A Man of Honor

by Miranda Liasson

  “You always surprise me,” he said.

  “How’s that?” she asked.

  She’d surprised him during those first few months in Afghanistan, when she’d always been there for him, sending him letters and crazy things in care packages. Like pens with pink feathers and her romance novels with pages of love scenes marked and little sticky notes that said, “Read this! And think of me.” She’d sent him crazy patterned socks and gum and instant Starbucks coffee that was as close to being fresh-ground as it could get. She’d been open and honest and giving, and she still was, regardless of how shitty he’d treated her. And that was the most surprising thing of all—her inability to give him up.

  “You stood up to your family the other night,” he said. “Life’s too short to not do what you want.”

  She sat up suddenly, and his hand fell to his side. “If you mean that, really mean that, what is it that you want?”

  “Cat, I—”

  “No.” She put a hand on his arm. “Tell me, Preston, what is it that you want? Because you could have it. You could have all of it just for the asking.”

  Blood pounded in his ears. Had he heard her right? She was offering herself up, not to Brady, but to him. And he wanted her, every blessed part of her. He wanted to run his hands all along her smooth, sun-warmed body. He wanted to peel off those scraps of what she called a bathing suit and explore every part of her. With his tongue. Including that belly button ring.

  She lifted his hand from where it lay at his side and intertwined their fingers. “No matter how much you try to deny it, we just fit.”

  God, he loved the feel of her. He closed his eyes, reveling in the sensations that only existed in his imagination day after day for far too long. All this time without her, all those months of denial…all those secret little things they’d whispered and emailed and wrote…months of foreplay…and now to have her right beside him. Half naked. It was plain torture. Without thinking, he brought their joined hands to his lips and kissed hers, holding on tight. A little too tight, the way a desperate man grips a lifeline to stop himself from falling off a cliff. On impulse, he placed her hand on his chest, over his heart, and put his on top.

  “Don’t talk,” she whispered. “Just—be with me.” She lifted her sunglasses so he could see everything that was in her eyes. See her.

  As soon as he looked into those bright green eyes, he knew she’d worn him down. He could no longer hide his confusion or his absolute need. He had so much to say, but she’d somehow given him permission to forget all of it for these few moments of heaven. Then somehow he did let go—of all his thoughts, his worries, and all his unspoken confessions. Forgot about his broken body and his broken spirit and simply enjoyed these few precious moments on a hot, perfect day under a warm sun with the one woman he wanted more than anything.

  They lay like that for he didn’t know how long. He focused on the feel of her, her small hand, searing a path into his heart, his soul, and willed himself to stay in the moment. Inhaled the fresh lake air and absorbed the warmth of the sun and tried to let a peace settle over him. But his heart wouldn’t calm—his pulse had skyrocketed faster than a Tesla on the open road, and he was certain she felt every beat louder than a bongo drum. He couldn’t let go, couldn’t move, as if he was desperate to make these few brief moments stretch out for an eternity.

  “Preston.” Her soft breath tickled his cheek. The sound of his name was low and a little throaty, and he suddenly knew she was as turned on as he was. When he finally had the courage to force his gaze from the perfect summer sky to look at her, he thought he saw the same desperate wanting that reverberated clear through his very marrow. Mindlessly, he reached his other hand up to hook a wayward strand of hair behind her ear. His gaze dropped to her mouth. Her lips were full and soft, and all it would take was one quick movement—

  “Hey, you two,” a voice from behind them said, breaking the spell. Preston lifted his hand off hers and sat up on his elbows.

  Brady walked up to them dressed in navy swim trunks and no shirt, flashing a grin that made Preston want to squeeze all his whitening toothpaste clear out of its tube.

  “Oh, hi, Brady,” Cat said, sitting up.

  “How long have you been out here?” he asked, his gaze traveling over every inch of Cat in a predatory way he didn’t bother to hide.

  Not long enough, Preston thought, already missing the feel of her. Every instinct he possessed went on guard, prepared to claim her as his own. He wondered if Brady suspected something was going on between them, maybe had even purposefully interrupted them.

  “Not long,” Cat said. “We were enjoying the beautiful day.”

  “It is at that,” Brady said, still not taking his eyes off her. To Preston’s dismay, he spread his towel on the other side of Cat and stretched out, putting his hands behind his head and looking out over the lake. Preston noted how rock-hard his abs were, how he seemed to be intentionally positioning himself, flexing his muscles so Cat could admire them. Preston half expected Brady to get up and start doing bodybuilding poses.

  “So, Cat, how’s the maid of honor? All your duties fulfilled? Because if they are, maybe you’d like to go for a walk with me?” Then he turned to Preston “Pres, you wouldn’t mind if we went for a little walk together, would you? A few of us are going to have a little race later. We can walk down and see my canoe.”

  Right. He was going to show her his canoe. Now he’d heard everything.

  Over his dead body.

  “You could come, too, Preston,” Brady said, then released an exaggerated sigh. “Oh, sorry. I forgot. I wouldn’t want to do anything to aggravate your injury.” His gaze lingered on Preston’s bum leg.

  “I assure you, Brady, there’s nothing wrong with my upper body strength.” Preston couldn’t resist flexing his pecs a little. “I’d be happy to take part in a little friendly athletic competition.”

  “You mean like chess, Trivial Pursuit? Those might be safer options.”

  Preston grinned widely. “Funny. Where do you race to?”

  “From the dock on this side across the lake and back. There’re a couple canoes down there we can use.”

  “I’m up for it. Unless you’re a little frightened of some real competition. I mean, I wouldn’t want to embarrass you.”

  Brady grinned. “You’re on.”

  Cat shot Preston a you-must-be-crazy look, but he gave her a wink. “I’ll meet you down there,” Preston said to Brady, who immediately stood up from the sand and started jogging toward the dock. Preston hoisted himself up as gracefully as he could in front of Cat, gave her another wink, and followed Brady across the sand and down the grassy hill.

  Suddenly, he felt the waistband of his bathing suit snap. He turned to see Cat behind him, standing planted with her arms on her hips, looking pissed. “What do you think you’re doing?” she asked.

  “Just a friendly competition among men,” he said a little sheepishly.

  “What do you think you’re trying to prove?” She was all big green eyes and concern, and his heart swelled from seeing it.

  “Why, sweetheart, are you worried about me? Don’t be, because I’ll be fine.” He flexed his biceps. “Nothing’s wrong with the guns.” What was he trying to prove? All he knew was as soon as Brady started moving in on Cat, he’d clicked into warrior mode, and it was strangely exhilarating.

  “You don’t have to prove anything. To him or to me. Plus, it’s not worth it to jeopardize your leg.”

  Common sense told him she was right. But his testosterone had flared, and all he wanted to do was beat the crap out of this guy—figuratively speaking, of course. Mostly.

  “I know that.” But he had to prove something to himself. No force on earth was going to allow this guy to move in on his woman.

  His woman. Before he could figure out what the hell that meant, he’d stepped forward and kissed her. Right on those soft sun-warmed lips, pleased when she made a soft gasp at the contact. Then he turned and headed
down to the lake.

  …

  Cat touched her fingers to her lips, which still tingled from where Preston had just kissed her. She watched the two men head down to the lake, Brady’s confident gait alongside Preston’s ungainly one. Something had shifted between him and her. She felt it, and she knew he did, too. So why had he egged Brady on like this? It couldn’t end well.

  “What’s going on?” Cat looked up to see Maddie walking down the hill toward her, accompanied by Jenna and Liz. She joined them in walking the rest of the way to the lake.

  “Preston and Brady are racing like two little kids,” Cat said.

  “Why?” Jenna asked.

  “Uh-oh,” Liz said. “It’s a testosterone contest, isn’t it? One that began at our house over dinner the other night.”

  “Preston’s showing off for you, Cat,” Maddie said. “He’s being territorial. That’s really sweet.”

  Cat rolled her eyes. She had no idea what was going through Preston’s mind, only that it was foolish and unnecessary, and as soon as he made it back to dry land, she was going to tell him so, again. Nick and Derrick had gathered near the dock to be closer to the action and were laughing and shouting about rules and directions. Someone whistled loudly, and the boats took off.

  “I think Preston actually has a chance to beat that guy,” Liz said, squinting into the sun as the two men paddled furiously up the lake. “He’s strong.”

  And an incredible chest, Cat noted, which was on display for everyone to see and admire in all its muscular glory. Yep, there was nothing wrong with that glistening set of pectorals, no sirree.

  “This is the first time I’ve seen the old Preston back,” Derrick said.

  “What’s gotten into him?” Nick asked. “He’s rowing like there’s a lot more at stake than a beer.”

  Maybe there was. Cat knew about the relentless chin-ups, bench presses, weights, and other exercises Preston had been doing double-time to work out his upper body since the injury. Then she remembered something else. “It also doesn’t hurt that he crewed at West Point.”

  Watching him in the boat was like watching a warrior in action. Brady gave a gallant try, but it was nothing like the no-holds-barred, 250 percent effort that Preston put into every stroke as if his life depended on it.

  Things got crazy on the home stretch. Brady flung water from his oar into Preston’s boat. Preston laughed and used his oar to flick some water right back. Preston won by two boat lengths. Both men got out of their boats dripping wet and laughing. Nick handed them each a beer, Derrick patted them on the back, and they walked up the hill laughing and trash-talking each other.

  Preston stopped when they neared Cat. “I won,” he said grinning like a five-year-old.

  “Nice race,” Brady said. “You got lucky. I want a rematch tomorrow.”

  “Not a chance, I won fair and square. You’ll just have to go cry into your beer.”

  “Yeah, the round you buy,” Brady said. “See you at dinner.” The two men parted with a shake.

  Cat waited for Preston to walk the short way to meet her while the others went ahead to change for dinner.

  He was dripping wet. She opened her mouth to tell him how silly or unnecessary all this was, but she stopped in her tracks. Pure masculine power radiated from him, from the dragon that spread itself across his broad chest to his powerful build, not at all diminished by his limp. He was smiling like he’d just won a state championship. Triumphant. So she shook her head and grinned back. He glanced at the incline before them before turning his gaze on Cat. “Mind if I lean on you a little up the hill?” he asked.

  She stopped for a minute and stared at him. His eyes were that same piercing color as always, matching the glorious blue sky. But the shadows had lifted, and what she saw there took her breath away. “Could you possibly be asking me for—help?”

  “Just a little,” he said, his face flushing a little as he squinted into the distance.

  She flew into his arms and wrapped her arms tightly around his lean waist. Rested her cheek against the clean-smelling T-shirt he’d just shrugged on. His arm came to rest on the small of her back, at first tentative, then stronger. For a moment she stood like that, touching him, the rest of the world fading away in the hot afternoon sunshine.

  “Hey, you two, not to interrupt your moment, but we’ll meet you at the lodge for dinner,” Nick called.

  Preston looked up and gave a wave, then gently held Cat at arm’s length. “If I would have known I’d get that reaction, I would have asked for help a long time ago.”

  “I can’t help it if you’re a slow learner, Guthrie,” Cat said, pulling his arm around her shoulder so he could lean on her as they headed up the hill.

  Chapter Thirteen

  “Why are you not nervous?” Preston asked Nick the next afternoon in the side room off the front of the church as he helped him straighten his tie. They were alone for a few rare moments before the other groomsmen would join them before the wedding. “You’re making my job as best man too easy.”

  Nick laughed. “When it’s right, it’s right.”

  “Seriously?” Preston asked. “You can’t do better than that?”

  “Look, remember those days when we used to hang out and chase women?”

  “Very well, thanks.”

  “Well, those were fun times, but they are nothing compared to the experience of really loving the right person.” He grinned widely. “One day, buddy, you’re going to experience it, too.”

  Preston snorted to be manly, but a piece of him did have a tiny inkling of what he was talking about. His heart knew what his brain couldn’t quite put together. And that scared the shit out of him.

  “I know about your fake dating arrangement with Cat.” Preston started to respond, but Nick cut him off. “Maddie told me. But I also know how much you care about her. I never thought it would happen to me, Pres, but it did. All I can say is, when it hits you, it hits you hard, and there’s no stopping it. You may as well give up the fight, because it’s gonna get you no matter what you do. Whether you think you deserve it or not. Whether you’re afraid of it or not. My advice is don’t fight it.”

  Preston smiled at his friend. Derrick may have been the friend he shared his youth with, but Nick was his partner and his confidante. “I never thought I’d see the day,” Preston said, shaking his head in mock sadness. “But it couldn’t have happened to a nicer person. Or a better friend.”

  “Life surprises you,” Nick said, putting his hand on Preston’s shoulder. “Wait and see.”

  Preston never attended a single wedding as a kid. His family had been too dysfunctional. But the entire ceremony, all its pomp and tradition, fascinated him and made him unexpectedly emotional. Nick could not take his eyes off Maddie as she came up the aisle looking radiant on her father’s and mother’s arms. The couple’s love for each other was palpable. The love of their families was, too.

  He thought that was intense, but nothing prepared him for seeing Cat dressed in a pale pink gown, carrying a bouquet of some bright pink and white flowers and wearing a few of them in her hair. He kept sneaking glimpses of her, and she kept catching him like they were teenagers with a crush on each other. When it was all over and he walked her down the aisle, he wanted to kiss her just from the sheer joy he felt at being with her and being a part of this special day for their friends. He walked a little slowly, but she didn’t seem to mind.

  Just for today he thought he’d take Nick’s advice. Stop fighting and simply be with Cat and allow himself to be swept away by her beauty, her sense of fun, and her goodness. Let it wash all over him like rain to a man whose body and soul were parched. Just for today, he’d allow himself to take all she had to offer. Whether he deserved it or not.

  …

  Payback was a bitch. Preston was sitting at the table in the lodge restaurant during the reception drumming his fingers and watching that ass Brady dance with the women. Actually, the fact that he was dancing with Jenna and Maddie a
nd Cat didn’t bother him in the slightest. They were all out there having fun, and he had no problem with that. It was when the tempo slowed and the lights dimmed and he drew nearer to Cat that Preston’s blood pressure cranked up to boiling.

  “You do realize that what you’re about to do impacts me, don’t you?” Liz took a sip of wine, then leveled her gaze at him.

  “Beg your pardon?” he asked. He and Liz were the only ones sitting, and he was in no mood for small talk. He had a mission to complete, and he had to act fast.

  “Once you break them up, that guy is going to come over here and ask me to dance.”

  “Is that a bad thing?”

  “Look, I can be as moody and brooding as you, Guthrie, okay? It’s bad enough to sit here and smile pretty while I watch everyone couple off.”

  Preston smiled. “Tell me about it.”

  “Unfortunately, I’m his second choice, and I don’t like to be second best at anything.”

  “So tell him no.”

  “I’d love to, but I’ll do anything to help my sister. If that means I’ve got to keep him preoccupied for a little while so he leaves her alone, I’ll do it. Speaking of Cat, one little issue.” She set down her glass and lowered her voice. “If you hurt her again, I’ll make certain your good leg doesn’t work, either.”

  “Thanks, Liz.” He shot her a wide smile. “Being as you’re a doctor, I’ll take that under advisement. And I appreciate your sacrifice. But now I’ve got to go.”

  He stood up a little too fast and had to grab on to the table for support. Pain shot through his leg, and he had to breathe deep and let it pass. All the walking he’d been doing this weekend was catching up to him, and that trek up the hill yesterday after the canoe race had cost him. Well, he’d slow down after today. When he saw Brady slip a hand around Cat’s waist, he knew he couldn’t wait another second.

  “Hey, buddy, don’t you think you should be resting that leg?” Brady said with a lazy grin as Preston approached. Preston wasn’t amused. It had taken all of two seconds for this guy to become a complete pain in the ass again.