Valentine from a Soldier (8 page)

The minister began the ceremony, and
I stood beside Morgan at the altar, holding her bridal bouquet of deep red roses along with my smaller
one
, a mixture of
red and cream flowers.  Morgan looked radiant in her cream lace gown, a long veil with delicate embroidery trailing down her back.  I hadn’t seen her take her eyes off of Josh since the moment she’d walked
into the room
, and he was beaming back at her as well.  Chris stood beside the groom, happily gazing down at his little sister, and three other bridesmaids and groomsmen rounded out our bridal party.
  As the minister said, “You may now kiss the bride,” the room broke into applause as Josh kissed Morgan in a passionate embrace.

Chris took my arm as we followed them back down the aisle, leading the rest of the bridal party as the maid of honor and best man.
  My sensuous red silk
gown
flowed around me as I walked, revealing a peek of the
matching red satin heels
that I wore
. 
The colors Morgan had chosen for the wedding were in tribute to Valentine’s Day, but I was glad that she’d let me mak
e sure it was tastefully done. 
I’d seen the slight look of regret in Chris’s eyes as he gazed at me,
and
I felt a pang of
guilt
, knowing what it felt like to want
something you could never have. 
Chris and I had been friends for years
though, so s
urely he must have known that at this point
,
we were destined to be just friends.

I’d left my small purse at the back of the banquet room and wanted to retrieve it to check the messages on my phone.  It was more stressful managing a wedding
that you were participating in than I thought
, and I was certain there was probably some crisis that needed tending to.  Chris guided me out into the lobby, where
Morgan and Josh
were
already
posing for pictures in front of
an
enormous fountain.  Instead of going over to join them though, he pulled me in the opposite direction, toward a small sitting area off to the side.  “Where are we going?” I asked, confused.  “We have to get our pictures taken, too.
  There’s going to be some of the entire bridal party.
”

“That’s not for half an hour,” Chris said easily.

“You actually read the schedule I sent out?” I asked
in surprise
, referring to the detailed agenda I’d
emailed everyone
yesterday
.

“Yep,” he said with a grin.  “Impressed?”

“Maybe a little.
  But you still didn’t tell me where we’re going.”

“I think there’s someone
here
who wants to talk to you,” he said in a low voice, his mouth hovering close to my ear.

We rounded a corner
,
and standing there in front of me,
wearing
his dress uniform, was Ryan.  My mouth dropped open and heart skipped a b
ea
t as I stared at him, taking in his short dark hair,
chiseled
face, and piercing blue eyes.  His broad shoulders and chest filled out his uniform nicely and narrowed to a slim waist.  He looked unbelievably big and strong filling up the entrance to the hallway, and I clutched onto Chris as tears filled my eyes.  Ryan walked over, his eyes never leaving my face, and Chris took my hand from his arm and placed it in Ryan’s, almost as if I was the bride and he was giving me away.

My hand trembled as Ryan’s warm fingers wrapped around mine. 
“Can I talk to you?” Ryan asked, his deep voice sounding sexy and low.

“Okay,” I whispered, and
Chris gracefully made his exit, seeing that I was okay.

I clasped my hands to my chest, somehow feeling like I needed to protect myself even though another part of me only wanted
Ryan
to pull me into his arms.

“I’m sorry, Sarah,”
Ryan
said, gazing down at me.  “I should have told you everything
last Friday
.  I just couldn’t imagine
needing to because I never thought
that I’d fall in love with a girl I just met.
  Then when I found out
that
you were leaving right away the next morning, I just couldn’t find the
right
words to explain myself.
  I felt like writing a letter was the only way I could get out everything I needed to tell you before you had to go.
  I’m in love with you, Sarah.
”

Tears started to roll down my cheeks
, and Ryan
stepped closer,
tenderly wip
ing
them away.  “Please don’t cry,” he said.

“I couldn’t stop thinking about you,” I said.

“Me either,” he said, gently grazing his knuckles along my cheek.  “I knew you were busy with the wedding this week, but I had to come see you. 
And I want
to give you this.”  He pulled a small velvet box out of his pocket and opened it up.  A
silver
necklace with a
filigree
heart
pendant
lay inside.
  “Turn it over,” he said, his voice sexy and low.

My fingers trembling slightly, I pulled it out of the box and flipped the delicate pendant over.  Inscribed on the back were the words “
Sarah, My heart belongs to you. Love, Ryan.”

“It’s beautiful,” I whispered, staring at it intently.

“Just like you.”

I gazed back up at him and met his blue eyes.

“I know we need to talk things over,” he said
, “b
ut I was really hoping that I could be your date this evening.  Morgan said it was okay,” he added, a gleam in his eye.  “
And more than anything,
I want to
make things work
for
us.”

“I can’t believe you’re even here,” I said softly.

“I know what it’s like to love someone and lose them,” he said, his eyes growing misty.  “And I know it’s not every day
that
you meet someone and have the connection that we did.
 
I want to be with you, Sarah.
”

“
So do
I
.”

“So,” he said, a smile
coming to
his face.  “Does that mean you’ll be my Valentine?”

“
Is that another cheesy pick-up line?
”

“Maybe,” he said, his eyes not leaving mine.  H
is hands
wrapped around
my
waist
, and as he
leaned down
, I coul
d smell the clean scent of his
aftershave and feel the warmth radiating from him. 
A
s my heart
beat
sped up and breathing became shallow,
he
softly
brushed his lips against mine.

“There you
two
are!” Morgan
suddenly
called out.  I glanced over my shoulder and saw her
rushing toward us and
pulling
Josh along with her.  “I’ve been dying to meet this Ryan of yours.”

“Of mine,” I said, laughing softly at her choice of words.

“Yes, yours,” he said, wrapping his
arms
around my waist and pulling me close as I turned to face
the new bride and groom
.  I reached up to put on the necklace that I’d been clutching in one hand, and Ryan’s hands caught mine.

“Allow me,” he
said,
his voice deep.  He brushed my hair aside and fumbled for
a
moment, fastening it behind my neck.  “Perfect,” he whispered as he ducked his head down, his breath hot on my skin.

“So are you
two
going to join the party or what?” Morgan asked,
looking at us both with a gleam in her eye
.

“I thought you wanted an introduction,” I said, a realization slowly dawning on me.

“Oh, Ryan and I are old friends
now
,” she said with a wink.  “Josh and I picked him up from the airport the other night.”

“And you didn’t even tell me?” I protested.  “Unbelievable.”

“Guys!
  They’re ready for more pictures!” Chris called out, rounding the corner.

“Well, let’s go then,” I said, taking Ryan’s
strong
hand in min
e
. 
“Some wedding planner I am, leaving Chris in charge of things.” 
I started to walk away, tugging
Ryan
along behind me, and
I
felt myself flushing as I
felt his gaze admiring the
way my clingy dress hung from my backside.  Although the front of the dress kept me fully covered, the back was mostly open, with delicate spaghetti straps crisscrossing between my shoulder blades.  The opening dipped low, with the material below
my
waist draping across my bottom and falling all the way down to the floor.
  Suddenly I found myself wishi
ng the reception was already ove
r.  We had a lot to discuss
this evening
, but
after
we’d talked,
I
somehow knew I’d be back in
Ryan’s strong arms again tonight
.

***

Ryan and I
moved slowly
to the music
at the end of the reception
as he held me tightly in his
embrace
.  I rested my head against his muscular chest, hardly able to believe all that had happened this evening.  We’d talked things
over
at dinner, as much as we could at least given all that was going on.  Ryan had barely left my side
the entire night
, and I loved holding his hand in mine as we made our way around the room
together
, greeting my friends and the other guests.
  As the evening begin to wind down, we joined everyone at the entrance to the banquet hall, throwing rice and confetti at Morgan and Josh as they made their way out into the lobby.  I knew they were only going upstairs, but it was still fun to give them a big sendoff.

“What do you say we get out of here
, too
?” Ryan asked as the
other
guests were beginning to leave.

“That sounds good to me.  I’ve got a room upstairs.”

“I thought we could go back to my room tonight,” he said, his blue eyes searching mine.

“Sure,” I
agreed
, not sure what exactly was different from his hotel room than my own.

He took my hand and led me across the lobby, down the hallway where I
’d
thought I’d spotted him
last night
.  Sliding his keycard into the
lock
, he
pushed open the door for me
, and my
heart skipped a beat as I
stepped
inside
.  Candles were
flickering atop
every surface, casting a warm, romantic glow
across the room
.
  Two dozen red roses
filled
a vase on
the
table,
alongside
a bottle of champagne chilled in a bucket
and a heart-shaped box of chocolates.  The bedspread was strewn with rose petals
, and two glass filled with champagne were already on the nightstand.
  I turned around to face Ryan, wonder in my eyes.

He gave me a slightly embarrassed shrug.  “I was hoping you’d forgive me.  I would’ve felt kind of silly coming back to all of this alone.”

“It’s amazing,” I said, gazing up at him.

“You’re amazing,” he whispered. 
He stared into my eyes and then
slowly leaned over and kissed me.  His mouth was soft and warm, and even though we were just getting started, I had the impression that the scent of his aftershave would
linger on me long after
the sun came up
.  This wasn’t a man in a hurry.  He gently cupp
ed
my face
in his hands
, and I kissed him back,
gently tugging on his lower lip as our kiss grew in intensity
.  Taking that as
an
invitation, his strong arms slid around me, and he gently
backed
me
up
, his mouth never leaving mine, until my legs were pressed against the edge of the bed
.