Page 4 of Forever Yours on Christmas Eve
“Deal,” heagreed.
After a quick order for refills, Kelsey dug for her wallet once more, only to have the man hold his hand up.
“Gina, can you put these on my tab?” he asked the bartender, who nodded once before turning away.
“Wait!” Kelsey said, watching the woman walk off. Turning back to her mystery man, she informed him, “I don’t even know you. You don’t have to pay for my drink.”
He seemed to contemplate the thought just before he broke into a grin, extending his hand to her.
“I’m Sev,” he said.
She couldn’t help but smile back at him. “Kelsey,” she said, sliding her hand into his. She had plans on giving him a firm handshake, just as her father, a two-star admiral, had taught her. However, the moment he wrapped his warm fingers around hers, the sensation that poured from his palm to hers was akin to an electric shock. She gasped quietly, trying to maintain her composure, and darted her eyes to him in response.
By the look registering on his face, he had felt the same thing.
Chapter 2
Sev
Sitting next to a gorgeous woman in a wedding dress at a bar on Christmas Eve was not on his bingo card.
Sev would have been an idiot not to have noticed the stunning blonde the moment she entered the room. The way the entire bar hushed was a good indicator to him that something was coming. But when she took a seat near him? He couldn’t believe his luck.
He hadn’t frequented the Second Call very often, given that he wasn’t off base a lot, but he’d discovered how quiet it was a few months ago when he was running things to his parents’ house for storage. It was a nice spot, out of the way. It had a lot of locals and people who mostly wanted to stay out of your business.
Yet the moment Kelsey had arrived, he wanted to know everything about her.
He couldn’t say how long the fight on TV had gone on for. Maybe an hour? Maybe two? Still, chatting aimlessly with her had easily become one of the better times he’d had in recent memory. He hadn’t spent a lot of time with women, even though there were plenty of them looking for Sailors at the establishments off base. Hehad dated a few when he first got stationed back home, learning quickly that they weren’t really looking for anything long-term. Or short term. Or anything past someone who just wanted a showpiece to parade around.
Which made him refocus on his goal of furthering his career. When he’d finally gotten the chance to transfer to the unit he’d been dreaming of joining since boot camp, he knew the opportunity to climb the ladder was finally becoming a reality. He was heading out on a mission in just a couple of days and, if he continued to prove how reliable and hardworking he was, he knew he’d be climbing the ranks before long.
First, he had to prove himself. Which wasn’t going to be an easy task, but one he was up for nonetheless.
“The winner, by unanimous decision, Reza!”
Sev smiled as he dropped his head, giving it a shake. From next to him, he could practically feel the reverberation as Kelsey slapped after the two five-dollar bills next to him, slipping them off the bar, and tucking them away in her wallet.
“Nice doing business with you,” she said ruthlessly, and somewhere inside of him was an urge to lean over and kiss the sass right out of her.
“I can admit when I’m wrong,” he said instead, holding his hands up partly to show her he came in peace.
The other part was to keep him from grabbing her, hauling her close, and never letting her go.
She grinned at him as she dramatically zipped her wallet closed.
A brief moment of silence passed between them as the TV changed to the next program. He watched her eyes drift to her empty glass, followed by a sigh and a complete shift in her spirit. Within seconds, he watched this bright, vivacious, spitfire of a woman become withdrawn and melancholy. When her sad, blue eyes lifted toward the door, Sev knew he needed to do all he could to keep her around a little longer.
“So, what’s with the dress?” he asked, giving in to his curiosity.It’d been a long time since he’d had a chance to talk to someone he actually found interesting. Besides, he was going to be gone for a good few months. Being able to look back at this stunning woman and the smile on her face would be something he could carry with him while he was away.
Kelsey looked down at herself, lifting her face to meet his stare and giving him a half-smile. Shrugging lightly, she said, “I called off my wedding.”
“See, I was going to guess that,” he jested, causing her to laugh a little bit. “The wedding dress gave it away.”
“Ya think?” she asked, looking down on either side of herself where this cream lace dress hung from her perfect frame. “I was just down the street getting it fitted when everything sort of… blew up.”
“Oh, now I need to hear this story,” Sev said, leaning his arm on the bar and getting comfy.
Kelsey rolled her eyes as her fingers fidgeted in her lap. “We never should have gotten engaged. We probably shouldn’t have been dating, if I’m being honest with myself.”
