“I thought so.”
“Thank you.”
He glanced around. They were alone. He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her gently. “Lean on me whenever you can this weekend.”
She breathed in deeply. “I’ll try.”
“And don’t ever change. Not for him. Not for anyone.”
This time she kissed him.
That was the last alone time they had that day. After lunch, Tegan and Wyatt arrived with a good chunk of SEALs, and it was Frank who was whisked away by his men. He caught Grace’s gaze as she swept her arms around her daughter, and then it was a few hours of beers and stories with a good group of young guys who cared deeply about his well-being.
“I don’t know if I appreciated your thoughtfulness enough before I flew out here,” he said gruffly. He hadn’t appreciated it when he’d arrived, either, but he kept that part to himself. “But this week has been good for me. And I’m already over my jet lag, which is quite nice.”
They all laughed at that, but he was serious, and he told them so. It was a day for gratitude, and he was taking that seriously.
But after dinner, when all the greetings were over, and the group was getting comfortable with each other, the solemnity passed. As the illusionist began his show, Frank knew exactly who to push up onto stage when it came time for the paintball trick.
“Wyatt,” he said, leaning forward to clap the groom on the shoulder as everyone gasped at Wick, juggling the paintball gun with those balls. “Put your hand in the air.”
“Sir?”
“Trust me,” he said quietly in the SEAL’s ear. “This is going to make Tegan’s night.”
Wyatt’s hand went into the air.Good man, Frank thought. He was going to make a good husband for Grace’s daughter.
Tegan squealed as the magician picked her fiancé to join him on stage, and she gripped her mother’s hand as Wyatt did exactly what Frank had done. He followed the man’s instructions, trusting that it was an illusion and nothing more.
But if the guy wanted to get shot, a SEAL would make that happen.
When Wyatt returned to his seat, everyone applauding enthusiastically, Grace shot Frank a knowing look.
He grinned.
After the show drew to a close, people drifted off in different directions. Frank headed to his cabin alone, but he didn’t go to bed. When Grace made her way down the path forty-five minutes later, he was waiting on their porch. “Did you like that?”
She stopped in front of him. “I don’t think I’ve given you enough credit for your sense of humour.”
He smiled faintly. “Maybe I haven’t shown enough of it to you.”
“Want to take me to bed and show me a bit right now?”
“Nothing I want to do to you in bed is funny,” he protested.
“I bet we’re going to laugh,” she said.
She was right.
