Page 21 of Married to the SEAL
The protection detail he was used to.
The relationship he was not.
Who was this woman he found himself married to? What were the circumstances that had brought her here, that had left her with a child to raise on her own?
Did she still have feelings for Nico’s father?
He wanted to know, more than he should have.
Wait until you’ve been sleeping in her room for a few weeks, listening to her breathe.
He could already picture her cuddled on her side, imagine the warmth of her body beneath the covers and the scent of her on the air. He reminded himself he was a gentleman—a red-blooded gentleman with one hell of an imagination.
Dammit.
Just knowing they were going to be sharing close quarters for such a long period of time made Grace an important figure in his life, maybe more important than any particular woman had been in years.
He dated, but he made a conscious effort to keep it casual, even friendly. And while several of those women had longed for more from him, he had never felt the same and they’d parted ways.
The reception was a whirlwind of introductions and congratulations. From Grace’s firm hold on his arm, he couldn’t help but wonder if any of these people were actually her friends. They all seemed to be business acquaintances of her father’s or politicians of some sort.
When they finally came upon a couple about Grace’s age, Matteo was happy to see the woman throw her arms around Grace with genuine affection. She was tall with platinum-blonde hair wrapped high upon her head, wearing a revealing gold spaghetti-strapped gown.
“I couldn’t believe it when I heard you were back here!” said the woman. “What happened to Switzerland?”
Grace flashed a quick look at Matteo, the brief exchange clearly telling him how hard it was for her to lie to this woman. “I met Matteo.” She introduced them. “We fell in love and got married.”
He took her hand, noting her cold fingers and the awkward way they curled around his. In that moment, it seemed like a miracle no one had jumped up and declared them liars, so obvious did this farce seem to him.
He looked around the room. On the contrary, everyone seemed to believe it.
Or was purely disinterested in Grace on a personal level.
The blonde was gushing her congratulations. This woman might be the one exception in the crowd, a true friend to Grace, and he noted how shocked she seemed at the news.
“I’m going to grab myself a drink,” said Matteo, trying to give them the privacy Grace clearly wanted. “Can I get you ladies something?”
He crossed the room to General Talia. “I need you to watch Grace for a few minutes. Don’t her out of your sight.” He poured himself a glass of water from a pitcher. “Everything going all right?”
“Yes. We have the exits blocked, three men on the hallway outside the nursery, another on the lawn outside of it, and two more on either side of the study.”
“The study?”
Talia’s eyes opened just a hair too wide.
Matteo lowered his brow. “Why do you have men assigned to the study?”
“You should speak to Vasile.”
“Not this bullshit again. You tell me.”
Talia closed his eyes for a beat, then opened them. “They didn’t just hit the nursery. The president found a note on his desk. I don’t know what it said.”
Dammit. No wonder he’d been feeling like he was in the dark. Vasile was deliberately withholding information from him. Abandoning the bar, he went in search of his new father-in-law, easily spotting him in the crowd.
“I need to speak to you,” said Matteo.
“After the party.”
