Craig could tell by William’s body language that he had every intention of denying the man admittance. He didn’t get the chance to open his mouth before Sterling stepped beside him and said, “For heaven’s sake, Dad, let him in. Carter has been a friend of the family since before the girls were born.”
William’s jaw tightened, but he motioned to the security guard. “Let him in, but he has to go through the metal detectors first.”
“Yes, sir.”
Anticipating that William’s next words would likely be directed at him to find out his granddaughter’s location, Craig turned to rejoin Sienna only to see her closing the distance between them. Craig lowered his voice. “I thought I told you to wait over there.”
“I only wanted to say hi to Carter. I heard he has a part in the movie I’m about to start.”
Carter cleared the metal detector and headed their way.
“Sienna Blake!” Carter reached for Sienna’s hand and effectively cut off any other objections from Craig and William. “My, how you’ve grown up. I can hardly believe you’re old enough to be a headliner.”
“It’s so good to see you, Carter. It’s been a long time.” She put her hand on his arm as he leaned forward to kiss her cheek. “Still as handsome as ever.”
“You always have been a charmer.” He spared a glance at Craig hovering beside Sienna. “And who is this?”
Sienna offered the introductions, and a moment later, Senator Whitmore stepped onto the portable stage in the front of the room. “Ladies and gentlemen, if we could have your attention.”
The murmur of conversation dulled, then slowly came to a stop. Craig waited for Sterling to take his position at the edge of the room once more before he reached into his pocket and pressed a button on the remote, a simple device that would activate the dampening field in the room and ultimately prevent anyone from being able to utilize their cell phones or access the Internet.
Senator Whitmore’s wife joined him on the stage, along with Sterling and Monica. The senator continued, slipping his arm around his wife’s waist. “I want to thank all of you for coming out tonight to help Katherine and me celebrate our thirty-fifth wedding anniversary.”
Applause and cheers sounded from the guests. A grin crossed Senator Whitmore’s face, and he waited for the crowd to quiet again. “What most of you don’t know is that we’re here to celebrate another wedding. Three and a half decades ago, I made the best decision of my life when I managed to convince this lovely woman to take a chance on me. I pray today’s newlyweds will be as blessed as Katherine and I have been.”
Senator Whitmore handed the microphone to Sterling, who offered his award-winning smile. Faced with the curious stares of his audience, he waited several heartbeats before lifting the microphone and announcing, “The Blake and Whitmore families are pleased to present the bride and groom, married today in the Washington D.C. Temple.” He paused, letting the anticipation build for a moment. “Ladies and gentlemen, please put your hands together and welcome the new Mr. and Mrs. Whitmore.”
Charlie and Kendra emerged through the door behind the platform. With Kendra’s hand in his, Charlie led his new bride up the three steps and onto the stage as the crowd reacted with surprise, delight, and cheers. Kendra and Charlie took center stage. A moment later, the Whitmores’ bishop joined them to conduct the brief ceremony during which the newlyweds would exchange their rings in front of their friends and loved ones.
12
A shiver ran through him, his gloved hands trembling as he lifted his rifle and looked through the scope. His cheeks and nose were undoubtedly red from the biting cold, but he was acutely aware of his responsibilities.
His eyes swept over the exterior of the building he knew housed the Whitmore anniversary party. Lights shone brightly from the windows, and people mulled around inside, elegant dresses and tuxedos the obvious choice of apparel for the evening. He considered his possible targets, irritation surfacing when he couldn’t easily identify any.
The security team’s movement on the grounds had forced him to set up much farther away than he would have liked, and he found he didn’t particularly care for working from such distances. His pulse quickened when he caught a glimpse of Sienna Blake through the window, his grip tightening on the barrel of the gun. Before he could take aim, a man approached and pulled her out of view. He lowered the gun barrel slightly, annoyed he had missed the brief opportunity.
He reminded himself that he wasn’t in this alone, that he had a job to do. Looking through the sniper scope again, he forced himself to consider what he had to do to finally get what he wanted, what he deserved.
* * *
Craig guided Sienna past the window and escorted her to the front of the room with the rest of her family. Not wanting to intrude, he took a few steps back to where Seth and Vanessa stood. Craig’s eyes swept the room, glancing to the front in time to watch Charlie slip a wedding band on Kendra’s ring finger.
Brent and Amy stood with the rest of the happy couple’s family at the front of the crowd, and Craig was happy to see his commanding officer relaxed and enjoying the ceremony. The notion that Brent was able to forget about any security duties was admirable.
That thought was enough to make Craig scan the room again. His eyes looked over the guests and then the doors leading to the hallway. Damian and Jay stood by the door in the rear of the room, with Tristan positioned beside the door closest to him. Satisfied that everything appeared to be as it should, he did another sweep of the guests before settling back on the bride and groom.
Beside him, he noticed Vanessa nudge Seth with her elbow. She stood on her toes as she whispered to him. “Look out the window. Did you see that?”
“What?” Seth shifted his gaze to where his wife indicated.
Craig turned as well.
A light reflected in the darkness, and his eyes narrowed.
“Is that someone on the security team?” Vanessa asked quietly.
“If it is, they’re out of position,” Seth said. He reached up and touched the communication device in his ear, activating the microphone. “Can I get a check on quadrant three? I saw movement near the tree line.”
Craig heard the response come through his earpiece. “Stand by.”
They all watched out the window and saw another flash of light reflecting in the moonlight, followed by movement as the external security team began their search.
Though his view was limited because of the lights shining inside, Craig could see several men outside quicken their steps and break into a run across the open field between the trees and the resort.
“Looks like there was someone out there,” Craig muttered as he fought the urge to sprint out of the room and join the chase. He was inside for a reason tonight. Two reasons, actually. He was Sienna Blake’s date, and he was one of the people who would make sure they could all leave here safely without incident.
* * *
“Any idea who was out there?” Craig asked after the last of the guests had left.
“None,” William answered, having already debriefed the men from the rest of the security team. “They saw someone in the trees, but when they approached, he took off and managed to get to the road before they could catch up with him.”
“I gather he had a car waiting there,” Seth commented. “Did anyone get a license plate or description of the vehicle?”
“Neither. They saw taillights disappearing around the corner,” William said. “Footprints appear to have been a men’s size ten or eleven, but the snow was too slushy to identify anything beyond that.”
“What about tire tracks?” Craig asked.
“We had more luck with those. The vehicle was likely a Honda CRV.” William shook his head. “Unfortunately, that’s the most common SUV in the country.”
Brent blew out a frustrated breath. “Do Charlie and Kendra know anything about what happened?”
“No, and they don’t need to,” William said. “They’ll be heading out i
n the morning for their honeymoon. I checked out their accommodations myself to make sure they wouldn’t have any trouble.”
“Where are they going?”
“A secluded cabin in the mountains. Even if word gets out that Kendra got married, everyone will expect they’ll be on a plane to somewhere exotic.”
“And they’ll be looking for evidence of their travel plans,” Tristan agreed. “I gather you think the guy in the woods was a reporter.”
“That’s my best guess, but I’ll feel better when everyone is safely back home.” William nodded toward Craig. “Since Sienna is heading for a movie set, I wonder if I could impose on you to check on her from time to time to make sure she’s doing okay.”
“I’d be happy to, but I doubt anyone is getting past George,” Craig said, rather surprised by William’s request.
“We can never be too careful when it comes to the people we love.”
* * *
Sienna couldn’t remember the last time her father had attended church with her. He had said he was coming with her to make sure she stayed safe, but she suspected it had more to do with Craig’s presence than his concern for her safety. Surely her grandfather and six members of Craig’s squad would be sufficient. Since the five married members were accompanied by their wives, clearly security wasn’t expected to be an issue today.
As a group, the Saint Squad and friends were hard to miss when they walked into the chapel, but for once, Sienna didn’t stop to see if everyone’s eyes were on her. She was too busy wondering how she would feel if she noticed such a large group of visitors walk in together in her home ward.
Brent led the way to a long pew in the center of the chapel. Her father preceded her, followed by her grandparents. Sienna ended up between her grandfather and Craig. When she noticed her father’s furrowed brows, she wondered if her grandpa had manipulated their seating arrangement. The memory of how he had orchestrated her sister’s relationship with her new husband caused her lips to curve up.
“What?” Craig whispered, apparently noticing her smile.
“I was just thinking how nice it is that my grandpa likes you.”
Craig’s eyebrows drew together, and he glanced beyond her to look at William before shifting his attention back to her. “I’m not sure I understand.”
“I’ll explain later.”
Her grandpa winked at her, causing her to grin wider. She might have been the one to suggest a pretend engagement to distract her father, but William was enjoying every minute of this fictional relationship.
She reached over and took Craig’s hand, beaming up at him when their eyes met. He linked his fingers through hers and rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand. Her stomach fluttered, and on impulse, she reached up and kissed Craig’s cheek.
His eyebrows wrinkled in confusion before he shifted beside her and reached his arm across the back of the pew, his hand resting on her shoulder.
She leaned into him, finding warmth and acceptance. Their engagement might be fake, but this relationship was a long way from over.
* * *
Sienna settled into the passenger seat of Craig’s car. When she had suggested Craig pretend to be her fiancé as a distraction tactic for her father, she hadn’t anticipated that he would be expected to drive her back to Virginia Beach. In fact, she had planned to tell her father the truth right after the wedding.
Realizing emotions were already running high after finding out Kendra had gotten married, she and her grandfather had ultimately decided to wait until there was some distance between them before they announced she had fabricated the whole story.
When Craig started the car, she glanced behind her and offered a wave to her parents, who were standing beside their rented limousine. George was already in her rental car, prepared to follow her on the four-hour drive south.
“I’m sorry you got stuck driving me back,” Sienna said as Craig put the car in gear and pulled away from the resort.
Craig shot her a sidelong glance. “You’re acting like I mind spending time with you. If I remember correctly, we had planned to keep in touch this weekend even before we found out we were going to the same place.” He gave a slight smile. “Of course, that was before we got engaged. I hope you aren’t planning on dumping me before I get the chance to take you on a real date.”
Her insecurities melted away. “Were you planning on asking me on a real date?”
“I was thinking about it.” Craig grinned at her now. “That is, if you have time with your movie starting up.”
“I’ll make time for you,” Sienna said. “Besides, I may need to pick your brain about some of these action scenes again.”
“Ah. The truth comes out. You’re using me for my martial-arts skills.”
“Nah. That’s just an added bonus.” Sienna shifted and put one foot on the dashboard. She fell silent for a moment and then asked, “How often do you have to travel for work? You were asking about my schedule. What’s yours like?”
“I’m honestly not sure. Since I joined my squad, we’ve spent most of our time training for your sister’s wedding.”
“That’s pretty bad that her wedding was something people had to train for.”
“If we weren’t training for that, we would have been preparing for something else,” Craig said matter-of-factly. He motioned to his backpack behind his seat. “Could you grab my sunglasses out of there for me?”
“Sure.” Sienna lifted the backpack into the front seat and onto her lap. She opened it and fished around inside unsuccessfully. “Are you sure they’re in here?”
“Yeah. They’re in a black case. They probably settled at the bottom again.”
Sienna pulled out a sweatshirt and what appeared to be a sketch pad before she found what she was looking for. She opened the case and handed the sunglasses to Craig. “Here you go.”
“Thanks.” He slid them into place.
“You’re welcome.” Sienna started to put everything back, pausing at the last item. She held up the sketchpad. “Are you an artist?”
“Not really, but I like to draw.” He shrugged. “Just a hobby.”
“Do you mind if I look?” Sienna asked, intrigued.
“Go ahead.”
She opened the pad and studied the first page. In it, a woman walked along a beach hand in hand with a young boy. It was good. Not hang-in-a-gallery good but good nonetheless. “You have talent.”
“Thanks.” He seemed to hesitate before he said, “If you flip a few pages back, you’ll find a couple of you.”
“You drew a picture of me?”
“I didn’t know it was you for the first one.”
Eager to see his creation, she flipped through several pages until she reached a drawing of her walking along the beach, her hood up, and George walking along behind her. “No wonder you tackled George. He looks menacing.”
“I may have exaggerated that aspect a bit.”
She turned the page and stared at her portrait. “Wow.”
“What?”
“It’s just strange to see a picture of myself like this.”
“Why? People take pictures of you all the time.”
“Not like this.” She looked over at him, not sure what to think. She didn’t look like a movie star in the sketch, nor had Craig glamorized her features. The drawing was simple and honest, and yet there was a softness about it she couldn’t explain. “You really are talented.”
“Careful, or you’ll make me blush.”
She smiled at that. “I didn’t think Navy SEALs were capable of blushing.”
“Let’s not find out,” Craig suggested. “Tell me, how long are you going to wait to tell your dad we aren’t really engaged?”
“Grandpa is going to tell him tonight. We thought it best to have a couple hundred miles between us before he found out what we were up to.”
“Smart.”
As they continued their drive, they fell into easy conversation, discussing everything from their childhoods
to their favorite movies. When they arrived in Virginia Beach four hours later, Sienna could hardly believe how quickly time seemed to have passed.
Craig took the turn toward her hotel. “Do you want me to drop you off in front?”
“I’m not sure. Let me call George and find out. I know he won’t want me going inside without him.” Sienna called to check in, worked through a couple possible scenarios, and hung up once a decision was made. “He said he’ll meet us by the pool entrance after he parks the car.”
“No problem.” Craig continued to the parking lot and pulled into a space near the entrance she indicated.
George pulled past them on his way to the covered parking.
“You’ll text me tomorrow when you get off work, right?” she asked.
“Yeah, I’ll text you.” He turned off the car and shifted to face her more fully. “Are you able to have your phone with you when you’re working?
“The first day of filming is always crazy, but I try to keep my phone nearby when I’m on set. You never know when you’ll have some downtime.”
Craig looked around the deserted parking lot before turning his attention back to her.
“What are you looking for?”
“Just making sure we had some privacy before I did this.” He leaned forward, and his lips touched hers.
The naturalness of the gesture took her by surprise. This wasn’t a staged kiss that she had to pretend she wanted. No, this kiss made her feel. Her stomach bounced to her toes before jumping up into her throat. Her skin tingled under his touch when his fingers brushed over her hand, and a shiver ran through her. He drew out the kiss as though memorizing her flavor. When he pulled back, his eyes were dark and mysterious.
A wrinkle of confusion formed on his brow, and she couldn’t help but wonder if he had been as shaken by the kiss as she had. He straightened suddenly, and Sienna followed his gaze to see George walking toward them.
Not ready to let the moment pass, Sienna lifted her hand to his cheek to draw his face closer to hers. She pressed her lips to his for another kiss. Though brief, it created the same sense of wonder, confusion, and awe the first one had. “You promise you’ll text me tomorrow?”
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