Everyone Loves a Hero Page 30

  “Be right there.” When Cole brought his eyes back to her, she noticed they were dark with fatigue and what might have been emotion. He kept them fixed on her for a long moment. “I’ve got to go.”

  “Okay,” she said, even though she wanted desperately to kiss him. Just once.

  He brushed his finger over her cheek in a gesture that left her breathless. “It was good of you to be here. I appreciate it.” He attempted the half smile she loved, but his eyes were sad, so very sad. “I’ll see you.”

  Heartbroken, she watched him walk away. For the first time, he hadn’t said, “next time.” She had poured out her love for him, but he hadn’t clung to her and professed his undying love the way she had pictured during the endless hours she had spent praying for his safety.

  In a daze, she walked through the deserted airport and into the freezing cold night to find a cab. Forty-five minutes and fifty dollars later, she arrived at home. As promised, she left the door unlocked for him, changed into her pajamas, and got into bed. She sat up all night, hoping he would come home to her. But by the time the sun rose the next morning, she had accepted he wasn’t coming then or ever. The scent of his cologne still clung faintly to her hands as she realized it was really over this time, and somehow she had to find a way to go on without him.

  ***

  Olivia decided to take her mother’s advice and threw herself into her schoolwork over the next two weeks. Her classes were interesting and challenging, her professors supportive and encouraging, and in her classmates she discovered a network of likeminded artists who made going to school each day a joy.

  Paolo had gone wild over her latest work and had reported the gallery was in full preparation mode for the Olivia Robison debut show.

  Her parents, her brothers, Jenny, Will, and Billy were all flying to San Francisco for her big day. She tried to stay focused on the excitement and not dwell on the fact that Cole wouldn’t be there, that nothing would be as they had planned.

  Fifteen days had passed since she had seen him, and all she’d had of him since then was the new flurry of media coverage that followed his latest heroic episode. Obviously, he had made his decision where she was concerned, and she was determined not to let it ruin her life the way her mother had let grief ruin hers.

  Someday she would find love again, and while it might never be like it had been with him, she’d make it work. With every passing day, she felt stronger and more determined to survive without him.

  The last day of February dawned bright and unseasonably warm. Jenny called as Olivia was getting ready to leave to do some work at the campus studio.

  “What’s up?” Olivia asked her cousin.

  “We found it!”

  “Found what?”

  “A house! Oh, Liv, it’s absolutely perfect—four bedrooms, two bathrooms, right in Del Ray. The neighborhood is full of kids and young families.”

  “I grew up down the street from there, remember?” Commonwealth Avenue ran right through the eclectic neighborhood. “I love Del Ray.”

  “I got the key from the Realtor, and I’m dying to show it to you. Will you meet me there? Do you have time?”

  “Sure. I don’t have class until later. What’s the address?”

  “Twenty-two East Custis.”

  “Thirty minutes?”

  “I’ll be there.”

  “See you then.”

  Olivia took the Metro to King Street and walked past her old house on Commonwealth Avenue. The new owners had painted the outside and put in some new shrubs. The place looked well cared for, and Olivia felt a twinge of melancholy as she glanced back over her shoulder for one last look. Despite the few highs and many lows, that house had been her home for a lot of years. But it wasn’t her home any more. At some point during the last month, her cozy little apartment had become home.

  She continued along Commonwealth toward East Custis, feeling the warm sun on her face. It could be months before northern Virginia would see another day as nice as this one, and Olivia planned to enjoy every minute.

  As she approached the corner of East Custis, she noticed a black Mustang GT wedged in between two other cars and was flattened by the memory of cajoling Cole’s keys from him in Chicago. With a look around to make sure no one was watching, she ran a finger over the bright black paint and gave herself permission to remember. Just for a minute.

  After a deep cleansing breath to absorb the memories, she took another long look at the car before she turned the corner in search of number twenty-two. “Oh!” she said when she saw the house. “I love this one!”

  The two-story gray-shingled house had a wide porch and big, open windows. A few years earlier, it had been completely renovated and updated, and she’d wondered what it looked like inside. Skipping up the front stairs, she turned the knob and found the door unlocked.

  “Jenny, are you here?” Olivia wandered inside, marveling at the wide, knotty-pine floors that had been buffed to a gleaming finish. She ran her hand over the shiny white molding that surrounded the living-room doorway before she continued on to the kitchen where Cole leaned against the counter drinking a cup of coffee from St. Elmo’s, looking for all the world like he had been waiting there just for her.

  “Hello, Liv.”

  Rendered speechless with surprise, she could only stare at him.

  Amused by her mute shock, his eyes twinkled. “How are you?”

  “What are… What’re you doing here?” she stammered, continuing to stare at him. He wore a faded denim shirt that made his eyes an even crazier shade of blue than usual. Had he ever looked so good? “Where’s Jenny?”

  “To answer your first question—I live here—or I will as soon as the movers get here with my stuff. As for your second question, I have no idea. Her job was to get you here. I’m not sure what her plans are for the rest of the day.”

  Confused, she tried to process what he’d said. “You live here? Get me here? For what?”

  “For this.” Putting down the coffee, he crossed the room, lifted her right off her feet, and kissed her.

  He tasted like coffee and toothpaste and, oh God, he tasted like Cole, and she couldn’t get enough of him.

  When he came up for air several minutes later, he looked into her eyes. “You have no idea how badly I wanted to do that the last time I saw you, waiting for me at Dulles with a pale face and big brown eyes full of love.”

  “Then why didn’t you?”

  “Because I wasn’t ready yet.”

  “Ready for what?”

  He let her slide back down to her feet but kept his firm hold on her. “I wanted to do it right this time.”

  “You’re making my head spin. Will you please tell me what the heck is going on here?”

  Laughing, he helped her out of her coat and lifted her onto the counter to put her at his eye level. Standing between her legs, he ran his fingers through her long hair. “Before I say anything else, I have to know one thing.”

  “What?”

  “Are you pregnant, Liv?”

  She shook her head, feeling the genuine regret once again.

  “We’ll have to try harder.”

  Shocked and still confused, she tried to get her head around what he was saying. “We will?”

  He nodded. “I wanted to ask you that so badly the night at Dulles, but I couldn’t just blurt that out like it was the only thing I cared about.” His fingers continued to spool through her hair. “I’m so sorry, Liv. I screwed everything up.”

  “No, you didn’t. I did. Everything you said about me was true.”

  “And none of it would’ve happened if I’d been straight with you from the beginning, so that’s what I’m going to do this time. The day after we got back from San Francisco, I put in a request to change my home base to Washington. I didn’t say anything to you at the time in case they said no. But they approved it on the first of February. I got busy looking for a house, hoping that maybe if I lived here, somehow, over time, I could make it right with
you. Jenny told me how much you love this neighborhood, so I focused my efforts here. I closed on this place the day after the Valentine’s Day near-disaster.”

  “I don’t understand. Why would you do all this when we were broken up?”

  “Because the woman I love lives here, and it’s going to take her a while to finish school. Since I couldn’t bear to live halfway across the country from her for that long, I figured I’d better do something about it before she slipped through my fingers and forced me to spend the rest of my life longing for her.”

  “But that night,” she stammered, “in the airport, you were so remote. I was sure it was over for good after that.”

  “The whole time I was circling that airport, all I could think about was getting through it so I could see you again. And then when you were there, waiting for me… What you said that night and the message you left on my phone… After that, I knew for certain I was doing the right thing by moving here. I love you so much, Liv, and I want us to date like normal people without all the pressures and drama of a long-distance thing. Can we please start over again and do it right this time?”

  She shook her head. “No.”

  “No?” he asked, startled. “You don’t want to date me?”

  “I do not want to date you.”

  He groaned. “Liv. You’ve got to be kidding me. I picked up my whole life, drove halfway across the country, and you’ve changed your mind? It’s only been fifteen days since you told me you still love me!”

  Right then, she realized the Mustang she had admired in the street was his. “Shut up, will you? Will you please just shut up and kiss me again, you big idiot?” With both hands on his face, she molded her lips to his as her heart did a happy dance in her chest.

  Between kisses, she said, “I want to live with you and marry you and have a family with you and share your life—all the things you said you wanted from me before I ruined it. So no, I will not date you.”

  “Well, you might have to for a while because when we get engaged, I’m doing the asking. You got me?”

  “As long as you make it snappy.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” He leaned his forehead against hers. “There was another reason why I wasn’t ready to tell you all this that night in the airport.”

  “What other reason?”

  “Guess what today is?”

  “Um, Tuesday?”

  “Even better. It comes around once every four years. Last day of February? Ringing any bells?” He let that settle for a long moment before he curled his face into the half grin she loved so much. “It’s leap day, baby.”

  Epilogue

  Olivia found a quiet corner in Paolo’s office and sank to the floor, her back propped against the wall. Sliding off the three-inch heels Jenny had talked her into, she stretched her feet and back, all of which were screaming from standing up for hours. The place was so packed she had lost track of Cole and her parents an hour earlier. Feeling overwhelmed and alone in a sea of admirers, Olivia had fled to the quiet office.

  That’s where Cole found her twenty minutes later. “There you are! Everyone’s looking for the art world’s latest sensation.” He had a bottle of champagne tucked under his arm. Sitting down next to her, he reached for her hand. “You’re a smash, honey. Paolo just announced that every one of your pieces has sold for the asking price. Apparently, there was a bidding war for one of them.”

  “All of them?” she squeaked.

  “Every one. I’m so proud of you and so happy for you.” He leaned over and kissed her softly. “You deserve this more than anyone ever could.”

  She caressed his face. “I’m so glad you’re here to share it with me.”

  “Where else would I be?”

  Amused by him, she glanced at the bottle. “So what’s with the champagne? I thought we learned our lesson the last time.”

  He toyed with her earlobe, rolling the diamond earring between his fingers. “It was all I could find, and since I’m one step closer to my dream of being your kept man, I figured we needed to celebrate.” Untwisting the cork, he let it fly across the room and sucked down the first blast of fizzy wine before he handed the bottle to her. “Madame?”

  She took a sip and gave it back to him.

  He rested his head against the wall and turned so he could see her. “How do you feel?”

  “Happy—really, truly happy. This definitely qualifies as one of the best days of my life, and you’re the one who made it happen.”

  “No way. This is all about you.”

  “This is all about us.”

  After pondering that for a second, he nodded. “Okay, I’ll drink to that.”

  She nudged his shoulder with hers. “We make a pretty good team, huh?”

  “The best. In fact, I was planning to do this when we got back to the Fairmont, but suddenly I don’t want to wait.”

  “For what?”

  Reaching into the pocket of his black pinstripe suit coat, he retrieved a huge square-cut diamond ring and slid it onto her left hand. “What do you say we make this partnership official?”

  Tears flooded her eyes. “Do you promise to love me forever?”

  His blue eyes went dark with desire and love as he nodded. “Forever and ever.”

  “Pinky swear?”

  He smiled and wrapped his little finger around hers. “Pinky swear.”

  She leaned in to kiss him. “Then you’ve got yourself a deal.”

  Acknowledgments

  I never imagined I’d have an idea for a book while sitting in an airport bar. While waiting for a flight at Reagan National with my husband a couple of years ago, I watched a woman run into the arms of an arriving pilot, and a novel idea was born—again in an airport. Yes, I do see the comedy: I, who hate to fly, writing two books that open in airports. Call it therapy!

  I’m blessed to be surrounded by family and friends who are incredibly supportive of my writing career. Thank you to my husband, Dan, a retired Navy chief petty officer, who filled in some of the pieces of Cole’s Naval career. My fabulous children, Emily and Jake, just seem to “get it,” and that means the world to me. My dad, the retired aviation mechanic, answered numerous questions and ran the scenarios with me. Thanks, Dad!

  To my pilot friend and former Naval aviator, Mike Deganutti, thank you for helping with Cole’s military career. To my “baby” cousin Jennifer Barrera: Olivia’s cousin Jenny is you, of course. Our 10 p.m. phone calls were a highlight of the baby years, and I never would’ve survived motherhood without the laughter. To my old pal, Lisa “Cat” Thatcher, thank you for helping me to navigate the American University campus.

  To the rest of the home team: Julie Cupp, thanks for the help with the Alexandria details, for allowing me to use Cupp Condo as Olivia’s place, and for once again chairing the character-naming committee. Proofreaders Christina Camara, Lisa Ridder, and Paula DelBonis-Platt help to keep it clean (well, the grammar anyway). To my most faithful readers: Arlene, Mary, Jeannie, Martine, and Lorraine, you ladies are the best. My mom had awesome taste in friends.

  To my agent, Kevan Lyon, editor, Deb Werksman, and publicist, Danielle Jackson, thanks for all you do for me. And to the readers who write to tell me they enjoy my books: you’ll never know what those notes mean to me. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. You all are the very best part of being a published author.

  About the Author

  Marie Force is the author of Line of Scrimmage and Love at First Flight, as well as Fatal Affair and Fatal Justice, the first books in her new Fatal Series. Of Line of Scrimmage, Booklist said, “With its humor and endearing characters, Force’s charming novel will appeal to a broad spectrum of readers, reaching far beyond sports fans.” Wild on Books said, “Love at First Flight by Marie Force is most definitely a keeper. It is an astounding book. I loved every single word!”

  Since 1996, Marie has been the communications director for a national organization similar to the Romance Writers of America. She is a member of RWA’s New Eng
land, Beau Monde, From the Heart, and Published Author Special Interest Chapters.

  While her husband was in the Navy, Marie lived in Spain, Maryland, and Florida, and she is now settled in her home state of Rhode Island. She is the mother of Emily, 15; Jake, 12; and a feisty dog named Brandy.

  Find her at www.mariesullivanforce.com, on her blog at http://mariesullivanforce.blogspot.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Marie-Force/248130827909, and on Twitter at twitter.com/MarieForce. Marie loves to hear from readers. Contact her at marie@marieforce.com.