed with how a people had tamed all of the trees and bushes into the civilization it was now. California was majestic, even if her father said the taxes were horrible. There was so much beauty here.
She roamed around back up to the lighthouse and followed the shoreline. She stopped and ate her lunch, surprised that it was already two-thirty. Time sure could fly by. She drove back to her place about thirty minutes away and prepared some rice and beans and homemade tortillas out of flour. It made her happy to think of her and Scar eating this food at her little table. She would light a candle again.
She heard the text message alert on her phone. Dinner plans still good for seven?
She texted back. Yes.
He texted back with an emoji thumbs-up.
Feeling almost at a loss for what she would do until he arrived, she went up to her room and decided to lie down for a few moments.
A loud banging on the door startled her awake. She jumped up, grabbing her phone and finding that it was almost seven. “Oh my gosh.” She’d wanted to be ready and have nice hair and makeup. She didn’t know how she’d slept for so long.
Rushing down the stairs, she couldn’t wait to see Scar and tell him “hey” and indulge in his lips. She flung the door back, a smile on her lips, but froze when she saw something she had stopped imagining and even wishing for—Jason.