Two Week Seduction (18 page)

“Then I think you should get a pet. But, um, are you sure you want a dog? They’re a lot of work.”

“Are you saying I should start with a goldfish or something? Something easy?”

“Nah,” he said, a chuckle in his voice. “I’ve always admired the way you go whole hog into something. You don’t just decide, you dive in, heart out in the open, completely vulnerable.” He paused a moment. “You’re the bravest person I know.”

She froze, her pulse beating painfully in her throat. “That’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”

“Huh. My bad.”

She didn’t have an answer to that. This was the moment she’d usually say, I love you. But she wasn’t going there right then. It was his turn to say it first.

But he didn’t. He started cursing instead.

“John?”

“Accident on the road. Gotta go. Sorry.”

“That’s okay. Call me when you get back in town.”

“I will.” Then he clicked off.

Shit.

No suggestion of when he might be back, no idea of how he felt, and nothing but this deep black pit of does-he-does-he-not in her stomach. She started to reach for the muffins, but grabbed her keys instead.

She was going out for her walk. And she was not, not, not going to cry again.

But she did spend a lot of therapeutic time with the puppies at the shelter.

…

John pulled into the driveway of his mom’s home. He’d spent the last forty-five minutes of his drive from his sister’s home thinking about that call from Alea. First off, he was incredibly proud of her for making the hard decision. It wasn’t easy to follow one’s heart, but she’d made the right choice and he was so pleased for her. But once he thought that, he inevitably turned the question back on himself.

What about him?

It wasn’t a question he’d faced often in his life. It had been more about covering debts and following orders. But maybe he needed to follow Alea’s example. Maybe it was time for him to really think about what he wanted. It was time to think about his heart.

Facing his feelings wasn’t something he did naturally. In fact, he sometimes wondered if he even had them. But all he had to do was think about her hazel eyes, her red hair, and the way she made him smile and he knew he had a heart in there somewhere. And it was beating just for her.

He was deep in those feelings when his phone rang.

Damn. Now what?

…

Alea was just back from playing with the puppies when she got the text.

Headed to Lackland AFB. Taking motorcycle so can’t talk. Will call when I can.

She read it five times, hoping to glean a little more information. When she couldn’t, she dialed him, but as expected, it went to voice mail. With a curse, she called her brother. He answered after too damn long, but he sounded alert.

“Hey, sis, what’s up?”

“I just got a text from John. He said he was headed to Lackland. What does that mean?”

“It means he’s headed back to base. What did you think it meant?” She could hear the amusement in his tone.

“But why? He had another week on leave.”

Her brother sighed, then she heard the TV click on in the background. A moment later he grunted, though she had no idea what the sound was supposed to tell her.

“Sam?”

“Turn on CNN. There’s been a surge.”

Her heart lurched and she walked numbly to the television, but she didn’t click it on. Coward that she was, she just didn’t want to know. “But he’s on leave,” she said softly.

“Yeah, well so am I, but I bet I’ll be packing in the next hour, too.”

Shitshitshitshitshit. On so many levels, her mind just reeled.

“Gotta go, sis. I love you.”

“I love you, too,” she said. “Stay safe.” Then she turned off her phone and collapsed onto the floor. No muffins or puppies or even a triple-strength espresso was going to help her now. Her brother and John were going back to war. She and John had just run out of time.

Then there was the worse thought. The one that hovered in the back of her mind all the time. What if they never came home at all?

Chapter Eighteen

Jesus, what was she wearing? John stepped farther into the party gathering and just stared, his heart squeezing painfully at the sight of Alea. In a room full of business suits and cocktail dresses, she was there in her leather skirt and thigh-high boots. She’d worn a tailored jacket on top to make it a tad less scandalous. But for the first time in ages, she didn’t need that red hair to make her stand out.

Which made him grin. When she made a decision to go her own way despite family pressure, Alea didn’t hold back. That outfit screamed I’m-my-own-person and it probably helped reinforce her decision to stay out of law school. Good for her. He couldn’t be prouder.

“I wondered if you were coming.”

John turned to greet Alea’s father. He held out his hand, and prayed that the man would shake it. “Hello, Mr. Heling.”

He did take it in a warm clasp. “I see Alea’s not the only one into making a statement tonight.”

John glanced down at his outfit and did his best not to flush in embarrassment. Monkey suits were so not in his comfort zone. “No, sir. I mean, yes, sir. It’s something I needed to do.”

Mr. Heling nodded. “I take it you’re the reason for my daughter’s sudden decision to ditch a lifelong plan of the law?”

“No, sir, I am not. But I think it’s the right choice for her.”

The man nodded slowly at that, his gaze sliding back to his daughter. “Well, I can’t say I’m surprised, but her mother’s a different thing.”

“Hopefully, you can help with that, sir. Maybe convince her not to fight Alea’s choice.”

“Maybe.” He finished off his drink. “But I’ve found the Heling women amazingly stubborn on some things. Still, I’ll try.”

“Thank you, sir.”

Mr. Heling stood there for a moment, smiling cordially at someone nearby. John was about to find an excuse to duck away when the man focused back on him.

“Let’s talk about you for a second. My son has informed me just how insulting it was to offer you a job as a night watchman.”

“No honest job is insulting, sir.”

“But with your qualifications—”

“I wasn’t insulted, sir.”

Mr. Heling took a sip of his drink. “So, I was surprised when I heard you accepted a job in my building’s security.”

“Yes, sir. I’ll work the front for a month, then take over as manager.”

Mr. Heling nodded slowly. Then to John’s surprise, a slow smile crept over his face. “Good idea. Wish I’d had it.”

John exhaled in relief. “It’s a good job and will tide me over until the rest of my plans settle down.”

“Yes, Sam told me about your career aspirations. But that’s not what you meant, is it?” Once again, both of them ended up looking at Alea.

“Is there a problem, sir?”

“Would it matter if there was?”

John felt his shoulders stiffen, but he answered honestly. “It matters. You’re her father, but it doesn’t change what I’m going to do.”

“Well,” the man groused, “can’t say that I like it much. Hope she sets you flat, to be honest. Nothing against you. I just don’t like your chosen profession. Hard enough sending one son to war, hate to think of a son-in-law in battle every day.”

“It won’t be every day,” he answered.

“It’ll feel like it. But if you make her happy, then I won’t argue. In fact, I might even be a bit proud of her choice. You’re a fine man, John.”

“I hope to be, sir. I’m a bit slow on the uptake at times, but she’s helping to make me better.”

“As every good woman does.” Then he gave his empty glass to a waiter and turned to scan the crowd. “Well, you best get to it, but wait until I find my wife. We’ll want to get into a good position to watch the fireworks.”

Great. An audience of all her family and friends. But then he knew that would happen, knew it’s what she’d want. So with a nod at her father, John adjusted his monkey suit and went to find Alea.

…

Alea had just finished telling another person that she’d decided not to go to Harvard Law. Turning down Stanford, apparently, was perfectly understandable, but Harvard? What was she thinking?

She’d stopped trying to justify her decision. People either understood right away or they didn’t. Either way, she just wanted to get out of here. John hadn’t called back. Her mother was glaring daggers at her—whether because of her decision or her clothes, she didn’t know. And Sam wasn’t here. Well, he was here. Fortunately, he hadn’t been called back early, so that was a relief. But he’d been avoiding her for some reason. That only left small talk with the party attendees and thinking longingly of a hot game of pool and a cool drink. And John. Always John.

She sighed as she scanned the crowd for her sister. At least her big sister understood. Her first words on hearing the news were, “I don’t blame you a bit. Law school sucks.” And then they’d hugged.

Alea figured twenty more minutes tops, then she could bounce. Go to John’s bar and try to drown her sorrows. In the meantime, she was going to get another pig in a blanket hors d’oeuvre. Those things were yummy even if they did have gluten.

It was nuts how a crowd could part so that you saw one person and one person alone. She always thought that only happened in movies, but suddenly it was happening to her. People seemed to step aside and there was John, standing tall and proud in…a tuxedo?

Her breath stuttered out, and her fingers went nerveless. God he looked gorgeous. She thought he was hot in his uniform, but in a tailored black suit with that pristine white shirt, he looked like he could step off the pages of GQ. And the black bow tie was the perfect touch, even if it was a little tilted. He must have tugged on it.

She turned to face him, but that was all that was needed. He was in front of her before she could catch her breath, much less throw herself into his arms. And then he was holding out something to her. She was still studying his face, feeling her gut clench at how handsome he was. But then he lifted the little clutch of lavender in his hand and her heart squeezed painfully tight.

“I know it’s years too late, but I wanted to give this to you.”

“I thought you had deployed.”

He shook his head. “Um, can I pin this on you? I’ve got a whole speech and everything…”

She smiled and nodded. But then he went to pin it on her—it was a corsage, of course—but she was in a leather jacket and there just wasn’t a place to put it. Well, actually, she thought with an internal snicker, there was.

With shaking hands, she unzipped her jacket to reveal a tight cami underneath. He could pin it to that, but it would put a hole in the fabric and probably ruin it. So she said, “Don’t pin it. Just tuck it inside, right over the tattoo.”

She saw him swallow as he stepped closer. Off on the side, she heard her mother speak to her father. “Did she say tattoo? When did she get a tattoo?”

Alea smiled and saw John echo the expression. Apparently he’d heard her mother, too. But then his smile faded as he set the flowers against her heart.

“So, I’ve been thinking a lot about you. But not just about you, about what I want in life. Who I want in my life.”

She waited, feeling her hands tremble and her blood heat.

“I know I took a long time with this. I wanted to be sure it was real.”

“I’ve never been more sure about my feelings,” she said, but he shook his head.

“Not your feelings. Mine. I had to be sure of mine. And I had to make sure I was free to be with you.” He took a deep breath and grabbed her hands. His fingers were large as they enveloped hers, but they were steady. Steadier than her own. “I told you once that I like being part of something bigger than just me. The military gave me a sense of purpose. A feeling like I was doing a good thing.”

“I know. And if you want to stay in the Air Force, I understand. I support you.” After all, he’d just supported her decision to give up a six-figure income to stay a high school teacher.

“I just un-enlisted. That’s what I was doing. I went to Lackland and did some maneuvering. And begging. And, well, I have a really nice CO who owed me a favor.”

She blinked. “W-what? Why?”

“Because I want to be part of something else. I want to be part of us. Of you and me. Together.”

Her fingers tightened on his and she meant to throw herself into his arms then, but he held her fast.

“There’s more.”

More? There was nothing more than the fact that he wanted to be with her. He wanted to give them a chance, but she knew better than to argue. So she held still and hoped she didn’t cry.

“I accepted a job at your father’s building. In security there.”

What? She peered at his face. He couldn’t be serious. Building security, when he was used to watching over an Air Force base?

“It’s a good job while I apply to the police academy. You see, I like protecting people. I like the work I do, I just want to do it back here. With you.”

“The me part is all I care about, John. So long as you want to do this—”

“I do.”

“Then I’m happy.” She swallowed. She was more than happy. She was ecstatic.

He tightened his fingers a little bit more, again keeping her from throwing herself into his arms. “I know it’s kinda hokey, but it’s what you said you wanted. So, um, Alea, Sam’s going to play a song. It was the king and queen dance from this year’s prom. And, um, will you dance with me?”

She laughed. Of course she would dance with him. She would do anything he wanted with her. But apparently he couldn’t read her mind, or her expression, because he kept searching her face for her answer.

She blinked past her tears and found her voice. “Yes, John, I’ll dance with you.” Then she glanced around. “But I don’t know where Sam is. He’s been avoiding me.”

“I know. I talked to him about my plans. And I asked him to keep it all a secret.”

She saw her brother then, standing with a big grin right beside Candy and her parents. To her shock, he gave her a big thumbs-up, then pressed a button on his phone. Taylor Swift’s “Love Story” came over the speakers and she couldn’t stop grinning. “Oh God, this was the king and queen dance?”