One Week with the Marine (Love on Location)

ped Myla off and rushed home to get ready to meet Holden at the airport. Every nerve in her body stood on end to see him again. And she had a greeting in mind that he was sure to never, ever forget.

Chapter Two

In-flight internet had been a bad idea.

All Holden had wanted to do was check his email, see if there were any updates from his commanding officers, and glance—just glance—at Facebook. He should have known that wouldn’t be possible, though. Not when he had nosy brothers he hadn’t had enough common sense to block.

The second he signed on, his eldest brother shot him a message:

Tom Morris: Flight land?

It was innocent enough. That, too, should have been a clue, Holden thought, but instead he foolishly replied:

Holden Morris: Not yet. This airline has internet. Just checking my stuff.

Tom Morris: Nice. Mom says she’s worried about you. And that God never meant for humans to travel by air.

Holden Morris: Because if he did, he would have given them wings. Right, I know.

His mother had been saying the same thing for years now, though she conveniently never seemed to mention it in front of his other brother, Max, who was a fighter pilot. Or, for that matter, any time one of her sons was about to fly halfway across the world to fight in a war. Nor did the wars themselves seem to bother her all that much.

It was only, in fact, when Holden was on his way to see Avery that her sudden aversion to flight reared its ugly head. That little tidbit, he was sure, wasn’t lost on anyone in the family—least of all Holden.

Holden Morris: Tell her I’ll be fine. I’ve been in tighter situations than sitting leisurely on a plane while hurtling through the air.

Tom Morris: Lol, will do. Speaking of which, Dad mentioned you were thinking about another tour.

Holden clenched his jaw.

Holden Morris: No doubt he was practically drooling about the idea.

Tom Morris: You know him.

Holden Morris: Hoo-rah.

Tom Morris: Exactly. But I know both of you, and I have to say—don’t you think you ought to wait a little while? Your tours have been short so far, and that’s been great. But what if you get stuck over there for a long stretch?

Holden Morris: So what? I don’t have a wife or kids. It’s the perfect time to work on my career. Another tour comes with another promotion. Better pay. I have a plan.

It was true. Right before he’d boarded the flight to head back stateside, he’d sat down and looked long and hard at his life. He was nearly thirty now, and it was time to put some things in order—what he wanted, what his parents wanted, what Avery wanted.

Too bad none of those things lined up.

So, sitting in an airport terminal, he’d pulled out his laptop, cleared his mind, and thought about what he wanted in the next ten years. He’d even set an image of the list as his background picture, just for quick reference.

The Ten-Year Plan:

1. Marry someone I love.

A simple, straightforward goal that would have been easy enough to commit to, if it weren’t for one fact—he’d only ever been interested in one woman, and that woman happened to be Avery Forrester, the world’s most elusive bachelorette.

2. Have a child or two.

The idea of Avery having a child was…well, terrifying to be perfectly honest. Between her photography career and his military pay, nannies and cooks were definitely not an option, either.

3. Go on two more tours.

Avery was always silent about this. His parents, less so. The more tours he did, the better his chances were of getting more promotions and ultimately becoming the senator or Pentagon official they’d always dreamed he’d become. It wasn’t a bad dream, either. It was stable, dependable work that mattered. And in the end? That was all he really wanted to do.