Page 47 of Burning for Him

He moved to stand in front of the closed office door. His heart pounded, and his mouth went dry, forcing him to swallow a few times, then clear his throat. “Just fucking do it,” he silently told himself.

Lifting his fist, he paused for another few seconds before knocking three times.

“Enter!”

He turned the knob and pushed the door open to find Ian behind his desk, scribbling his signature on the top page of a stack of papers. For some unknown reason, the man refused to have a stamp made of his signature, which would have been faster. “Got a minute, Boss-man?”

“Yeah, come on in.” Ian dropped his pen on the desk and leaned back in his chair as Doug closed the door behind him and took a seat. “What’s up?”

Despite the building’s air conditioning, Doug was sweating bullets, and nausea flooded his gut again. He took a deep breath and let it out before meeting Ian’s intense gaze. “I...um. Look. I know I got off on the wrong foot with you by not telling you Jenn and I were dating right away, but I want to rectify that in a way.”

Cocking his head to the side, Ian remained quiet.

“Um...” Fuck. He knew this wouldn’t be easy, but he just needed to spit the words out. Taking a deep breath, he released it and then blurted, “I want to ask for your permission to propose to Jenn.”

Silence hung in the room like a weighted blanket. Seconds ticked by while the two men stared at each other. If Doug’s nausea got any worse, he’d puke all over the desk. Not fun.

Finally, Ian leaned forward. “Tell me you didn’t buy a ring yet.”

What?That was the last thing he expected his boss to say, and his heart sank. The man was going to say no.Shit.“I...uh...”

Ian slammed his hand on the desk. “Answer me, tinsel-twat! Did you buy the fucking ring yet?”

“N-no. Not yet. I-I looked at some rings the other day but didn’t find anything I thought she’d like. Besides, I wanted to wait until after I spoke to you about it. Listen, i-if you want me to wait a little while longer, I will. But I love?—”

“Get up,” Ian interrupted as he stood and snatched his cell phone from where it sat on the desk.

Confused, he obeyed the man. “What?—”

His boss circled the desk and headed for the door. “Come with me.” When Doug just stood there, staring at the man’s retreating back, Ian stopped and glared at him over his shoulder. “Hey, doofus! Move it.”

Scrambling around the chair, Doug hurried after the man. He had no idea what was going on, and Ian didn’t seem inclined to clue him in. Doug didn’t catch up to him until he was halfway across the parking lot, purposefully stalking toward the apartment building. He followed Ian into the man’s downstairs unit.

“Boss-man, what are we doing here?”

Ian didn’t respond or stop as he strode down the hallway to the primary bedroom and disappeared into a walk-in closet, flipping on the interior light. Since he didn’t say to follow him in there, Doug stayed in the bedroom, more confused than ever. Against the back wall, Ian moved something on a shelf, exposing a scanner like the ones that opened most of the doors around the compound. When he placed his hand on it, a concealed panel in the wall popped open, revealing a large safe. He hit a bunch of buttons on a keypad, opened the door, and then reached insideto grab something. Doug couldn’t see what it was, but it was small enough to fit in the man’s fist as he shut the safe and put the panel back in place.

Exiting the closet, he stopped in front of Doug. “I know you love her. And I know you’ll take care of her and treat her like she’s the most cherished woman on this planet. I’ve watched you do that for the past year.”

Ian lifted his hand. In it was a red velvet ring box. When he opened it, Doug’s breath caught in his chest. Nestled inside on a white satin pillow was a stunning emerald-cut diamond and platinum ring. “This was Jenn’s mother’s engagement ring. Before the caskets were closed, I had the funeral home take it off her because it was what Lisa asked me to do. She and Jeff each gave me updated ‘just in case’ letters every year since Jenn was born.”

Doug knew what those were. Everyone in the military did. It would contain final words and instructions for whoever it was addressed to in the event of someone’s untimely death. Some members of the military wrote them, while others opted not to or had a will drawn up instead, depending on their personal preference. Doug had known a few Marines who thought the letters would jinx a mission or tour, but he had written one to his family and given it to a trusted teammate to deliver—just in case.

“One of the things Lisa wanted was for Jenn to have this. She doesn’t know I have it.” Ian smiled sadly. “She always loved trying it on while growing up, and Lisa told me to give it to the man who won her daughter’s heart when he was ready to propose, as long as I approved.” He handed the box to Doug, who couldn’t stop staring at the ring as he accepted it. “I approve, Doug. While I wasn’t happy about you and her in the beginning, you’ve since proven to me that I can trust you with her heart. You have my blessing.”

While blinking back tears that threatened to fall and swallowing a thick lump in his throat, Doug transferred the box to his left hand and held out his right to the man he would soon consider his father-in-law. “Thank you, Ian.”

Ian grasped Doug’s hand and pulled him into a fatherly embrace, slapping him on the back several times. “You’re welcome, son.”

Doug couldn’t stop the tears from falling after that, even if his life depended on it.

It was a beautiful, sunny Saturday as the boat gently swayed a few hundred yards offshore in the Gulf of Mexico. A mild breeze, the pink bikini Jenn wore, and the U of T baseball cap on her head kept her from getting too hot. After they’d dropped anchor, Doug removed his T-shirt, showing off his tanned, muscular physique. His blue swim shorts hugged his hips, and she eyed his taut ass whenever he bent over. Damn, the man was fine, and he was all hers.

Last night, when he asked if she wanted to go fishing, she agreed immediately. She loved being out on the water. Sometimes, they went out on Grandpa Chuck’s larger boat with family and friends or invited a few people to join them on theA Salt Weapon, but mostly, it was the two of them. One day, she hoped they could teach their children how to fish. Even if they didn’t catch any keepers or anything at all, it was still fun.

Over the past year, they’d talked about marriage and kids several times, but she never pressured him into proposing. She suspected that when the time was right, he would, but a ring and a piece of certified paper wouldn’t make that much of adifference to her. She already had everything she needed. Every day and night, he showed her how much he adored, cherished, protected, and loved her, and she returned each sentiment as best she could.

“Hey, Jenn. Put on a little more sunscreen. Your nose is getting pink.”

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