Page 37 of Guarded By the SEAL

I smile to myself as I think about the woman I want to marry, who I hope I will end up engaged to at the end of the day. Once her old friend who she is now reacquainted with, Tessa, gives her the first clue.

“She’s amazing, Benji. At the moment, she’s working on getting the charity all set up in place.”

“Oh, yeah, for the trafficking victims. That’s really impressive. Tell me about what she’s doing.”

I don’t mind this. I could honestly talk about Petra all day long. “Well, she’s in the process of having her father’s house remodeled to turn into safehouses for victims to stay in while they get themselves sorted. She is recruiting therapists and specialists to work with people. Getting clothing donated, food too, essentials, things like that. And she is working toward getting private investigators as well… all for sex trafficking victims who need rescuing from their horrible situation. The only issue is Petra wants to save them all. She is dreaming big, thinking that she’s going to change the world. Only thing is, she might.”

“Yeah, I wouldn’t be surprised if Petra did.” Benji laughs. “She’s just that type of person.”

I nod in agreement. She really is. The Petra that I met was insecure and snappy. She came across as a rich, spoiled bitchbecause she didn’t really know herself. But now she is a force to be reckoned with in the best way possible. I absolutely love who she’s become. She’s amazing.

“I know. I think Max has been in touch with her as well about going into a potential partnership since the girls might want protection. But neither of them has told me about it yet. Probably so I won’t get in the middle of it.” We both laugh. “But I’m pretty sure that’s what they’re communicating about.”

I’m interrupted by my cellphone. A text message from Tessa to let me know that Petra is racing through the clues and will be with me soon. Almost instantly, my heart begins to pound and a strange nervousness settles over me. I might have been planning this for a while and I may even be very excited, but I can’t stop the anxiety from zig-zagging through my veins. This is it. This is the moment.

“Benji, it’s time,” I whisper. “I need to get in position and not lose my shit.”

“You have it all completely under control,” Benji reminds me. “This is perfect. Petra is going to love it. You look smart as well. There is no way that she won’t be able to say yes to you. Just have confidence. And remember, Tessa will be behind Petra and I will be in the corner as well. We’re all here to support you.”

“Don’t let me fuck up,” I beg Benji. “If you see things going horribly wrong, step in.”

He laughs and nods, taking this as a joke, but I’m honestly not too sure that it is. I don’t know what’s going to happen when Petra walks in through that door and blows me away once more. Sometimes, even now after all this time we’ve spent together, I can’t speak because of how beautiful she is. It strikes me, hitsme hard and almost knocks me from my feet. She really is an incredible person. Even more so now that she’s growing a little. Her belly is starting to round ever so slightly with my baby in there.

While I wait in my position, I dig out the ring box to take a look inside. I have spent weeks staring at this, knowing that it’s just right, but I want to see it one more time. A princess-cut diamond on a platinum band. Classy, classic, perfect for Petra. I can already imagine it on her finger and it’s awesome.

“This is what it’s all been leading up to,” I remind myself. “This is what it’s all about.”

It seems to take a while for me to hear the hall door open, but that might only be because of the nerves. As soon as that sound rockets through me, I rise up onto my tiptoes in a desperate need to keep myself remaining upright. I’m starting to freak out so much now that I might hit the deck in panic.

“You’ve got this,” Benji hisses his support over to me. “You can do this. Trust me.”

I keep my eyes fixed firmly forward, though, simply giving Benji a grateful nod, and soon, the most stunning woman on the planet waltzes through them. She still looks like a supermodel, like she belongs on some catwalk somewhere. I don’t think I will ever get over the fact that she’s mine.

“Harry.” She giggles as soon as she sees me. I can tell by the flush in her cheeks that she has thoroughly enjoyed the scavenger hunt of clues I set out for her, just to make this a little more fun. “What’s going on? What on earth is all of this?” She makes a sweeping gesture as she moves toward me. “Are you mad?”

“Maybe.” I shrug and smile. “But if I am, it’s all because of you. You sent me mad with love.”

She laughs some more while reaching out to softly touch my cheek. “Since when did you get all cheesy and romantic? I don’t know how to take this. It’s just so wild. So unlike the cold man I met.”

“I’m not him anymore, and that really is because of you. You changed me for the better.”

As Petra cocks her head curiously to one side, I take the plunge and drop down onto one knee. I thought that she might have guessed this is where today has been headed ever since she got that first note, but she gasps like this is a total surprise to her. A flood of happy tears fills her eyes.

“Oh, my God, Harry, are you serious?” she cries out, her voice thick with emotion. “This is too much.”

“I am serious.” I dip my hand into my pocket and pull out the ring once more. Of all the facial expressions that I hoped to see at the sight of the ring, Petra’s real one is even better. I honestly don’t know if I have ever seen her looking so happy. “Petra Robinson, I love you.” Oh, my God, I’m sounding emotional already. I wasn’t supposed to crack so soon. “I love you so very much. I don’t think that you will ever understand how much I love you.” I suck in a breath. “When I look into your eyes, I see our future, our family, the happily ever after that I never thought we would get but that we both deserve. We’re having a child now. That journey is already beginning for us, and I want us to scream our love from the rooftops like we should have just done from the very moment we laid eyes on one another.”

“Oh, yeah, because it was love at first sight,” Petra teases. “You were my biggest fan then.”

“Well, maybe not at that exact moment,” I admit. “But not long afterward. You shifted something fundamental inside me, and I just knew that I wasn’t going to be the same again. Now, I want us to confirm our love, solidify our relationship, and let the world know that we are a united front. I want you to be my wife.” Shit, I don’t know how much more I can say. I planned for more, but I’m all choked up. “So, what do you think about that, my darling Petra Robinson? Will you make me the happiest man alive and marry me?”

“Oh, wow.” Petra’s eyes shine with love. “Are you kidding? I would love to be your wife. Yes, of course, I will marry you. You don’t even need to ask. You could just set up a wedding and I would be all in.”

Actually, that’s a bit what this looks like, but our wedding is going to be even more incredible than this. She will see. When I think that Petra deserves the world, that means I want to give it to her as well. I slide the ring on her finger, then jump up to kiss her as my bride-to-be while our friends cheer around us. This is a beautiful start to our journey, and I really can’t wait to see what happens next.

Petra and I truly are forever.

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