Chapter 27

27

“That’s Finn’s Infantry cord.”

My attention had been so intent on watching Garrett and Kira I didn’t hear Zane walk up next to me. Therefore when I jolted, I nearly fell off the step I was standing on.

“Whoa.” Zane’s arm hooked around my waist to steady me. “Damn, Melissa, I’m sorry.”

He had the wrong idea.

It had taken months but everyone except Zane had stopped treating me with kid gloves.

“Do you think I’m weak?” I asked.

“What?”

“Do you think Garrett’s unobservant?”

“No, what I think is, women confuse the fuck out of me. What the hell are you talking about?”

Since I was looking directly at the man I could confirm he looked confused.

“I think there’s a written rule somewhere that states the F-word can’t be used in a church,” I noted.

“Then it’s damn good I’m not in a church.”

He was technically correct. We weren’t in the church, but we were standing out on the large brick patio of one. But even if we were inside, I don’t think Zane would’ve cared. Something I’d learned about him in the last few months; Zane Lewis was who he was—period. I’d come to understand the man was not rude—he loved to the deep depths of his soul and if you had that love he’d give you the world. There was no denying he was sarcastic and obnoxious, but Garrett had been correct—that was his love language. If you had his love and respect, he teased you.

“I’m fine,” I told him.

“Prove it,” he demanded.

“Prove it?”

“It’s been twelve weeks,” he rightly noted. “I don’t think you’re weak. I sure as fuck don’t think Garrett’s unobservant. What I think is you took one hell of a beating.” Zane paused and narrowed his eyes. Maybe he thought I’d flinch or have a reaction at the reminder. Maybe the reminder clawed at his heart, and he didn’t like to think about it. But when I didn’t flinch or have any reaction he went on. “Something like that can fuck with you. Dig in deep and require work to get out. I’m not new, Melissa. I’ve seen men get less than you did that day and harbor that shit for years until it fucks with them, and they explode. So prove to me you’re fine.”

There was another example of Zane being Zane. Believing my mental health and well-being was his personal responsibility.

“Okay, Zane, how about this? Do you think if I wasn’t fine Garrett wouldn’t have already done something about it? Do you think Garrett would let me hide from him? Do you think he’d miss the signs when he knows what they are because he lived them?”

Zane held my stare, those blue eyes of his heavy with concern.

He wouldn’t give this up. He’d stand there all day until I convinced him I was all right or he decided I was hiding; in which case he’d continue to play the part of emotional support human and smother me to death with his hypervigilance. And today being a special day, a day that was meant to celebrate Kira and Cooper and I didn’t want anything to mar the beauty of their union, I had to put an end to this.

“Here’s why I’m not hiding or harboring any…well, I’m not hiding anything,” I started. “From that first night on, Garrett hasn’t hidden anything from me. Not his pain at seeing me in pain. Not his fear. Not his anger. By him doing that it allowed me to be honest about how I felt. I didn’t have to hide how scared I was, how much pain I was in, how angry I was, to protect him. I was free to share those emotions with him and let them go. And if Garrett hadn’t made it clear I was safe to do that with him, Cash did, Jonas did, Easton did, Smith did, Theo did, Kira did, and you did. So when I say I’m fine what I mean is I’m great. Physically, I’m healed. After years of missing Garrett I have him back. After years of thinking I’d never have a future that included me being blissfully happy, I’m now living it. I have Garrett’s baby growing inside of me.”

“I knew those damn Olympic condoms were novelty prophylactics and not meant to be used. Trojans—only Trojans.”

“I swear on all things holy you tell my child he or she is the result of a broken condom I will personally cut your balls off.”

“My wife has issues with women who are not her touching my manly bits,” he deadpanned.

“I have a feeling Ivy will make an exception.”

With a wink and smile complete with dimples, he said, “You might be right.”

I knew I was right, but I didn’t rub it in.

“Now, tell me about the blue cord?” I asked.

Those dimples deepened, then I followed his gaze to Kira and Garrett standing off in the distance.

“When Finn finished infantry school, Kira pinned that cord to his uniform. An outsider might see Turning Blue as ceremonial and it is. But for the infantryman, it’s more. It’s steeped deep in history and pride. Kira asking Garrett to wrap her brother’s infantry cord around her flowers is twofold—she gets her brother with her today, and she’s giving Garrett the honor of bestowing it on her the same as her brother did when he asked her to pin him.”

“That’s beautiful,” I whispered.

Before Zane could reply, a door slammed behind us. I turned just in time to watch Eric wipe his mouth off with the sleeve of his little-boy tux. I looked at Christian who had brown smudges all over his face, too.

“Is that chocolate?” I exclaimed.

Under his breath Zane mumbled a string of colorful words that really shouldn’t have been said anywhere near a church.

“Yes!” Eric chirped.

“Who gave you chocolate?”

“Cash is King,” Christian proudly told me.

I was going to freaking kill him.

* * *

“HaveI told you how beautiful you look?” Garrett asked as he walked me down the aisle to my seat.

Since he was a groomsman, and I was not in the wedding party—something that Kira had fretted about and even tried to change until I convinced her my feelings were not hurt—I got to sit in the front and stare at my good-looking husband in a tux. A sight I had never seen before and figured I wouldn’t see again for a very long time, so I planned on soaking up every second of it.

“Have I told you how hot you look in that tux?” I volleyed.

We made it to the front row, Garrett spun me to face him, and in front of Kira and Cooper’s wedding guests he laid a hot and heavy kiss on me that included tongue. When he was done he looked down at me, completely unrepentant.

“What was that?” I wheezed.

“Just want to make sure that Coop’s L.A. friends know you’re mine.”

My eyes narrowed when I asked, “Seriously?”

“No, Mellie Kate. Just wanted to kiss my beautiful wife.”

He was lying. Not that he didn’t kiss me often for reasons other than he wanted to kiss me. And he did this wherever we were and he didn’t care who saw. But there was some green tinging his eyes.

“I think it’s sexy you’re laying claim to your wife,” I teased.

“Tonight you’re gonna get an altogether different kind of lay. And you’re leaving those heels on while I give it.”

That worked for me.

“Stop turning me on while we’re in a church.”

Garrett brushed his lips over my temple, stopping near my ear.

“I love you, Melissa.”

“I love you, Garrett.”

I heard his inhale.

* * *

I heardthe horns start the wedding march and with effort I tore my gaze away from Cooper. The man looked positively beside himself with excitement. I’d purposefully chosen my seat so I’d have an unobstructed view of Zane walking Kira down the aisle. The violins joined the horns and the doors at the back of the church opened.

Kira in a traditional white wedding dress, holding a bouquet of white lilies, her brother’s light blue infantry cord a shock of color against the white.

Beautiful.

Understanding the meaning of that cord, more so.

Then there was Zane Lewis looking his normal cocky, handsome, badass self.

But there was something else.

Serenity.

And the closer they got to the front the more at peace he became.

They passed by me and my eyes went back to Cooper.

The excitement was gone. It was replaced with reverence. I loved how much he loved Kira. Actually, I loved how each of Garrett’s teammates loved their women—with wild abandon. They loved deep and hard and they showed that love openly.

“Who gives this woman to this man?” The reverend asked.

Zane cleared his throat then cleared it a second time.

“On behalf of the Winters family, I do,” Zane answered.

Kira slowly looked from the reverend to Zane.

When he had her attention, he dipped his head and whispered, “Keep rolling those dice, sweetheart.”

I didn’t know what that meant but Kira’s swift inhale meant she did.

Zane wrapped a hand around Kira’s hand holding her flowers and kissed her forehead.

I glanced at Garrett who was watching the exchange. I knew he felt my eyes on him when he glanced my way.

“I love you,” I mouthed.

I didn’t hear it, but I saw his inhale breathing in my words.

* * *

Two hours later Kira and Cooper’s reception…

Theo Jackson

I was doing my best to hide in a corner so I didn’t get pulled into the absurdity that was happening on the dance floor. What was supposed to be a choreographed line dance looked more like twenty people dancing to twenty different songs that the other person couldn’t hear. For a group of men who could stealthy move together in perfect sync they couldn’t dance for shit. Absolutely zero rhythm between the lot of them.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and mentally came up with a new excuse to give as to why I was not going to dance.

With a fake smile firmly in place I turned, ready with my explanation.

My excuse along with my smile died when I didn’t find a happy partygoer as expected but instead a woman who should’ve been somewhere in middle-of-nowhere Nebraska, or Georgia, or California. Where she absolutely shouldn’t have been was at Cooper and Kira’s wedding reception in Maryland.

“What the hell are you doing here, Bridget?”

Hell, that wasn’t even her name anymore.

“I need your help.”

Fuck.

Here we go again.

Silver Team begins with Theo May 2023

Available for pre-order now