Riley pointed her finger at his face. "You'd better not. She's our new best friend, because she's sticking around, and you're leaving."
"I see how it is." Damon pressed his hand to his chest, feigning offense. But he was glad they had accepted Grace with open arms.
Riley turned and clapped her hands. "Okay, let's keep this party rolling. In the living room where it's more comfortable." She pointed as she issued orders. "Paige and Gabe, you guys get to share the recliner since you're joined at the hip anyway. Damon and Grace, you two get the love seat. And Daniel and I get the couch, so he can rub my feet while we play."
They all took their seats amid laughter. For the next hour they played games where they worked with their partner to solvea series of puzzles and riddles before the other couples. Then they played a newlywed-type game during which Damon and Grace had to do a lot of guessing. They failed spectacularly, but surprisingly, only a few points behind Paige and Gabe.
"Maybe you two should take some time to get to know each other better before getting married." Damon couldn't help teasing them since they had only known each other for four months.
"No way. The sooner the better." Gabe and Paige said in unison.
Daniel laughed. "Now, they sound like they've been married for twenty years."
Damon knew why they were marrying so quickly—because Gabe's mother wanted to see her children married before she died. But she wasn't likely to last long enough to see Grace married. If he wasn’t leaving soon, maybe he could change that.
Damon sucked in a sharp breath as realization hit him. He'd been contemplating leaving the Army to build a life with Grace, but he hadn't taken time to consider yet what that would look like.
Married. To Grace.
He liked the idea of holding her in his arms as they fell asleep each night and seeing her face first thing in the morning.
"Are you okay?" Grace whispered.
He jerked his head toward her. His heart rate spiked as he studied her big brown eyes and full, rosy lips. He was dying to kiss those lips again. But Grace had friend-zoned him.
"Yes, why do you ask?"
"The way you inhaled just now sounded like you were in pain."
He was. Every innocent bump or brush of her arm against his sent a little surge of desire racing through him. He wanted to pull her into his arms and share everything about his lifewith her. He was falling for her and wanted so much more than friendship, but he couldn't tell her. She would bolt if he did.
"I'm fine." He gave her a charming smile.
He refused to give up. There was something about Grace that wouldn't let him. So he would be patient and steady—like Marisol said—and hope he could break down Grace's walls. In the meantime, he'd make his intentions clear to Marisol and ask her permission to propose to Grace after he returned from deployment.
Then he'd make plans to get out of the Army.
CHAPTER 10
"Touchdown for YeeHaW!" Robert threw the football on the grass behind the ranch house, tossed his hands in the air, and did a silly dance.
Steven shook his head beside Damon. "That's such a stupid team name."
When the bachelor party started, they'd formed teams. His cousins Ben Young, Daniel Hamilton, and Robert and Jake Winters made up one team. Damon and his two brothers, Steven and Matt, along with Gabe and his friend and physical therapy assistant, Luke Morrell, made up the other team. They'd named their team the Vipers.
They’d spent the first couple of hours at the shooting range. Where despite Damon's flawless shooting, YeeHaW had cleaned up. His brothers were rusty, and Gabe and Luke had only ever shot a gun once or twice.
Now, they played flag football. The Vipers had redeemed themselves a little, but they were still down by seven points. Damon's competitiveness came out more than ever when he was with his cousins. He wanted to win.
He studied his teammates, searching for their strengths. His brothers were fit enough, but they were more the intellectual type. Being a Doctor of Physical Therapy, Gabe was also intelligent and muscular. His assistant was built too.
An idea formed as Damon recalled the story Paige told him and Grace last night while they helped decorate the rec center; about walking into PT one day to find Gabe and Luke having a push-up contest. If Damon could convince the guys to add another event to their competition, they might have a chance of winning.
"Burgers are ready!" Uncle James called from the back deck twenty minutes later, just as the Vipers scored a touchdown.
He and Daniel's dad, Zane, who was also the ranch foreman, had been tending the grill. Most people wouldn't bother inviting sixty-something-year-old men to a bachelor party, but since their wives were both at Paige's bridal shower, this was the logical place for them to hang out. Especially since Lottie, Zane's wife, had graciously prepared a plethora of salads and desserts to go with their burgers.
"Perfect timing. I'm starving." Ben pulled the flag football belt from his waist.
