Chapter 65

Peyton curled up in a corner of the couch, cell phone to her ear, smiling.
"So you like it?" she asked Grace.
"Like it?" The woman's voice practically shrieked in her ear. "I love it. My god, Peyton, I think this is going to be the best thing you've ever done. Maybe I should send all my authors for a month at a cabin in the Maine woods."
Peyton laughed. "First of all, it was a cottage. Secondly, it was at a lake, not in the woods."
"Close enough. Someday, you'll have to tell me what it was that flipped your switch up there."
Maybe, maybe not. Dixon Amendola was a memory she would hug close to herself, her thoughts and feelings confined in her own private world. She knew she'd never see him again. He'd made it very plain before their very first kiss that anything permanent was not happening. The SEALs were his life, and although other men had combined the dedication with family, apparently Dix didn't feel he could take the chance.
That was okay. She'd taken all her thoughts and feelings and emotions, everything from those exquisite nights they'd spent together, and put it into her new novel. She wrote about a man who thought his commitment to his country left him no room for love and a woman who had no idea what the real meaning of love was. Then they met, and magic happened between them.
The story flowed easily because, for the very first time in her life, she knew what real love was. It was her story, hers and Dix's. One thing was pretty much for sure. She'd never find another man like him. If that meant she stayed single forever, well, at least she had her memories. At least, on paper, she could give it a happy ending.
"Hey, Peyton." Grace's voice sounded in her ear. "You still there? Did I lose you?"
Peyton gave herself a mental shake. "Sorry. I think the signal dropped for a minute. I'm still here."
"When do you think you'll have it finished? Seven chapters only whets my appetite for it. I'd like to get it on the spreadsheet and set a release date."
"Give me a month," Peyton told her. "Maybe six weeks. It's going to be my total focus until I finish it."
"Good. Good, good, good."
Peyton could imagine Grace rubbing her hands.
"Keep me up on your progress."
"Will do."
She disconnected the call, held the phone in her hand for a moment then scrolled through her saved messages until she found the one she wanted.
"Back in VA. Mission successful. Everyone safe. D."
She was relieved to know he was safe. All of them were safe, and the mission had been a success. She had prayed every day and night until she'd received that message. She couldn't count the number of times she'd pulled up the pictures of him, studying them until she was sure they were burned into her brain. She'd also sent them to her computer and her tablet. She wasn't taking any chances on losing them.
Sighing, she put the phone down and headed into the kitchen to get a cold drink. The morning air was still cool, pleasant enough that she had set up her laptop on the patio. She figured if she recreated the outdoor situation she'd had in Maine, she wouldn't lose the inspiration that was driving what, as Grace had said, would be her best work yet.
As she approached the kitchen, her cell phone rang. She looked at the readout, and her heart practically stopped. All her breath backed up in her throat.
Dix!
Calling me!
Her hands shook as she pressed Accept.
"H-hello?"
"Morning." His voice still had that deep sound like warm molasses sliding down her skin. "Did I get you at a bad time?"
"B-bad? Uh, n-no." Lordy. She was stammering like a shy schoolgirl. "No, this is a good time. Fine. Great, even."
Good lord, Peyton, get your act together.
"You got my text?" he asked.
"I did. Thank you for sending it. I worried about you. And the others, too."
"Piece of cake," he told her.
She was sure it was a lot more than that, but she'd been relieved to get the news. She knew how badly Dix needed to lay his ghosts to rest.
"So, um, how are you?" Oh, great, Peyton. Smooth talking much?
"I'm great. Terrific, actually." He paused. "I'd like to see you again. I mean, if that's okay with you."
If it was okay with her? Holy shit! It was way more than okay. "I'd like that, too. When would you like to do that?"
"How about right now?"
Right now?
"Right now?" she squeaked.
"All you have to do is open your door."
Ohmigod!
She looked through the peephole and, sure enough, there he was.
Ohmigod!
That seemed to be the only phrase her mind could come up with. Her hands shook as she flipped the deadbolt and the safety lock and pulled the door open. And there he was, in all his masculine glory. Today, he wore neatly pressed black slacks and a light-blue long-sleeved collared shirt with the sleeves rolled up to expose his muscular forearms. Arms that had held her tight to his hard, sculpted body. Her knees suddenly went so weak she wasn't sure she'd be able to stand. She opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out.
He laughed, that familiar rusty sound. "Think you might invite me in?"
"Oh. Yes. Of course."
She stepped back, and Dix moved inside, closing the door behind him.
"I can't wait any longer," he said, and, without another word, pulled her into his arms and kissed the life out of her. His mouth was firm on hers, his tongue forcing her lips open before it swept inside. He licked and tasted, sucked and drank until what little breath she had left her. Her head swam, and, if Dix had not been holding her, she was sure she'd have fallen.
Finally, he lifted his head, brushed his mouth over hers once then swung her up in his arms. He carried her into the living room and sat down on the couch, arranging her on his lap.
"I missed you," he told her. "I couldn't believe how much."
"I missed you, too," she whispered, almost afraid to tell him. She had no idea what was going on here.
"I made some decisions after the mission." He cupped her chin and turned her face to his. "But a lot of it depends on you."
"On me?" she squeaked.
"Uh-huh." The smile faded, replaced by a serious expression. "I was convinced I only had room in my life for the SEALs. That this would be the rest of my life, and it left no place for anything else." He paused "But...."
"But?" she prompted.
"But then I met you, and you showed me there could be so much more." He stroked her cheek lightly. "I'm looking at forty, Peyton, and I discovered I want to make major changes in my life. I want to share my life with you."
Peyton stared at him, her heart practically stopped. "Me?"
"If you'll have me."
"But...what about the SEALs? You said - "
"I said a lot of things, but I discovered there are other options. Let me tell you what some other former SEALs have done."
Still holding her on his lap, he told her about G.A.P.S., how he'd learned about them, and how, when he came back from his mission, he'd reached out to Zane Alexander. How they were building this agency, and they wanted him to join them.
"They're based right here in Virginia Beach," he said, "so, at least until they expand, we'd need to live here. Would you mind moving later on?"
"Of course not." She was surprised to discover she spoke the truth. Home would be wherever Dix was. "I can live any place I can plug in my computer."
"Maybe I should have asked you this first." He lifted her off his lap, settled her on the couch, pulled something from his slacks pocket, and went down on one knee.
"Ohmigod!" Peyton pressed her hand to her heart. "Just...ohmigod!"
Dix gave her his hundred-watt smile. "Peyton Gerard, you snuck up on me and turned my life upside down. It's the best thing that ever happened to me. It took almost walking away from you to make me realize that I am totally and completely in love with you. So, will you put me out of my misery and marry me?"
"Yes." She was laughing and crying at the same time. "Yes, I'll marry you. I love you, too. And I'll live with you any place you want to."
He blew out a breath, opened the box, and took out a gorgeous square-cut solitaire diamond.
"You taught me there was more to life than war," he told her. "I want to live that life with you forever." And he slid the ring onto her finger.
Then he stood and swept her up in his arms again.
"Which way is the bedroom? I think we need to celebrate this properly."
She pointed to the short hallway. "Last door on the right."
As she clung to his hard body, inhaling his masculine scent that woke up all her senses, she had one last thought.
I'm going to get my happy ending after all.