My Kind of Love (Finding Love 1)

Ian chuckles. “Nope, tell me all about it.”

“You already know it,” I whine. “Let me see what’s in the box.”

“Once you explain the plan.”

I cross my arms over my chest and pout, but he just smiles. “You graduate from high school and spend the next couple years becoming a Navy SEAL. During that time, I finish my senior year of high school and start college at the University of Las Vegas. Once you become a SEAL and are assigned to one of the locations, we’ll get engaged and I’ll transfer to the college near the base so we can live together. We’re hoping it will be in San Diego so I can apply for the internship with Scripps, so I can study marine biology while I finish up my degree. Once I’ve graduated we’ll get married.”

Ian’s lips, which were curled in a wide grin, turn down. “There’s just one problem with that plan.”

“What?” I ask, the organ in my chest tightening. We’ve had this plan since before he graduated from high school. Ian knows how important my plans are to me. Whether it’s making a plan for a project or a plan for my future, I need them. Without them, I feel like I’m spiraling out of control. “What’s the problem?” I ask, my hands beginning to shake.

Ian opens the box, and nestled inside is a beautiful diamond ring. “The problem is that I don’t want to wait until you move to San Diego to get married.” He climbs off the bed and gets down on one knee. “Micaela Lizbeth Michaels, will you marry me?”

“But… what about our plan?” I ask stupidly.

Ian laughs. “We can write up a new one. Everything else can stay the same. The only change will be your marital status and last name.” He winks, and my belly does a flip-flop.

“Yes!” I squeal. “Yes.” I jump from the bed and into his arms, tackling him to the floor. “Yes, I will marry you.”

“You’re not getting married,” my dad says. “You’re too young. You had a five-year plan. What the hell happened to the five-year plan?” He looks at my mom with wide eyes. “She had a goddamn five-year plan.”

“We tweaked it,” I tell him calmly. “The plan is still the same, only we’ll be married a little sooner. You and Mom got married when she was only a few years older than me.” I glance from my dad to my mom, silently begging her to help me out here. She had me when she was only twenty-one, and shortly after, they got married. At least I’m doing things the right way.

“Marco,” Mom says to my dad, and his shoulders slump. “We can’t stop them from getting married if that’s what they want to do.”

“No, but I want you to be on board.” Technically I don’t need either of their permission to get married, but I want their blessing. Their approval means a lot to me. I’m one of the few kids who has a good relationship with my parents. My mom is my best friend, and I’m close with my dad.

“And you can’t make it a long engagement?” Dad asks.

“We could,” Ian says, “but I love your daughter and would like for her to be my wife. And with her being my wife, she’ll be able to visit me on the base.”

“And you’re still going to stay here and go to college?” Dad confirms.

“Yes, Ian still has to go through SQT, and once he’s a SEAL, he’ll most likely be shipped out on his first deployment. I already have a year’s worth of college credits, so I’ll get my associate’s and then transfer to a school near him to finish my bachelor’s.”

“Damn it, Micaela.” My dad’s gaze meets mine, unshed tears in his eyes. “I want to tell you that you’re not thinking rationally, but you’re the most responsible, well-thought person I know.” He sighs, accepting my decision. “This weekend?”

“We don’t know when he’ll be able to come back here and we want both our families there.”

“All right,” Dad says. “If this is really what you want, then we’ll support you.” He puts his arm around my mom and pulls her into his side. “But no babies until you’re thirty.”

I roll my eyes and laugh. “Trust me, getting pregnant is not part of our five-year plan.”

Micaela

Six Months Later

“We have Chinese or Japanese.” Ian holds up two takeout menus and shrugs a shoulder sheepishly.

“So, pretty much only the places that most likely don’t celebrate Thanksgiving,” I say with humor in my voice. “I guess we should’ve thought this through.” When Ian found out last minute he would be off for Thanksgiving and not have to report back to training until noon on Friday, I booked a hotel room near his base and flew in last night. It would be too much for him to fly over for only one day, but there was no way I was going to let him spend the day alone. Not when I could be here with him.