Epilogue
"Where are you taking me?” Havana asked for the fourth time.
Caleb shushed her and pointed to the windshield of the Yukon where the dusty road lay ahead for miles.
“You’ve already said that,” she informed him with a scowl.
They hadn’t seen each other much over the past couple of weeks as they dug into the heavy lifting of making her plans a reality. Finally he’d forcibly hauled her away for a couple of hours so he could get on with his own plans. “Then you’d think you’d take a lesson and stop asking, Missy.”
She glanced at him sideways, her bright red hair framing her arresting face so perfectly that it distracted him from driving. She distracted him in all the best ways.
“Why do you keep calling me that?” she asked with a scowl that did nothing to detract from her features. Of course, he might be biased.
“Because of that time you called me ‘mister,’” he reminded her. “I’m pretty sure that’s when I fell in love with you.”
A pleased little hum sounded in her throat as she absorbed that. “So not when I informed you about your hero complex? Because that should have endeared me to you right off the bat.”
He grinned. “That was when I knew it was forever. You pegged me dead to rights on that one.”
“Again. It’s not a compliment. It’s… Hey. You’re taking me to the springs.” She sat up a little straighter as she noticed the surroundings she no doubt had more than a passing familiarity with. “Are we going swimming?”
The hope in her voice put a funny hitch in his chest, mostly because he’d planned something really special, and if she’d gotten her heart set on swimming, she’d be mighty disappointed with the reality.
Or he could improvise and Havana with less clothes on worked for him. “If you want. It’s pretty hot out.”
/> May had arrived in Superstition Springs with a vengeance. Figured Damian Scott would give them a six-month moratorium that stretched over the Texas summer, when they’d be begging for a breeze and sweating buckets by August as the residents had gleefully informed him on many occasions.
He parked the Yukon and raced Havana to the springs, clambering up ahead of her on the rocks so she’d be sure to follow. She did. When she drew up beside him on the tallest rock, he couldn’t peel his eyes from her despite the beauty of the hidden gem at the base of the outcropping.
“I have something for you,” he said huskily, shocked at the bare emotion climbing into his voice as he pulled the ring box Serenity had given him from his back pocket and flipped the lid. “A better proposal. See, I shouldn’t have won the election. Frankly, I think it was rigged and I need you to be the actual mayor. You know the woman behind the man? Will you do me the honor of becoming Mrs. Mayor?”
She laughed, nodding along with the joke until she caught sight of the ring. She zeroed in on it, her expression growing misty and wondrous as she reached out to touch it as if to ensure herself it was real. “Is that my mom’s? I haven’t seen it in ages.”
“Serenity gave it to me. I hope that’s okay?” Maybe she didn’t want a hand-me-down ring or a guy who couldn’t exactly afford anything magnificent.
“Caleb—” Her breath caught, and she glanced up at him, her soul in her eyes. “It’s everything.”
And so was she. She let him slip the ring on her finger, and she made a fist, holding it to her heart. Except she took his hand with her, their fingers tangled, and he could feel her pulse pounding. He could feel everything.
“See, I know how much you enjoy taking care of everyone. But I thought it might be okay to stop for a while and let me take care of you. Forever. How does that sound?” he asked her.
She nodded, speechless for once, and that worked for him. He kissed her to seal his heartfelt proposal and then advised her, “Last one in is a rotten egg.”
Then he started shedding clothes. She caught on in a heartbeat and stripped just as fast, down to her underwear since they hadn’t brought bathing suits. She chased him into the water, and they swam for about four seconds until he couldn’t stand not touching her anymore. He wrapped her up in his embrace, and through sheer force of will, kept them both above the surface of the water.
This was what home felt like. And he wasn’t ever letting go.
Aria has both her sisters back home for the first time in eight years. Will that give her the courage to go after the man she wants? Or will courage look more like admitting she’s targeted the wrong SEAL? Find out in A Lot Like Perfect!
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SEALs of Superstition Springs
A Lot Like Perfect
Navy SEAL Isaiah West has trouble calling himself “former” military, but after an involuntary discharge, redefining himself is the only option. The small town of Superstition Springs seems as good a place as any to regroup while he figures out where he’s supposed to go next—and deal with how that last operation in Syria messed up his place on the team.