Page 101 of Better Late Than Never

There would come a time when there were no more rules preventing us from being together. Sixteen months and counting, and I’d be retired, no longer beholden to the UCMJ like I was now. It sounded like a long time, but I’d start the retirement process in about four months. A year after that, I’d be a civilian.

I could be with Connor.

I wouldn’t be, though, because that wasn’t what this was. I was kidding myself if I thought he’d want to do this cloak-and-dagger shit for that long. I could believe I was worth the risk and the effort of dashing off to another city for some sex and sightseeing. I could believe he liked sleeping next to me enough to take the chance of having me stay at his place tonight or any other night.

But was what he got out of this worth over a year of career-threatening secrecy?

Doubtful.

I closed my eyes and just listened to him breathe, savoring his body heat and his soft skin against mine.

More and more, I had to admit to myself that if he wanted to play the long game, I was in. As much as I’d avoided relationships because I just didn’t want to balance love and the Navy, I was starting to think that maybe love had found me.

I just wished I could believe the man beside me felt the same.

CHAPTER31

CONNOR

As I was staring up at the Arrivals screen at the Jerez airport for the hundredth time, the status of Flight IB1091 from Madrid switched toARRIVED.

Excitement surged through me. I hadn’t seen my boys in way too long, and now they werehere. They’d already cleared customs, so all they had to do was get off the plane, get their bags, and come through the double doors.

My phone vibrated, and the text from Quinn had me almost giddy with excitement:

On the ground. See you in a few!

I had too much nervous energy to stand still, so I paced in the sparsely crowded hallway. I also checked the screen about sixteen more times just to be absolutely sure the flight really had arrived, and that I’d been looking at the right flight, and?—

My phone pinged again, and this time it was Landon.

Is baggage claim always this slow in this airport?

LOL It can be, yeah.

WTF? There’s only one plane. How long can it take?

Don’t ask that question unless you really want to know the answer.

(skull emoji)

I chuckled and pocketed my phone.

Passengers were starting to trickle out. First, those with only carry-on. A few minutes later, people started leaving with larger luggage. I craned my neck, peering through the doors and searching for three familiar faces. It would be just my luck their bags were the last ones off the plane, or something got lost, or?—

There they were. Backpacks on, suitcases rolling behind them, they strode toward the doors. When they caught sight of me, their eyes lit up and they waved.

I waved back, not caring at all if I was grinning like an idiot. I hadn’t seen my boys since I’d left Norfolk—hell yeah, I was excited.

Landon got to me first and almost bowled me over with a hug. Quinn was less forceful about it, but he still hugged me tight. When they’d let me go, I shared a gentler embrace with Savannah.

“How was your trip?” I asked all three of them. “Are you hungry? Do you?—”

“Dad. Chill. We ate in Madrid.” Quinn nodded toward the exit. “Let’s just get out of here.”

Fine by me. I’d rented a car for their visit, since the beater I’d bought didn’t really accommodate four adults very comfortably. It definitely wouldn’t have handled all the luggage.

After I’d paid for parking, we loaded up the car and headed out.

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