His eyes widened, then he started to nod. "Yes, Sir. I mean, no sir. I won't say anything!"
He started to back away, but Drake stopped him. "Find me a bottle of bourbon, would you?"
Again, the kid nodded and backed away, then took off running. Drake smirked at his retreating back and moved to lean against the wall.
Within just a couple of minutes, though, the kid had returned with a bottle of Woodford Reserve and a glass tumbler. Drake's brows lifted in surprise. "Not bad, kid."
Drake tried to hand him more money but he shook his head. "No, sir. Thank you anyway."
The kid disappeared back down the hallway.
Drake had spied a balcony earlier that overlooked the courtyard and the wedding guests. At the time he'd thought it would be a great sniper hideout. Shrouded in darkness and blocked by boughs of pink hanging flowers, he doubted anyone would even see him up there. He had to do some finagling to find the way up, and he might have gone through a door marked private, but once there it was everything he'd wanted- dark, comfortable and had a view of the entire massive courtyard. Cracking the seal on the bottle, he took a moment to inhale. Oh, yeah, this would drown his sorrows just fine.
Izzy had been completely right to turn him away. He wasn't the man for her. If she wanted a quick fuck, yeah. No long term entanglements, definitely. And certainly nothing that could be construed as a relationship.
"I'm leaving any minute," he muttered to himself.
That was the thing about Navy SEALs. They gave everything for the job. Their lives, their bodies. No commitment superseded that. He had accepted a long time ago that there was no chance of any other relationship while he was with the SEALs.
Some of the younger guys had wives and girlfriends, current situation included, but Drake didn't know how they managed. The spouses had to compromise so much just to be with them. And if they had kids it was that much harder.
There were a few couples down there on the patio that seemed to be making the whole relationship thing work, but most of them had left the SEALs. Paul Brookheart, a former SEAL, had built a security company for the rich and famous. Morgan, his girlfriend, seemed radiant as they talked quietly together, sitting at a round table.
From this vantage point he spied his buddy Gabe Carter and Gabe’s girlfriend Julie. They also looked totally absorbed in each other, and the couple across from them. Gabe had left a few months ago to join the Lost and Found Investigative Service in Denver. From Drake’s position, Gabe looked and seemed completely happy.
Maxwell Tate, their former team leader, had left the team and joined LNF almost two years before that. His fiancé Lacey had helped him when he'd had a psychotic break. When Drake had heard about the incident he'd been sad, because Max had been one of the best. Seeing him now, though, as he chatted with Gabe, he looked better than ever, physically fit and excited to be there, connecting with old friends.
Seeing the couples below him gave him hope that there would someday be someone for him.
As if Fate had heard him, Izzy appeared beneath his balcony, Pepto-colored dress swirling in the mountain breeze. Leaning forward, he tried to get a look at her face but she was turned away from him. Another woman in a bridesmaid gown called her over and she sat down at a table. It was in a perfect location for him to watch her in the waning light of the afternoon. The women fell into conversation and at one point the brunette leaned forward to give Izzy a hug. Had she been relating details of the attack?
It didn't take long for men to start approaching the two single women. When guests had been invited Drake didn't think they'd taken into account how many more men there would be than women. It was a ratio of about three to one, and as he watched Izzy smile up at men bringing her drinks or just stopping to say hello, he began to seethe. He knew what those young studs were thinking and he wanted to go down to warn Izzy. Then his rational side kicked in. She knew what these men wanted. Hell, it was the same thing he'd wanted, a piece of her.
No, he wanted many pieces of her. And he wanted to breathe her in again. Actually, he kind of just wanted to talk to her again first. Although they hadn't talked much earlier. She'd seemed like a person that would be easy to be around. Non-judgmental. Well, beyond the 'you're not a good bet' thing. And he shouldn’t have grabbed her and kissed her. Besides being caveman-ish, it was a pretty aggressive move after the woman had been attacked.
Damn he was getting old... Was this insightfulness something new he was picking up?
Conversation was drowned out by a blast of static. The frantic wedding planner he'd seen running around earlier stepped up to the microphone on the far stage and called for everyone's attention. "Ladies and gentlemen. It is my very happy pleasure to introduce to you Mr. and Mrs. Tyler Cutler!"
Music pounded through the night and Drake watched Tyler and Kiko enter the courtyard area. They waved and laughed, smiling the entire time. Then they turned and kissed each other and the crowd screamed. The SEALs catcalled and as the newlyweds waded into the crowd it truly got a little rowdy. Tyler held protectively onto Kiko the entire time, though, as he accepted congratulations, and it did Drake's heart good to see his care of her.
Photographers circled the crowd, flashes going off almost constantly. The newlyweds waded to the stage and Tyler took the mic, looking buzzed and euphoric. "Hey, you yahoos. If we all sit down like good little SEALs, we'll be eating shortly." As he looked out over the crowd, he started to get emotional. "I want to thank all of you for being here to witness this amazing woman taking my name. I can't imagine not having my whole family here."
Tyler turned to Kiko and swept her into a kiss. The catcalls renewed even louder than before. Drake's eyes scanned the crowd for Izzy's mop of hair. Yep, there she was right at the edge of the stage. There was a thoughtful expression on her face, as if she were wondering if the newlyweds would actually make it, a thought he himself had had many times.
The rest of the women here were beaming, clapping enthusiastically. But Izzy looked somber and concerned. What was she thinking?
Before he could tell himself to do otherwise, Drake was out of the chair and heading toward the crowd. He didn't know why it was important, but a spirit like Izzy's should never be sad. Maybe he could make her smile again.
Besides, he needed to apologize to her.
3
Some inner proximity alarm made Izzy look up. Drake stood two feet behind her, ferocious scowl on his face. She drew in a breath and straightened her shoulders. "Yes?"
"Let's go get some food."
Izzy felt her mouth drop open a little. He'd just left her, not even half an hour ago, in a back room reeling from his touch. She thought that had been the end of it in his mind. Now, he wanted to grab dinner with her? Really?
