Taking A Chance_Delos Series_Book 7B1

by Lindsay McKenna

  She smiled her thanks and studied the white, soft t-shirt shirt and white socks. “Yes, of course. They’re huge . . . ”

  “I’m a growing boy, mi tesoro.” He smiled over at her, giving her a burning look of approval. “You’re beautiful with wet hair and wrapped in nothing but that towel.”

  Sipping the coffee, she said, “That’s a nice compliment. Are you cooking breakfast?”

  “Yes. Bacon, scrambled eggs, and toast. With some chilies and good Mexican spices. Sound good?”

  “Sure does,” she said, placing the coffee on the counter. “Do you have a hair dryer?”

  Ram leaned down and opened a drawer, handing it to her.

  “About how long before you’re ready to eat?”

  “Thirty minutes.”

  “It will be ready.”

  *

  Ram sat at the counter next to Ali as they hungrily gulped down their breakfast, no talking between them. Mazzie was giving them pleading looks and he gave her bits of her toast. They were more like a pair of mated wolves than human beings at this moment. He grinned to himself. He wasn’t sure who was more starved from their night of gymnastics. Ali had dried her hair and tamed it into a ponytail at the back of her head. The white, long-sleeved t-shirt shirt hung on her, but she looked endearing and innocent in it. The white socks were big, the toes floppy, but she didn’t complain.

  Ram had baked some Pillsbury cinnamon rolls and put them into a basket, the scent of cinnamon filling the air. He laughed when she split the basket’s contents, each of them getting four rolls each. Ali ate heavily, but given her job as a sniper, she burned ten thousand calories a day out on an op.

  “I’m taking no prisoners,” she warned him, a glint of amusement in her eyes as she eagerly bit into the first one.

  “A woman after my own heart,” Ram agreed, picking up one of his rolls. Just watching the way those full lips closed around that gooey, white frosted concoction made his lower body remember last night—and react accordingly.

  Looking out the window in the living room, Ali saw huge white flakes twirling to the ground. “I love snow. It makes everything look so clean and white.”

  “Can you see yourself living here, then?”

  “I’ll adjust. I’m going to love my new job, Ram, and I think I’ll be good at it. If I have to deal with four seasons, I’ll do it.”

  “Do you feel up to looking for a place to live today, Ali? I know the area, and Artemis has a real estate company that works for its employees.”

  She licked her lips, her frosting-coated fingers, and then took a paper napkin, wiping them off. “I have something serious to talk to you about first, Ram.”

  Frowning, he said, “Sure. What is it?” His gut automatically clenched when Ali became deadly serious. He was afraid of what she might say.

  “Us. You and me. I had over a month with you at Mama and Papa’s house. You got along well with everyone. You were never a pain in the ass.”

  He smiled a little. “No, I had the garage and my carvings to make. I know that people need space, Ali. I gave it to them, and took some for myself.”

  She turned around on the stool, hands wrapping around the seat between her legs, studying him. “What if I told you that I want to live with you? To explore what we have or don’t have?”

  Stunned, Ram sat there, almost paralyzed by the unexpected questions. “Really?”

  “Look,” Ali rushed on, lifting her hands, “I know it’s too soon . . . ”

  “No . . . no! It isn’t too soon . . . ” he countered. Was this possible?

  She studied him, the silence thickening between them. “Then what’s on your mind?”

  “I’ve been thinking a lot about us, too, Ali,” he admitted quietly. “I’ve had dreams—crazy dreams—that I thought would never come true.”

  “Tell me about them, Ram.”

  “I thought that you and I could find someplace around here to live together. I don’t like this condo. I know it’s not a home. It’s just a shell. I want a home like your parents have. Then, maybe we could buy one and see if our relationship would work out, or if we got under each other’s skin, instead. We got along fine at your parents’ home.” He studied his sterile, industrial condo. “I know this isn’t your style of living. You wouldn’t be happy here. You like trees, bushes, flowers, and a garden to weed, just like your mother does.”

  Her lips curved. “You pegged me on that one.”

  “Well, would you like to try it? We could go looking for a rental or buy a house with some land to it so you could put in a garden. I’m okay with that. I can live anywhere.” And then he added, “I started out at a hotel, so a house like your parents have, to me, is like a warm nest—a real home.”

  Ram saw sadness come to Ali’s eyes, and immediately said, “I didn’t mean to make you feel sorry for me.”

  She reached out, trailing her fingers along the hard line of his jaw. “No, that wasn’t it, Ram. I feel sad because you missed so much as a child, and yes, I saw that you truly enjoyed being at my parents’ home. You relaxed like I’ve never seen you do before.” She slipped her hand around his. “Now that I know your story, I understand what it meant for you to be with us for those five weeks.”

  He squeezed her fingers. “It showed me what heaven looks like, Ali. What I’d missed . . . ” He drew in a ragged breath, expelled it, adding thickly, “it showed me that I could dream of having a house like that with you someday.” He held her gaze for a moment.

  She felt such tenderness toward him that her face flushed with feeling as she digested the full implications of his words.

  “I will never lie to you, Ali. In my heart of hearts, I want us to find a house we can buy. I have more than enough money saved for one. I want you in it with me—and Mazzie, too. I want to live my life with you in any way that you and I see it happening.”

  Tugging gently on her hand, Ram pulled her off the stool and guided her between his legs. The softness in her mouth, the way she twined her arms around his neck, leaning languidly against him, gave him the courage to go on. “Ali, I had no idea what love was until I got to your parents’ home. There, I discovered love between a man and a woman. I saw love between two sisters. It’s a house built on love and I felt like a greedy beggar being there, feeling it, needing it, so hungry for what you were all sharing with one another. And when your mother hugged me, I wondered if you two sisters had felt what I did when she wrapped her arms you.”

  Nuzzling his jaw, Ali sighed and tightened her embrace for a moment. “Now I understand some of those looks that came over you. You were living vicariously through all of us, feeling so enriched and happy to be a part of us. You were treated like a very loved son by my parents. It had to feel so good to you!”

  “It did. But I felt guilty, too, because I felt I was always taking, watching, and receiving from all of you and I gave nothing in return.”

  “Oh, but you did, in so many ways,” she protested, leaning back, holding his shadowed gaze. “You contributed to all of us, Ram, whether you knew it or not. Especially to Cara. I know she wouldn’t be as far along as she is now if you hadn’t been there. You underestimated your worth to all of us.”

  Shrugging, he said, “I don’t have much practice at this, Ali.” He searched her eyes, moving his hands gently across her shoulders. “I want to live with you. Buy a house, whatever you like,” he said.

  “I’ve hidden a lot of dreams of my own from you, Ram,” she began in a low tone. “I’ve dreamed of us living together for a lot longer than you realize. I just never could see how it could come about.”

  He caressed her hips. “Do you see it now, mi tesoro?”

  Nodding, Ali rested her brow against his, eyes closed. “Last night . . . oh, Ram, last night was incredible. I had dreams of us making love so often over the years. Even when you were out of my life those three years, I’d still have those dreams.”

  He placed his finger beneath her chin and eased away enough to study her opening eye
s. “And what will you do, I wonder, when I tell you that as early as the first year when you came to our SEAL team, I was dreaming of making love to you?” He saw shock register. And then, mirth danced in her eyes. Gently pushing dark strands away from her one ear, he teased, “I’ve wanted a relationship with you for some time, Aliyana. Now you know the whole truth of how long that dream has been growing inside me.”

  Sliding her hands down his thick biceps, resting her fingers across his forearms, she whispered, “It was the same for me, Ram. As much as we bickered, sniped, and got into each other’s faces, I’d have dreams later of making love with you. It was crazy and I didn’t understand it then. But I think I do now.” She grazed his cheek with her fingertips. “I believe,” she began haltingly, “that we fell in love with one another back then. But because of your upbringing, you didn’t know how to emotionally connect with me. I believe you were just as powerfully drawn to me as I was to you, Ram. But we were in a SEAL team where we didn’t dare fraternize. Plus, you had your past to overcome.”

  Nodding, he said, “I’ve been thinking the same thing, Aliyana. Chief Lockwood once landed on me with both feet after you and I had a row. He got in my face in the privacy of his office and said he thought we loved each other, but were too stubborn to realize it. So we fought, instead.”

  “Did Wyatt know of your past history?”

  “Yeah, he did. It’s in my personnel file. The FBI uncovered it all while checking me out for a top-secret clearance when I went into the SEALs.”

  “Maybe Wyatt understood then,” Ali whispered. She sighed, giving him a thoughtful look. “And he was in no position to undo the damage done to you. We were a SEAL team. We had ops to perform. We couldn’t allow petty, personal differences to interfere. We could have gotten someone killed. Out on a mission we were all professional.”

  “I often thought that, too,” Ram admitted, “but I never went to him about it because we were a team. We had other fish to fry and focus on.”

  “You’re right. It’s so sad, though.” She leaned over, brushing a kiss on his cheek. “At least the truth is out in the open now, Ram.” Ali stared at him. “Yes, let’s go house hunting today. I don’t want a rental. I want to buy. I’d love to find a small, cozy house with some property, a place where I could put in a garden and raise our own vegetables. Gardening is like meditation to me, Ram.”

  “I know it is. I would stand where you couldn’t see me and watch you out there, weeding the rows on your mother’s garden. I saw how at peace you were.” He smiled a little. “How happy you were and I ached to give you that same kind of happiness, Aliyana. Let’s go visit the Artemis realtor and find some house listings, then maybe go out and see two or three houses this afternoon. How does that sound?”

  Whispering his name, Ali kissed him with everything she felt in her heart for Ram. “Like a dream come true.”

  He eased her away from him and stood up. “Let’s get the dishes done and then we’ll drive to Artemis. I don’t want to waste one minute of this day on finding a house that we can make into our very own nest.”

  CHAPTER 15

  December 23

  Alexandria, VA

  “What do you think?” Ram asked Ali as they stood in a two-story house just outside the city limits of Alexandria. He had his arm around her shoulders and she was leaning casually against him, her arm wrapped around his waist.

  “I love it, Ram. It’s small but cozy.” She lifted her chin, gazing up at him. “How do you feel about it?”

  “It’s sure different from the glass and metal condo I’ve been living in,” he admitted. This was a twenty-five-year-old Craftsman-style home, and he appreciated the hickory wooden floors, the curves above the kitchen and living room entrances, as well as the wooden stairs that led up to the bedrooms.

  “Think you could live here with me?”

  “I could live anywhere with you, Aliyana. I’m more concerned that you like it. I never had a real home, so this place doesn’t call to me like it does to you.” He squeezed her. “If you like it, we’ll put in an offer.”

  She sighed. “It’s like a beautiful, quaint nest. I also like that there’s a mother-in-law house in the back. It has two acres, and it’s fenced for Mazzie so she can really run around as much as she wants.” She gestured toward the house. “There’s already a huge, garden plot just begging to be planted next spring.”

  Nodding, he walked back with her into the kitchen. The owners had built the house. The man had been a cabinetmaker, and the hickory cabinets with their shiny copper knobs showcased the true depth of his skills. “I really like the five-hundred square foot guesthouse out back as well. It’s a place where your parents, Cara, or whoever else you wanted, could come for a visit.”

  “They’d love this place,” she murmured. Turning, she left his side and went over to the expensive, professional-chef Wolf stove, checking it out more closely, opening the oven door. “What I like is that the man who built this did it out of his love for his wife. He was so skilled. And she loved gardening and growing things. I think it’s perfect for us, Ram.” She noted that the oven was clean and closed the door. She leaned against the caramel, black, and cream swirls throughout the granite counter and turned toward Ram, who stood there, gazing at the beautifully crafted cabinets in an L-shape around the large, roomy kitchen.

  “Too bad the couple died,” Ram said. “They lived here for twenty-five years. It’s kind of sad.”

  “We’re all going to die someday,” she said somberly. “But at least they lived in a house he made with his own hands and heart. I’m sure his wife had a say in him building that guesthouse and creating the small fruit-tree orchard they have beyond the garden area. Their love of this place is a testament to them and we’ll cherish it as much as they did.”

  “It was a teamwork kind of thing,” Ram agreed. He gazed over at the long, wide island of granite that complemented the hickory cabinets. The floor was ceramic tile, a pale-apricot color that gave the kitchen a warm, light ambiance.

  “I could be happy here,” Ali said, running her fingers across the smooth granite countertop. “Could you, Ram?”

  He smiled a little. “I’m just happy to be with you, Aliyana. I need nothing more than that. Maybe someday I’ll feel like you do about looking at a home as a nest, much like your parents’ home. A safe place, a happy place.”

  She nodded and caught his hand, leading him into the open-concept living room. “We’ve got a blank canvas in here, Ram. I can see we’ll be spending money on furniture.”

  “Choose whatever you want.”

  “I’m going to drag you along, Torres. You are going to get involved in this process. A house is a home, not just a place to land and take off from. And it has to reflect BOTH of us. Not just me.”

  “Now you’re growling at me, Ms. Montero.”

  She laughed, walking with him to the stairs. “Indeed I am. I need to tame you into becoming a nester like me and my parents.”

  “I don’t think it’s going to be difficult for me to make that adjustment. Didn’t I quietly fit into your folks’ home for five weeks without a fuss?”

  “Yes, you did. I think if we’re able to buy this home and get it decorated as we like, this place will grow on you like a good friend. And then you’ll always look forward to coming home after work.”

  He brought Ali into his arms, moving his hands along her shoulders as he stared down into her shining golden eyes. “You are my home, mi tesoro. You are all I will ever need. Where we live doesn’t matter to me, and probably never will, but I’m open to change. I was very happy to spend time in your father’s garage.”

  “Yes, and this place has a huge, unattached three-car garage,” Ali pointed out, lifting up on her toes and giving him a quick kiss. “You can have your wood sculpture shop out there. And our two cars will fit nicely in there, as well. I feel this place is ideal for us, Ram.”

  “It really is,” he replied, sliding his hand over the crown of her head, fingers mo
ving through the cool silkiness of her loose hair that fell like an ebony cape around the dark-green sweater she wore.

  “We have to call the Artemis realtor,” she said. “We also have the Culver Christmas dinner party tonight with all their Turkish and Greek relatives at their home in Alexandria, so we need to get cleaned up, shower, and get ready for that. Dilara wants us there at eight p.m.”

  “Yes,” Ram said, leading her toward the front door, “Wyatt was telling me that it’s a special invitation, and most employees aren’t invited to their family gathering. But you are.”

  “We are,” Ali stressed. “Dilara loves you. I’m finding out you’re a favorite of hers—and she does have favorites, you know. You can always tell because she goes around gently pinching that person’s cheek, like a little love tap.”

  “Well,” he said with a grin, opening the door for her, snow falling outside, “so are you. We were invited to their home a week ago before all their family arrived, and we ate with her and Robert.”

  “They like us,” Ali agreed. “And I love them because they are such generous people, trying every day to make this world a better place through their charities.”

  The snow fell silently around them as they stood on the screened porch. Ram locked the door and deposited the key into his pocket for the realtor back at Artemis. He saw the happiness on Ali’s face as she stood watching the snowfall outside the protection of the porch roof. The house sat on a back road, it had been salted and the asphalt was gleaming in front of the home. Beyond that was a six-foot cyclone fence protecting the entire property. There was a maple tree in the front yard, carefully groomed bushes here and there, and a lot of rose bushes on the eastern side, which Ali delighted in. The lawn that surrounded the house was on three sides, now covered with a foot of new snow.

  Ram could imagine this place in the summer. The Craftsman home was painted white with green trim, all conservative colors, but it melted into the nearby woodlands beyond the two acres of property. It was a good fit for them and his heart swelled with love for Ali. Soon, he would speak to her about it. Did she love him? She’d never said those words but he swore he saw it in her eyes.