Special Forces: Operation Alpha: Protecting Sam (Kindle Worlds Novella)
Page 13
“If you don’t ask her, I will,” Church told him. “The guys are already threatening to stage a protest if she doesn’t come on board.”
Steve’s lips quirked. There were those blurred lines and crossed boundaries coming back to bite him in the ass again. This time, though, he didn’t mind so much.
“They’d choose her over me?”
“In a red-hot minute,” Church told him with a quirk of his own. “Of course, the ideal is to have you both on the team, if you can take your balls out of your purse long enough to convince her of that. And if you can’t handle the job, Heff’s offered to—”
“The hell he will!”
Church gave him a rare but genuine smile. “Yeah, I thought so. Seriously, Smoke, what gives? You two are the real deal, man. You’d be an idiot to let her walk away.”
“I know. But it’s a lot to ask.”
“I take it back. You are an idiot. The way she looks at you? She’d follow you to the ends of the earth if you asked her to.”
“You think?”
“No question. But she’s not the kind of woman who’d do so blindly. She needs to know you want her there. Do you?”
“The truth? I can’t imagine my life without her.”
“Then what the hell are you waiting for?” Church stood up. “Go talk to your woman. Do what you gotta do—beg if you have to—but don’t let her walk away. We’ll be waiting on you. Both of you.”
Was Church right? Would Sam be willing to follow him—or better yet, walk beside him—into the next chapter?
Well, there was only one way to find out.
Steve stalked to the bedroom door and took a deep, fortifying breath. He could do this. He was a SEAL. And more importantly, he was a man who had found his one.
“Come in,” Sam called out after he knocked.
He pushed the door open to find her sitting on the edge of the bed, a small bag beside her, her expression unreadable.
“Is it time to go?”
“Yeah, just about. But there’s something I wanted to talk to you about first.”
Something like pain flashed in her pretty eyes, but it was gone before he could be sure. Some of his confidence faltered. Did she know what he was going to say?
“It’s okay, Steve.”
“What is?”
She shrugged, picking a non-existent piece of something from her jeans. “I understand.”
He blinked in confusion. “What do you understand?”
“That it’s been great, but it’s time to move on.” She summoned a weak smile, but he wasn’t fooled. She wasn’t any happier about leaving than he was.
Deep in his chest, his heart thudded with hope, and his confidence surged again. If she dared to look him in the eyes, she might see them glistening.
“Yes, it is,” he agreed.
She winced slightly, and his heart soared.
“Your friends are counting on you, and they’re a great bunch of guys.”
“Yes, they are.”
“Church’s vision is going to be a great success. I know it is.”
“Yes, it will.”
With each ready agreement, her frown intensified. He could barely contain his glee.
Finally, he decided he had let her go on long enough. “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. See, Church … well, all of us, really, agree that we need the kitchens up and running as soon as possible. And we also agree that you are the best person for the job.”
Her eyes lifted. “Really?”
“Really. They’ve been suffering withdrawals, forced to rely on mini-mart coffee and mass-produced pastries. It’s been awful.”
“I bet,” she murmured.
“And with your business experience, you’re the perfect choice. None of us know the first thing about running a restaurant, and it’s one less thing for Church to worry about. He could hire from the outside, but he likes to keep things close and personal, you know? And he already considers you part of the team.”
“He does?” Her eyes filled with surprise.
“Yep. There is the issue of housing, though. You might have noticed that on-site accommodations are in short supply.” When her burgeoning smile faded a little, he was quick to add, “That’s why you should move in with me.”
“What?”
He almost smiled at how large her eyes became, but he was afraid she might misinterpret it and think he wasn’t one hundred percent serious.
“Yeah. Church told me this morning that they’ve managed to make one of the cabins habitable. It’s nothing like this”—he waved his arm around the hotel room—“but it has working plumbing and electricity. Of course, the downside is, you’d be stuck with me for the foreseeable future. Do you think you can handle that?”
“That depends,” she said slowly.
“On what?”
“On how you feel about that,” she said carefully.
“Oh, well, that’s a no-brainer for me. I’ve already told Church that it’s a package deal. If you’re not coming, I’m not coming.”
Her eyes grew even larger. “Why would you do that?”
“Because I’m falling in love with you, Sam. Did I forget to mention that?”
“Yes. You did.”
“Oh. Well, I am. Listen, Sam, I realize this is a big step, maybe one you’re not ready for, but—”
“Yes.” Tears welled in her eyes, but he pushed forward, needing her to understand how serious he was.
“—I think we can make this work. I … Wait. What did you say?”
Her expression softened, and she smiled at him. “I said yes, Steve.”
“Yes to what part?” he asked cautiously. He wanted to be absolutely, one hundred percent certain she was saying what he hoped she was saying.
“All of it,” she said, rising to slip her arms around his waist. “Yes to the job. Yes to the cabin. Yes to you.”
Relief flooded through him. He lowered his head and branded her with a soul-searing kiss. “Yeah?”
“Yeah. Think you can handle that?”
“Baby, I’m a SEAL. And with you by my side, I can handle anything.”
Epilogue
Six months later…
The weather had turned colder. The brilliance of autumn was fading, but the mountains were still awash with color. The tinted floor to glass panels between thick columns overlooked it all, from stunning sunrises on the east to the spectacular sunsets on the west.
Sam walked around the space with a critical eye, adjusting a plant here, straightening a salt shaker there. The décor was open and airy, comfortable but not overdone. Tables were easily moveable to accommodate single guests or bigger groups.
Steve slipped his arms around her waist. “Stop worrying. It looks amazing.”
She leaned back into his hard body, welcoming the rush of warmth she always felt when he held her like this.
It had been six months since she had moved out here with him, and each day was better than the last. It hadn’t all been easy, though. They had worked long and hard alongside the other members of the team to get things ready for their first guests.
As promised, Church had given Sam free rein over the kitchens and common dining space. The result was an operation capable of turning out top-quality meals in a comfortable, relaxed setting.
She turned in his arms. “I hope so.” The first guests were due to arrive tomorrow.
“They’ll love it,” he said with enough confidence that she almost believed it. “But there’s something we have to take care of before they arrive.”
“Oh?” she asked, her mind desperately searching for what she might have forgotten. The freezers were stocked, the simple menu planned. Dishware, glassware, silverware, condiments. Inspections had been passed, permits and licenses obtained and approved. “What are we missing?”
“This,” he said, going down on one knee and holding out a small, velvet box. “I love you, Samantha Appelhoff, and I want this package deal to be permanent. Marry me, Sam.”
>
Sam brought both hands up to her mouth. She looked down at the man before her on bended knee, the man she had come to need more than her next breath. The one looking back at her with pure love in his eyes, the one who had always believed in her.
“Yes.”
He grinned as he slipped the ring onto her finger, then stood up and pulled her into one of those soul-searing, branding kisses she had become addicted to.
“Looks like she said yes,” she heard Doc say.
“Thank God,” Mad Dog said with feeling.
“About damn time he got around to it.” That was from Cage.
“If you two want to move right into the celebratory engagement sex, go right ahead,” Heff said, pulling out a chair at the table next to them. “Don’t mind us. Oh, look, champagne. Church, where’d you put those glasses?”
Steve reluctantly broke their kiss and sighed. “So much for our moment.”
Sam laughed softly. “Our moment was perfect,” she told him.
Here, in the arms of the man she loved, surrounded by her new family, she couldn’t imagine anything better.
“Here,” Church said, holding out an envelope to her.
“What’s this?”
“Good wishes from Tex and Melody on the official opening.”
“Tex and Melody?” Sam mused, extracting the card. “Do I know them?”
“No, but they know you. Tex was the one who helped us out last spring.”
Sam didn’t have to ask what Church was talking about. She knew Cage had been dealing with someone with extraordinary clearance and data mining skills. Now she had a name to add to her list of nightly whispered thank-yous.
“He sent those, too.”
Sam looked over at the massive crate Church pointed to near the general service and delivery entrance. It had arrived earlier that afternoon, but since it was addressed to Church, she hadn’t opened it.
“What are they?”
He grinned. “See for yourself.”
With Steve by her side, she walked over and lifted up the lid.
“Fire extinguishers?” she asked.
“Yep,” Church said with a wry grin. “Four dozen of them, all kinds, everything from kitchen to electric fires. He’s already hooked us up with the latest in digital fire and smoke detectors, too.”
“Warped sense of humor, or genuine concern?”
“Probably a little of both.”
“Fits right in, then.”
“He and his will always have a place here should they needed it,” Church agreed.
Sam accepted the glass of champagne and raised her hand in toast with the others.
“To family,” Church said.
“To friends,” Steve added.
“To us,” Sam said, looking at each and every one of them. At the man she loved, now her fiancé. At these strong, good-hearted men who had become like brothers. It was amazing what they had accomplished together, and the future held unlimited promise. “To all of us.”
Thanks for reading Steve and Sam’s story
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About the Author
Abbie Zanders loves to read and write romance in all forms; she is quite obsessive, really. Her ultimate fantasy is to spend all of her free time doing both, preferably in a secluded mountain cabin overlooking a pristine lake, though a private beach on a lush tropical island works, too. Sharing her work with others of similar mind is a dream come true. She promises her readers two things: no cliffhangers, and there will always be a happy ending. Beyond that, you never know…
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