“I could’ve helped him,” Blue said.
“I know.”
They sat in silence for a moment, just listening to the sound of the crickets whirring and chirping in the early evening.
“I told Joe Cat about you,” Blue said.
She turned and looked at him. “Really? What did you say?”
“That I fell in love with a friend of mine. He seemed to understand.” Blue leaned forward and kissed her. It was a slow, deep, lazy kiss that promised forever—a sweet, dizzying happiness for all time.
“I can’t wait to meet him,” Lucy said, settling back against Blue again, shifting so that her head was in his lap, so she was gazing up at him. He pushed the swing and they rocked gently. “Tell me more about him. Tell me about all the guys in Alpha Squad, and about California…”
Blue smiled down at her as he began to talk.
Smiling into Lucy’s eyes was easy. Telling her that he loved her was easy, too. Asking her to marry him had been a breeze. Kissing her and making love to her were as easy and as natural as breathing. But sitting here on the porch swing, swaying gently as the evening descended upon them, Blue knew that talking to Lucy—his friend, his lover, soon to be his wife—was easiest of all.
Epilogue
Lucy stood in the back room of the naval-base chapel as Sarah adjusted her veil.
“I feel stupid,” Lucy grumbled. “What is this thing hanging in front of my face? Is it supposed to hide me? Do I look that hideous? Why do I have to wear this anyway?”
“Because it’s traditional,” Sarah said calmly. Nora, her baby, now three months old, smiled happily at Lucy from the backpack Sarah wore. “You look beautiful, and you know it.”
“It’s not very traditional for the bride to be given away by her best friend and her godchild,” Lucy commented.
Sarah gazed at her for a moment, then took out the pins that held the veil in place and tossed both pins and veil aside. “Fair enough,” she said.
“I wish I were wearing my jeans,” Lucy said wistfully.
Sarah shook her head. “Nope,” she said. “Nice try, but I draw the line at the veil. No way am I letting you march down that aisle in blue jeans.”
“I just feel so…not me,” Lucy said. The dress was cut low, off her shoulders, with tiny cap sleeves, a tailored bodice and a long, full skirt, complete with a train.
“You look incredible,” Sarah said. Nora gurgled and chewed on her mother’s hair in agreement.
The music started, and Sarah took Lucy’s arm. “Come on.” Sarah smiled. “Wait till you see what’s waiting for you at the other end of this church.”
Self-consciously, Lucy let Sarah lead her out into the church. And then she stopped feeling self-conscious at all. Because standing there in the front of the church was Blue. Next to him stood the six other members of Alpha Squad. All seven men were wearing white dress uniforms and the effect was nearly blinding.
Lucy’s gaze ran across their now-familiar faces. Joe Cat’s smile was genuine and warm, but he couldn’t keep himself from glancing across the chapel to smile at his wife, Ronnie. Lucy’s first impression of Ronnie had been that she was an ice queen—until Lucy had walked into the Outback Bar to find the usually proper, English-accented woman cutting loose, dirty-dancing with her handsome husband.
And then there was Harvard. Daryl Becker. Along with his Ivy League education, Harvard possessed a first-class sense of humor. His shaved head gleamed almost as much as the diamond he wore in his left ear.
Cowboy, Wesley and Bob all grinned at Lucy. Cowboy winked. He was the youngest member of the squad and he did his best to live up to his reputation as a hothead.
Lucky O’Donlon was smiling, too—and oh, my God, standing next to him was none other than Frisco. There weren’t seven men up there—there were eight. Alan Francisco was standing with the rest of Alpha Squad. Blue had taken Lucy to meet him at the rehab center several months ago, and Frisco had been in a wheelchair. It had been years since he was injured, and all the doctors had sworn he would never walk again. But today he was standing. He had a cane, but he was standing. Lucy looked around, but she didn’t see any sign of a wheelchair. Had he actually walked to the front of the church?
And Lucky—Frisco’s best friend and swim buddy—looked happier than she’d ever seen him. The two men were almost the exact same height and build. Lucky’s hair was blond, while Frisco’s was darker, but other than that, even their faces were similar enough that they might have been brothers.
Except Frisco couldn’t hide the lines of pain around his eyes. He may have been standing, but it was hurting him to do so.
“Thank you so much for coming, Alan,” Lucy said to him, emotion breaking her voice.
Frisco nodded. “I wouldn’t have missed it for anything,” he said.
And then, suddenly they reached the front of the church. Sarah kissed her on the cheek, and then Lucy was face-to-face with Blue.
Blue McCoy.
He looked incredible in his white dress uniform. Lucy hadn’t seen him dressed up since Gerry’s funeral, and before that at the party at the country club. Today, like that night, she was wearing a dress that made her feel peculiar, as if she were masquerading as someone else.
But Blue looked different, too. His shining blond hair was perfectly combed, every wave and curl in place. The rows and rows of medals he wore on his chest were overwhelming. His uniform was so clean, so starched and stiff and gleaming white. He gazed, unsmiling, into her eyes.
Who was this stranger, this sailor she was marrying? For one heart-stopping moment, Lucy wasn’t sure she knew.
Then she looked down and caught sight of Blue’s feet. He wasn’t wearing dress shoes like the rest of Alpha Squad. He was wearing his old, familiar leather sandals.
He was wearing his sandals, and she was wearing her cotton underwear. It was fancier than usual, but it was cotton. She’d insisted. They both had their hair combed differently, and both of them were dressed differently, but deep down inside they knew exactly what they were getting—exactly who they were going to spend the rest of their lives with.
Lucy smiled.
Blue smiled, too. And then he kissed the bride.
All the characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author, and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all the incidents are pure invention.
All Rights Reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Enterprises II B.V./S.à.r.l. The text of this publication or any part thereof may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, storage in an information retrieval system, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher.
This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the prior consent of the publisher in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
M&B™ and M&B™ with the Rose Device are trademarks of the publisher.
Harlequin Mills & Boon Limited,
Eton House, 18-24 Paradise Road, Richmond, Surrey TW9 1SR
ALPHA SQUAD © Harlequin Books S.A. 2010
Prince Joe © Suzanne Brockmann 1996
Forever Blue © Suzanne Brockmann 1996
ISBN: 978-1-408-90617-0
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Alpha Squad Page 51