by Tawny Weber
From one of the smaller boxes, Renn waved and grinned at her. "Told you you were his lady."
"Clearly I don't have to introduce you to my baby brother," Jake said, replacing his parents' images with those of Dixie and her family. "I suspect you recognize my sister, her husband Sam, and their munchkins, Ben and Emma from Facebook."
"Yes," Bliss said, waving enthusiastically at the quartet. "So nice to meet you in person—er face-to-face."
Dixie laughed, her hair like the sunshine shining down on her and her family, they obviously SKYPING from their backyard. "I knew back when all Jake could do was gripe about 'that blasted romance writer' you had to be the woman for him. Welcome to the family."
Bliss' heart skipped a beat. Something more than a simple introduction going on here.
"What does she mean," Bliss asked Jake from the side of her mouth, "welcome to the family?"
"Wave goodbye to Bliss," Jake said, ignoring her question and popping up the box containing a couple with another blond toddler, their backdrop a wall of glass framing a familiar looking expanse of water.
"This is my brother Roman, his wife, Tess, and their little sweetie Maddie."
"Hello, Bliss," the woman in the designer blouse and slacks said; and, stroking her daughter's locks, added, "And her name is Madeline no matter how often her uncles call her Maddie."
"Hey," Roman said. "We're at Tess' Chicago condo. How about we get together for dinner tonight?"
Tess elbowed Roman hard enough he grunted. "What?"
Tess glared at Roman. "They haven't seen each other since November."
"So?"
From off screen, a male voice chuckled. "First night together in months. Get a clue."
"Oh," Roman said, blinking at them. "Another time, then."
"Bye Roman," Jake said, Bliss getting a wave in before he downsized that St. John trio and brought up the last threesome.
Immediately, Bliss recognized Dane with his movie star good looks, and an "Oh my God" slipped involuntarily from her.
Jake groaned. "Not you, too."
Bliss raised her eyebrows at Jake, mostly in apology.
"Welcome to the family," Dane said.
There was that family reference again. Dared she hope?
Dane hugged the woman next to him close. "This is my love, Kelly."
My love. Was she reading too much into those words—this family gathering?
"And this is our angel, Angel." Dane pressed a kiss to the cherubic cheek of the little girl in his lap, his eyes drifting shut for the briefest of moments. It reminded her of the photo of Jake and Emma.
A heat blossomed in Bliss' chest and climbed her throat.
"Ask her already," Renn called out.
"Ask me wha—"
Jake set the laptop on the coffee table, adjusted the screen so its built-in camera framed them, then dropped to one knee between table and couch, a little blue velvet box open in the hand he lifted to her, the ring inside not so little.
"Marry me, Bliss O'Hara. Become part of the St. John clan."
She gaped from Jake to the faces peering expectantly out at her from the TV screen.
"Say 'yes'," someone shouted, likely Renn.
Jake jiggled the velvet box at her drawing her attention back to him…as though he was ever out of her thoughts—her orbit of awareness.
She threw herself at Jake with such force he wound up on his back on the floor and her on top of him, Bliss kissing him and shouting, "Yes! Yes! Yes!"
A cheer erupted from the TV speakers, followed by Renn's, "What are they doing? I can't see them."
"They're out of camera range," Dixie said.
"I think we should give them their privacy," Jake's father said, and, one-by-one, five pings sounded their good-byes.
Jake sat up against the couch, drawing Bliss across his lap. "Now that we don't have an audience, do you want to reconsider your answer?"
Bliss threw back her head and laughed. "You asked me to marry you in front of your entire family so I couldn't say no. Why are you giving me a chance to back out?"
He looked her in the eye, fingered a lock of dark hair that had fallen across her cheek. "My life isn't entirely settled yet."
"I can work from anywhere," she said, studying the eyes that, in spite of his current concern, held a calmness she'd never before seen in them. "If that means living out of a maid's quarters in a compound surrounded by macho men—" she took the ring from the box in his hand and slid it onto her finger "—as long as I'm with the man I love, I'm happy."
"Man. Singular." He chucked her under the chin. "Just want to make that clear."
She held up her hand, making a show of admiring her engagement ring. "I must admit, though, I miss my boys."
He frowned, but there was humor in his eyes. "Good thing I've been checking out opening a branch of Saint Security in the States."
All sass fled her. "Does that mean no more getting shot at?"
He shrugged. "I might still do a mission now and then. Is that a problem for you?"
She slid her hands around his neck and looked into his eyes. "Jake, I'm the woman who accused you of being a coward for not going after what you want for fear of losing it. I'll bake until I'm up to my ears in sweetbreads with worry, but I'm in all the way, whatever the risks. I love you, Jake St. John."
He hugged her close and nuzzled her ear. "And I love you, Bliss O'Hara. You truly are my bliss."
About the Author
An obsessive writer who'd rather write than breathe, Barbara Raffin wrote her first novel at age twelve in retaliation to the lack of female leads in the adventure stories she loved reading. But it was a love of playing with words, exploring the human psyche, and telling stories that kept her writing.
This award-winning author lives on the Michigan-Wisconsin border with her Keeshond dogs Katie and Slippers and her avid outdoorsman husband who has always supported her love affair with reading and writing. Learn more about Barbara Raffin and her books, or contact her through her web site: www.BarbaraRaffin.com
LINK TO MY WEB SITE: http://barbararaffin.com/
Copyright © 2016
A SEAL’s Proposal by Tawny Weber
SEAL It With A Kiss by Rogenna Brewer
Rogue by Laura Marie Altom
A SEAL’s Song by Jennifer Lowery
A SEAL’s Vigilant Heart by Caitlyn O’Leary
Withholding Evidence by Rachel Grant
Her Firefighter SEAL by Anne Marsh
Nobody’s Hero by Patricia Keelyn
Hero Of My Heart by Teresa Hill
Seeking Bliss by Barbara Raffin
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Created with Vellum
