by Hart, Lea
They shook hands, and he watched the men gather the plastic and make their way into the truck. A new robe was definitely on top of the shopping list.
********
Travis sat on the couch watching the game while he waited for Cary to finish getting ready. He felt nervous and hoped that the evening was going to turn out like he wanted. He heard Cary’s footsteps on the stairs and turned to watch her as she approached.
He lost his fucking breath. He had never seen a more beautiful woman in his life. She wore a pretty cream dress that showed off her generous curves, and her hair framed her lovely face, which held a smile just for him.
“I bet you didn’t know that I could clean up so well. I’ve never gotten all dressed up for you before. I guess I should’ve tried to be a little more glamorous before this.” She bent down and adjusted her sandal, and he was at her side in an instant. She looked at his expression and couldn’t figure out what he was thinking. “I’m ready when you are.”
His lips crashed against hers before he could stop himself. He just needed one taste before they got in the car, and then he would be able to take a full breath. Breaking the kiss, he said, “I think you’re beautiful when you wake up in the morning and when you work in the garden but this” he held her at arm’s length “blows my mind.”
“That’s very sweet of you, Travis. I think one of my favorite things about you is that you tell me how you feel and don’t hold back. I don’t often have to guess at what’s going on in your mind… unless you’re up to something. I also like how you kiss me and hold my hand whenever you can. I think that means the most because it shows me that you like me and want to be near me.”
“I love you, baby, and I will always have my mouth and hands on you whenever I can get away with it. It’s not something that I think about…it just is.”
“Keep doing it, then, because it allows me to open up to you. I don’t feel like I have to hold back because you’re going to think it’s too much. Your affection makes my emotions feel OK to me, which makes my emotions toward you even bigger.”
“So, I should just keep doing what I’m doing?”
“Yeah, definitely keep doing what you’re doing.” Leaning over, she kissed him and took his hand. “You’re very handsome, Mr. Mathers. Thanks for taking me out tonight.”
“My pleasure. I hope you enjoy what I have planned.”
********
They walked into the Marina Room in La Jolla and were greeted by the sounds of crashing waves. It was high tide, so the room felt like it was being engulfed in sunshine and water. The sunlight had softened and made the crashing waves look like there were a thousand fairies dancing on the crest. If Travis was going for magic, then he accomplished his goal. “This is beautiful,” Cary said. “I’ve never been here before.”
He held her hand as they were led to a booth in the corner. “Josh told me about this place, he said it was Maryanne’s favorite restaurant. It’s nicer than he described. He underplayed how romantic the setting is.”
Cary entered the booth and Travis followed her in and sat close to her. “Thanks for remembering to sit on the right side.” Cary said.
“Loving a lefty is easy. It took a couple of times of being jabbed for me to remember.”
The waitress approached and brought a bottle of champagne. She held it out for Travis’s approval. “As you requested.”
He nodded and turned to smile at Cary. “I hope you like what I chose.”
Cary peered at the bottle and raised her eyebrows. “Are we celebrating something?”
“I sure hope so, sweetheart.” He lifted his glass to her in a toast. “Here’s to cars breaking down and honky-tonk bars in the middle of nowhere.”
They clinked glasses and kissed before taking a sip. “I second that.” She took his hand as they looked out the window at the ocean. She felt as if a life with this man was going to be adventure enough for her. “When I saw Eric yesterday day at the market, I had an epiphany. I thought I was boring because he always told me that I was unexciting. I can’t believe that I allowed myself to be influenced by what he said. I was bored out of my mind with him and I took the blame for that. What I should’ve done was get the heck out the relationship a lot sooner than I did. I said at the beginning of the summer that I wanted to become a totally different person and be changed. I think I’ve accomplished what I wanted to, only it wasn’t the change that I thought was going to happen. I’m changed because I fell in love, not because I chose to do a lot of crazy, risky things.”
“I feel like I want to do some real damage to Eric,” Travis said, “but at the same time I want to thank him. He’s stupid and foolish and it’s paid off for me. Because somehow what he did allowed me to find you.” Leaning forward, he kissed her slowly and gently. “Just don’t expect me to be nice to the guy the next time we run into him.”
“I don’t even want to be nice to him. I plan to ignore him.” The waitress brought them a platter of appetizers and refilled their glasses. “Did you plan the whole evening?”
“I sure did. I’m going to be asking you an important question later on, and I want you to be relaxed and happy when I do.” He watched as her eyes got big and a smile played at the corners of her mouth.
“Can you ask me now? Because that’s all I’m going to be able to think about for the rest of dinner.”
“No, I want you to eat and drink your champagne and enjoy the sunset with me before I ask.”
“Fine.”
He picked up the platter of appetizers and offered it to her with a smile. “Eat up.”
“This looks delicious. Thank you for planning such a romantic evening.”
“My pleasure.”
“So, tell me more about your trip to the UAE. Did you enjoy the work you did?”
“I did. It felt good to be out there using all of the experience and training that I’ve acquired over the years. I think that was one of my biggest concerns when I found out that I wasn’t going to be cleared for active duty. I have a lot to give back, and I’m not done yet. Working with Max is going to allow me to continue to use my talent and skills. I feel like my life is going to be OK and I wasn’t sure of that at the beginning of the summer. You said that you wanted to be completely different. Well, I just wanted to be OK after retirement. I wasn’t confident that was going to happen. I think meeting you and falling in love has allowed me to make the transition off the Teams easier than I thought. Combine that with having a job that I think I’m going to love and I know that I’m going to be better than OK. You asked me when I met you if having someone in your life made the transition easier, and I can now say that I’m not sure how I’d be if I hadn’t met you. You’re a very big reason for my happiness and optimistic view of the future. I now understand why Mark didn’t lose his mind when he made his transition. I feel pretty damn lucky right now.”
The waitress brought their dinner, and Cary looked up at the setting sun and felt like she’d been kissed with a thousand blessings. It had been a long time since she’d felt this sort of overwhelming happiness, and she attributed much of it to the man sitting next to her. “I don’t feel like I have to hide from you. You seem to like all of me, even the parts that I don’t like much myself. I’ve never showed you the face that I show most of the world. I give you more of the real me than I’ve given anyone else, and it seems to be working out. I wonder why I chose to trust you?”
“Maybe you sensed that I could handle it and would welcome it. I think it was just meant to be….we met and that was it. I don’t mean to simplify it, but I guess I am. Sometimes when it works, then that’s it.”
Lifting her glass in a toast, she clinked his glass. “Thanks for the save, Travis. It started with an Egg Mc Muffin and ends with a very romantic special evening.”
“Baby, this isn’t the end…. This is the beginning of everything.”
********
They walked out of the restaurant and wandered along the path that curved in front of the beach. The tide had rece
ded, and they were left with a sky that looked like it had been painted by Monet. All of the colors were blending together as the last of the light faded. Travis found a couple of chairs that faced the beach and took her hand and led her over.
“Thank you for a lovely evening. I’ve never had a better time.”
He cupped the back of her head and brought her face forward as his mouth took possession of hers. It wasn’t a gentle kiss. It was a kiss that was meant to mark her as his. He let his tongue play against hers and felt her respond as she tilted her head and let him in. She was doing that a lot lately…letting him in, and that’s what gave him the confidence that he was going to get the answer he was looking for. He lifted his head and looked at her dazed eyes. “Since you told me that you draw the line at public sex, I’d better stop now, while I can.”
Blinking at him, she attempted to process what he’d said. Once she did, she let out a laugh. “I guess I did say that.”
Travis took both of her hands in his as he knelt in front of her. Looking up he noticed that her eyes had gone big and she was taking short breaths. “First, I want you to take a couple of deep breaths, because I don’t want you to pass out before I get my question out.”
She nodded in response, closed her eyes and concentrated on taking a couple of deep breaths. Finally feeling a little better, she opened her eyes and smiled at him. “I’m OK now. Go ahead and ask away.”
“I have fallen in love with you, Cary Simmons, and I was wondering if you would do me the honor of becoming my wife?” He heard her gasp as her hand flew to cover her mouth. “Are you still with me?” He watched her head go up and down. “I want to make a life with you and love you. I will protect you and take care of you and hopefully put a lot of babies in you. I will never let the adventure leave our lives, and I promise to remain your partner in crime, even when we’re too old to jump out of planes together. I love you, baby, and I want to marry you. What do you say?”
Jumping into his arms and toppling him over, she shouted, “Yes, I’ll marry you, Travis Mathers. I love you completely, and I want you to be the person who’s at my side.”
He lifted himself up, encircled her in his arms and proceeded to kiss the hell out her. “I knew you wanted to be on top.” That earned a big laugh as he rolled on his hip so he could get the ring out. “I almost forgot.” He pulled out a stunning blue sapphire surrounded by diamonds. “I hope you like it.” He slipped the ring on her finger and watched a big smile spread across her face, and she started to cry tears of happiness. Lifting his hand, he wiped her face and gently took her lips and kissed the woman of his dreams. “Can you feel my heart? Because it beats only for you?”
He felt himself fall on his back in the sand as the woman of his heart fell into him and kissed him all over his face. “I love you, baby. Thanks for making me the happiest man in the world.”
“I love you more, and I can’t wait to see what happens in the next fifty or sixty years.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Cary woke up with Travis inside her. “Mr. Mathers is this your way of saying good morning?”
He lifted himself on his forearms and looked down at her face. “Yes. What do you think?” Without waiting for an answer, he moved his hips forward, feeling her welcome the whole way. He loved this moment when his body entered hers and they were one. He was home and wanted to savor the moment.
“I guess it’s one way to communicate.” She laughed at her own reply and felt his long hard thrusts in response. The laugh turned into a moan, and then her mind slipped away as pleasure took over.
Travis pumped into her hard and made the headboard beat against the wall. Somehow he’d gone from sweet, slow morning sex to out-of-control-mind blowing sex. He groaned and cupped her behind as his hands moved down her thighs, making the fit deeper and tighter. He’d lost control and was pushing into her with the full strength of his body as heat filled his head.
Cary groaned and tightened around him with one strong pulse and then another. She cried out and felt him swell inside her and then explode. His head was buried next to her and he shouted into the pillow as he came and came endlessly. His hips slowed down as he released the last of himself into her. “I guess it’s a very good morning, after all.”
He tried to catch his breath so he could respond and realized it was going to take a while. He was completely blown away by what had just happened between them. What started out gentle had turned into something fierce and powerful. “Baby, I hope it wasn’t too much.”
She kissed his cheek and ran her mouth against his skin. “Never apologize for wanting me.”
Lifting his head, he looked into her eyes and fell just a little deeper in love. “I want you in ways that I don’t understand. If I could crawl up inside you and stay there, I probably would.”
“Well, I guess it works out that we’re getting married, then.” She lifted her hand and admired the big ring he’d given her last night. “We can work it out in the next fifty years.”
Rolling off her, he looked over and smiled. “I hope that will be long enough.”
Laughing, she rolled off the bed and walked into the bathroom. “Me too.”
He got up and followed her in because he didn’t want to miss the opportunity of washing his fiancée’s back….or front.
********
Travis parked his truck in the driveway, looked over at the passenger seat and hoped liked hell that Cary wouldn’t be mad when she saw what he’d brought home. He knew it was a good idea, and he hoped that she agreed.
Taking a deep breath, he realized that he was nervous, and that wasn’t a feeling he was familiar with. This must be something that happened when you were in a relationship. You wanted your partner to be happy and not to get too pissed off at you when you made a unilateral decision that they would be affected by. There were probably rules that he wasn’t aware of, and he figured that Cary would set him straight at the first opportunity. Best to get it over with. He looked over at his companion and smiled. “Let the yelling begin. I have a feeling that this is something I should’ve discussed with her before I left this morning.”
He picked his companion up and got out of the truck and walked around to the backyard. He caught sight of Cary sitting on the back step with a baby in her arms. He might not be in as much trouble as he originally thought. “Hi, sweetheart…. Anything you want to tell me?”
“Did you bring home a dog without talking about it first?”
“The baby sitting on your lap trumps the dog that I brought home. It looks like we need to have a conversation about the rules of bringing something home bigger than a breadbox.”
She stood up and lifted the pretty baby girl on her hip. “You might be right. I think I forgot to tell you that I’m approved as a foster parent.”
“Yeah, I think you might have forgotten.”
“Surprise.”
“That’s one way of putting it.” He walked up to her and held out his hand to the baby. “Hi, sweet girl.”
“Who goes first?” Cary asked.
“I’ll start, since the dog is going to be a much shorter conversation than the baby. I went and saw the woman who trained Amelia’s dog, and she had this dog available. Her name is Claire, and she’s trained as a guard dog. I thought it might be a good idea to have one to watch out for you when I’m not home. I now know that my decision was the right one, since it appears that we have added a baby to our family.”
Cary leaned down and patted Claire’s head. “She’s cute, but she doesn’t look like a guard dog.”
“When we give her the commands she is. We have to go and have a class with the trainer and then we’ll be all set.”
“I always wanted a dog, and I like the fact that she has short hair and isn’t huge. Good job, sweetheart. I think you made a good choice.”
“Are you just saying that because you brought home a baby?”
“I didn’t bring her home. She was delivered. I’m sincere about the dog, though.”
> “Let’s all go inside and talk about the little bundle of joy that you have in your arms and figure out what our insta-family is going to do this weekend.”
They walked into the kitchen, and the dog sat at Travis’s feet and waited for a command. Travis looked at the dog and said “family” and the dog’s tail started to wag. He petted her head and then had Cary hold out her hand so the dog could smell and lick it. “Do you think the baby will mind if we let the dog smell her hand?”
“I have no idea. Let’s give it a try.” Cary leaned down and guided the baby’s hand next to Claire’s nose. “This is our new dog. What do you think?” The baby let out a squeal and tapped the dog on the nose and gave it a drooly happy smile. “I think they like one another.”
Travis held out his arms. “What is this pretty girl’s name?”
Her name is Sofia, and she’s seven months old. She has been in the foster system for a month because the mother was unable to care for her. My close friend brought her by this morning because the family that had her could no longer care for her.”
Travis and Sofia studied one another for a bit. They must have decided that they liked what they saw, because they both smiled at the same time. “Do we get to keep her?”
“I have no idea. This is the first child that I’ve been assigned, if that is even the right term. I went through the process of becoming a foster parent almost a year ago, and I got approved at the beginning of the summer. I didn’t really think I would be given a child so quickly. I’m sorry that I didn’t say anything to you earlier.”
“It’s OK. I guess we still have a lot to learn about each other.”
“I can’t believe you’re not mad.”
“What is there to be mad about? I knew you wanted kids, and this is just one way for us to start our family.”
