“When you were home?” Laurie prompted, breathless at his personal confessions. The uncertainty in his eyes put a quiver in her heart. He seemed to struggle with the words.
“I’m no good at this,” he stated and jerked his hand.
She tightened her grip and held on, saying huskily, “You’re doing fine so far.”
His stark gaze bored into her. “I was never home, never quite managed to come home, until I came back to you.”
Though harsh with raw emotion, that simple statement slipped into her heart and lodged there. Extremely touched, her heart over-flowing with love, Laurie didn’t try to stop the tears that trickled over her lashes.
“Jesus,” he muttered, letting go of his wine glass. “I didn’t mean to make you cry.”
He stroked her cheek as she gave him a shaky smile. “It’s okay. I just—I love you so much. No one has ever said anything like that to me.”
He drew his hand back in a slow caress of fingertips on her skin. A warm glow spread through her, heart and soul. His slow smile lit his face and his eyes. She went mushy inside.
“Dinner is going to get awfully cold if we don’t eat it,” Damien said with a light chuckle as he topped off their glasses.
He lifted his glass toward her. “My family,” he said quietly. “It’s my only mission in life now.”
“Our family,” Laurie corrected gently as she clinked her glass to his.
He smiled again and Laurie locked her gaze with his over their glasses. He meant every word he said but she wondered if the adjustments to civilian life would be as easy for him as he believed. He was so determined to succeed that she didn’t want him disappointed. She wanted him to be happy. And that was all that mattered. But could he be happy without the SEALs?
“I can almost hear you thinking,” he interrupted her thoughts.
She swallowed a bite of sweet and sour pork and glanced at him. “Why were you gone so long? You said you’d only be gone a few days.”
Listening to herself, she winced at the question that indicated a lack of trust.
His dark eyes narrowed as he studied her. “Why do you ask?”
Shocked by insecurities she had not realized she had, she inhaled and took a long swallow of wine to fortify her courage.
ALWAYS A WARRIOR Patricia Bruening
108
“I missed you,” she admitted softly yet with a wealth of emotion that darkened his eyes as he read it.
Her breath caught in her throat and choked her but she forced herself to continue. “I started thinking that you might change your mind about me, about us. That you wanted to stay in the Navy without the complication of a family. That maybe you agreed to one last mission.”
Her eyes filled with tears again. The depth of her insecurities surprised her. She was mortified but she loved him. And, he was far too perceptive to hide the truth. But she smiled through her tears as she watched him across the table. “No one’s ever loved me. I was wrong.
You cared enough to come back.”
Looking stunned, he put his fork down and stared blankly at her. “You thought I didn’t?
Jesus, I asked you to marry me.”
“Look at me,” she uttered in a self-deprecating tone. “I would never inspire a grand passionate love in anyone.”
Understanding dawned in his eyes. He reached across the table and took her hands in his.
“You did in me,” he said with quiet intensity.
As his thumbs slid lightly over the backs of her wrists, the love in his eyes warmed her.
He could have any woman in the world but he had sacrificed his career and the last twelve years of his life for her though she never asked or wanted him to do that.
“I never thought of myself as insecure,” she said. “But I’ve never been in love before either.” She grinned sheepishly. “Part of me thought it was too good to be true. Stupid.”
“No, it’s not. I love you.” His gaze held hers for several seconds and he tightened his grip on her hands. “I will do anything for you.”
“I know,” she acknowledged softly, echoing in her mind what her heart already knew.
“You’ve done more than I ever expected or wanted. I love you.”
His smile put a sparkle in his eyes and lit up her world. She slowly pulled her hands from his in a gentle caress. The glide of his rough skin along hers sparked her nerves to life. She released him and picked up her fork.
“Let’s eat. I’m starved.” Hungry, she dug into her food.
With her heart soaring, she didn’t care about the cold food. She didn’t taste it as her gaze lingered on him. She could look at him forever and never tire of the image.