by Tawny Weber
He rubbed at the throbbing pain in his temple. What was she trying to do?
“I don’t get it,” he confessed. “Now you’re glad I rescued you?”
“Yes.” She said the word so fast it was practically a rush of air. Then she bit her lip again and gave him one of those sweet, big-eyed stares.
“Why?”
“Because I realized that it’s not a judgment or sign that you don’t respect me. It’s proof that you care. A way of trying to help. Of stepping in to keep me from getting hurt.”
Right.
His frown deepened. He narrowed his gaze.
“What are you up to?”
Eden jumped up from the couch and started pacing. Fireplace to window, chair to piano. After two rounds, she took a deep breath and met his gaze.
“I sort of have something to confess.”
Did she want to confess that she really cared about him?
Admit that she was miserable without him?
Beg him to strip her naked and do wild and naughty things to her body?
From the scared look on her face, Cade figured it was probably none of the above.
“I sort of didn’t tell you the truth the other night,” she said, her words murmured to her toes instead of his face.
“I beg your pardon?”
Even after she’d told him she’d used him to get into that stupid club, Cade didn’t think Eden had it in her to actually lie.
“I didn’t really try to get into the Cade-ettes. I refused to tell Janie what we had between us.”
“Then why’d you say you did?”
“I was afraid you were going to throw your career away. That you’d make this huge decision and regret it later. I figured if you didn’t have me as an excuse, you’d stick with the SEALs until you really knew if you wanted to leave or not.”
Cade’s mind reeled. But one clear fact stood out in the spinning confusion.
“You were trying to rescue me?”
Her smile was half-grimace, half-wince.
“I was afraid you’d give up something you loved for the wrong reason.”
“You think leaving the SEALs for you is the wrong reason?”
“I think leaving the SEALs because you can’t get over the loss of your friend is the wrong reason,” she said gently, lifting his grandmother’s framed photo of him, Blake and Phil graduating bootcamp.
Cade stared at the picture.
It was like he was at war with himself.
A part of him was tired. Just so damned tired. A year would give him time to decide if he wanted to stick with the SEALs or shift focus. It would give him time to get past the loss of Phil, to process his feelings about command. To heal.
Damned if he’d even known he was wounded until Eden made him face the truth. Just like he wouldn’t have realized he was in love with her until she’d walked out on him.
The real question wasn’t what he was going to do about his job. The question on the table right now was what was he going to do about his life.
“You were right,” he finally said.
“I was...?”
“Right,” he repeated. Cade shoved both hands through his hair, then shrugged. “I wanted to use you to avoid making a choice. To avoid admitting that I might want to do something other than be a SEAL.”
“And now?” Her words were whisper soft, but so loaded with understanding that Cade felt as if she’d come over and wrapped him in a big hug.
“And now I know what I’m going to do. Just like I know I need to quit hiding and face the loss of my buddy.” It hurt to say the words. To admit that he was ready to take that first step toward healing. It’d be like saying goodbye to Phil all over again. But he couldn’t have a future if he was stuck in the past.
He looked at Eden, and knew.
He wanted to make her his future.
* * *
EDEN WAS SO GLAD she hadn’t stayed at the country club long enough to actually eat anything, because her stomach was doing all sorts of crazy backflips.
All her life, she’d wished for more. She’d blown out candles and watched for falling stars. She’d dreamed of what it’d be like to have her perfect life.
But today, she’d finally realized that all the wishing in the world didn’t matter. It was the doing that made the difference.
And she really, really loved doing Cade.
She took a deep breath, knowing she needed to confess everything before she lost her nerve. Or jumped his body. Her eyes ran over the sleek silken glow of his muscles again and her mouth started to water. The odds of both things happening were running pretty even at that moment.
“What you said the other night made me realize that I’ve spent years sitting idly by, waiting. Hoping that if I was good enough, nice enough, that everyone, someone, anyone would see that I was worthy.”
He looked like he wanted to argue as if the idea of her thinking that she was less than perfect simply pissed him off. Eden loved that about him. Loved how strongly he wanted to defend her.
“But you always saw me as worthy. Even when you hauled me out of trees or kept me from falling on my face, you made me feel like I was special. Even when all there was between us was a mutual street sign and a lot of rescues, you accepted me. So, now I’m through waiting,” she said, her heart pounding so loud she wouldn’t have been surprised if he could hear it. But it was beating with excitement, rather than fear. Because even if he turned her down, she’d have tried. She’d have given them her best shot.
“What’re you through waiting for?” he asked slowly. Clearly his training had clued him in that he might be in danger.
“I’m through waiting for all of my wishes to come true.” Eden took a deep breath, then walked over until she stood in front of him. Her fingers ached to touch, but she kept them at her sides.
“I realized today that I do make things happen. I made the right choices that led to opportunities, or the lack thereof. I might need to be rescued once in a while because I’m chasing the dream. But that’s okay, because I’m the one choosing to run after it,” she whispered.
His eyes gleamed, the smile starting to play at the corners of his mouth giving her a little encouragement.
“So what’re you planning to make happen next?”
“This,” she told him, launching herself into his waiting arms. Both hands cupping his cheeks, she ravaged his mouth. Cade, gentleman that he was, ravaged her right back.
“I love you,” she breathed against his mouth. For a split second, she wanted to grab the words back. To wait and see if he said them first. Then she lifted her chin and met his eyes. Nope. No waiting. Not any longer.
“I love you,” she repeated, her words strong and sure this time. “I want to give us a chance. I’ll spend time in San Diego, whether it’s once a year when you’re on leave or a few times a month if you’re doing training. Whatever you decide, for whatever reasons you see fit, I want to be there for you.”
For just a second, he looked shocked. Then a smile like she’d never seen—one filled with little-boy joy, delight and hope—split his face.
“I’d say we have one hell of a chance,” he decided, sweeping her into his arms and carrying her to the couch where he settled with her tight in his arms. “Because I love you, too.”
Eden was pretty sure her heart stopped.
She stared, wide-eyed, for two breaths until it started again. Elation surged as she met his lips, their kiss as raw and honest as their declarations of love.
“Looks like my birthday wish came true,” she said when they came up for air.
“Yeah? The one about us having a lot of sex?” He pulled her more firmly onto his lap, the hard length of his erection pressing against her thigh, letting her know he couldn’t wait to start.
“I do like that part,” she agreed with a laugh, wriggling just a little to tease him. “But the part I’ve always wished for, even before sex with you, was to have my very own hero.”
Cade’s smile soften
ed, his eyes warming hers as he pressed a kiss of promise against her lips.
“I’ll always be your hero.”
Epilogue
CADE LAY ON THE BED, his hands crossed behind his head while he contemplated just how damned great his life was. It had been nine months since the infamous Spring Fling and he and Eden were as strong as ever together.
So strong, he actually believed in taking chances now instead of following the tried and true. In his jacket pocket was his mother’s engagement ring. His father had suggested he use it when he’d told Robert and Catherine that he was asking Eden to marry him.
Nerves danced for a second while he tried to decide how to ask. She’d say yes, wouldn’t she? Thanks to her partnership with Mia, she’d changed her veterinary schedule to spend a week or two each month with him in San Diego. He spent all of his breaks between training sessions here in Ocean Point with her. She’d even started working with pet-placement groups in Southern California. Those were good signs, right?
The nerves in his belly got a little more active.
“Blake and Alexia should be back from their honeymoon next week,” he said, grateful for the distraction when Eden stepped out of the bathroom, steam from her shower billowing around her. “You up for a week or two in San Diego? We’ll take them out to celebrate married life.”
“Maybe.”
He frowned in surprise at her response. Eden and Alexia had become pretty good friends. In fact, within a week of meeting her, Alexia had adjusted her wedding plans to include Eden as a bridesmaid.
So what was up?
Eden stopped at the foot of the bed, her worried frown driving everything from his mind.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, jackknifing into a sitting position. He knew her face, her every expression. She was scared. Anxious and happy all at the same time.
What the hell?
“Um, well, I think I— We broke something.”
Cade looked around. No damage.
He shifted to take in her body, from the top of her silky brown hair, over the tiny red nightie and down to the tips of her pale pink toes.
“What?”
Eden bit her lip, then, with the soft flesh still tight between her teeth, she held out a stick.
Cade looked at it, frowned and gave a shrug.
“What’s that?”
“It’s, um, a pregnancy test.”
What? Cade’s gaze flew from the stick to her face and back again. Then it landed on her stomach, flat as ever under her silky nightgown.
“A condom broke?” he confirmed in an awed tone.
Wincing, she gave a little shrug, then nodded.
He threw back his head and laughed.
God, could life get any better?
Loving it, loving her, he leaped from the bed and swept Eden into his arms to spin her in a wide circle. On his second time around, he grabbed his jacket in one hand then dropped to the bed with Eden in his lap.
“Talk about accident prone,” she muttered.
“Babe, this isn’t an accident. This is a blessing, pure and simple.”
To prove it to her, he scooped the little velvet box out of the pocket, letting the jacket fall to the floor as he flipped the lid and held out the diamond.
Eden’s eyes widened, then went soft with so much love that Cade had to blink.
“Will you marry me?”
“Did you already know I was pregnant?” she asked in shock, reaching out to touch the ring with one unsteady finger before pulling her hand back.
“Nope. I knew I loved you. I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you.” Cade caught her hand in his, brought it to his lips and brushed a kiss over her knuckles before twining his fingers with hers. “You being pregnant only adds to the perfection we’ve got together. It’s like a sign that I’m making all the right choices, that I’m living my life for my own dreams instead of trying to prove something to my father. Something to myself.”
Eden’s smile was a little shaky at the corners.
“I don’t expect you to give up being a SEAL. I know the BUDs training was just a temporary thing. I don’t want you to think you have to give up going back into Special Ops.”
Cade had to close his eyes for a second, he was so overcome by emotions. She was incredible.
“Babe, I love training. It’s like I was made for it. I love being stationary, able to come home to you every night. I love the idea of building a life together, of bringing a new life into the world with you.” He watched the worry fade from her dark gaze, then slid the ring on her finger before kissing her with all the love and passion he had in his heart. When she was breathless and limp, he pulled back to give her his most charming smile. “Bottom line, I love you.”
Eden’s laugh was so soft, it was more a puff of breath over his face than a sound. She cupped his face in both hands and kissed him again.
“My hero.”
* * * * *
Keep reading for an excerpt of His First Noelle by Rhonda Nelson!
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1
Six months later...
DRESSED IN A courier’s uniform, newly minted security agent Judd Willingham made the short walk up the cracked sidewalk to the small front porch of the nondescript brick house. Twinkling Christmas lights with more burnt-out bulbs than working ones sagged from the eaves and a sad-looking wreath hung from a door in desperate need of a fresh coat of paint. Dead weeds, their crispy skeletons all that remained from a robust summer, pushed up between the evergreen shrubs, crowding the flower beds on either side of the entrance, and a rusty mailbox hung drunkenly from a lone nail which was dangerously close to slipping from the mortar. Judd grimaced.
This was the safe house? Really?
Granted he hadn’t expected a mansion—the little town of Mossy Ridge, Mississippi, could barely afford its five-man police force, let alone a state-of-the-art safe house—but surely something a little more sound could have been made available. Considering this was the third time his target, Noelle Montgomery, had been evacuated due to another failed attempt on her life, no doubt their choices were dwindling.
Honestly, when he’d been briefed on his first assignment for Ranger Security, Judd had expected something a little less grave than protecting a key witness to a murder trial. After all, Jeb, his twin brother—older by two minutes and his exact mirror opposite—had merely had to find a jewel thief burgling a high-end retirement community. No life-or-death situation there. In fact, other than potentially getting run over by a motorized scooter, he hadn’t been in any danger at all. At least physically, anyway. Judd inwardly grinned. His heart was another matter altogether. Much to their equal astonishment, Jeb had found himself married at the end of his assignment.
Having always enjoyed an almost supernatural twin connection, making sense of his brother’s feelings had been a little disconcerting. He’d picked up on a lot of awe, wonder, confusion and frustration. It wasn’t until Jeb’s, er, physical release—orgasms had never been a secret, a fact that had been quite embarrassing in their teens—that Judd had realized that his brother had fallen head over heels in love. Though he didn’t experience the sensations as strongly as Jeb—more shadowed and less profound than the original—he’d found himself a little envious of his twin.
Not envious enough to want to permanently shackle himself to a member of the opposite s
ex though. He’d come damned close to that in his last year at West Point, a mistake he didn’t ever intend to make again. He smothered a dark chuckle.
Fool me once...was enough. Lesson learned.
Naturally he knew that all women weren’t faithless money-grubbing connivers, like the one who’d almost tricked him into an until-death-do-you-part, but knowing it and having it make a difference were two different things.
Heather had studied him, understood his weaknesses and knew exactly what to say and do to appeal to his “hero” complex. In the end, his “damaged fragile flower in need of a protector” had been a two-time divorcée with multiple aliases and a rap sheet longer than the damned Declaration of Independence. And he’d nearly brought that viper into their family? His lips quirked.
They already had one of those, thank you very much—his grandmother.
The matriarch of the family and the formidable head of Anderson Enterprises, Twila Anderson was notoriously hard and could hold a grudge and her own opinion longer than anyone he’d ever known. She no longer had the ability to scare the hell out of him, but if he’d wanted to continue taking orders he would have stayed in the military. Though he could have gone to work for her, or any one of the company’s holdings, Judd had ultimately, once again, decided to follow in his brother’s footsteps.
Contrary to popular belief, he did have an original thought and they didn’t share a mind, but they were so closely tied to one another that living independently of the other was simply...unpleasant. They were more than brothers, they were best friends. And while Jeb had left the military after that horrible disaster in Mosul, Judd had actually been considering it before his brother had.
A sniper who couldn’t pull the trigger was essentially useless and, given that it had gotten increasingly more difficult with every target...
And the hell of it? He had no earthly idea why.
Judd had always prided himself on being able to do the hard job—making the conscious decision to end another person’s life was not easy, even if it was justified. Men who intentionally killed, mutilated and maimed innocent women and children were lower than pond scum and didn’t deserve to live, dammit. For every one of those people he finished off, he’d always congratulated himself with the lives he’d saved.