Robert Thurman smiled. “From now on, everything is going to be all right. You’re in good hands.” He turned to Brandon and stuck out his hand. “Thank you so much for your help, Mr. Shea. Without it, I don’t think I’d have been able to see my niece.”
Brandon shook his hand back. “Don’t mention it.”
“Fine work, Mr. Shea,” Admiral Walter added. He had the bluest eyes Lillian had ever seen. They looked in contrast with the white uniform he was wearing. The admiral nodded at her then at Robert Thurman. “General MacCunnen’d requested that I arrange a flight out of Japan. Unfortunately, the best I can do under such short notification request is a C-seventeen. I hope you won’t mind the inconvenience.”
“What’s a C-seventeen?” Lillian was curious.
“It’s a military plane, Miss Blackwell. It’ll be a short flight. We’re only taking you to our base in Seoul. From there, we’ll arrange a commercial flight to London.”
“London?”
“That’s where your family lives, Lillian.” Thurman fixed his sliding glasses. “You’ll love London. It’s lovely at this time of the year.”
“I see.”
“The plane won’t be ready for another hour,” Admiral Walter told her. “Why don’t you have a short rest in the meantime? Lieutenant Simpson will come for you when we’re ready to go.”
“Thank you.”
Brandon looked brooding when they were alone in the sick bay.
“What’s wrong?”
“London, huh? Are you going to stay with your family?”
Lillian saw the problem. He must’ve felt insecure knowing she had a family now. But she wasn’t planning on staying with her newfound family. She’d go wherever Brandon went. She’d never let him out of her sight again. He was hers. She would follow him to Hell and back if she had to.
Lillian pouted. “Are you trying to ditch me?”
“That’s not what I meant, babe. I’m just thinking, now that you have…”
Lillian grabbed the collar of his shirt. “‘Cause I’ll kill you if you’re trying to ditch me.”
His laughter erupted. “My. When did you get violent all of a sudden?”
She laughed with him. “I love you, you know? I’d go insane if I never saw you again.”
“Babe.” Brandon crushed his mouth on hers, kissing her deeply.
Lillian wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back with the same heat.
“Look. I’m just an ordinary guy. I can’t give you the luxury you’re used to. Our life is going to be rough for a while until I can find a steady job.”
What the hell was he talking about? She had that money in the Schwab account she’d originally planned to use to pay him for getting her out of the wedding. The interest alone would enable them a comfortable living for a lifetime. Not a billionaire lifestyle, but the nice suburban, white-picket-fence lifestyle she’d always wanted. “As long as you feed me three times a day, I won’t complain. But burgers must be included in one of those meals.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Epilogue
Las Vegas, ten days later…
Brandon wasn’t fond of being in the middle of loud music and a sea of writhing bodies. That was why he avoided nightclubs and such like the black plague. But since he’d promised to take Lillian to one when they were in America, he felt obligated to indulge her. He’d decided to take Lillian to Vegas before they went to visit his mother in Tennessee. Where else could they find better nightlife in the states than Sin City?
They’d met Lillian’s family in London. Nice, polite bunch, but rather stiff for his liking. He guessed that was typical for upper class British snobs. Lillian’s uncle was surprised when she said she didn’t want to live with them. She wanted to go to America with Brandon and she was adamant about it. When they asked what exactly the relationship between them was, Lillian had casually flaunted that she was the future Mrs. Shea. Brandon was sure she’d done it to negate their objection about her not wanting to live with her newfound family, but it seriously got Brandon thinking. Did she really want that? To become his wife?
There was nothing he wanted more than to claim Lillian as his forever. Legally. He only hesitated because of his financial situation. He planned to wait until he found a job so he could give her the comfortable life she deserved.
However, his financial woes were resolved when they flew from London to Washington to see General MacCunnen. His former boss, who worked in the Pentagon, wanted to meet him personally and discuss a few things with him. William Blackwell was outraged with Lillian being reunited with her real family. Stanford was outraged, too, Brandon had been told. That asstard was still in hospital. Apparently he hadn’t recovered from the lovely parting gifts Brandon had given him. Brandon also heard the toad man had become even uglier than before. He’d suffered a severe infection from the cigarette burns on his face. General MacCunnen said that Blackwell and Stanford had become persons of interests to Scotland Yard and Interpol in regards to the deaths of Keith Thurman and Gillian Blackwell.