Ophelia pulled back and looked at him. “We’re going on board?” She’s suspected Vinny of having a plan up his sleeve, but a Christmas Eve cruise in lieu of the usual SEAL team party surpassed her wildest expectations.
“I hope you don’t mind. I took the liberty of making reservations. DeInnocentis, party of two,” he told the booth attendee, who handed him their tickets.
“Oh, Vinny.” The last time they’d taken this particular cruise together, he had proposed to her, going down on one knee in front of guests and crew. That had been the best night of her life. “You shouldn’t have,” she pretended to scold while inwardly celebrating.
“Well, it’s too late to cancel now,” he reasoned, hustling her up the gang plank to the first deck.
The night of his proposal, they had sat with a large group of people unknown to them. Tonight, the hostess led them to a table for two, right next to the window. Vinny pulled her chair out and Ophelia sank into it, her heart clutching at the sight of a rose bouquet and a bottle of champagne. Tears of gratitude stung her eyes. After all she’d done to sabotage their marriage, he still wanted her back.
The hostess expertly opened the bottle and poured them each a glass of chilled, bubbly liquid, wished them a romantic evening, and walked away. Ophelia peeked outside, watching the crew free the cruise ship from its moorings. In the next instant, a whistle sounded and the ship powered into the moonlit river.
She sat back in her chair and looked at him. She might have been the catalyst behind Jay Rawlings’ indictment on kidnapping and murder charges and his immediate removal from the list of vice presidential candidates, but she had put her husband through hell and nearly destroyed everything precious to both of them in the process.
With her eyes, she sought to convey how sorry she was for putting him through the wringer. Holding her eyes, he sent her a pained smile.
The waitress laid an appetizer of shrimp cocktail before them, but it remained untouched as they nursed their champagne. Vinny struck her as oddly quiet—nervous, almost.
“The guys on the team made you somethin’ for Christmas,” he suddenly recollected. Pulling his cell phone from his jacket, he accessed an app and handed it across the table to her. “It’s a video,” he explained at her puzzlement. “Hit play.”
Bemused, Lia tapped the triangle, and the video began. A scene opened onto four of Vinny’s teammates sitting around a bonfire—Chief Harlan and three more men. The camera zeroed in on Harley, whose bright blue eyes reflected the firelight. “So, Lia,” he said, addressing her directly, “we’re having this pow-pow because we want you to know how much you mean to us and to Vinny. It’s true that we don’t always see eye to eye. You get him into trouble now and then and you take him away from us when we want to hang out.”
Haiku, a Japanese-American SEAL leaned in. “And I’ll never forgive you for spilling your beer on my pool table.”
“Right. But we want you to know that we think you’re pretty cool, otherwise,” chimed in Teddy, the only African-American SEAL in Team Twelve. “And without you in his life, Vinny is pretty damn useless to us. He’s a liability to the team and he’s no fun to hang around with, anyway.”
“Yeah, so we need you to forgive him for whatever he’s done and come back to him,” Haiku added.
“We’re begging you, Lia,” Chief Harlan pleaded. “And you know how hard it is for us to be humble. So, Merry Christmas, and here’s to a better year next year with you and Vinny back together.”
The cameraman gave a thumbs up, making Ophelia suspect that Vinny had been the one filming them. “You set that up,” she accused.
“Nope, that was Senior Chief. The video was totally their idea.”
His assertion brought a lump to her throat. She shook her head and heaved a sigh.
“What’sa matter, baby?” Vinny reached across the table and caught her hand. The warmth of his touch, his tenderness, made her want to throw herself onto his lap.
“You didn’t tell them why I left,” she pointed out. “They thought it was something you did.”
He shrugged his shoulders. “It’s none of their business.”
Again, he’d covered for her. “I still don’t deserve you,” she realized, blinking back tears of frustration.
“Don’t say that,” he insisted, sounding suddenly agitated. “I need you in my life. I can’t do this without you.”
His heartfelt words encouraged her. “I’ve been working really hard to be a wife you can be proud of,” she volunteered through a tight throat.