“You’re such an asshole!” She gave him a hard enough shove to make him grunt.
“Ow. What was that for? I thought you’d be happy. Would you rather I’d slept with them?”
“Of course not, but that was for letting methinkyou had. Couldn’t you have just come to me like a grown-up and explained? Didn’t you think I might understand? That I might not be any more eager to marry you than you were me?”
Something crossed his face that she didn’t understand. He looked a little worried. “Yeah, it occurred to me. But I wanted something final.”
“You wanted me to hate you?” He nodded. “Why?”
“Because I wasn’t sure I’d be strong enough to stay away from you.”
She eyed him, seeing that he was telling the truth. “You know, in a warped way that’s kind of sweet.”
He grinned, but then he looked at the clock and got the worried look on his face again. It was almost seven p.m.
“You expecting someone?”
“As a matter of fact, yes.”
He looked a little green and appeared to be sweating a little.
What was wrong with him?
She was about to ask when she heard what sounded like a drum. No, not one drum—a lot of drums. Followed by a bunch of trumpets and flutes and the unmistakable tune of Fleetwood Mac’s “Tusk.”
Oh my God... he didn’t?
She turned to gape at him, and he smiled sheepishly.
He did.
“A marching band?” she said with utter disbelief.
He shrugged. “I still have some contacts with the USC band. I had your friend Mac call one of them.”
The same USC band that had performed in “Tusk.”
Brittany raced to the door to open it and felt the chills racing down her spine as she was blasted with the sounds of at least fifty members of one of the country’s most famous college marching bands. Instead of Lindsey Buckingham on the vocals, one of the cheerleaders was singing.
Just say that you love me.
Just tell me that you’ll marry me.
Brittany was too overcome to notice right away that they’d changed the lyrics of the last two lines of the chorus.
John stood to the side of the door, watching her reaction but careful not to let anyone outside see him.
She turned to him wordlessly, and he gave her a smile so sweet and uncertain that she thought her heart might burst through her chest.
He was worried that she would say no because of what she’d said a few minutes ago. But that was because she’d been twenty-two!
Instead of putting him out of his misery, however, she arched a brow and turned back to the band. Most of the block had come out to enjoy the unexpected entertainment, and they ended up playing a few more songs. She went out to thank them before finally returning to the house and to a clearly crawling-up-the-walls SEAL.
She barely had a chance to close the door before he blurted, “It doesn’t have to be right away. I know it’s only been a few weeks, but I just wanted you to know that I am serious about this. That marriage is where I want this to head.”
“What about our jobs?”
He frowned again. “Mine is a little uncertain right now. Scott wants us to stay off the grid a little longer.”
