by Sandra Owens
That was the best declaration of love she’d ever received. She kissed him then because it was only fair that she got to initiate at least one kiss.
Much later, both of them sated, he spooned against her back as his hand made lazy explorations over her body. “When do you want to get married, darlin’?”
His question made her smile with pure joy, but her man needed to be taught a lesson. That wasn’t a proper proposal. “When you figure out how to ask that question, I’ll say yes.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CHRISTMAS EVE
After eating a delicious dinner of prime rib, mashed potatoes, and green beans that he and Riley had cooked together, they had moved to the sofa, enjoying their spiked mocha lattes topped with whipped cream while transfixed by the Christmas tree lights.
“Okay, I admit I was wrong,” Cody said, tucking her closer to his side.
She tilted her head and peered at him as if she’d never seen him before. “Yeah? About what?”
“Two things, actually. First, this latte. It’s better than I expected, but it’s still a girly drink.”
“We’ll just keep it our secret. Wouldn’t want your friends making fun of you.”
Damn, he loved her laugh. “Our friends, and I’m man enough to take whatever they throw my way.”
“You sure are. What else were you wrong about?”
“The Christmas tree lights. I’m liking all the colors.”
She gave a soft sigh. “Thank you.”
He knew why she was thanking him. When they’d gone tree shopping she’d been as excited as a girl getting her first pony. He had even gotten teary eyed when she’d said it would be her first real Christmas since her parents had died. Although his parents had always put white lights on their trees, claiming they were classy and not gaudy like the colored ones, he’d given in to Riley’s every wish—the tallest, fattest tree they could fit in his house, boxes and boxes of colored lights, and more ornaments than he’d ever seen on any Christmas tree, topped off by a pure white angel.
The monstrosity tucked into the corner of his living room was god-awful, and he loved it because she did. Another thing she’d asked for was to start a tradition, and she’d asked what his family’s was. “Wait for my parents to get up on Christmas morning so they could watch me open presents,” he’d said.
She had scowled at that. “That’s it? Nothing special on Christmas Eve? No Christmas breakfast? Nothing else?”
“We would go out for a turkey dinner. Does that count?”
Turned out that it didn’t. Later that day, she’d handed him a piece of paper that he’d now memorized.
Cody and Riley’s Christmas Traditions
Put up a tree the week before Christmas.
Lots of presents for Riley under the tree. Cody gets lots, too. Presents for our dogs and cats.
Christmas Eve is just for the two of us, a romantic, candlelight dinner that we make together.
We get to open one present Christmas Eve.
Make love on a blanket next to the tree. All lights out except for tree lights.
He was particularly fond of number five.
Pancakes, strawberries, and mimosas for breakfast Christmas Day.
Open presents after breakfast. (Riley gets to open one first and last.)
Christmas night, drive around and look at lights.
Strangely touched by her list, he was determined to make their first Christmas together one she’d never forget. He wasn’t taking for granted that she’d be with him next year because he’d caught her looking at apartments for rent in the classifieds. If tonight went as planned, she wouldn’t be going anywhere.
“Time to open our Christmas Eve presents.” He took her empty cup and set it along with his on the coffee table. “Which one should I open?”
She clapped her hands, scrambled off the sofa, and hurried to the tree. As he watched her search through the pile of presents, it occurred to him that his life was near about perfect. His head was almost back to where it should be, although he continued to see Tom once a week, and would for a while. He’d also convinced Riley to see Tom even though she had claimed she was perfectly fine. Cody hadn’t agreed. She needed to come to terms with her childhood and Reed’s death.
Then there was Mrs. Decker. Fortunately, she had accepted a plea bargain at the urging of the attorney Riley had insisted on retaining. That was good because it meant one of Kincaid’s men wouldn’t be involved in a trial, which the boss was definitely happy about. Cody was positively relieved that he wouldn’t be testifying.
That Riley had sympathy for the woman had at first made him angry, but as his temper cooled and he could think rationally again, he understood why it was important to her to do that. Riley had heart, and he could only respect that.
“Found it!” She held up a beautifully wrapped box. She brought it with her, sitting back on the sofa with her legs curled under her and her eyes bright with excitement. “Where’s mine?”
“You want to go first?”
“Yes! Where is it?”
She was going to bounce right off the sofa in a minute. He stifled a grin. “Don’t move.” Before dinner, he’d closed their animals up in his bedroom, using the excuse that he didn’t want their noses in everything. That wasn’t the real reason, though, and he hoped Pelli would go straight to Riley the way he usually did. He slipped the ribbon with the diamond ring on it around the kitten’s neck.
“Go do your thing, Pelli.” He opened the bedroom door and a scramble of four-footed creatures made a mad dash down the hallway. Following them, he grinned at seeing Pelli climb onto the sofa.
“Hello, sweet boy,” Riley said, picking him up. “What’s this?” She lifted Pelli into the air, her gaze on the ring dangling from his neck.
Cody dropped to one knee. “Will you marry me, Riley Austin?” Tears welled in her eyes, and he put his hand on her knee. “You said when I asked the question right that you’d say yes. Did I get it right this time, darlin’?” His damn heart was going to need a hit from defibrillators.
She slipped the ribbon over Pelli’s head. “It’s beautiful, Cody. Yes! Yes, you got it right, and yes, I’ll marry you.”
In her excitement, she jumped on him, and they both landed on the floor with a gaggle of animals wanting to join in this new game. He tried to kiss her, but they ended up laughing at all the tongues licking their faces.
“I love you, Cody.”
He rolled them so that she was on top of him and pulled the band out of her ponytail, letting her hair fall down around them. “The first time I saw you, when you marched over to give me hell, I knew you were trouble, darlin’.” When she opened her mouth, likely to protest, he put a finger on her lips. “Trouble to me. I wasn’t looking to fall in love, thought it was the last thing I needed. I’ve never been so glad to be wrong. I love you with all that I am, and I pray that I’ll always deserve you. Now kiss me.”
“That was beautiful.” She lowered her mouth to his, and he poured his heart into the kiss, wanting her to know that he belonged to her, heart, body, and soul. When she lifted her head and smiled down at him, her beautiful eyes shimmering with tears, he knew he’d love her to his dying day.
“Is it time for number five on your list?” At her blank look, he said, “Make love under the Christmas tree. I’ve been waiting for that one all night.”
She laughed as she sat up, straddled his hips, and held out her hand. “I’m sure you have, but not yet. You still have to get your present, but first, I want you to put my engagement ring on my finger.”
He took it from her and removed the ring from the ribbon. With her hand in his, he slipped it on. “With this ring I pledge my love, my loyalty, and my protection.”
“I swear you’re going to make me cry yet.” She held out her hand and admired the white gold two-carat emerald-cut diamond ring. “Isn’t it beautiful?”
“Yes,” he said, looking at her. “Beautiful.”
“My pledge to you is to
always love you, to always be your friend, and to always stand by your side no matter what.”
“Now you’re going to make me cry,” he teased.
“That might happen before the night ends,” she mysteriously said, pushing off him. “Time for your present.” She showed each of the animals her new ring. “What do you think, guys? We’re going to be a family.” She did a little dance, twirling around the room, waving her hand in the air.
He could have eaten her up right then, she was so damn cute. On one of her spins, she scooped up the present she’d taken from under the tree earlier and handed it to him. He took it and moved to the sofa. It hardly weighed anything, and he shook it as a delaying tactic simply because he knew it would drive her crazy.
“Is it an empty box?” Did she just growl?
“You’ll never know if you don’t open it, will you? And stop laughing.”
“Can’t help it. Your happy is contagious.” Before she climbed out of her skin, he unwrapped the present and opened the lid. Sitting on silver tissue paper were three brown-leather dog collars with ID tags, and he picked one up. Tooled on the collar was the name “Pretty Girl.”
Riley grabbed the box out of his hands, eyed the remaining two, and picked one up, handing it to him. That one said “Sally.” His heart ached, knowing what the third one said. It was thoughtful of her to include a collar for Layla, but he wished she hadn’t. This wasn’t a night for a reminder of the dog he’d lost.
“I don’t . . .” He cleared his throat. “I don’t know what to say. Thank you.”
Her eyes softened as if she understood his pain, and she picked up her phone, turned the screen away so that he couldn’t see it, and texted someone. He waited for her to explain, but she only held out her hand, palm out as if telling him to stay. Confused, he watched her walk to the door.
“Be right back,” she said.
“What’s going on?” he asked his dogs, not bothering to include the cats as all three were batting ornaments under the tree.
Five minutes passed, but he stayed where he was as he held the collar for Layla in his hand, staring at it. It wasn’t possible, was it? Yet, he couldn’t imagine that Riley would be so cruel—even unintentionally—by giving him such a gift. Hope tried to blossom, but he crushed it. He would know if Layla had been found because Wizard would have e-mailed him.
Another thought occurred to him, and he hoped to God he was wrong. Had she gotten him a new dog, thinking to replace Layla? Would she believe that would make him happy? Sally tilted her head, her gaze focused on the door, and then Pretty Girl did the same, giving a whine.
Cody’s fingers tightened on the collar. What he did know based on their reactions was that there was definitely a dog on the other side of that closed door. His heart thumped a stomach-lurching beat as he waited for it to open. It finally did, and Sally and Pretty Girl went wild at seeing Layla pressed against Riley’s leg. They ran to their long-lost friend, barking wild greetings. Layla left Riley’s side, meeting them halfway across the room, and the three dogs yelped and jumped around each other, tails wagging like crazy.
Blood rushed to Cody’s head as he stood. There had never been a time in his life when he thought he might faint, but he supposed there was a first for everything. “H-how?” He swallowed the lump in his throat. At hearing his voice, Layla’s ears perked up, and her eyes zeroed onto him.
“Layla,” he managed to say past the lump in his throat. He knelt and about sixty pounds of dog landed on him. Laughing at the furious licks to his face, he wrapped his arms around her, and looked up to see Riley watching with tears running down her cheeks.
“Merry Christmas,” she said.
“How?”
She sat on the sofa, pulling a handful of tissues out of her pocket. “I knew I’d need these.”
“I don’t even know what to say. You have . . . you have no idea what this means to me.” He stood with Layla in his arms and sat next to Riley. “How did you do it?” His other two dogs, knowing they weren’t allowed on the furniture, crowded against his legs. As for the cats, Pelli had gone to the top of the tree when the strange dog had entered, Merlin had perched himself on a bookshelf, and Arthur was cat-creeping toward the newcomer.
“It’s Logan and your team you really need to thank. From what I understand, Jake was talking to someone named Wizard, or maybe Lizard . . . you people and your names.”
“Wizard.” He buried his nose in Layla’s fur, breathing her in. She’d obviously been bathed and groomed since leaving Afghanistan, because she hadn’t smelled this good even when he’d been there with her.
“Right, Wizard. So, Wizard happened to mention during the conversation with Jake that he was as certain as he could be that he’d found Layla. Coincidentally, Logan was in Jake’s office at the time, and it was Logan’s idea to bring her here without telling you. According to Maria, who I got the story from, Logan wanted to be certain it really was Layla before getting your hopes up. Since the team knew Layla while you were in Afghanistan with them, they figured they’d be able to recognize her.”
“Why didn’t any of them tell me after she’d arrived?”
Riley shrugged one shoulder. “Because I asked them not to, thinking she would be the best possible Christmas present ever for you. Also, I wanted a few days with her at the clinic to check for the kind of problems a dog coming from a third-world country might have. She’s been wormed, had her shots, and been defleaed. She’s underweight, which isn’t surprising, but she’s in good health considering.” Riley scratched Layla’s chin. “Remarkably, she seemed to love getting bathed, like she knew she had to get all pretty for you.”
And dammit, he fucking cried.
Riley peered out the window of the limo that Logan had hired to drive past the best Christmas lights in Pensacola. Obviously, the driver knew where all the coolest lit houses were. Although it was a little crowded with five of the biggest men she’d ever known, along with their significant others, she had never had a better Christmas. Cody had his arm around her and she lifted her hand, curling her fingers around his. On New Year’s Day, she and Cody would attend Ryan and Charlie’s wedding. Ryan and Charlie had picked that particular day because, as they said, “It was a day for new beginnings.”
She and Cody had decided on a spring wedding, when life sprang anew. In the last few days, as she’d gotten to know the K2 team, she’d learned that each of them had a story, one that had a happily ever after, but didn’t have an end. That was her fantasy, anyway, that there was no end to true love, even into eternity.
EPILOGUE
Riley huddled with the women who’d become as dear to her as blood sisters. Their men were coming home today after a successful mission to get a group of doctors out of Syria. It was Cody’s third mission since coming to work at K2. The first one that Logan Kincaid had been concerned about Cody being involved in had gone off without a hitch. According to Maria—who knew everything there was to know about secret K2 stuff—Cody had performed to Logan’s expectations. Riley had never thought otherwise.
In four days, she would be married to the man coming toward her, and her heart turned over at the sight of him walking down the concourse with his teammates. He was laughing, they all were, actually, and she guessed either Jake or Ryan had cracked a joke. There was nothing better than seeing Cody Roberts happy, and her breath hitched when he caught her gaze and held it, hunger shining in his eyes. Oh yeah, she knew what they’d be doing the minute they were alone, and she couldn’t wait. It had been a long week of missing him.
Baby Griffin let out a wail. “Ah, sweetie,” Sugar cooed, rocking her son in her arms. “I know you’re hungry, but Daddy’s here.” She held him up. “See. There he is. Soon as we get in the car, you can chow down.”
Jamie jogged to his wife and son and wrapped his arms around them. “Missed you both so much.”
Sugar laughed. “We need to get gone before people start throwing tomatoes at us,” she said, speaking over Griffin’s wails. She
looked over her shoulder as she and Jamie walked away. “See y’all at the wedding.”
Jake and Ryan headed straight to their wives, and heedless of all the attention on their group, grabbed their significant others, soundly kissing them. Riley shivered as Cody prowled toward her, his gaze locked on hers, reminding her of a wild cat on the hunt.
The man was seriously bone melting, and when he reached her, he bent his mouth to her ear. “Want to know what you do to me at the mere sight of you?” Without waiting for an answer, he pressed his erection against her thigh. “You should get me out of here before I embarrass us both.”
Fortunately, the team traveled light, so they didn’t need to go to baggage. Riley and Cody waved good-bye to their friends, and laughing and holding hands, they ran to the SUV she’d bought with her insurance money.
Cody took the keys from her as he backed her up to the door. “I missed you like crazy, darlin’. Not one more minute’s going by without a kiss.”
His duffel bag thudded against the pavement when he dropped it before cupping her face with his hands. He angled his head, stared into her eyes for a moment, then covered her mouth with his, and, oh God, she’d missed this—his mouth, his strong body pressed against hers, his scent, his taste.
After a long, devouring kiss, he raised his head. “I really am going to embarrass myself if we keep this up here. Let’s go home, darlin’, and get naked.”
Inhaling air back into her lungs, she laughed. “Sounds like a marvelous plan.”
The church Riley had chosen for their wedding was one of the smallest and oldest in Pensacola. It was quaint and charming, and as Cody stood at the front, waiting to see his bride for the first time that day, he glanced around at those in attendance. There for Riley was Mike Kilpatrick, sitting with Brooke, along with Michelle and Riley’s foster mother, Pat Haywood. His parents had arrived the day before, and he didn’t know if it was Riley’s influence or if he’d finally matured, but he was getting along with them better than he ever had.
