Escape with a Hot SEAL

by Cat Johnson

  “I’m saying, how are we going to put together a wedding in that short of a time.”

  “The Justice of the Peace can probably do it on a couple of days notice.” Watching her reaction to his statement, Thom let out a breath. “And you hate that idea.”

  “No. Not really.” Visions of her dream wedding with the white dress and pink bridal bouquet and blue hydrangea table centerpieces danced in her head before being pushed aside by the image of a cold, sterile municipal building office.

  “Yes, you do.” Thom put the laptop on the coffee table and wrapped his hands around her waist to tug her closer. “We’ll have whatever kind of wedding you want. Whenever you want it. Just be aware, my savings account is pretty much depleted right now so let’s not go too crazy since I have yet to figure out how I’m going to pay for it.”

  “I have some savings put aside.” As he scowled at her offer she added, “And I don’t want anything big anyway. Just simple and small. I just never considered the Justice of the Peace. The idea took me by surprise, but you know what? Now that I think about it, it might not be that bad.”

  As she warmed to the concept, the steady shake of Thom’s head robbed her of her new found excitement for the plan.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked.

  “I don’t want you to regret not having the wedding you want.”

  “I won’t.” She could still wear a pretty dress and carry a bouquet. Molly could still be her maid of honor. And they could still have a small party afterward to celebrate with close friends and family. Thoughts of family led to thoughts of her mother. Shit. That was the one wrench in this quickie wedding plan. Her shoulders slumped at the thought. “My mother might though.”

  He dipped his head in a nod. “Yup. She might.”

  “It’s our wedding. Not hers.” She frowned in protest.

  “And you’re her only daughter.”

  Ginny sighed. Now that he was tossing obstacles in the way of their getting married sooner rather than later, it made her want it even more. She began to form a plan.

  “How about we get the license today so we have it and then we can decide later. You said it’s only thirty dollars. So if it expires, we’ll just get another one.” She caught a glimpse at the clock. “Oh my God. If they close at three-thirty I’d better get dressed so we can leave.”

  “We have time.”

  Already up and across the tiny apartment, she didn’t even slow down in her barefoot sprint to the closet as she called back, “No. There’ll be traffic. Get dressed.”

  Thom snorted. “Because I’m the one it takes so long to get ready?”

  She leaned around the bedroom screen. “Brat. Be nice to me or I’ll tell my mother you’re the one who talked me into a quickie wedding at the Justice of the Peace.”

  Thom cringed. “Please don’t.”

  She laughed and went back to deciding what to wear to get her marriage license. Then she realized that was the least of her worries.

  What was she going to wear to get married? She’d need a dress. And shoes. And how would she wear her hair? Up or down? Her mind spun with all the decisions.

  Married. Holy cow. Never mind the logistics of the actual ceremony to get them married, the whole idea in general was pretty overwhelming.

  As she slid off her robe and stood in front of her closet naked, she marveled at the sudden and wonderful changes in her life.

  She’d gone from dating and wondering if they’d ever get married, to being engaged.

  It wasn’t exactly as she’d imagined it would happen, with him having to leave again so soon and her doing the planning mostly on her own, but that was fine. Becoming Mrs. Thomas Grande would be worth it.

  Though maybe she’d be Virginia Starr-Grande instead.

  That had a nice ring to it. And it would make a pretty kick ass pen name to write under too when she finally got a book of her own actually published.

  Glancing up, she saw Thom leaning against the wall and watching her. There was a glint of desire in his eyes as his gaze took in her nakedness.

  “We don’t have time for that,” she warned, knowing exactly what was on his mind.

  His lips twitched with a smile. “There’s always time for that.”

  “No. It’s almost two,” she warned. “We need to be there before three-thirty.”

  “Plenty of time.” As he closed the distance between them and wrapped his hands around her waist she knew she was losing this debate.

  The warmth of his rough palms against her bare skin sent a tingle through her. Maybe they did have a little bit of time to spare . . . “Okay, but we can’t take too long.”

  Raising a brow, he laughed. “I’ll do my best.”

  Lifting her, he tossed her naked onto the bed where she was happy to watch him pull off what little clothing he had on.

  He was quick to strip out of the shorts and T-shirt, and then he was crawling on the bed, pushing her legs wider with his hands as he moved between them.

  “Are you still going to be so insatiable when we’re married?”

  He sniffed out a laugh as he gazed up at her from his spot between her thighs. “What do you think?”

  As he dipped his head and she felt the heat of his tongue hit her, eliciting a moan from her throat, she had a feeling she had nothing to worry about in that department.

  CHAPTER 9

  Sunday came and Thom left, just as Ginny knew he had to, but this time felt different.

  This time it was her soon-to-be-husband who left her with the promise they’d talk more about the wedding as soon as possible. She’d be handling a lot of the details on her own, without him even accessible by phone at times, but then again they never did have a normal relationship.

  Crazy woman that she was, maybe that’s the part she loved most.

  She was engaged. They were engaged. Ginny repeated the words in her head. It didn’t quite feel real yet there alone in her apartment with no one to share the joy with, not even a cat. She had to tell someone or she was going to bust.

  That she’d avoided talking to anyone for the few days Thom had been there had been a miracle but now he was gone and she was alone and antsy.

  Standing in the middle of the room with the phone in her hand, she felt about to crawl out of her skin if she didn’t tell somebody, but whom did she call first? Her best friend or her parents?

  An incoming call kicked her into action. One glance at the display told her that her decision of whom to speak with first had been made for her.

  She answered and pressed the device to her ear. “Mom. Hi.”

  “Hi. I’m just calling to ask whether you’re going to see your father for Father’s Day or will you be traveling?” The vitriol in her mother’s tone had Ginny’s hair standing on end.

  Now was obviously not the time to tell her mother anything to do with Thom.

  The amount of time she spent with him was already a sore topic. What would the reaction be to the news of her marrying him and moving to Virginia?

  She didn’t want any negativity spoiling her brand new engaged happiness. The only way to insure that was to keep the news to herself for now. She probably shouldn’t even tell Molly. Ginny knew her friend spoke to her mother, more than was normal, in Ginny’s opinion. Molly might slip and tell.

  No, keeping it quiet for now seemed safest.

  “No, no traveling. I’ll be around for Father’s Day.”

  “Fine. I’m cooking his favorite for dinner if you want to come over.” The attitude was still there, shadowing every word.

  Stifling a sigh, Ginny said, “I’ll make a cheesecake for dessert, if you want.”

  “All right. That would be good. He likes that.” That last response had sounded almost normal instead of icy.

  The pastry peace offering had worked. Crisis averted . . . for now. At least until she brought up the engagement.

  Deciding to test the waters and see what she was in for when she did drop the bomb, Ginny said, “You know, Mom, one da
y Thom and I might decide to, I don’t know, move in together or get married. And then you’re going to have to be okay with me visiting less and missing some holidays.”

  “You’ve been dating for years. If he was going to propose he would have done it already.”

  “It hasn’t been that long—”

  “And,” Ginny’s mother continued, cutting her off, “if that ever happened, he can just move up here to live. His parents live up here too. Correct?”

  “Yes. In Massachusetts.”

  “Well, then it’s ridiculous for him to live so far away down there in Virginia in the first place. He can move.”

  “But he’s in the Navy—”

  “So? There’s that base in New London he can work at. I see the signs for it when we drive by on the way to that outlet center I like.”

  Ginny opened her mouth to list all the reasons Thom lived where he did, but then closed it again. There was no arguing with a woman as stubborn and close-minded as her mother.

  She was beginning to understand why Romeo and Juliet had chosen to keep their marriage a secret. In fact, eloping was looking pretty good right about now.

  Ginny sighed. Yup. No way was she bringing up the engagement today.

  Hopefully Thom was going to have better luck telling the kids about their plan to get married.

  Kids. The word set her heart pounding. Of course she knew Thom had a son and a daughter, but what that truly meant to her once they were married hadn’t really hit her until right this moment.

  Ginny was going to be a stepmother.

  Did that make her own mom and dad step-grandparents? And how was that news going to go over?

  She was a bit afraid to find out.

  CHAPTER 10

  Thom stood outside the door of the house where he used to live—the one he still paid the bills for—and steeled himself with a bracing breath as he rang the bell.

  When the woman he’d once loved, many years ago, opened the door he glanced up and said, “Hi.”

  Her expression changed to one of annoyance the moment she saw him. Folding her arms across her chest, she said, “You can’t just show up to see the kids whenever you want—”

  “I’m not here to see the kids. I wanted to talk to you.” Though since the kids were out of school for summer break they should be home and if she weren’t such a bitch, she’d let him see them even if it wasn’t his planned day to do so.

  She screwed her mouth up tighter. “If you’re here about the support payments I’m telling you right now that I can’t afford to live on any less money and raise your children—”

  “Debbie, this isn’t about money.”

  “What then?” She cocked a brow expectantly, as if it was too much work for her to wait for him to finish up what he had to say and leave.

  Jeez, it wasn’t like they’d been married for years and had two children together or anything.

  He resisted the urge to roll his eyes at that thought and instead said, “Can I come in?”

  “I guess so.” She took a single step back from the doorway.

  How magnanimous of her, letting him in the house he still paid for. Pressing his lips together to keep from blowing up at her he silently stepped past her and into the foyer. He turned back as she closed the door and faced him.

  “Well?” she asked. “You want to talk? Talk. Why are you here?”

  He glanced into the living room. The fact there was some daytime talk show on the television and not cartoons prompted him to ask, “The kids here?”

  “Nope.”

  Frowning, he asked, “Where are they?”

  “Play date.” She crossed her arms again, as if challenging him to dispute her. Or maybe she was just as tired of talking to him as he was of talking to her.

  No shock there. The only shocker was that they’d been happy together at all once upon a time.

  Time to wrap up this visit and cut to the chase. “I’m getting remarried.”

  Her eyes widened before they narrowed. Debbie never could hide her feelings from him, not that she ever really tried. “That woman you’ve been dating?”

  “Ginny.” He’d been with that woman for long enough, Debbie damn well knew her name, but he supplied it anyway.

  “When?”

  “I’m not sure yet. She’s going to try to plan it around my deployments.”

  She let out a sniff. “Good luck with that.”

  Thom knew the last thing Debbie wished Ginny was good luck, but that wasn’t the point of his telling her in the first place. His children were. “It’s going to be up north since that’s where both our parents live. I want the kids there.”

  Debbie cocked a brow. “That’s going to be very inconvenient.”

  Inconvenient? What the hell? She wasn’t seriously going to deny him his kids for his wedding day, was she? He wouldn’t put it past her.

  He sighed. “Why?”

  “What if they’re in school?”

  “We’ll plan it during the school break.”

  “How will they get there? Who will supervise them? Surely you don’t expect me to bring them.”

  He let out a short bitter laugh at that idea. Having his ex-wife anywhere near Ginny was the last thing he wanted. “No, I don’t. I’ll drive them up and back.”

  She glared at him. “And who’s going to watch them when you’re busy with her?”

  “My mother and father are perfectly capable of taking care of their own grandchildren.” The grandchildren they didn’t see nearly often enough because of this very attitude Debbie was throwing at him now.

  It would be nice if Juliette and Jason could have an extended visit with their grandparents in Massachusetts. Besides, how much would it suck to have to rush back to Virginia right after the wedding if Debbie decided to play hardball and not let him have them for more than the weekend?

  If that happened maybe he could ask one of the guys to bring the kids back to Virginia right after the wedding. Brody’s brother Chris Cassidy was retired from the teams so he had time. It was a lot to ask, but Chris had known the kids since the day they were born.

  That didn’t mean Debbie would agree to any of it.

  She let out a huff. “We’ll see.”

  Barely contained anger seethed within him. Clenching his jaw until his teeth ached, he breathed in through his nose and tried to not say all the things he was thinking.

  “Just let me know when,” Debbie added. She must have noticed his expression and interpreted his angry reaction correctly so decided to play nice.

  “Fine. I will.” He moved toward the door when she reached out a hand to stop him.

  He glanced at her grip on his arm and then up to her face. He cocked a brow in question.

  “If you’re planning on trying to see the kids this week, you have to let me know in advance. I have plans.”

  “You have plans?” he asked. Plans as in a date?

  If she was trying to make him jealous, it wasn’t going to work. He couldn’t care less who she went out with. God willing she’d get remarried and be someone else’s problem, although who knew what kind of guy she would choose? That was definitely his concern since that man would be in his kids’ lives.

  More importantly, if she had plans, then why didn’t she let him babysit them for the night?

  He knew the answer to that without asking. Because the unpredictable nature of his job made him probably the most unreliable babysitter around.

  Maybe he bore more of the responsibility for her bad attitude than he was willing to admit.

  She shook her head. “I should have said they have plans. There’s a sleepover Wednesday night. And a pool party on Saturday. And Juliette is taking a summer dance class and Jason has intramural—”

  “I got it.” He held up a hand to stop her list. He didn’t need the rundown. The kids’ schedules were crazy and he knew it and Debbie bore the brunt of driving them around. “I’ll let you know as early as I can.”

  “Okay.” Hoping that was t
he last word from her, he reached for the knob. This time he actually got to turn it without her stopping him with more conversation. With a quick glance back, Thom said, “I’ll call you.”

  She nodded and then, thankfully, he was free.

  It was like a cloud of bad vibes and toxic air had lifted the moment she closed the front door after him. Though the weight of his annoyance and simmering anger over her resistance to the kids coming to the wedding remained.

  He needed a distraction and he wasn’t going to find it in the room in the bachelor barracks he currently called home.

  Sliding the cell out of his pants pocket as he strode toward the SUV, Thom decided some guy time with his buddies might be in order. He’d been out of touch with the real world while at Ginny’s, which had suited him just fine, but he was pretty sure the NBA playoffs were on TV this week.

  Scrolling through his contacts, he hit the screen to call Brody. When his friend answered, Thom asked, “You busy?”

  “Nope. Just home chilling. What’s up with you?”

  “I just left the ex-wife.”

  Brody blew out a laugh. “I’m sorry. You need a drink?”

  “As a matter of fact, yeah. I do. You mind if I stop by? Or we can go out if you want.” As long as he could get a cold beer and some distraction, he didn’t care where he was. Usually Brody felt the same.

  “Come on over. I’ll have a cold one waiting on you when you get here.”

  His friend knew him so well.

  “Appreciate it. See you in a few.” Thom disconnected the call and climbed into the SUV.

  Turning onto the main road, he headed for Brody’s apartment and a hopefully mind-erasing beer that would help him forget the shitty visit with the ex.

  CHAPTER 11

  “Hello, my soon-to-be-bride.”

  Ginny smiled at the sound of Thom’s voice through the cell phone. “Hello, my soon-to-be-groom.”

  “I just wanted to say goodnight.”

  “Mmm. That’s nice. Thank you.” She snuggled deeper beneath the covers, cradling the cell between her head and the pillow. “So what did you do today?”

  “I stopped by the house after work.”