Page 25 of Navy Daddy

He lifts his head, and our eyes lock.

“Hey, Princess,” Arthur says, dropping his magazine to the floor and getting up from his chair. He has to keep his neck and shoulders craned to fit in the tiny cabin. “Isn’t this a mighty fine surprise?”

Tears sting my eyelids. Moments ago, they were there for fear of never seeing Arthur again. But now they’re a mess of excitement, happiness, and so much love for this man.

“What are you doing here?” I wipe the first threatening drop out of my eyes.

“Eva, I—” He cuts himself off to take both my hands in his. He stares so deeply into my eyes, it feels like he’s about to burnthrough my soul. “When I first met you, I still wore the hard outer shell of a Navy bruiser. I taught you how to fight because I know how cruel this world can be. I needed to be sure you’d be safe.”

His hands run up the lengths of my arms, over my shoulders, and he pulls me against his chest. “But what I never expected was that you’d be teaching me, too. We’re two sides of the same coin?—”

“That’s exactly what I said to my dad,” I interrupt as the tears start to fall. Why bother holding them back in front of Arthur? He’s seen the best of me and the worst of me. And still, he’s here at my side, leaving his entire life behind to travel across the world.

“You showed me that it’s good to be soft, if only a little.” He presses a tender kiss against my forehead. “That there is still beauty and purity in this world. You taught me what it means to want to live for someone else and how to love unconditionally.”

What did he just say? I pull myself back and look him dead in the eyes.

“I love you, Princess. And I’m never gonna stop loving you until the day I’m in the ground. Hell, even that won’t stop me.”

I wrap my arm around his neck and pull his face down to mine. The soft smile on his rugged face shatters my heart into a thousand giddy pieces.

“I love you so much,” I whisper, losing myself to another intense kiss with my behemoth.

EXTENDED EPILOGUE

ARTHUR

Two Years Later

“How long has this been going on?” Bart Collins asks while both of us stare at Eva, shaking hands with nerdy professors and accepting their praise and well wishes for getting through her master’s degree.

She looks stunning tonight. All dolled up in a long flowing dress, blonde hair tied in a tight bun atop her head, and golden glitter on her eyelids to bring it together. Every time I look at her, it feels like I’m falling in love all over again.

“I want to say the second day we met, but I’d be lying.” I sip champagne from a glass Eva’s mother, Lucy, brought for Bart and me. After all these years, she’s still the one bringing us drinks. “I knew your daughter was mine the second I laid eyes on her.”

“Ha,” Bart says and slaps me on the shoulder. “Who’d have thought? But don’t worry, Art. I’m not upset. I’m just glad my little girl had someone watching over her.”

“Oh, trust me, I haven’t let her out of my sight.”

“And what about you?” he asks, nibbling on the edge of a tiny quiche. “What have you been up to?”

“Private investigating,” I answer. “Teaching folks how to fight wasn’t really fulfilling. But tracking bad guys? Now that’s what I call business.”

Eva finishes with the professors, and her bright red lips curl into a smile at the sight of me and her parents together.

“Excuse me a moment, won’t you, Bart?” I don’t wait for an answer before jumping out of my chair.

I meet Eva halfway between her professors and her parents, pulling her straight into my arms. She squeezes me tightly, bouncing from the pure, excited energy pulsing through her body.

“I’m so proud of you, Princess,” I say, pressing a kiss on the tip of her bun.

“I couldn’t have done it without you,” she says, breaking our hug and taking my hand.

“We both know that’s a lie. You’d probably have done better without me being…” —she starts dragging me back to the table where Bart and Lucy are waving at her with pride on their faces— “such a distraction.”

“Making me come isn’t a distraction, big boy,” she whispers against my rented blazer’s lapel. “It kept me focused.”

“Then I’ll be sure to keep them coming. A couple of times a day if I have to. Anything to keep that razor focus,” I reply, and Eva bursts out laughing.

We rejoin her parents, and I hang back while they catch up. As much as I want her to be mine and mine alone, I won’t take this from any of them.

After all, she’smyprincess. And I’ll have her for the rest of my life.

The End

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