by JM Stewart
Marcus, standing quietly behind her up until now, slipped his arms around her waist, and bent his head to her neck. “Mmm. She looks beautiful, but I’m afraid I’m a bit biased. If you ask me, the most beautiful woman in this room is currently in my arms.”
Heart lightened by his touch and his sweet words, she stroked her hand along the sleeve of his suit jacket and leaned her head back against his chest. “Glad to see you’re in a good mood tonight. You haven’t been yourself lately.”
Over the past year, their relationship had become…comfortable, in a favorite pair of jeans sort of way. More often than not she stayed at his place. He’d call her at work and tell her to meet him at home when she finished for the day. Over dinner, they’d chat, and then they’d take Cammie for a walk. Every night he’d make love to her, passionate and intense as always, and every night she’d fall asleep wrapped tightly in his arms.
It was bliss. The closer Gabe and Steph’s wedding got, though, the more distant he’d become. No matter how often she asked if something was wrong, he said no. Tonight’s good mood hopefully meant that, whatever it was, he’d resolved it.
He stilled, then sighed and rested his chin on top of her head. “Sorry I’ve been so distant. I’ve been doing some thinking.”
Crap. Was that good or bad? “About?”
He ducked his head. His voice rumbled in her ear, a low, husky murmur. “Steph’s dress is gorgeous, but I think yours should be more like the one you wore to the masquerade. You looked beautiful in that dress.”
She froze. Surely he wasn’t saying what she thought he was… “What are you talking about?”
He nudged her earlobe with his nose. “Your dress.”
Her heart beat so hard it became a dull thud in her ears. God, if he didn’t get to the point soon, she’d expire right here. “My dress for what?”
He heaved a sigh. “Your wedding dress, angel.”
She squeezed her eyes shut, forcing herself to draw a slow, deep breath. “Marcus Denali, don’t toy with me.”
They hadn’t talked about the future. He never brought it up, and she was content with their relationship as it was. She couldn’t deny, though, that helping Steph and Gabe with their wedding plans and creating Steph’s dress had her dreaming of “what if.” She loved Marcus more now than she had a year ago, when he’d sat across that Starbucks table, looked her in the eye, and told her he loved her. She couldn’t imagine her life without him, and the way he held her at night told her he felt the same.
Now? Hell. She wasn’t sure what he was telling her now.
Marcus heaved a sigh. “I’m not toying with you, angel, I promise, but clearly I’m not doing this right. Maybe I should be a bit more blunt.”
She reached back, caressing his stubbled cheek. “That would really be nice, because I’m very confused.”
He released her, moved around in front of her, and stared down at her for a moment, something somber in the depths of his eyes. The slight tremor in his fingers as he reached into the inside pocket of his suit jacket didn’t escape her notice either. The last time she could remember him being this nervous was…well, that day in Starbucks.
He finally pulled his hand from his pocket and turned it over. Seated on his palm was a navy-blue jewelry box. One corner of his mouth hitched as he pried the lid open. Inside the velvet box sat a gorgeous ring. A single, traditional solitaire with a white-gold band twisted to resemble a knot beneath the setting. “Do you have any idea how hard it was to hide this from you?”
She stifled a gasp behind her hand, looking between him and the ring. “This? This is what you’ve been all secretive about? God, I thought…”
Her breathing hitched as the moment rushed up on her, and the rest of the words refused to leave her throat. All she could do was stare at Marcus’s handsome face while the beautiful music for Steph and Gabe’s first dance played in the background.
“Sorry, angel. I wanted it to be right, and I’m nervous as hell. I’ve never done this before.” He cleared his throat and dropped to one knee in front of her. “Marry me, Mandy.”
His form blurred before her as tears flooded her eyes. She reached out, slipping her fingers through his hair. “You scared the hell out of me. To quote someone I know, I wasn’t sure if you were hinting at something or preparing to send me off.”
“I told you this a year ago, and I’m sure I’ve told you every day since, but apparently you need to hear it again: I love you, and I’m never letting you go. I want forever, and I want it official.” The box trembled in his palm, but his gaze remained steady on hers. “Say yes, angel.”
A single tear slipped passed her defenses, trailing down her cheek. Marcus always insisted he wasn’t good with words, that he wasn’t good with relationships, but he couldn’t be more wrong. He might be a man of few words, but the ones he spoke often left her speechless. Like now.
There were probably about a thousand things she ought to say to him in return. That she loved him with everything she had and everything she was. How grateful she was they’d found each other at the masquerade. Or even that the thought of spending the rest of her life with him filled her with an unparalleled sense of rightness, whether they actually got married or not.
As it was, the words caught in the lump in her throat, and all she managed was a whispered, “Yes.”
Marcus launched to his feet, swooped her up, and crushed her against his chest. “You’ve just made me the happiest man on the planet.”
Applause erupted throughout the room, several whistles piercing the air. She’d gotten so caught up in his proposal she hadn’t even realized the music had stopped. She turned her head, taking in the crowd around them. Gabe and Steph now stood side by side within the circle, holding hands. Everyone else was staring at her and Marcus, and every face was smiling.
Lauren caught her eye and gave her a thumbs-up. Trent, standing behind Lauren, smiled. Warmth filled his eyes as he winked.
Her face heating a thousand degrees, Mandy turned toward Steph, ready to apologize for stealing her and Gabe’s limelight, when Gabe looked to Marcus and cocked a dark brow.
“Took you long enough.” A slow grin curled across Gabe’s face. “We stalled as much as we could.”
Marcus’s cheeks turned a soft shade of pink as he rubbed the back of his neck. “Damn nerve-racking thing to do in the middle of a crowd.”
Mandy frowned, looking to Gabe and Steph, who both stood with knowing grins. “Wait…you guys knew?”
Steph nodded, then made her way to Mandy, enveloping her in a brief hug. “He asked for my advice. I told him doing it tonight would be perfect. Gabe agreed.”
Mandy laughed and shook her head, completely overwhelmed by it all. “Well, congratulations. You all surprised the hell out of me. Thought this was supposed to be your day?”
“Oh, I couldn’t resist. It’s romantic, and I knew you wouldn’t be expecting it.” Steph waved a hand at her and hugged her again. “Congrats, you.”
Lauren announced her presence by wrapping her in a hug from behind. “I’m so happy for you.”
Mandy pulled back, swiped a hand across her damp cheek, and looked to Lauren. “I suppose you were in on this, too?”
“Nope. This was all Steph.” Lauren laughed, then turned to Marcus and nudged him with her hand. “Nice going.”
“Thanks.” He flashed a sheepish grin, cheeks still slightly pink, then tilted his head in Mandy’s direction. “Any chance of me getting my girl back?”
“Of course.” Steph flashed a warm smile.
Steph and Lauren hugged her again before everyone wandered off, leaving her and Marcus alone once again. The music resumed, and couples paired off around them. Marcus held out his hand. “How ’bout a dance, beautiful?”
She slipped her hand into his, letting him pull her close, then laid her head against his chest. “I love you, you know that?”
Marcus drew her the tiniest bit closer, until there wasn’t a hairbreadth of space between them, and
ducked his head, resting his cheek against her temple. His voice was warm in her ear. “I love you, too.”
They danced in silence for a few moments before the urge to share became too strong to deny. He might as well know it all. “Marcus?”
“Mmm?”
“I should probably tell you now…I want kids.”
He chuckled and pressed a kiss into her hair. “Gram will be very pleased to hear that.”
She lifted her head, peering up at him. “And you?”
He brushed a soft kiss across her lips. “Me too.”
Did you miss Lauren and Trent’s love story?
Then check out A SEAL’s Courage, the first book in JM Stewart’s sexy Military Match series! See the next page for an excerpt.
Chapter One
I’m going to be a virgin until I die.” Lauren Hayes let out a world-weary sigh and sank back against the plush leather seats. The club around her pulsed, the throbbing beat and surging bodies lending an upbeat atmosphere Lauren couldn’t get into.
Stephanie Mason, one of her two best friends, peered over the rim of her drink, her straw dangling from the side of her mouth. “You need to give up your perfect-man wish list, babe, and settle for Mr. Right Now, because Mr. Right doesn’t exist.”
Lauren eyed the two women seated across the table from her and sighed. “I know it’s old-fashioned, but I wanted my first time to be with someone who’d actually remember my name in the morning. Not some hookup in a bar.”
Mandy Lawson, best friend number two, shook her head, sending her short dark curls swishing over her shoulder. “I’m afraid, sweets, as the saying goes, if you want to find Prince Charming, you have to kiss a few toads. You’re not going to lose your virginity by being picky.”
Mandy had been her best friend since junior high. They’d met in home ec when their teacher partnered them together for a project. She’d told Lauren long ago she was nuts for making that chastity pact in ninth grade. She and a few of the other girls from church promised to remain virgins until they married. At the time, Lauren had made it with good intentions. When she was ten, her birth mother died in a car accident while driving home from another date with yet another fling. Having a single mother who slept around so much she didn’t even know who Lauren’s father was had left a lasting impression. She’d grown up determined to never, ever, become like her mother.
Lauren waved a hand at Mandy. “Oh, I know, but it’s hard to reconcile my ideas of how true love should be with the desire to lose my virginity as quickly as possible.”
Lauren had strict rules for how she lived her life, things she’d gleaned from her adoptive mother, Mary. Mary had started out as her foster mother, eventually adopting her when she was eleven. She’d gotten lucky. Not all kids who ended up in foster care got adopted. Mary had been a deeply religious woman and had old-fashioned ideas, particularly when it came to things like dating and sex. Never make the first move. No kissing on the first date. No drinking or staying out late. Number one on that list? No sex before marriage.
The problem was, Lauren had yet to do much actual living. She had yet to know the gloriousness of sex. Or getting so drunk she woke up the next day not remembering how she’d gotten home. Or hell, the simple pleasure of making out with a guy. Wasn’t most of that normal teenage behavior?
Mary had lived a safe—but boring—life. Her strict rules had kept her from living as much as she could have. She’d devoted herself to the church and to raising Lauren, and had died in her sleep, in her favorite recliner with her knitting in her lap. Mary’s death had hit Lauren hard. And it had taught her one thing: life was short. She wanted to have a little fun before she died. To give up “the rules” and do all those things she’d held back on out of fear of doing the wrong thing. So far she hadn’t done any of that.
She picked up her drink—some fruity concoction with sex in the name, courtesy of Steph—and took a sip before eyeing the girls again. “It’s sad, isn’t it? I’ll be twenty-eight next week, and I’ve never even fallen in love. Infatuation, sure, and something that felt an awful lot like love until I realized it was one-sided.”
Across the table, Stephanie waggled her blond brows. “Just do it, babe. Go dance, rub up against some hottie, and let nature takes its course.”
Oh, she’d tried that. After Mary’s death, she’d jumped into the dating pool, determined to get herself out there. She’d signed up for several of those dating sites and had gone on plenty of dates. The problem was, they never went anywhere. More than a few of the men wanted nothing to do with a virgin. Some had been a little too eager for her tastes. Most, though, had simply never called her back before she’d even gotten around to admitting that she was a virgin.
Lauren shook her head. “I agree it’s time, but that’s not me. Hell, I’d probably trip over my own feet and make a complete dork of myself.”
She was born with the klutz gene. If she didn’t watch the ground when she walked, she tended to trip over stuff. She couldn’t count the number of times she’d run into a pole or another person because she’d been too wrapped up in her thoughts.
“You know…” Mandy, who was a little more down to earth, took a moment to gulp down the last of her beer. She set the bottle on the table and leaned forward to grin at Lauren. “I could always—”
“Oh, no.” Lauren laughed and held up her hands. She didn’t need to ask to know where this was going. Mandy loved playing matchmaker. “No way am I letting you fix me up again. You’re a fabulous wedding designer, sweetie, but your taste in men sucks. There was Jake the octopus, who had eight arms and wouldn’t take no for an answer. And then there was Guy, who talked about himself all night and how wonderful he was. Need I go on?”
Mandy’s bottom lip popped out, but her cheeks flushed bright crimson. “Aw, come on. They weren’t all awful. I know a hot military guy who’d be right up your alley…”
Lauren laughed again and jabbed a pointed finger at Mandy. “No.”
“Actually…” Mandy looked to her left, flagging down the waitress and signaling for a refill by holding up her empty beer bottle. When the waitress smiled and nodded, Mandy turned back around and leaned her elbows on the table. “There’s a new dating service I just heard of. You remember Jennifer Dillon, from high school?”
Lauren nodded. “Didn’t I see an engagement announcement in the paper last week?”
“Yup. She and her fiancé came into my office the other day for help planning the wedding. In fact, I recommended your bakery for the cake. Ohhh, Laur, you should have seen her fiancé. He’s air force. Tall, broad shouldered, and so polite. Came in dressed in his uniform, all ‘yes, ma’am’ and ‘no, ma’am.’”
Lauren sipped at her drink. “No. I’m not letting you set me up again. I don’t care if he’s got a brother or friends or a million bucks.”
Mandy furrowed her brow, glaring in disapproval. “Will you just listen? While we were talking about her wishes for the ceremony, I asked her where she’d met him. She said they used this service. Military Match. Kind of pricey, but the woman who runs it screens her applicants. So when I went home that night, I checked it out online.” Mandy’s blue eyes gleamed with impishness. “All the men are vets.”
“Oh, I’m definitely in.” Steph nudged Lauren with an elbow. “So are you.”
Lauren couldn’t stop the fierce heat that flooded her cheeks. These ladies knew her too well. Okay, she had to admit it. She had a “thing” for military men. There was something about a guy who willingly put his life on the line for people who couldn’t fight for themselves. The uniform alone could melt her panties.
She sipped at her icy drink in a vain attempt to cool down. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Mandy laughed. “Right. Don’t think I never noticed the way you’d go all tongue-tied whenever Trent came home on leave.”
Steph turned her head, winking at Lauren. “Or the way you drool when he walks away from you.”
Mandy was the youngest of th
ree. Her brothers were ten years older than her and twins. Trent and Will might look identical, but the two couldn’t be more different. Will was clean-cut. The guy in suits and ties rather than jeans and worn T-shirts. Trent had always been rough around the edges, a quiet guy who preferred to work with his hands.
A Navy SEAL, he’d gotten out of the service and returned home eighteen months ago with scars, some visible, some not. He now worked in a custom motorcycle shop doing detail work. Of the two brothers, Trent was the one who had always made her cream her panties. More to the point, Mandy knew she had a crush on him.
Steph looked over at Mandy. “How he’s doing anyway?”
Mandy shook her head and sighed. “He’s…different. He’s always been quiet, but he crawled into himself after he came home and hasn’t come back out yet.”
Trent had post-traumatic stress disorder. Nightmares. Flashbacks. Coming home, he’d had a hell of a time of it. Mandy was right. He was doing better these days, but he still wasn’t the guy he’d been before his last deployment.
Lauren dropped her gaze, pretending to be absorbed in her drink. “You should sign him up for that dating service. Might do him some good.”
Mandy laughed. “Nope. He won’t let me fix him up, either.” Mandy rose to her feet and came around the table, tugging Lauren out of her seat. “Come on, ladies. Let’s go find us some hotties and shake our tail feathers.”
* * *
The following evening, Lauren pulled open her front door to find Mandy standing on her doorstep. She wore a sheepish grin Lauren had seen too many times over the years. It usually meant trouble.
Lauren folded her arms, narrowing her gaze. “All right. What did you do?”
Mandy’s cheeks blazed bright red, and she took sudden interest in her sneakers. “I signed you up. I signed us all up, actually.”
Lauren’s heart took off on a one-hundred-meter dash. She had a sneaking suspicion she knew what Mandy referenced, but she needed to hear her headstrong best friend own up to it. “Signed us up for what?”