Latched (Coronado Series Book 1)

by Hart, Lea

  “You planned the most perfect evening. How did you do this?”

  “A man never gives up his secrets. I had a lot of help and I’m glad I could pull it off so soon.” He gathered her in his arms and hugged her. He had to be careful because he didn’t want her to get poked from the medals on his chest.

  She pulled back and grabbed a napkin to wipe her face. “I’m a mess and I don’t want to get anything on your uniform. I can’t believe you asked me to marry you. Are you sure?”

  “Baby, I have never been more certain of anything in my life. You are the one for me and I am the one for you. The rest is just details.”

  She looked at the man who stole her heart and ran her hand down his face. “I love you and I am looking forward to whatever adventures come our way.” She kissed him and somehow it felt different. It felt important as though it was the beginning of everything.

  “Let’s go inside and get you out of that uniform. I think we have some celebrating to do.”

  He picked her up and took her upstairs, “I like the way you think. I think we need to practice on making some babies.”

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  TUESDAY

  Birdie woke and felt Mark curled around her. He had his arms wrapped around her and was holding one of her hands in his. She looked down at their hands together and admired her engagement ring, it was beautiful. The difference in their hands was startling when she looked at them together. Her hands looked small wrapped up in his, it almost seemed liked he was protecting her even in sleep. Was she crazy to become engaged to a man after only knowing him for three weeks? Apparently she was and it didn’t seem to bother her too much. He was the person she wanted to take the leap with. This was the beginning of the rest of her life and she had a feeling that a life with him was going to be exciting. She tried to roll over and heard him mumble something. She rolled into him and kissed his skin and breathed in his warm guy smell. “Good morning fiancé.”

  “Good morning fiancée,” he kissed her gently and dragged his mouth down her neck and kissed her on the magic spot. She started to wriggle underneath him and he didn’t let her move very much. He had her pined underneath his big body as he shifted his hips and poised himself right at her entrance. She let her legs fall apart as he slid into her with one push. “Hi.”

  She started laughing as he pulled out and slid back in, her laughter quickly changed to a moan. He kept up a slow leisurely pace “Do you want me to move a little faster?” He pushed his hips all the way in and bottomed out. Her eyes were closed and he could tell that she was very close, so he pulled all the way out and watched her eyes pop open. She was about to protest, but he slipped back in and set a rhythm that he knew worked for her. He was rewarded with Birdie calling his name as she fell apart. He allowed himself to finally let go and emptied himself into the woman who made him the happiest man in the world. He rolled off and pulled her in and kissed her head.

  “Melanie is opening the store for you today, so you have the morning off. You can spend it with me and we can stay in bed.” He ran his hand up and down her back and she was silent. He looked down and she had fallen asleep, maybe he wore her out. He wrapped her up a little tighter and kissed her head, then managed to pull the sheet up and let himself drift off.

  ********

  They sat on the patio at the Hotel Del Coronado and enjoyed drinking champagne and eating brunch. Mark held her hand and kept smiling at her. “Thank you for last night, you made the most perfect evening. I will remember it for the rest of my life.”

  “Did I give you a good engagement story? Sam told me it was important, he told me it had be flawless.”

  “You did an amazing job and I look forward to telling people how romantic my bad ass Navy SEAL fiancé is.”

  “I’m relieved you liked it. I’m surprised how much fun I had planning it. I think I may have a lot more romantic nights in me.”

  She looked down at their hands and felt her tummy flip over. “I feel like the luckiest woman in the world and I love you.”

  “Thanks for agreeing to marry me. I promise to work hard on being a good husband.”

  She squeezed his hand and felt like her heart had grown several sizes in her chest. They finished up their meal and headed out of the restaurant. Birdie’s house was not that far from the hotel so they walked back along the board walk. “When does your platoon get moved up on the rotation?”

  “It looks like it’s going to be in the next two weeks. Can we go have a quickie wedding in Vegas? Then we can plan something bigger in a couple of months.”

  “Are you nuts? We have only known each other three weeks! We are going to have a very long engagement.”

  “Why? We love each other and you said yes. What is the difference if we get married sooner rather than later? Are you going to change your mind, if you find something that you don’t like about me?”

  “No, I’m not going to change my mind. You are not going to rush me into this. I only get one wedding and I would like to enjoy it. I hate Vegas any way.”

  “We could go to the courthouse and get married and then you could plan a big event for a couple of months from now.”

  “Why are you in such a rush?”

  “I love you and I want to marry you and I don’t want to wait. I’m going down range in a couple of weeks and I want to know that you are taken care of so I can concentrate on my job.”

  “I am capable of taking care of myself, you don’t need to worry about me. I’m going to keep myself plenty busy while you are gone.”

  “What are you going to be so busy with?”

  “I’m going to start the renovations for the space above my shop and have the garage redone. I also have my shop and I’ve been offered a couple of projects to work on from the accounting firm. Then I have to pack my condo and have the rest of my furniture moved down here. I’m a very busy woman…. places to go, people to see.”

  “The Navy will not contact you and give you information unless we are married. If something happens to me, you will have to hear it from my mom.”

  “I am not going to be rushed Mark, and nothing is going to happen to you. I just found you and I am not letting you go. Let's talk about living arrangements. I hope you feel comfortable moving into my house. I really want you to stay there.”

  “Baby, I don’t care where we live as long as it is together. Let’s sell my condo and then you can use the money on your house.”

  “I don’t think we should do that. I think it would be better to keep it and rent it out. The tax advantage alone makes it worth keeping. I can run the numbers both ways, but that will probably be my recommendation.”

  “Do you want to get a prenuptial agreement? You have a lot of assets to protect and I don’t want you to think that I’m marrying you for your money.”

  “I thought you were marrying me because of the amazing sex.” She laughed at her own joke. “No, I don’t want a prenup. I’m not marrying you to plan a divorce. I don’t believe in them unless you are trying to protect assets for your children. Do you want one? You have plenty of money.”

  “No, I want to marry you this week. I’m going to give you complete control of the finances. I just want to be able to buy a new truck every five years, leave me enough money for that.”

  “We have to do this together. I don’t want you to get mad if I make a decision that you don’t agree with.”

  “You told me you wanted to be the boss. Be the boss of the money. It’s interesting, we had that discussion about who is the boss and it’s a big deal to you. You’re not really bossy. All you seem to care about is picking the food. When am I going to see Birdie Boss?”

  “I am plenty bossy, just you wait and see.”

  “I don’t really think so but bring it on.” He leaned down, gathered her in his arms and kissed her hard right in the middle of the street. “I love you and I want to make it official.”

  “I love you, but I’m not going to be rushed. I want to find a dress that I really lik
e.”

  They stood together and stared at each other. “Think about sooner, rather than later, please.”

  “I will, but I would like to have a wedding that I am excited about. This is the only one we get.”

  They arrived at her house and walked through the gate, “I guess I should get to the shop.”

  “I’m going to check in at the base and we should call our parents tonight. What time are you going to be done at the shop?”

  “I only need a couple of hours, I can be back home by five. What would you like for dinner?”

  “Whatever you want is fine with me. I have eaten the worst food over the past eleven years with very few exceptions. I can’t believe I’m marrying the prettiest woman in the world, who is smart, sexy and a great cook. I won the lottery when I met you.” He looked down at their entwined hands and it gave him a feeling of contentment. He had found his person and was starting the rest of his life with her. “Do you like your ring? We can exchange it if you want something else.”

  “I love this ring, it’s perfect. I may want to have it sized down a little though. I don’t want to lose it.”

  “Let’s go this week and have it done, then we can pick out our wedding bands. I bought them from Sam’s cousin who is a jeweler, his office is down town.”

  “That sounds good to me. Can you wear a wedding band when you are deployed?”

  “Of course, I don’t plan on ever taking it off.”

  Birdie looked up and saw her mail person, she waved to him as he held up a big envelope. “I’m not going to put this in your box, I don’t want to bend it.” Birdie got up and walked up to the gate and motioned for Mark to come with her.

  “Thanks Gus,” she took her stack of mail and motioned for Mark to come closer. “Gus, I want you to meet my fiancé, Lt. Commander Mark Frazier. He is moving in and his mail will be coming here now.”

  “Congratulations Birdie. I am so happy for you. Sir, a pleasure to meet you and thank you for your service.”

  Mark shook his hand, “Nice to meet you Gus, thank you.”

  “Glad to know you, I better get on with it.” He waved as he continued to deliver the mail down the street.

  Birdie opened the big envelope as she handed Mark the stack of letters. “This is from the photographer from Josh and Maryann’s wedding. I have met her before when I have delivered the flowers for events around town.” She pulled out a stack of pictures and lost her breath looking at them. Sandy had sent the pictures she’d taken of them during their first dance. She captured their first moments together - you could appreciate the attraction that was happening between them. It was a powerful thing to see an image of them falling for each other. She went through the stack and there was one of their first kiss. You could feel the heat of the moment coming off the picture. “Who gets a picture of their first dance, their first kiss? You can see how it was already happening in these pictures.”

  He looked over her shoulder and couldn’t believe that someone had caught the moment that he fell for the woman who was going to become his wife. “I want a copy of these to put in my bag and I want the kiss picture for my helmet.” He studied the kiss picture, his hands were tunneled in her hair and you could see how Birdie was leaning into him with her arms around his waist. They looked completely connected.

  She had tears in her eyes, “I guess we found the photographer for the wedding.” She lifted her shirt and wiped the tears off her face.

  “Baby, it happened from the start for us. If you ever get nervous about how quickly we became engaged, just look at these pictures. There was never going to be a choice for us.”

  “I think you’re right. I’m going to call Sandy and thank her and order a bunch of copies from her. Do you mind if I order engagement announcements from her?”

  “Can we just order wedding invitations with these?”

  “No, quit trying to rush me.” She took her stack of mail and turned towards the house.

  They walked up and went in, “Welcome home. I hope we have many happy years here in this house.”

  He took the photos out of her hands and set them on the table and put the other mail on top of it. He swept her up in his arms and carried her upstairs. “Let’s get working on that happy.” She didn’t get to the shop until much later that afternoon. Their happy happened more than once.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  THURSDAY

  Birdie stood in the kitchen drinking her coffee and making a list for the team party on Sunday. She decided to order a jumpy jump for the kids. Maybe she could hire Melanie to help out with the smaller children. She looked up and saw Mark coming down the stairs and felt her tummy flip over. Now that they were engaged and he had most of his clothes here, he seemed more relaxed. Three weeks and her fling had turned into her boyfriend and now her fiancé. Still not sure how it happened she decided not to question her good fortune in finding this man.

  He came up, kissed her and then went over to refill his coffee cup. He lifted the foil on the plate that she’d left for him, “What did you make? It smells great.”

  “I made you a veggie omelet and those are banana nut muffins. Eat your fruit too - last time you left it.”

  “Yes dear, you are acting like a wife already. Why don’t we just run down to the courthouse and make it official. Then you can really boss me around.”

  “I don’t think so. Where is that romantic man who proposed to me? I’m not running anywhere to get married. I am going to float down the aisle in bridal perfection. That is something that can’t be rushed.” She brought her list and coffee and sat next to him while he ate. “Can you give me Max’s number? I got a text from Rory and she’s ready to do something about the notes that she’s been receiving. I want to make sure she follows through, so I was thinking of taking her over to his office.”

  “I will write it down for you, or give you his card if I can find it. Is Rory coming on Sunday?” He smiled at her as he ate his fruit and held up his empty bowl so she could see that he finished it. She nodded her head in approval and kissed him. “I have invited Max maybe they can meet at the party and set something up for next week.”

  She got up and refilled her coffee cup and poured a glass of juice for him. “I did invite her and I think she is planning on coming.” She held up her hand and flashed him her ring, “Its fits perfectly now.”

  He took her hand and admired the ring he had chosen for her. He wanted it to be big enough so that there was no mistaking she was taken. But Birdie had small hands so he had to compromise. He kissed her hand, “Perfect, all it needs is the wedding band that we picked out yesterday.”

  “We have only been engaged for three days. I have already chosen a photographer, a caterer and we know where we are going to have it. I couldn’t move any faster, I feel kind of amazing.”

  He finished his muffin and drank his juice and got up to put his dishes in the dishwasher. He leaned against the counter and considered his very beautiful fiancée. “You’re right, you are amazing and I am very lucky that you agreed to marry me.”

  “You got that right mister - don’t you forget it.”

  “Love you, Birdie.”

  “Love you, Mark.”

  “What is on the schedule today?”

  I’m going into the shop and then I’m coming back here to meet Adam and Bernie. We are going to start on the office and finish the closet upstairs. Is there anything else you want me to include for the office?”

  “No, I think we got everything. Please use the checks that I left you yesterday to pay for the rest of the renovations. I went to the bank yesterday and added you to all of the accounts. All you have to do is go down there, sign and give them your social security number.”

  “I thought we were going to wait until we got married, I think we should.”

  “You can think whatever you want, but it is already done. So go down there and sign your name, I’m not going to compromise on this.”

  Birdie stood up and crossed her arms, “Let’s go
into the office, I want to show you something.”

  He took her hand and they went into the office. She sat at her desk and Mark sat in the chair next to her. She opened one of her file cabinet drawers and pulled out a bunch of files. She started to spread them out along the desk, “I want you to understand how much money I have. You seemed to be worried about me and I want you to know that I am ok.” She opened the first folder, “This is the value of the building and this is the income that I generate from the tenants in the building, and this final number is the reserve I keep for any repairs that the building needs.” She opened another folder and pointed to the figure at the bottom of the spreadsheet, “This is the income from my flower shop.” She opened one more folder, “This is my income from the company that I work with downtown. I also have the money from the sale of my condo and I have a fairly healthy savings account.” She pulled out a final folder and pointed to the bottom of the page, “This is my current net worth.” Mark read the figure at the bottom of the page - it was a little over six million dollars.

  He sat back in his chair and crossed his arms, “I still want to pay for the renovations. You know what I have in the bank and I can easily afford it. I have to be able to take care of you that is my job. It is in my DNA. I don’t want you to take this away from me. I should be the one paying for this house, for our house.”

  She started closing her folders and thought about what Mark was telling her. “I never thought about it that way. I’m sure we can work something out.”

  “We can work something out, by using the checks I left you. I want to take care of you, our house and our family.”

  “At some point I want to discuss some ideas that I have about how we can organize our finances.”