Page 12 of Forever Yours on Christmas Eve
“Can you blame me?” he asked, shaking his head at his moniker. “I was named after my great-grandfather. I sound a thousand years old.”
“You do not,” she said, struggling to hold in a laugh around him. She marveled at the idea that this incredibly fun guy was standing here, spending his free time with her. Which got her thinking. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t realize I was taking you away from your family tonight.”
“No worries,” he said, casting his glance around them. “They don’t live far from here, and we’ve still got tonight and tomorrow morning to celebrate together.”
“Still, you didn’t expect to have to babysit a runaway bride tonight,” she insisted.
But to her surprise, his face turned serious as he took steps towards her. Sliding his hands on her hips, just under her puffer coat hemline, and directly on the wedding dress she’d never be married in.
“I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.”
Kelsey closed her eyes, sliding her hands to his barely stubbly cheeks as she felt his forehead touch hers. “That’s seriously the sweetest thing anyone’s ever said to me.”
“That factors into our date evaluation, you know,” he said, pulling another smile out of her. “So, moment of truth. How would you rate it?”
Kelsey knew when she opened her eyes, she was going to be met with a grin that mirrored her own. “Five stars. Would absolutely recommend.”
“Good,” he said, his face relaxing just slightly intoa gorgeous smile, just for her. “Glad we were able to turn this night into something other thanthe day you came to your senses and left Chip in the dust.”
“We absolutely did,” she confirmed, sliding her hands to his upper arms and sighing. “I don’t know what I would have done without you tonight. Thanks for being there.”
“It’s been a pleasure,” he said, making Kelsey’s heart drop just slightly.
“I wish it didn’t have to end,” she said. She wasn’t sure why she said it, except that it was in her heart.
“I know,” he said, stroking an errant hair from her face, one that had undoubtedly tumbled down from her once pristine updo. “Me too.”
Kelsey closed her eyes, turned her head, and snuggled into his chest. She felt his arms come up around her just as she wrapped hers around his middle. Just like they’d been on the bike, but in a hug this time.
“But there are all the reasons in the world why that’s a bad idea,” he said with a thread of sadness in his voice. “I’m deploying in two days, and I’ve got no idea when I’ll be back. It could be weeks, it could be months. Trust me, that kind of life does not foster a healthy relationship.”
“Nope, they don’t,” she agreed, remembering the stories her father and all of his bachelor friends had told of their time in the Navy. The fact remained that if you wanted a relationship, you needed to care and nurture it. Some folks were better at distance than others.
“And you were just engaged this morning,” he said, chuckling. Truly, it was absurd. If anyone had told her she’d be hugging this wall of a man she’d met at a bar who just drove her home on a motorcycle after she’d broken up with her fiancé, she wouldn’t have believed it. No way, no how.
Yet, she couldn’t recall a time she’d been happier than tonight.
“Do me a favor,” he said, tightening his grip slightly on her beforehe relaxed back. “Promise me you’re going to take some time for yourself. Rediscover what it is to be just Kelsey, the fantastic, fun woman I met tonight. Take a look at what makes your heart happy, and what drives your dreams. Then, run full-force in those directions.”
“I will,” she said, nodding into his chest as she felt sadness well up in her eyes. “But you have to promise me something too.”
“Anything,” he said, pulling back from their embrace so that he could see her face. She smiled up at him, sadly, palming his cheek and holding his gaze.
“Promise me you’re going to be careful, wherever you’re going.” Her father, while dialing down a lot of his missions, did have to travel from time to time. Some trips were more worrying than others. “You’ve got a lot of people back here who care about you.”
Sev broke into an endearing smile, fully grasping her sentiment. He covered her hand with his, turning his head quickly and dropping a sweet kiss on her palm. “Does that mean you’ll give me your number?”
“Only if you promise you’ll take care.”
“Done,” he said, without hesitation. They let go of one another to fish out their respective phones, Kelsey punching in his number so that she could send him a text with her own.
She hated hearing his phone vibrate upon receiving it. It meant they really had run out of reasons to linger in one another’s company any longer. Sev had to go be with his family, and she had a lot of explaining to do with her own.
“Alright, I’d better be off,” Sev finally said, pocketing his phone, still not moving away.
“Thank you again,” she said, tossing all reason to the wind and wrapping her arms around his neck. He pulled her in tight for a hug that spoke what she couldn’t seem to verbalize. How grateful she was to him. How glad she’d gotten to know him. How she feared for him.
How she wished they could have met any other time than right now.
