“Probably because you haven’t visited us in months,” Kyle retorted as he turned around and headed for the kitchen. “Want a beer?”
“Whiskey. And am I the last to know?”
“My parents don’t know,” Jamie said pointedly. “Neither does the brass.”
Liam arched an eyebrow. “They won’t hear it from me. When did you two become engaged?”
Jamie ran a hand through his hair and shrugged. “Thanksgiving.”
Some of Liam’s playful anger drained away. “Ah. Well, then. You still should’ve found a way to tell me, Jamie. Perhaps given your second a holiday and sent her my way. I could’ve introduced her to a nice SAS gentleman or two while she delivered your message directly into my mind.”
“She’s taken.”
“We like Matthew,” Kyle added as he dug through the refrigerator.
“Pity.” Liam shook his head, reaching out to grip Jamie’s shoulder. “I’m happy for you, Jamie. I really am.”
Jamie smiled crookedly at him. “Thank you. I wish I could have told you sooner, but you know why I couldn’t just call you up and announce it.”
“I know. Security and all that bollocks. My lips are sealed, but I better have an invitation when you set the date. Front row, groom’s side, thanks.”
“You’ll be top of the list after family.” Jamie headed for the kitchen, waving at Liam to join him. “Speaking of family, thank you for watching Alexei and Sean’s six back in February.”
“If it were any of mine that had gone through what they did, and they’d been sent to the States, I know you would’ve done the same. No thanks needed, Jamie.”
Kyle slid two crystal rocks glasses their way across the marble-topped island, the smell of whiskey reaching Jamie’s nose. “If you won’t take Jamie’s thanks, then you can take mine. You’re an officer, so remember your goddamn manners.”
Liam laughed, picking up his glass and raising it in a toast to Kyle. “I know better than to argue with an NCO. To friendship.”
“To friendship,” Jamie echoed.
“To you eventually finding someone to keep you in line,” Kyle drawled.
Liam made a face as Jamie threw back his head and laughed.
“I should send Katie back to London with you to get that job done,” Jamie offered.
“Please don’t do me any favors,” Liam said with an aggrieved sigh. “She’s frightening enough as it is and would scare off any viable candidates.”
“So glad you think so,” Katie said from behind them as she walked into the condo with Matthew by her side. The tray in her hands was piled high with cookies that immediately made Kyle perk up.
“Let me have one of those before Annabelle claims them all,” Kyle said.
“She and Madison were parking when we got into the elevator,” Katie told him as she veered into the main living area to set the tray down on the coffee table.
Kyle hurried after her, stealing two cookies and staying over there to chat with her for a bit. Jamie watched them for a couple of seconds with a smile on his face before he turned to face Matthew and offer his hand in greeting.
“Glad you could make it,” Jamie said.
“Happy to be here. My team’s stuck playing the waiting game right now. You know how it is,” Matthew said with a shrug, blue-green eyes full of amusement in his tanned face.
Jamie did, because he’d been involved in the meeting with the director to work out the ground defense capabilities in the Washington, D.C. megacity in case of an attack. So far chatter hadn’t spiked anywhere on the dark web, the usual precursor to a major attack. That didn’t really put the MDF and other agencies at ease. When the director had requested several Strike Force teams to be on standby, SOCOM had agreed to provide them.
With Matthew and his team having already assisted in the Arizona mission a week ago, they were a logical choice to assign to the MDF. That it gave him time to spend with Katie was a bonus in Jamie’s opinion. He liked the way Katie smiled when Matthew was around.
Matthew turned his attention from Jamie to Liam, taking the other man’s measure with a quick flick of his eyes. “Do I bow, or will a handshake suffice, sir?”
“Call me Liam, not sir. I never stand on protocol when I’m a guest in Jamie’s home,” Liam said firmly as he extended his hand to Matthew for a quick handshake.
