Cole looked up at April. She looked happy, making him wonder what she’d discussed with her mother. He wouldn’t ask though. She deserved to have someone to talk things over with. He just hoped she hadn’t used the time to decide not to join him as soon as possible. He understood the impossibility of her leaving with him tomorrow, but God he hoped she intended to fly out there within a week. Any longer would stress him out.
“Ready to go?” she asked as soon as she reached him.
“Sure.” He stood and headed for the kitchen to toss the rest of his beer before rejoining her and heading for the door.
April hugged both her parents tightly and told them she loved them. He could only hope that one day in thirty years, he would have at least a few kids who loved him and April so much that they still visited and adored their parents.
The rest of the evening was stressful. Mostly because Cole felt the clock ticking. He had fifteen more hours with April. It wasn’t enough time. On top of that, April set him in front of the television and handed him the remote before opening her computer, saying she needed to take care of a few clients.
He felt jealous of her clients while he flipped through the channels. He didn’t care what was on. He didn’t want to watch TV. The only thing he wanted to do was hold his woman and make sure she was on the same page as him. She’d indicated as much several times, but he still felt nervous.
They didn’t speak much after she shut the computer down, nor did they say many words after they moved to her bedroom. They didn’t need speech. They needed to feel.
Cole’s heart was pounding the entire time as he slowly stripped the two of them naked and then made love to her without ever losing her gaze. There was a heaviness in the air. Hope and promise in addition to uncertainty.
He wished he could stay up all night talking to her, but the stress of the last few days had worn him down, and he fell asleep almost immediately.
Cole awoke to find the space next to him empty and cold. April hadn’t been there in a while. It was early. Where was she?
He slid out of bed and padded into the kitchen where he found her surrounded by boxes and packing material. “April?”
She glanced up and smiled, brushing hair from her face.
He strolled closer to her, his heart racing. “What are you doing, ladybug?”
“Packing as much stuff as I can so my parents don’t have to deal with it.”
He stopped moving and lifted a brow, his gaze roaming around the room some more. She’d obviously been working for hours. How the hell had he slept through this? “April?” he repeated, needing to hear what he prayed she would say.
She stepped over several boxes and met him halfway into the kitchen, planting her hands on his chest when she reached him. Her head tipped back and she met his gaze. “I’m coming with you. I wanted it to be a surprise.”
He sucked in a breath and held it, hoping like hell he wasn’t misunderstanding as he reached for her waist. “You mean today? You’re coming with me today?”
“Yes. If that’s still what you want.”
Cole couldn’t catch his breath. He stared at her for several seconds before finally lifting her off the ground and spinning her in a circle. “Please tell me I’m hearing this correctly. You’re going to come home with me? Today?”
She giggled as he set her down. “Yes. It took some maneuvering, but I think I got everything worked out. I found another realtor to take all my clients. My landlord is going to let me out of the lease at the end of the month. My parents are going to wrap things up for me here. I just didn’t want to leave it so that they needed to work for days to get my shit in storage.”
He hauled her closer, never releasing her gaze. “I love you,” he murmured, barely able to speak.
“I love you too.” She leaned back. “Now that the secret is out, you think you can help me box things up?”
“I’d do anything in the world for you, ladybug.” He kissed her softly and then took a few more moments to stare at her. “Thank you. I won’t let you down.”
“I know you won’t, Cole.” Her hands slid up his chest. “What do you want to do first? Eat breakfast? Pack some suitcases? Or morning sex?”
“Those are my options?” He chuckled.
“Yep.”
“I say we do all three. I’ll pick the order.”
Chapter 20
Two weeks later…
“So, let me get this straight.” Zig was grinning from ear to ear as he turned his chair to face April, trying to have a conversation with her. Unfortunately for him, Cole kept interrupting, not keen on having his teammate grill his woman over beers.
They’d met at McP’s after a long day of training, but now Cole was rethinking the idea. He should have just gone home to spend an evening with April. Bringing her out to meet all the guys perhaps wasn’t a stellar plan.
Zig continued, ignoring the fact that Cole was standing close by, trying to get between him and April. “Your name is April. You ran into this fool, Joker, on April Fool’s Day, and you decided to move to San Diego with him after he spilled coffee all over you?”
April giggled and swatted Cole out of the way. “Yep.”
“You do realize the man doesn’t have many serious bones in his body, right? We call him Joker for a reason,” Zig continued to tease.
“Yep. I’m well aware. He was the same in high school.” She tipped her head back to look up at Cole as he rolled his eyes. “Trust me, he can be serious when it’s called for.”
Cole leaned over her, his hand on the back of her chair. His lips came to her ear. “If you stop flirting with my teammates, we can go home, and I’ll show you another one of my personalities. I guarantee you won’t be laughing.”
She visibly shivered and then reached up to kiss him. “We just got here. I’m meeting your teammates. We’ll go home in a while.”
Cole sighed as he slid into the seat next to her, wrapping a possessive arm around the back of her chair. He might as well get comfortable. Several of the guys were here tonight and they all wanted to grill April.
Heartbreaker was the next to lean in and speak to April. “So, you finally managed to reel this Joker in, huh?”
Pops shoved Heartbreaker’s arm from his other side. “Hey, now. If you can reel a woman in, anyone can.” He laughed, but Cole just rolled his eyes. Pops wasn’t lying. Heartbreaker had finally gotten tied down and stopped breaking women’s hearts.
Mars strolled up holding a beer and pulled up a seat next to Cole. He was on his first beer so he hadn’t started in with the teasing yet. He spoke to Cole. “How’d it go with that investigator in Alabama today? You said you’d be talking to him this morning, right?”
Wolf leaned forward too. “That’s right. What’d you find out?”
April set her hand on Cole’s thigh and smiled up at him. Relief had finally caused her to relax for the first time in weeks. That was half the reason he’d consented to going out tonight. He knew she needed to blow off steam, even though he’d rather be using that excess energy between the sheets right about now.
He kissed her briefly and faced the guys. “It went well. The mayor’s wife has chosen not to attempt to collect money from anyone who owed her husband anything. Once she learned how many schemes he’d been involved in and how underhanded he’d behaved to take over people’s businesses, she declined to even attempt to extract money from any of us.”
Mars nodded. “That’s great. I bet you’re relieved.”
“Very.”
Zig motioned for the waiter to come by and moments later ordered a round of beer for everyone. “We’re celebrating.”
Even though Cole hadn’t really expected a different outcome, it was a relief to finally have the entire mess behind him. He hadn’t heard a peep out of Amanda or Jacob since he left town. When he’d spoken to Bart, he’d learned that Jacob hadn’t attempted to get a job working for the older man either. Bart hadn’t seen him. As far as Cole was concerned, good riddance to both of them.
&n
bsp; It was a shame that he had no relationship with his half-brother, but sometimes family had nothing to do with blood and everything to do with friendship and love.
Cole sat back and let out a long exhale. He curled his hand around April and squeezed her shoulder while his teammates clinked glasses over his good fortune. These were his people. The only people he needed.
He didn’t pressure April to leave McP’s again. She was having fun getting to know the guys and making friends with Heartbreaker’s girlfriend, Alicia.
It was almost midnight before they made it back to Cole’s condo, and he didn’t give April time to take a complete breath between when he shut the front door and plastered her to it. He kissed her until she was moaning with want, just the way he liked her, and then he lifted her off the ground and carried her to their bedroom.
He dropped her on the mattress with an intentional plan.
Sure enough, she landed on the small box he’d left in the middle of the bed and squeaked as she leaned to the left to pull it out from under her.
Her eyes went wide as she held it up. “Cole?”
He grinned mischievously and sat next to her.
“What is this?”
“What does it look like?”
Her eyes widened further.
He took it from her hands and held it. “There’s a story here.”
Her eyebrows drew together. “A story?”
“Yeah.” He suddenly felt stupid thinking this would be a good idea. He’d thought about it for the past two weeks since they’d gotten home. Some days he’d decided not to mention this ring, and other days he was certain she would think it was the sweetest thing on earth. Earlier this afternoon, his plan had seemed sweet. Now, he had doubts.
“Cole?” April slid her hand over his on top of the box. “Is that a ring?”
“Yeah.” He met her gaze.
“You gonna show it to me? Is there a question you’d like to ask me? I’ve never seen you this nervous.”
He licked his lips. “First, I just want to say that if you don’t like it, we’ll sell it and get another ring.”
She frowned. “Why on earth would I not like it?” She crawled over his lap, straddling him, closing the space so that there were only inches between them, inches that now contained the ring box.
“It’s not at all what I would buy you if I were buying it today. When I look at it, I cringe. But I know you can be sentimental, so…”
Her breath hitched. “When did you buy that ring, Cole?”
He swallowed. “Ten years ago.”
She started breathing heavily. “Oh my God.” Her hands shook around his as she squeezed his fingers. A tear fell down her cheek. “Cole?” His name came out on a sob.
He tried to smile. “Yeah. I couldn’t get rid of it. Every time I thought about selling it, my stomach would revolt. So, I held on to it. And now you’re here. And it was always yours. And the diamond is barely visible because I was eighteen and dirt poor when I bought it. It’s silly.”
She shook her head. “It’s not silly. It’s the most romantic gesture ever.”
“We can exchange it or swap out the diamond or whatever.” He still hadn’t opened it.
She shook her head again. “Not a chance in hell. You bought that for me with every ounce of love I hope you still feel today. It was meant to be mine. It’s been waiting for me. I’m here now. Can I see it?”
He cupped her face. “Ladybug, I feel more love for you today than I did ten years ago. If it means that much to you, then I want you to have it. We’ll get something more elaborate for the wedding band.”
She lifted a brow. “There won’t be a wedding band if you don’t ask me to marry you.”
He smiled, beyond glad he’d made this choice, and opened the box with shaky hands. The tiny diamond on the thin gold band sparkled in the dim lighting. “April McKay, will you make me the happiest man on earth and marry me?”
She was crying as he pulled the ring from the box and slid it onto her ring finger. “Yes,” she managed to whisper as she stared down at it. A moment later, she flung herself at him so hard that he tumbled backward. She leaned over him. “I love you.”
“It’s not going to be easy. You already know that. I get called away on a moment’s notice. I’ll be gone for months sometimes.” He slid his hands up her back as he painted the dim picture.
“I don’t care. I’ll be here when you get back every time.”
He stared into her eyes. “Do you have any idea how happy I am?”
“Yes.” She lowered herself until their lips met. As soon as she started kissing him, he flipped her over so that she was on her back, not breaking the kiss.
He threaded their fingers together and brought her hand up to his mouth, pulling back just enough to kiss the ring on her finger. “You sure it’s not cheesy?”
“No. I’m positive it’s perfect. I’ll hurt you if you suggest trading it in ever again. It waited a long time to find its way home. I’m not taking it off.”
Someday Cole would stop beating himself up over the stupidity that caused him to leave this woman ten years ago. In the meantime, he would treat her like the queen of his universe every day they lived because that’s what she was.
Author’s Note
The SEALs in Paradise series is in its fourth year! Below is a list of all four editions.
Drink Edition:
Hot SEAL, Salty Dog, Elle James
Hot SEAL, S*x on the Beach, Delilah Devlin
Hot SEAL, Dirty Martini, Cat Johnson
Hot SEAL, Bourbon Neat, Parker Kincade
Hot SEAL, Cold Beer, Cynthia D’Alba
Hot SEAL, Rusty Nail, Teresa Reasor
Hot SEAL, Black Coffee, Cynthia D’Alba
Hot SEAL, Single Malt, Kris Michaels
Hot SEAL, Red Wine, Becca Jameson
Vacation Edition:
Hot SEAL, Tijuana Nights, Cat Johnson
Hot SEAL, Hawaiian Nights, Elle James
Hot SEAL, Savannah Nights, Kris Michaels
Hot SEAL, Vegas Nights, Parker Kincade
Hot SEAL, Australian Nights, Becca Jameson
Hot SEAL, Roman Nights, Teresa Reasor
Hot SEAL, Alaskan Nights, Cynthia D’Alba
Hot SEAL, New Orleans Nights, Delilah Devlin
Wedding Edition:
Hot SEAL, Bachelor Party, Elle James
Hot SEAL, Decoy Bride, Delilah Devlin
Hot SEAL, Runaway Bride, Cat Johnson
Hot SEAL, Cold Feet, Becca Jameson
Hot SEAL, Best Man, Parker Kincade
Hot SEAL, Confirmed Bachelor, Cynthia D'Alba
Hot SEAL, Taking the Plunge, Teresa Reasor
Hot SEAL, Undercover Groom, Maryann Jordan
Holiday Edition:
Hot SEAL, Heartbreaker, Cat Johnson
Hot SEAL, Charmed, Parker Kincade
Hot SEAL, April’s Fool, Becca Jameson
Hot SEAL, In His Memory, Delilah Devlin
Hot SEAL, A Forever Dad, Maryann Jordan
Hot SEAL, Independence Day, Elle James
Hot SEAL, Sweet and Spicy, Cynthia D’Alba
Hot SEAL, Labor Day, Cynthia D’Alba
Hot SEAL, Midnight Magic, Teresa Reasor
Hot SEAL, Sinful Harvest, Parker Kincade
Hot SEAL, Silent Knight, Kris Michaels
Layover
Open Skies, Book One
If you’re a fan of my SEALs in Paradise books, you might also enjoy my Open Skies series. Some military. Some flight attendants. Some suspense. Some sex… Here is an excerpt from Layover, Book One in the series:
Libby slid her palms up and down Jason’s back as soon as he’d tugged off his uniform jacket and draped it over the back of the one chair in his hotel room. He was as hard as she’d imagined. Every inch of him rock solid. Muscular. Fit. Her mouth watered. A frantic yearning to have more of him consumed her.
He hadn’t even kissed her yet, but she could tell by the hungry look in his eyes tha
t was about to change. He cupped her face and stared into her eyes in the dim light.
After hours of flirting mercilessly with each other at the wedding and then the reception, they had finally broken away from the party to sneak upstairs to his room. The sneaking part probably wasn’t necessary, nor did she suspect they had pulled it off. She doubted any of her friends or his had any doubt about where and how she and Jason intended to spend the rest of the night.
He stepped closer, taking her breath away as he flattened her to the wall. His huge hands came to her face, cupping it reverently, his gaze intense. “I’m going to kiss every inch of your body,” he informed her in a gravelly voice.
“I hope so,” she whispered in response. She’d been aroused all evening. No. She’d been aroused since she’d set eyes on him last night at the rehearsal. She’d tossed and turned all night dreaming about what it might be like to have his hands on her, his lips on hers, his cock inside her.
Thank God he’d gotten the message from her not-so-subtle suggestions last night because she wasn’t sure what she might have done if she’d arrived at the wedding today to find him ignoring her entirely.
He’d done nothing of the sort. In fact, when she’d first spotted him among the crowd of groomsmen gathered outside the church, he’d smiled at her. Confident. Knowing.
Her heart had fluttered from that moment on. Thousands of glances later, with no words spoken between them, he’d finally taken her hand and led her to the dance floor near the end of the evening. “You promised me a dance,” he’d murmured as he began to rock her back and forth to the slow song.
His hands had been everywhere, sliding up and down her back, over her ass, around to stroke the sides of her breasts. Anyone paying attention would think they were an item. It had been raw. Heady. Exciting.
After three dances in which they’d exchanged only a handful of words, he’d lifted a brow. “Take five minutes to say goodbye to your friends.”
Hot SEAL, April's Fool Page 16
