Page 102 of Keeping Guard

“I did.”

“For how long?”

He heard the tremor in her voice, knew she thought he would leave again. “For as long as you’ll have me.”

“Do you mean that?”

“Yes.” He rubbed his thumb over the top of her hand. “I’m opting out of the navy.”

“I would never ask you to do that.”

“It’s time. For several reasons.” He reached behind him and picked up the champagne bottle he’d already uncorked. “I have a lot to tell you. The first time I met you, we shared your champagne. Thought we could re-create that day a little.” He waggled his eyebrows. “If you want to really reenact that day, feel free to strip down to your underwear.”

She punched his arm. “That was a one-time show in public, SEAL boy.”

“Pity.” He handed her the bottle, then took his own drink when she gave it back. “I missed you, Peyton. So much.”

“If you missed me so much, how come I never heard from you? It hurt, that you could just walk away without a backward look.”

“You were in my thoughts every minute of my days.” He brought her hand to his chest, pressing it over his heart. “And here. You’re in my heart. You are my heart. When I left, I thought I had who knows how many deployments ahead of me. I didn’t want that for you. I wanted better for you than a man as messed up as I am.”

“Shouldn’t I have had a say in that?”

“Absolutely, and as for the messed-up part, I’m better than I was when I first arrived, but I’ll continue to see Dr. Meadows. In all fairness, though, you never gave me any indication you wanted more from me than guard duty and the tingles I could give you.” He smiled. “They were pretty incredible tingles if I do say so myself.”

“Can’t deny that. I wanted to ask you for more, to tell you that I’d wait for you, but I was afraid. You never gave any hint you wanted more, either.”

If she had told him she’d wait for him, at the time he left, he wasn’t sure it would have made a difference. He likely still would have thought he was doing what was best for her by walking away. Maybe he’d needed to do that for both of them to realize what they meant to each other.

He’d told her he loved her, and she hadn’t said it back. He thought she did, and he badly needed those words from her, but he wanted them to come because she wanted to say them.

“When did you get back?”

“Late last night. Jack picked me up, and I stayed with him and Nichole. We had things to talk about, like my new job.”

“You have a new job? Here?” There was so much hope in her voice.

“Yep. That make you happy?”

“So happy. What kind of job?”

He told her about Jack’s plan for the center for their military brothers and sisters, and his role in making it happen. The more he and Jack had talked about it last night, and the things they wanted to accomplish, the more excited he got.

He’d always thought they’d have to drag him kicking and screaming from his SEAL team, but a future he’d never expected and never dreamed he could have was his for the taking. A job that would give him tremendous satisfaction—one where he wouldn’t risk being the reason someone was hurt or died because of him—and a beautiful, amazing girl at his side. It didn’t hurt that she could brew some damn fine beer.

“That’s awesome, Noah. Not just that it means you’re moving to Asheville, and I can’t tell you how happy that makes me, but that you’ll be doing something that I think will mean the world to you.”

“You mean the world to me,” he said. “The days I was away from you—”

She kissed him.

Well, that was supposed to be his move, but he wasn’t about to argue with a princess.

“I love you, Noah. So much.” Then she claimed his mouth again.

In his mind, he sang Faith Hill’s “This Kiss.”

Epilogue