Contract with a SEAL (Special Ops: Homefront Book 3) (20 page)

“I hope so.”

“And text. And Skype.”

“I’ll be waiting.” He smiled at her as he
turned away, but couldn’t bear to not see her face one more time. Daring to
glance over his shoulder, he shouted, “You’ll be sick of me by the time a year
passes. But remember—we’ve got a date. You’re stuck now, Vi.”

Just like he was stuck, forever hers.

“That’s fine with me,” she said again, wiping
a tear from her cheek before she raised her hand in farewell.

“You have my heart, Violet Owens.”

“I’ll take good care of it.”

And Joe knew, as he turned down the
hallway toward his gate, that at least one piece of him would be safe while he
was gone.

Six months later

Despite the weather reports that
predicted heavy rainfall, the sky was robin’s egg blue and not a cloud was in
sight.

As family and friends poured into the
backyard—already at least one hundred of the two hundred who were
expected—the air filled with a buzz of laughter and conversation.

The luminous sun shone onto the choppy
waters of the Bay making it sparkle like the facets of a diamond. Bess sat with
Tyler on the dock teaching Abby and a couple other children how to go crabbing.
Her crush on the Army lieutenant apparent only to the people closest to her,
Bess was ecstatic that he was able to stop by for the party on his way from
Fort Drum to his next post at the 1
^st
Ranger Battalion in Savannah. Even
if he would be in town only for a couple hours, Vi thought it was good for Bess
to have a reason to dress up and reintroduce her face to mascara and lipstick.

Jack was stuck to his new wife like
Velcro this afternoon, just as he had been every day of the past six months,
according to Maeve. The time apart during Jack’s mission had made their
relationship even stronger, the way Vi hoped it would be with her and Joe.

She missed him every day… and this day
especially. Standing among her friends at a party to celebrate Maeve and Jack’s
marriage, her heart felt like it was 8,000 miles away in Joe’s strong and certain
grasp. Somehow, these past months she had gotten to know him better than she
had known any man in her life, opening up to him, sharing her goals, her
uncertainties, her insecurities, her joys.

There were phone calls, emails, Skype—and
more contact than Vi had expected. Laughing, she once reminded him that he had
told her last winter he wouldn’t have time to maintain a relationship while he
was in this command. To that, he responded that he needed to “reinvent how he
did things.”

Vi had done her own fair share of
reinventing how she did things, too—successfully approaching her former
college roommate about a senior partnership in her firm. Vi’s brand cachet as a
financial correspondent was building an already profitable clientele in her new
position, and the network continued to invite her back on a part-time basis.

She loved what she was doing now—actually
managing money rather than talking about it—and the work kept her in DC
close to her sister.

A seven-foot sugar maple stood in a
planter off to the side of the buffet they had set up for food. It would be
planted at sunset, a symbol of Maeve and Jack’s marriage. It was strong and sturdy,
with a fiery canopy of blazing red leaves that would reveal themselves every
autumn to represent another aspect of their relationship—passion.

“Couldn’t have picked a better day for
this, could she?”

Mick’s voice had her turning around. He
stood tall now, and the sight of it still made her breath catch with pride. His
eyes were sharp, and even if his tongue wasn’t quick-witted as it once had been,
Lacey joked that now she was finally able to win an argument with him.

According to the doctors, she had better
not get used to it. Mick was improving to the point where he had already been
assigned to his next post, still with the SEALs, but this time in planning at
the Pentagon. As Mick put it, he would no longer be the one “kicking the doors
down” and that suited Lacey just fine.

“I didn’t believe Maeve when she said it
wouldn’t rain. I’ll never question her again,” Vi responded, then shook her
head at the image of him. Such a contrast to how he was just six months ago. “You’re
looking stronger every day, Mick.”

He draped one arm around Vi just as Lacey
appeared at his other side to receive his second arm. Giving them both a squeeze,
he sighed contentedly. “It’s all the good care I get from the women in my
life.”

Lacey glanced over at her sister. “Aren’t
you going to get some food? Bess made those mini crab cakes you like so much.”

“In a minute. I think I’ll hang back here
and let the crowds fight it out at the buffet tables for a while.”

“You okay, Vi?”

“I’m fine,” Vi answered her sister,
committed to keeping her feelings locked up tight for the night. This party was
about Maeve and Jack, about their future. It wasn’t the right time to confide
in her sister all the worries that were eating at her heart these past two
days.

Vi had fallen into a routine with Joe, usually
receiving some form of contact from him daily, even if it was just a quick
email to say he loved her. When there was no communication on his end, she knew
he was on a mission. Two days had passed since she had last heard from him, and
she felt the weight of the silence bearing down on her.

“You miss Joe, don’t you?” Lacey asked
her, then shooting a strange smile to her husband.

“That shouldn’t surprise you,” Vi
admitted.

Mick seemed to suppress an odd laugh,
though Vi wasn’t quite sure. He glanced behind them at the house a moment, then
out to the backyard again. “Come on, Lacey. Let’s grab Vi some of those crab
cakes before they all disappear.”

Vi smiled as she watched them walk toward
the buffet table, Lacey tucked in the crook of Mick’s arm, looking perfect
together. As meant to be as Maeve and Jack. Just looking at the two couples
seemed to strengthen her, reminding her that there are, indeed, happy ever
afters.

“They make it look so easy. Don’t they?”

The voice behind her made the air rush
out of her lungs. Chills covered every square inch of her body, and she was
frightened to look over her shoulder, for fear her mind was playing tricks on
her. Devilish, cruel tricks.

A hand touched her lightly and turned her
around.

It was no trick.

“Joe!” Tears filled her eyes as she
struggled for words, even for breath. Taking her in his arms, he held her close
as her knees gave way.

Tentatively, she touched her lips to his,
almost thinking that he would vanish when their skin met. Yet he didn’t. She
could feel the warm pressure of his mouth against hers, caress his clean-shaven
cheeks, and sense his arms locked firm against her back, holding her up.

Parting her lips, she dared to taste him,
moaning as she did. Her blood surged in response to the sensation, till she
became lightheaded. “Am I dreaming?”

“No, Violet. Not dreaming. I’m only in
town till tomorrow morning and then I’m headed back. I needed to do a briefing
with the Joint Chiefs of Staff this morning. I wanted to tell you, but I really
didn’t think it would ever happen. It’s not often they pull a commander out of
the field for something like this.”

Moisture streaked her cheeks. “Remind me
to send my thanks to the Joint Chiefs.”

Gently twining his hands into her hair,
he shook his head at the sight of her, seeming to soak in every line of her
face, every curve, till he finally spoke. “God, I’ve missed you, Violet. And I
swore when I saw you again, I was going to make every minute count.”

Nearly whimpering in response, she rested
her arms on his shoulders and pulled him flush against her body, till she could
feel him harden in response. “If we left now, I’m betting Maeve and Jack would
understand,” she said, raising her eyebrows suggestively.

Eyes twinkling as he laughed, Joe kissed
her again. Thoroughly this time, her mouth, her cheeks, her neck, till finally he
stopped, feeling more than a few sets of eyes watching them.

Vi sensed it too, glancing out at the
yard and seeing the watchful eyes of Lacey, Mick, Maeve, Jack, and Bess in the
distance. They weren’t coming to greet Joe yet, which seemed strange. Realization
dawning, Vi narrowed her eyes on Joe. “They knew you were coming.”

Joe’s mouth curved into a sly grin. “They
might have known something. Maeve went out of her way to schedule this when I
was hoping I’d be able to be here.”

Vi glanced at her friend. “That sounds
like something Maeve would do. But I would have been happy to see you anytime,
party or not.”

Joe pressed his lips together
momentarily. “Maybe. But this is a perfect setting. A party to celebrate love. Second
chances. Look at them.” He tossed his chin toward Maeve and Jack, and Lacey and
Mick, both couples standing at the other side of the yard, holding hands, but
joined by something even more powerful. “I meant what I said. They make it look
easy. Marriage. But it’s not. Especially in the SEALs.”

Vi gave him a reassuring smile. “They’ll
make it. They have what it takes.”

“I know. I don’t worry about them at
all.” Giving a gentle tug, Joe coaxed her down to the step on the back deck,
his body sitting so close to hers that she swore she could even feel his
heartbeat. Taking both her hands, his eyes locked onto hers. “Honestly, I never
thought I had what it took. I thought marriage was a crap shoot, and it was
just luck that pulled you in one direction or the other.”

“I thought that, too.”

“But it’s not. You taught me that. And I
can’t help but think these six months apart have actually been good for us. It
made me listen to you, get to know you,” he paused, adding with a laugh, “and keep
my hands off you long enough to hear all your hopes and dreams.”

Nodding, Vi leaned in to taste him. “Mmhm,”
she murmured as their lips joined. Breathing in deeply, she savored his mildly
soapy scent. He always seemed like he had just stepped from the shower, fresh,
with the sharp eyes that come right after a cup of morning coffee. She hoped
that energy she saw in him right now would last all night, because oh, how she
had plans for her SEAL commander.

He pulled his mouth away slightly. “You’re
distracting me.”

“Mmm, I hope so,” she purred.

Smiling, his hands caressed her face. “I
only have a few hours with you this time. But after this command, I’ve already
started bugging the detailer about getting a job at the Pentagon. I’m pretty
sure I can make it happen. I’ll be closer to you for a couple years. And then
after that, maybe I’ll start looking at some land for that vineyard.” He
reached into his pocket and pulled out a tiny, velvet-covered box. “That is, if
you think living on a vineyard might work for you. Because if you were with me,
I could live just about anywhere.”

Her jaw went slack as she stared at the
box in his hand. Opening it, she saw an eternity-style ring sparkling with
diamonds. “Oh, Joe.”

“I know marriage to a SEAL might not have
been what you planned on right now. But I won’t be a SEAL forever. And it’s you
I want forever with, Vi.”

Her heart stopped. She would swear that
it had completely stopped.

“Marry me?” he asked, and for a moment he
looked so completely vulnerable to her, sitting on the steps, holding out a
ring that she knew she would wear to the end of her days.

“Yes, Joe. Yes, I’ll marry you.”

She kissed him to seal the deal, sighing
into him as she melded her body against his. His smile broadened even as their
lips were merged, seeming to seep out from his soul.

Standing suddenly, and pulling Vi upon
her two feet beside him, Joe pumped his fist victoriously and shouted, “She
said yes!”

An ebullient cheer came from her friends
and her sister as they raced up the yard towards them—Bess, guiding her
precious daughter off the dock as she clapped her tiny hands and raced toward
Vi… Maeve, eyes filled with happy tears, with her hand linked to Jack’s… and
Mick with Lacey on his arm, leading the charge toward them.

Almost shaking, Joe slipped the ring onto
her finger, and she felt lightheaded from the sight of it. Slipping his hands
beneath her arms, he raised her up from the ground triumphantly. Laughing, she
tossed her head back and felt like she was flying, soaring into a future that
opened her heart completely to the world.

She was his now. His forever.

From the Author

Thank you so much for reading
Contract
with a SEAL
.
If you enjoyed this book, please help me spread the word by
reviewing it on Amazon.
Your reviews and word-of-mouth advertising help
sales so much, and bring me closer to the day when I can quit my “day job” and
do this full-time.

I have also made this book lending
enabled, so please share it with your friends.

If you’d like me to let you know when my
next book is ready, please contact me at
my
website
to get on my
email list. Thanks for your interest!

I cannot write another word without
saying a very special “thank you” to my Navy friend and technical advisor.
Chuck, after the last book, I promised you a break from reading my SEAL romances,
thinking the next in the series would be an Army hero. Then I approached you
with the idea of Vi and Joe’s book as inspired by my readers and held my breath
for your reply. You came through for me, as always. You are the truest kind of
friend. No, you are family.

To my husband, I pledge my eternal love
and thanks for the enthusiasm you show for all my dreams, no matter what they
may be. You are my rock. And to my family… words cannot express how much your
love means to me.

My thanks, my thoughts, and my prayers
continue for those in our armed forces. I am grateful that readers like you
appreciate their sacrifices, and those of their families.

Thank you again for your generous support
of an independent author!

***

Also
written by Kate Aster

Available
on Amazon by clicking here

SEAL the Deal

Special Ops: Homefront (Book One)

The SEAL’s Best Man

Special Ops: Homefront (Book Two)

Make Mine a Ranger

Special Ops: Homefront (Book Four)

You can follow Kate on Twitter:
@KateAsterAuthor

www.KateAster.com