Hot SEAL, Undercover Groom (SEALs in Paradise)

by Maryann Jordan

  Pulling out his phone to call her, his gaze landed on the coffee table, now void of everything except a note and a white gold wedding band. A much smaller version of the one on his hand. His breath left his body in a whoosh and he dropped onto the sofa as his legs gave out, his gaze never leaving the ring. With trembling fingers, he picked up the note.

  I’ll meet with an attorney and file the paperwork for a quick divorce.

  Fuckin’ hell! Glancing down at his phone, he called her.

  “Hi, you’ve reached Lynn Cox, Forensic Accountant and Certified Fraud Examiner. Please leave a message and I’ll return your call. Thank you. Goodbye.”

  Disconnecting, he called again but heard the same message. “Lynn, I’m so sorry. Listen, babe, I’m back up in the room. I know you’re upset but let’s talk. Come back up or call me and tell me where we can meet.”

  Uncertain if he should search the casino or wait for her to come, it hit him that it was almost check-out time, and since she’d packed her bags, she had no plans of coming back up. He hurried back into the bedroom and bathroom, tossing his belongings into his bag. Snatching the note and ring from the coffee table, he shoved them into his pocket and headed out of the room toward the elevator.

  Dialing her again, he left another message. “I’m heading downstairs because I just realized it’s check-out time. I’ll meet you in the lobby, sweetheart. We’ll talk on the way home. It’ll be fine, I promise.”

  Making his way to the reception desk, he turned in his room card and checked out. The bright expression on the receptionist's face barely registered.

  “Mr. Bell, how was your stay? I hope you found everything you needed and were looking for at our lovely resort.”

  Blinking, he nodded. “Yeah, yeah I did.” As the young man continued to punch on his computer screen, Nolan scanned the area for Lynn. Growling in frustration when he could not find her, he almost missed the receptionist's statement. Turning his attention back to him, he asked, “What was that you said?”

  “I said that I was sorry your bride had to go ahead and leave early.”

  “My bride? Lynn? She left early?”

  At the evident surprise on his face, the receptionist’s eyes widened and his Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed heavily. “Uh… yes. She checked out about an hour ago and said that she had to leave before you because there was an emergency at home. I’m sorry, Mr. Bell. I assumed you knew.”

  Blinking, he shook his head. “How did she leave? I’ve got the truck.” Ignoring the young man’s obvious discomfort, he leaned forward on the counter and repeated, “How did she leave?”

  “She… she called for a taxi service.”

  His head jerked back. “Taxi service? All the way back to Knoxville?”

  “I know it’s a long way, but it’s not that unusual. We have guests who fly into Knoxville and want to spend time in the casino. The taxis do set a reasonable rate.”

  After grabbing his receipt, he bent and snagged his bag from the floor. Hustling to the parking lot, he tossed his bag into the passenger side of the pickup truck and climbed inside. Dialing Lynn again, he left another message. “I just found out you’ve left already. I can’t believe you’re taking a taxi back to Knoxville. Babe, we need to talk. As soon as you get this message, give me a call.”

  Pulling out onto the road, he glanced at the casino growing smaller in the rearview mirror, and a sharp pain hit his chest at the thought of leaving the place of so many shared memories. He had at least two hours before he got back to his parents’ house, so he settled in for the drive.

  Lynn never returned his call, but that didn’t keep him from trying several more times to reach her, each time getting her answering message.

  “Hi, you’ve reached Lynn Cox, Forensic Accountant and Certified Fraud Examiner. Please leave a message and I’ll return your call. Thank you. Goodbye.”

  She’s the fraud examiner, and I’m the fraud. I fell in love and didn’t admit it… not to her, nor to myself.

  The taxi driver glanced in the rearview mirror as he pulled into Lynn’s apartment complex. Having not spoken the entire two hours it took to get home, she didn’t doubt that he wondered if she were asleep. But the whole trip had been a reminder of how different her world was than two days ago. Back into Tennessee… through Gatlinburg, where she turned her face away from the window when they passed the turnoff and sign for the Cupid of the Mountains Wedding Chapel. Back through Pigeon Forge and then finally into Knoxville.

  Offering a halfhearted smile to the driver as he deposited her at her apartment building, she thanked him as she swiped her credit card, giving him a hefty tip.

  Climbing from the back seat, she made sure to have her purse, laptop bag, and overnight bag. Pulling out her keys, she began walking up to her apartment, not surprised to see Nancy sitting on the top step.

  She smiled at her best friend but shook her head slightly. “You know I love you, but I’m really not in the mood to talk right now.”

  Nancy said nothing but stood and wrapped her arms around Lynn, holding her close. Lynn remained quiet, afraid that if she spoke, she would begin crying again. After a moment, Nancy pulled back and said, “Come on, let’s go inside. We don’t have to talk if you don’t want to. But I can make a cup of tea or pour a glass of wine, whichever you think you need.”

  She nodded, glad for the friendship. Once inside the apartment, she dropped her bags and walked to the bathroom while Nancy headed to the kitchen. As she washed her hands, she stared at her reflection. In most ways, she looked the same as she had several days earlier. The difference was in her eyes. Darker. Sadder. Wiser. Unrequited teenage love had been difficult. Now, twelve years later, unrequited adult love was even more so.

  By the time she made it into the living room, Nancy had found the wine and poured two glasses. “I thought about tea but just felt like wine was what we needed.”

  Before taking the wine glass, she pulled out her laptop, and with a few taps sent the financial statements and her initial report to Nancy’s email. “I want to go ahead and get this to you so that you can meet with Sally whenever it’s convenient for you. At least this part of the last several days was worth it.”

  As they moved to the sofa and chair, they plopped down, and she gratefully accepted the glass of wine. “Just like I told you on our call earlier, while I can’t give her any specifics on exactly what Errol is doing with the money, he definitely handed over a large envelope of cash to have it applied to his casino card. Chances are, if he’s laundering it through the casino, someone on the inside is letting him play for a little while, probably with fixed-odd betting, and then he gets cashed out.” A heavy sigh left her lips, and she added, “To be perfectly honest, Nancy, I don’t even care what he’s doing with the money or how he’s doing it. Sally didn’t hire us to investigate that… she just wants to know if the business makes more than what he’s reporting on taxes. And the answer to that is yes.”

  Nancy nodded, her smile tight. “Thank you, Lynn. I can’t believe how this case… well, I never expected…” She sighed heavily and shook her head. “I confess that I claimed best friend privilege and checked your phone while you were in the bathroom. I figured you’d placed it on silent.”

  Lifting her brow, she remained quiet, knowing Nancy was going to tell her what was on her phone whether she wanted her to or not.

  “You’ve missed dozens of messages and phone calls. A few from me, but most from Nolan. When he called me to tell me you were on your way by yourself, I didn’t bother calling you anymore, deciding to come here instead.”

  She took another sip of wine, wincing at her tight muscles as she stretched her legs out toward the coffee table.

  With perception born of many years of friendship, Nancy said, “You should take a hot bath tonight. Just soak and try to relax.”

  Snorting, her gaze held Nancy’s and she smiled. “Best friend. Wine. Hot bath. Do you have all the answers?”

  “Hell, Lynn. You’ve bee
n friends with me long enough to know I hardly have any answers at all.” The two women smiled, both taking another large sip before Nancy sobered. “But we’ve also been friends long enough for you to know that we need to talk.”

  Her shoulders lifted in a shrug, and she replied, “What’s there to talk about? We screwed up. Big time.”

  “Screwed up?”

  “Yeah, that’s exactly what I would call it. We had a plan, and even when we had to adapt, we both thought that with false information on the marriage license, it wouldn’t be valid. That was a huge mistake.”

  “Maybe it was just different timing for something that’s not a mistake.”

  Lynn’s wine glass halted on its way to her lips at Nancy’s words. Her brow scrunched as she waited to see what else her friend was going to say.

  “Look, I get what you’re saying about the screwup. If this had been anybody else but Nolan, you’d be in a real pickle right now. And, of course, because you’re doing this for me, I already feel responsible for the situation. But it was Nolan and you. I don’t know what you’ve been doing for the past two days but if you and he slept together then—”

  “I fell for him.”

  At that proclamation, Nancy snapped her mouth shut, her eyes widening. After a moment, her lips began to curve, slowly at first until a wide smile lit her face.

  Without giving Nancy a chance to speak, she threw her hand up and continued. “The past two days in a nutshell? We talked and laughed. We got to know each other and had a good time. Sometimes he would reach over and link fingers with me as we walked along and other times our arms would be around each other. He called me babe, and I discovered I liked it. And yes, we slept together. We agreed it was just for those couple of days, nothing more, but it didn’t take long for me to realize that I fell for him.”

  “Lynn, honey, I don’t know what Nolan’s going to say to you, but from all the calls he’s making, I’d have to say you’re not the only one who fell.”

  “You heard him, Nancy. His accusations were loud and clear, throwing my foolish teenage infatuation into my face and saying that I orchestrated everything to trap him.”

  Nancy leaned forward to set her wine glass on the coffee table and shook her head. “I know that’s what he said, but he was shocked and angry. He acted like a stupid man who blabs and blames first and then thinks it all through, eventually coming up with the right answer.”

  “The right answer?”

  “Yes, that he’s in love with you, too.”

  She leaned back against the seat cushions again, sipping her wine and allowing her mind to drift over Nancy’s words. She finally sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly before moving her gaze back to her friend. “It doesn’t really matter, Nancy. The timing is all wrong. He’s getting ready to go back to his SEAL team. His life is in California and my life is here. Who knows how many years he’ll still serve in the Navy? And as much as I care for him, it’s not fair to ask me to wait for years.” Her eyes drifted to the side and she added, “Even if he is my husband.”

  Long minutes passed as the two women finished their wine in silence. “So what are you going to do?” Nancy asked, her voice soft and full of concern.

  “Since annulment is not possible, we’ll get a divorce. It’s too late on a Friday afternoon to contact an attorney, but I’ll get hold of one on Monday morning. I can’t imagine that this would be hard. An uncontested divorce between two people who never meant to get married in the first place.”

  Nancy’s face fell, and she nodded slowly. She stood and snagged the wine glasses, carrying them to the sink and rinsing them out. Lynn joined her at the door where the two friends hugged tightly once again.

  “I always wanted you for my sister,” Nancy whispered.

  Unable to hold back the tears that slid down her cheek, she tightened her hug. “We’ll always be sisters. Not legally, but in our hearts where it counts.”

  With that, Nancy nodded and then left. Locking the door, she leaned her head against the cool metal, her hands still on the knob. Every muscle felt heavy, as though movement would be impossible. Desperate for the hot bath Nancy had recommended, she grabbed her bag and headed into her bathroom. It was not long before the tub was filled with steamy hot water that was fragrant from a lilac bath bomb.

  Reaching inside her bag for a hair clip, her fingers curled around an object. Drawing out the small, carved black bear, she blinked back tears. Tracing the carving, she placed it on the edge of the tub. With music playing in the background, she leaned against her bath pillow and closed her eyes. At some point, she thought she heard distant knocking but ignored the sound.

  By the time the water cooled and she climbed out, the bath had the desired effect on her muscles, which felt more relaxed. But her mind still raced, and she wondered if she would find sleep.

  19

  When Nolan arrived back in town, he drove to Lynn’s apartment but recognized Nancy’s car in the parking lot. While part of him hated that she was talking to Nancy and not him, he also appreciated the fact that his sister was her best friend and was probably the only person at that moment that could begin to make Lynn hurt less.

  He waited in the parking lot, and when Nancy came out he rushed over to her. She remained a loyal friend to Lynn and gave him nothing to go on other than Lynn had gotten home safely and was planning to talk to an attorney on Monday morning. Pinning him with a hard stare, she added, “That gives you the weekend to decide what you want to do, brother-dear. Cut her loose or convince Lynn to give you another chance.” Lifting onto her toes, she kissed his cheek, her voice softening. “I love you both, you know.”

  He stood and watched her climb into her car and drive away. Jogging up the steps, he knocked on the door but, considering Nancy mentioned that Lynn was exhausted, she might have gone to bed early.

  When he showed up at his parents’ house, his mother wanted to jump in and fix things. At first, he rudely shut her down, then, seeing the angst on her face, shared her guilt. As they sat at the kitchen table late that night, she with a glass of wine and he with a beer, he assured her that she was blameless.

  “Mom, looking back I realize our plan was fraught with miscalculations and that’s on me. I didn’t take the time to learn anything about weddings because it was just going to be staged. I feel rather foolish about going into a mission so unprepared. It didn’t dawn on me that you had to provide real documents to get the license or that it was the actual ceremony that was legally binding. I know that’s stupid, but we just went with the flow, not realizing what we were getting ourselves into.”

  “You know, honey, just because something came about because of a mistake doesn’t make it a mistake.”

  His gaze jumped up to her face, and he tilted his head as his brows lowered. “I get the feeling you’re trying to tell me something profound, but you’re just going to have to speak plainly because I’m too friggin’ tired to decipher riddles, Mom.”

  She sighed heavily and he sat silently, waiting for her to explain.

  “Your father and I have been together for almost thirty years. We were in love, and planning on getting married, but… well, let’s just say that our timeline got moved up a bit.” Her lips curved into a grin, and a small giggle erupted. “I don’t suppose you’ve ever calculated our wedding anniversary date and your birthday, have you?”

  His eyes grew large and his mouth dropped open as the obvious fact hit him and he could not believe he’d never noticed it before. “Holy hell, Mom! You were pregnant with me when you guys got married!”

  Her eyes danced with mirth, and she cried out, “Guilty!” She leaned forward and patted his arm and said, “I know it’s very hard to think about your parents having sex—”

  “Mom!”

  She laughed and shook her head. “Well, I don’t know how you would’ve gotten here if we hadn’t.”

  “I prefer to think about the stork!” She continued to chuckle and the ache in his chest eased slightly.


  “I loved your father, and he loved me. We had originally planned to wait until we thought the timing was right to get married, but fate stepped in and we discovered we were going to have a baby. Was that the way we planned for things to be? No. Our wedding came about when it did because of a mistake in our timing.” Leaning forward again, she placed her hand on his, holding his gaze. “But that doesn’t mean that it was a mistake.”

  “I get what you’re saying, but I’m not the one you need to convince, Mom. After I blew up and said some horrible things, I sat at the bar for a couple of hours and realized that I wanted her in my life. But right now, she doesn’t want to see me.”

  She finished her wine and stood, bending to kiss his forehead like she did when he was a child and skinned his knee. “It’s true that I’ve always had a soft spot for Lynn and thought the two of you would be perfect together. Don’t worry, you’ll find a way to talk to her, dear. After all, you’re a SEAL. From what I understand, no mission is too difficult to undertake.”

  Nolan gave Lynn Saturday to continue ignoring his messages, but now it was Sunday and he was desperate. If Lynn was going to contact an attorney on Monday morning, it was now or never.

  He drove to her apartment building and scanned the parking lot, noting her car was not there. He had no idea where she went or how long she would be gone, but he was prepared to wait. Using the same tools that he’d employed when opening Errol’s office, he easily unlocked Lynn’s door. While glad that he was able to get inside, he needed to make sure she had more security. He snorted as he stepped inside. Yeah, I’ll bring that up after I convince her to give us a chance.

  As was his habit, he scanned the room. Her space now seemed much more personal than when he had last been here. Her apartment was small but perfectly neat. The first surprised him, the second did not. Somehow, he imagined her in a larger, more modern apartment building, but then realized that starting a new business was probably expensive and she’d cut back in other areas. In the few days he had spent with her, he noticed she kept her toiletries neatly placed in a small area of the hotel bathroom counter. Her clothes were hung in the closet or placed in the drawer. And she always hung up her wet towel in the hotel bathroom as well as pulled the bedspread up each morning.