He stood beside the table, going over the speech he’d prepared in his head. Man, this was more nerve-wracking than the time he and the guys at SSoF had had to defuse that bomb with just thirty seconds on the clock.
“How’s it look?” Serena asked him. “I can’t see it in the mirror yet.”
“Um, yeah,” he said, distracted. “It looks fine.”
“Fine?” She propped herself up on one elbow. “Sweetie, when a girl gets your face engraved on her ass, the last word she wants to hear describing it is ‘fine’.”
“It’s great. Awesome,” he said, wiping his damp palm on the thigh of his jeans. Damn. He was nervous as hell, which was stupid. He and Serena told each other all the time how much they loved each other. Hell, they’d bought a frigging McMansion together. This step should be easy-peasy. And yet, it wasn’t. Maybe because putting a ring on it made it that much more real.
Right. Time to man up and do it! The voice of his old team leader in the SEALs reverberated through Noah’s head, spurring him into action. Before he could doubt himself again, Noah pulled the ring box out of his pocket and went down on one knee beside the table, facing Serena.
“Sweetheart, I have something I want to ask you,” he said, swallowing hard.
Serena frowned, her gaze darting from the box in his hand to him. “Are you doing what I think you’re doing?”
“If you think I’m asking you to be my wife, then yes.” He raised his chin and opened the box with one hand to reveal the sparkling emerald-cut diamond set in platinum inside. “Serena Carson. I love you more than life itself. I love your intelligence and your strength. I love your beauty and your grace. But most of all, I love your kind heart and your generosity. If you would do me the supreme honor of being my wife I promise to love and cherish you for the rest of my days. I can’t promise they’ll all be perfect or that we won’t argue because, well, it’s us and we will.” He gave an awkward laugh. “But I can promise you that no matter what happens nothing will ever change how much I care for you and Gracie. You two are my everything.”
She blinked at him a moment and everything went still. Even Rebel stopped working, the whirring of his tattoo machine halting as he wheeled his stool back to give them a moment of comparative privacy.
Finally, Serena propped herself up on one elbow again, reaching out a shaking hand to trace her fingertips over the ring, tears welling in her beautiful eyes. “Oh, Noah. I love you too. And I’d love to be your wife!”
Rebel gave a whoop and Gracie squealed again from where she was playing on the floor. Noah’s heart soared as he took the ring out of the box and slid it onto her hand before kissing the woman he loved with all his heart.
When they finally pulled apart, it was to an aggrieved squeak from behind Noah’s shoulder. He turned slightly to see his daughter and frowned. “What is it, sweetie?”
Gracie banged two of the plastic ink bottles together, grinning at him, all baby teeth and drool.
“I should check on her,” he said, giving Serena one more kiss before straightening and rushing over to swoop a laughing Gracie up into his arms. “A dad’s work is never done.”
“Neither is a husband’s,” Serena said, beaming. “Have I told you I love you lately?”
“Not for the last thirty seconds or so,” Noah said, smiling from ear to ear, happier than he could ever remember being in his life, and it was all due to the two women right here in this room. “And I love you too, wife.”
End of Protecting His Kidnapped Family
Southern Soldiers of Fortune Book Two
Protecting His Pregnant Lover, October 8, 2020
Protecting His Kidnapped Family, October 15, 2020
Protecting His Beautiful Lover, October 22, 2020
P.S. Do you love hot blooded SEALs? Please keep reading for exclusive extracts from Protecting His Beautiful Lover and SEAL’s Homecoming.
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About Leslie
Leslie North is the USA Today Bestselling pen name for a critically-acclaimed author of women's contemporary romance and fiction. The anonymity gives her the perfect opportunity to paint with her full artistic palette, especially in the romance and erotic fantasy genres.
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BLURB
Clint Buckman, former Navy SEAL and member of the elite Southern Soldiers of Fortune, had one job: keep Tara Crumb safe. But when shots ring out at an environmental rally where Tara is speaking—and a bullet grazes her—Clint knows he’s failed. Guilt-ridden, Clint vows to make things right, and takes on a full-time post as Tara’s bodyguard. It isn’t long before he and his six-year-old daughter end up living in Tara’s house where he can watch over her. However, Tara’s smoldering looks are just too tempting to ignore, and it isn’t long before Clint’s resolve to keep things professional crumbles.
