A Sexy SEAL Novella Anthology (24 page)

There weren’t a lot of men who could make
Jack feel small, even fewer who’d ever made him feel stupid. But in
that one, single query, Aiden Masters had made him feel both.

Still...

“You got it all right. I’m just not sure I
did.” Jack went silent as the waitress delivered Aiden’s coffee.
After she’d left, he stayed silent. Because he couldn’t think of
anything else to say.

“So what happened?” Aiden asked after a few
moments. “Did you fall down and bump your head?”

“No,” Jack said, looking up with a half
laugh.

“So... You’ve fallen in love?”

Aiden just laughed at the gaping look of
shock on Jack’s face.

“There are only a couple of things I’ve ever
seen that seriously screw with a guy’s head once he’s made the
team. It’s pretty much a simple process of elimination.” Aiden
tilted his head, giving Jack the go ahead to fill him in.

The waitress refilled their cups twice
before Jack wound it down.

“So that’s about it,” he finally finished.
“That’s how I met Cari, how I feel about her. I know the timing
sucks and I know I have priorities. I didn’t plan it this way. But
I do love her.”

Aiden stared into his cup for so long, Jack
almost craned his neck to see what was in there. Then the other man
met his gaze again and sighed.

“Here’s the thing, Jack. If you become a
SEAL you’re going to work your ass off. You think you know now,
after Hell Week. But you have no real idea. It’ll take all you’ve
got, then it’ll take more. It’ll put demands on your body, on your
psyche and on your life that simply don’t let up.”

And here it came. The
go ahead and
quit
advice. Even though he’d been looking for it, expecting
it, a wave of misery still poured over Jack.

Because, dammit, as much as he wanted Cari,
he wanted his career, too.

“Yeah, I hear you,” he muttered.

“And I think that once you’re in the middle
of it all, once you’re facing the hugeness of the demands and
responsibilities, that you’re man enough to simply suck it up and
make it work.” Before Jack could puzzle that out, Aiden continued.
“Knowing you have someone in your life who loves you while you’re
doing it might make it all a little easier.”

Either the coffee house had been invaded by
a swarm of bees or there was a buzzing in Jack’s ears.

“What?” He shook his head, tried to
re-computed Aiden’s words, but they didn’t change. “You’re telling
me that you think I should still do it? What about the rest of what
you said?”

“What about it?” Aiden shrugged. “You knew
all of that when you decided to become a SEAL. You think being in
love, being in an important relationship changes any of that?””

“I figured it made it harder,” Jack
muttered.

“Yeah. It does. And, like I said, it makes
it easier. So you’d better make damned sure you love her.” Aiden
leaned forward, his scholarly face serious as he stared at Jack.
“Not because of what you’re putting on the line. Because she’ll be
putting it down there, too.”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re going to be asking for a lot. A lot
of trust. A lot of understanding. You’re asking her to accept long
separations, minimal communication on certain issues and to live
with the knowledge that if she figures you’re always in danger
she’s probably right.”

A deep frown creasing his brow, Jack slowly
nodded. Because right there, Aiden had nailed his real fear.

“How do you do that? How do you ask a woman
to go through all of that? Loving her, that’s supposed to be enough
to make up for all of the rest?”

“By promising that even though you can only
be there about half the time, that you’ll show her enough love to
make up for that.” Aiden paused, the look in his eyes the same one
Jack often saw when the man talked about his wife. “Your commitment
to her won’t be any less because you’re not around. So you have to
show it enough when you are to make up the difference.”

“Just like that?” It sounded impossible.

“Yeah. Just like that.”

And Jack had to admit, he felt a hell of a
lot better facing the impossible than he’d felt earlier.

Hefting three canvas bags over one shoulder
and her purse over the other, Cari scowled at her cellphone.
Checking and walking at the same time, she confirmed that she had,
indeed, texted Jack three hours ago. And two hours ago. She’d left
a message an hour ago and texted him
and
Rico twenty minutes
ago.

Where the hell was he?

How could she tell him she wasn’t going to
see him anymore if she couldn’t even find the man?

Shoving her phone in her purse, she turned
into her doorway.

And almost screamed.

“Hey,” Jack greeted, his hands on her arms
the only thing keeping her from falling over. He caressed his way
to her shoulders, but before he could bend down to kiss her, Cari
found her feet. And used them to step away.

“What are you doing here?” she asked.
Especially when she’d texted so many times to cancel.

“I thought we had a dinner date,” Jack said
with a puzzled smile before taking her grocery bags. “What’s all
this?”

“Groceries.” She stared at the canvas bags
blankly, then frowning, admitted, “I’m afraid I’m going to have to
skip dinner.”

“No problem. I’ll help you put these away
and we can figure out something else.” His smile was just a little
wicked. “I’m open to changing plans.”

How about cancelling plans?

But Cari couldn’t bring herself to ask if he
was open to that. Instead she stepped around Jack, and pretending
her heart wasn’t breaking, unlocked the door, bumped it open with
her shoulder and strode inside.

“I’ve been trying to get a hold of you,” she
said when they reached the kitchen.

“I guess I forgot my cellphone,” he said,
setting the bags on the counter. “I had to talk with a friend up by
Sonoma. Traffic was ugly getting back.”

She tossed her purse on the table, then
shoved her fingers into her hair. She’d been trying to reach him
for hours, so why hadn’t she figured out what to say?

“Is everything okay?” she asked, for lack of
any brilliant ideas on how to start the
let’s end things
conversation. Why did he have to look so good? How was she supposed
to think reasonably when all she wanted to do was throw herself in
his arms and nibble on his chest?

Hoping if her hands were busy, she’d keep
them off of him, she started unpacking the bags. Ice cream, ice
cream and another pint of ice cream. Jarred hot fudge, strawberries
and two bananas. By the time she’d added cookies, chips and soda to
the haul, she was feeling a little embarrassed. And yes, just a
little nauseous.

“Whoa. That’s a lot of ice cream,” Jack
observed.

“It’s my getting over you recipe,” she heard
herself say. “A triple chocolate fudge sundae with caramel sauce
and whipped cream starter is the only way I know to start the
process of getting over a bad breakup.”

“I beg your pardon?”

Cari almost slapped her hands over her
mouth.

Oh, God. She hadn’t meant to put it that
way.

She’d been freaking out ever since Gina told
her Jack’s news. Once or twice between freaking out, she’d tried to
figure out how to keep Jack from ruining his life. She just had to
get him to believe that she wasn’t interested in anything more than
a few days of great sex. She’d make sure he knew how important she
thought his being a SEAL was. And she had to make sure she was
convincing, and to keep it sweet and light.

“I know we’re ending tonight, but I’m really
okay with it.” She put on her brightest smile, trying to look like
she didn’t want to cry. “We’ve had a lot of fun, but you’re leaving
and as much as I’ll miss the great sex, I’m still glad.”

“You’re glad,” he repeated tonelessly.

“You’re going to be a SEAL, Jack. That’s so
important, so awesomely important.”

“Cari—”

Suddenly desperate to stop him from saying
anything, horrified that he’d tell her he was giving up his dream,
she interrupted, hurrying forward to take both of his hands in
hers.

“I’m so proud of you, Jack,” she said
earnestly. “Not just that you’re good enough to be a SEAL, although
that’s so amazing. But because you’re strong enough to want to be
one. To dedicate your life to your country like that.”

“You believe that?” he asked slowly, his
eyes narrowed and intense on her face. “You think it’s that
important?”

Oh, it hurt. But Cari smiled anyway.

“Yes. I think you following your dream,
achieving your goal and being a SEAL is very, very important.” Her
smile grew brittle. “Nothing is more important than that, Jack.
Nothing.”

“Actually, I agree.”

What?

Cari scowled.

Not because she’d wanted him to argue. But,
dammit, had she gotten herself all worked up for nothing?

“Earlier today, I’d planned on telling you I
was leaving the SEAL’s training.”

Nope. Cari’s hands fisted tight at her
sides. She’d gotten worked up for very good reasons.

“But then I realized a few things that had
me changing my mind.”

“You’re not leaving the SEAL’s?” she asked
faintly, trying to keep up.

“No. But I don’t want to leave you,
either.”

Her heart danced, even as tears filled her
eyes. Cari wanted to throw herself at him. She wanted to do a happy
dance across the kitchen counter. She wanted to say yes.

But she couldn’t.

“I know it’s not ideal,” Jack continued as
if reading her mind. You have to stay here where your career is.
And I have to go where mine is. But we’re strong people. Determined
and focused. If we want to make it work between us, I believe that
we can.”

“Work?” What?

Too shocked to help herself, Cari tugged off
the lid of one of the ice cream pints, grabbed a spoon from the
drainer and dug out a bite. As the cold caramelized fudge melted
down her throat, she shook her head at him.

“I don’t understand.”

“What we’ve started is important. I think it
could be even more important. I want us to give it time. To work at
overcoming the obstacles. To see if we can make it work.”

Standing there in jeans and a black tee
shirt, Jack looked at her as if he were ready and willing to place
the entire world right here, at her feet.

Cari’s heart melted.

“You want us to be together?”

“Yeah.” He grinned. “I want us to be
together.”

“Oh, wow.” She didn’t even realize she’d let
the spoon drop to her side until she felt the cold splat of ice
cream hit her bare foot.

“Cari, I love you. I want to give us a
chance to build a life together.” He took the ice cream from her,
setting it on the counter, then pulled her into his arms.

“I love you, too,” she admitted, her hands
cupping his cheeks. How was it possible that in less than a week,
he’d become the most important thing in her world? Was it possible
to make it work like he wanted? To overcome all of those obstacles,
and jump all of the hurdles they hadn’t even considered yet.

Did it matter? No, Cari realized. All that
mattered was that they loved each other.

“I should put the ice cream away,” she
murmured, her mind already on what she wanted to do with him—to
him—next.

“Actually, I have a few ideas for that ice
cream,” he said just before he took her mouth.

Mmm.

True love and ice cream.

Cari melted into Jack’s arms and wondered if
it got any better than this.

—The End—

“
Report, O’Brian. Did
you complete your mission?”

Petty Officer Shane O’Brian stood at attention.
Shoulders back, chin high, eyes ahead.

“
Yes, sir,” he barked. “Completed with
resources to spare.”

“
Is that so. And at any time did the target
become aware of your mission?”

“
Hell, no.” Eyes dancing, Shane grinned. “He’s
as clueless as a newborn. Which, I’ve gotta tell you, is totally
weird. Of all people, you’d think he’d be suspicious.”

“
Nice job.” Shane’s commander, Mitch Donovan,
slapped him on the back before dropping onto the couch. Resting his
booted foot on the knee of his camouflage fatigues, Mitch laughed.
“Gabriel’s a wily SOB, but there’s no way he’d expect an engagement
party. Especially since the bride-to-be doesn’t even know they’re
getting engaged.”

“
He’s going to be so pissed,” Shane observed,
handing Mitch the list of what had and hadn’t been done so
far.