“Yes. Please tell her I want a giant fucking diamond, or I’m saying no,” Aberlour answered, rolling his eyes.
“Will do,” Marcus said, though when Aberlour looked up at him, he nodded cheekily towards Oliver who was none the wiser. Aberlour just rolled his eyes. He didn’t much care to know who knew what. It wasn’t worth losing sleep over.
“Never figured you for the type,” Ghost commented in a low voice. He was looking at Aberlour, one eyebrow raised in surprise.
“To want a diamond?”
“To want to get married,” Ghost spelled it out.
Aberlour shrugged, and looked down at the ground, trying not to blush.
“If I felt forever about someone, why not? BBQ, ribs, too much beer, call it wrapped and done.”
“You’re describing a cookout.” Ghost frowned.
Aberlour shrugged again.
“It’s my wedding, isn’t it?”
Ghost shrugged as if he didn’t feel like arguing about it as he kept searching for the ring.
“And that’s exactly the attitude that will make you a bachelor always and forever,” Carlos laughed. He tsked and shook his head.
“We’ll see, I guess.” Aberlour smiled as he looked over at Oliver, but Oliver didn’t smile back. He just looked worried.
They spent two hours looking for the ring. Finally, Carlos found it only a few feet away from Caroline in the grass, its diamond shining in the fading light. By then, champagne had already been drunk, and neither the happy couple nor the secret one could remember the tension of before. Nor what it had been about.
It would be years later that Aberlour would recall that distressed look in Oli’s eyes.
Chapter 11
May 2013
Early on a Sunday morning in May, they were deployed on a mission that would last for the rest of the year. They were scheduled to take a cargo plane headed to the Yorktown Naval Base where they would then board theUSS Callaway. The Navy warship would be their “home base” for the next six months, with intermittent breaks to conduct land-based missions.
Organizing their gear and preparing to board the plane, Oliver and Abe seemed to be the only ones enthused about their deployment. The rest of Team Specter was either frowning or sniffling. Abe couldn’t blame them. They were leaving everyone and everything they loved behind.
Ghost’s jaw tightened in an effort to keep his composure as his daughter wailed from beyond the gate. His wife wasn’t faring much better, looking pale and stricken as she waved goodbye while seeking to console their daughter at the same time. Sabine, Marcus’ fiancé, waved at them with composed severity, though her eyes were red-rimmed and she’d lowered her head, as if trying to conceal her pain. JD’s new fiancé had not made the trip to see him off at the airfield, since they’d said their goodbyes in private. But the dark circles under JD’s eyes showed it had been very difficult for him. Other than Aberlour and Oliver, Carlos was the only one who seemed remotely normal, although his usual glimmer of excitement was noticeably absent as they stepped onto the plane. Unsurprisingly, Oliver noticed Aberlour’s scrutiny of their teammates. Nudging him with his elbow, he said, “Give them a few hours and they’ll be good as new.”
Aberlour just sighed in response.
The next few weeks were a whirlwind of training, briefings, and exercises with Green Berets and Canadian Special Forces. Every night, Aberlour collapsed onto his bunk exhausted and burnt out, unable to do more than wink in Oliver’s direction. Even though they had officer’s quarters this time, their stateroom had a three-tiered rack of bunk beds that he and Oliver shared with Ghost, which offered very little privacy.
Then Ghost got the stomach flu, and was sent to the clinic for IV fluids and Zofran, which meant—
“Fucking finally,” Oliver said, as soon as the stateroom door shut behind them and they had the room to themselves. It was midday, and they both had to report to briefing for a new mission in a couple of hours. None of that mattered though. Oliver pressed Aberlour against the door, grabbing his shoulders, fingers digging in hard enough to leave bruises.
God, Abe hoped he’d leave bruises.
They fought for dominance, Oli’s lips bruising his with desperation. Aberlour chuckled as he let himself be manhandled against the door, finding Oli’s enthusiasm more than flattering.
“I’ve missed you.” Oliver’s voice was muffled against his skin as he kissed the length of Aberlour’s neck.
Abe muffled a moan, the walls were paper thin, and the rest of the team was right next door, either napping or calling home. If they caught wind of this, Aberlour would never live it down.
“I need you,” Oli added with a smirk, as his hands reached beneath the fabric of Abe’s shirt and pulled it over his head.
There were a million things Aberlour wanted to say:You have mewas first and foremost.
