Once there, though, he had no way of knowing what would happen. The stories that had been told about the place were not from soldiers themselves, it was from criminals who were from there.
So, what about option two? Stay here for another two months, but again what?
So…option three…
Reassign, quit.
Could he?
He gazed ahead as he saw Natalie approaching from the woods. She didn’t see him yet.
As he watched her, that figurative crossroads he’d imagined when he last saw Nick popped into his mind.
He realized he was there, at the fork in the road, and he could hear Nick’s voice and the guidance he’d given him.
Nick said the fact that he was even considering his choices meant that he was at that natural pause in his life.
Captain Petersham said something similar. That to fail sometimes meant not spotting a choice. Then there was his talk with Evan.
Evan was the first person who’d really got Luke thinking. Evan told him to have an open mind. He’d said Luke didn’t just have to go down one path because it was the path he’d been following his whole life.
He’d said that being home was a chance to discover something new and that he’d done what he wanted to do.
Nick said the incident was an opportunity for a break. Each of them had given him solid advice.
They’d given him the answer he was looking for. The answers he was searching for to help him make a decision.
Something happened to Luke just then as he considered this, all while he looked at Natalie, who now stopped by the rose garden.
It was like something switched on in his mind and suddenly he felt clarity.
Something new.
The only thing new that had happened to Luke since he’d been home was her. But not just her. It was a taste of what his life would be like with her.
He saw the choices before him as if they were written out. The road behind him was where he’d just come from. The Luke Donovan who’d walked that road became a valued lieutenant in the Marine Recon. He’d saved people’s lives, he’d lived up to his title, he’d accomplished goals, made his family and country proud. He’d done it, he’d become a Marine, and, hell, he must have been a damn good one to have been considered for a special mission.
The Luke he was today had all that wealth of experience and journey behind him and he’d reached a point in his life where it was time for something else.
The next phase, as Nick put it.
So, on his left was a road that was similar to the road he’d just come from. He could either choose to go on this mission, or in two months’ time go back and resume his post as Lieutenant Donovan.
Or…
A smile lifted his face as Natalie’s eyes fell on him and she gazed ahead at him.
When he looked at her, he saw the future. A future of happiness, where every day would be magical. He saw the children he’d have with her, who would play around the lake house just like they did. He saw them playing with their friends, too, while he’d watch them with his angel, reminiscing the good old days when they did the same.
When he looked at her, he saw love.
Love that came straight from her soul.
He was a lucky man, a very lucky man.
She was on the road that ran to his figurative right.
Luke stood up, feeling better than he had in months, better than he had in years, and ran towards Natalie, making his choice.
He was going right.
* * *
Natalie
* * *
As Luke ran towards her with the brightest smile on his face, she felt uplifted. She loved seeing him happy.
And happiness seemed to ripple off him.
She was glad, maybe that meant he was feeling better about this mission and was excited to go. He hadn’t gone into any detail, but she imagined that being chosen for something of that nature must have been an honor.
She would smile and be happy for him, just like she planned.
Although, inside, she was a mess.
She had to take a walk earlier to clear her head. Plus, she thought it would be rude for her to mope about the house in a mood when the offer given to him was a good thing.
It was the worst when you got an opportunity and others weren’t happy for you. She didn’t want him to think that of her. Or think that she didn’t love him enough to let him go and do what made him the most happy: being Captain Luke on some adventure to save the world.
When he got to her, he picked her up, as usual like she was weightless, but he spun her around like he’d just gotten some good news.
Maybe there’d been a change since she’d left. Like the Marines wanted him to go back tonight instead of next week.
“Baby,” he gushed, spinning her around again.
“Luke, I’m going to throw up on you if you spin me one more time,” she giggled.
“Baby, you can do whatever you want on me.” He laughed, setting her down.
“What happened now?”
He took a moment to look at her, but there was something different in his gaze. Something sensual, something pure, something that made her feel like she was home.
“Luke, what is it? You’re looking at me like I have something on my face. Do I?” She lifted her hand to run it over her face but he caught it, brought it to his lips and kissed her knuckles.
“I love you, too,” he said with a bright smile.
She felt her lips part in surprise and heat rush to her cheeks. “Too?”
“August 19, 2008 at twenty hundred hours you told me you loved me.” He held her gaze with tenderness brimming in his eyes. “But I messed up, and it took me this long, a few months shy of ten years, to give you an answer. The correct answer. So it’s that. I love you, too, and I hope that you still love me.”
All she could do was look at him in wonder. “Are you kidding? You know I love you. Luke, I love you from the very bottom of my heart and with everything that I have.”
She didn’t think she could express the depth of her love for him any more than that.
“Sweet Natalie.” He reached out and brushed the edge of her jaw. “I’m so sorry it took so long for us to say that to each other.”
“It’s okay.” She smiled, feeling completely elated.
“No it’s not. It’s something I should have told you every day.” A serious expression washed over his face. “I lied to you.”
“What? When?”
“I told you I was like a cat with nine lives and I had about four lives left.”
While he looked completely serious, she couldn’t help but laugh. “Luke, I realized that cats don’t really have nine lives and you were totally speaking metaphorically.”
“Yes I was, but there’s a deeper meaning to it than that. The truth was, I know I at least died eight times, and that last time was pretty close. I gave all my lives to the Marines, but I want to give the last one to you.”
Utter shock.
That is what filled her as she looked at him. “Luke.” She found it difficult to speak.
“There’s also something I never told you. Back in Afghanistan, when I got captured, I watched my friends die, and I couldn’t do anything to save them. I was tortured like you couldn’t imagine, and just when I thought, this is it I have to die now, your voice brought me back.”
She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “How?”
“It was like my mind was taken back to that night when you told me you loved me and asked me to stay. I heard you say it, and that is why I am here today.” He nodded. “Being with you was the answer all along. And this…” He motioned all around them. “We live at the place we spent our time together as kids. We have a life together here. You and me. I want that. That is what I want.”
“What are you saying to me, Luke?” Hope filled her but she wanted to hear him say what she was thinking he was saying.
“I’m saying that I’m staying. I’m not going anywh
ere, Nat. I’m going to hand in my resignation tonight, because right now I want to plan the rest of my life with you.” He nodded with conviction.
Tears were pouring from her eyes, and she was so choked up she could barely even speak.
“Luke, I can’t believe it, I couldn’t be more happy, and everything you’ve said means the world to me, but please…is that really what you want? Will choosing to stay make you happy? You may wake up tomorrow and change your mind.” It was right to say that. Of course him staying would be the very best news in her world, and what he said to her was truly beautiful. But it was right that he was sure he was doing what made him happy.
A deep hearty laugh escaped his lips. “Baby, I have better things to worry about for tomorrow. Like the fact that I may want to be a cop, or join the FBI, and I’ll be proposing to my girlfriend. She may say no.”
It took her a few seconds to register what he’d just said, and, when she did, her hands flew up to cover the sharp gasp that escaped her lips.
Luke gave her a coy smile.
“Luke, what?”
“Tomorrow I’m going to ask you to marry me.” Now he gave her that sweet, boyish smile that she loved.
“Oh God.” Her heart swelled within her chest and joy filled her to the point where she thought she would burst. The elation she felt only moments ago when he said he was staying was nothing in comparison to this.
What she felt now was like she had everything she ever wanted.
“Nat.”
“Yes, Luke, I will marry you.”
“Hey, you can’t say yes now. I don’t have a ring and I want to get down on my knee and—”
She didn’t allow him to finish. She squealed with delight and threw her arms around him.
“Forget that. I’m saying yes now,” she said, placing kisses all over his face.
“Natalie.” He put on his serious voice and took hold of her shoulders. “I’m still going to ask you properly tomorrow, so you’d better act surprised when I do.”
“Okay, I promise to act surprised.”
He chuckled, and then that look of adoration and love filled his eyes. “Thank you for giving me a chance, and for being patient with me. I’m so glad you did, because I love you from the bottom of my heart, too, with everything I have in me.”
She reached up and cupped his face. “You were worth it, Luke.”
When he leaned down and gave her the sweetest kiss, everything truly felt perfect.
Epilogue
Luke
* * *
Two years later…
Every day with her was magical, just as he knew it would be.
Luke sat on the front porch steps and looked ahead to the garden where Natalie played with Ivy, their one-year-old daughter.
Every time he watched them like this, his heart swelled and he had that awe-inspiring feeling you get when you reflect on a good decision.
That road he chose to follow had definitely been the one to happiness. Sometimes he liked taking a step back to look at all that he’d accomplished.
Most especially his wife and daughter.
The treasures of his heart.
He wouldn’t have had either of those if he’d gone on that mission.
Sadly, he’d heard that the team that went to the Shadowlands completed a successful mission and took out most of the members of the Ra, but they never made it back. What was worse was that the leader managed to escape.
The evil bastard who killed his friends.
That was what gave Luke the push to go from lieutenant to federal agent. Luke worked for the FBI in the counter-terrorism department, where his military experience and expertise was most welcomed.
Everything fell into place.
His career and his life.
He was glad that he’d been true to himself and was lucky to have found the woman of his dreams.
“Baby, if you spin that child one more time she’s going to throw up in your face.” Luke laughed. He went over to join them in the garden.
Natalie gave Ivy to him and rested against him so he could hold them both.
“She likes that game, Luke.” Natalie smiled and Ivy giggled as she tried to touch his face. She was the spitting image of Natalie.
“Not when she’s yakking on you. Come, let’s go play in the woods.”
“Okay Captain Luke, let’s do that.” Natalie laughed again.
“Come here.”
He placed a kiss on her beautiful lips when she came closer.
“I love you,” She cooed into his ear.
Those three words were words he’d always love hearing. They were a constant reminder of everything good that he had.
“I love you, too, baby.” He kissed her again and then gave Ivy a kiss on her cheek.
He then took another moment to look at them.
They were all that he adored.
His ultimate accomplishments.
Acknowledgments
To my readers.
Where would I be without you….
This one’s for all of you.
I thank you from the bottom of my heart for all your support, and for reading my stories.
Hugs and LOVE xx
About the Author
Bella Fontaine is the multicultural and interracial romance pen name of bestselling author Khardine Gray.
She loves love and writing about people falling in love and the wild, sexy fun they have on their journey.
Her books have super gorgeous heroes who will make you drool, and sassy, fun loving, ambitious heroines.
She loves writing and simply adore her readers.
To keep up to date on her exciting new, up coming books subscribe to her mailing list at
https://www.subscribepage.com/f7o3z8
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