“Nice to meet you, sir.”Chase held out his hand.
Alana’s father ignored the hand and addressed her.“Do you even know this man?”
“I do.He’s a former Navy SEAL.He’s going to work in Montana for a protection service.He loves to dance, and so do I.And he’s great in bed.”She squared her shoulders.“And he would never skip out on me with a wedding planner.He’s an honorable man who has vowed to protect me with his own life, unlike Vance.What more do I need to know?”
Chase’s heart swelled at Alana’s words.He knew she was saying them to stand up to her father, but maybe there was some truth in her words.So, she thought he was great in bed?The corners of his lips quirked.He fought to keep from grinning.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Mr.Neal said.“You cannot have married a man in less than twenty-four hours after meeting him.He’s a fortune hunter.A gold-digger.Well, I won’t have it.”Her father even stomped his patent-leather-clad foot in anger.“My attorneys will have the marriage annulled.”
“We’ve already consummated the marriage,” Alana said, her cheeks heating slightly.
“Then my lawyers will draw up the papers for your divorce.I will not have you married to someone I don’t approve of.”
“And how can you disapprove of a man you don’t know, Daddy?”Alana planted her hands on her hips.
Damn, she was cute when she was angry.
“Everything I’ve learned about Chase is good.He served our country, defended our way of life and left the military honorably.He’s a good man,” she said.“What has Vance done to prove his worth, other than have a high-paying job—a job his father gave him in the business that his father built?Vance never had to work hard for what he has.How does that make him a better man than Chase?”Alana gave her father one of his own looks, staring down her nose at him.“It doesn’t.Chase is a better man than Vance could ever hope to be.”
“You go, sister,” Gina said, and received a killer look from Alana’s father.“Really, Mr.Neal, Alana wouldn’t have been happy with Vance.You don’t want your daughter to marry a man who doesn’t make her happy, do you?”
Alana’s father didn’t look at Gina.His gaze remained locked on his daughter.“I don’t want any man to marry you for my money.”His gaze shifted to Chase, and his eyes narrowed.“I’ll give my money to charity before I let it go to someone who marries my daughter to get to my fortune.”
Chase’s body stiffened next to Alana.“Is that what this is all about?You think I married your daughter to get to your money?”He laughed, the sound jarring on Alana’s ears.“I don’t know who you are, or how much money you’re worth.Nor do I care.I have enough of my own.Money I saved while on active duty, defending your right to make as much money as you want.Defendingyour wayof life.I put my life on the line for you, Alana and every American because it’s what I believe in.I don’t want your money.I have my own—money I earned with my blood, sweat and a few tears along the way.I hope to use that money to buy a small ranch in Montana.It won’t be much, but it’ll be enough.Enough to live on, to raise a few horses and cows and, maybe, a family.I have an honorable job awaiting me in Montana.One that will allow me to provide for your daughter and any children that might come along.What more do I need?”
Alana smiled, her eyes glistening.“Nothing.”She’d only ever wanted a place to call her own.A place she could get to know the neighbors and establish relationships with people who didn’t work for her father.
“Hell, Chase,” Gina said.“You make me wish you’d chosen me.”
“Hey,” Carson cut in.“He’s married.”
“Right.”Gina grinned.“He’s married to my best friend, and I couldn’t be happier for them.”
“And right now, Chase and I are headed to the airport to return to the States,” Alana said.“If you’ll excuse us, we’ll be on our way.”
“Why are you headed to the States?”her father asked, his expression sour.“If you just married, I would’ve thought you’d stick around here to enjoy your honeymoon.”
Alana scrambled for an excuse that didn’t involve telling her father she had a death threat out on her, and Chase was certain to be killed if he met with the cartel leader.“Uh...We’ve decided we’d prefer to spend our honeymoon in Montana.I much prefer the mountains to getting sand in my shorts.”
“I’m not done with you, young lady.”Her father stepped in front of her, blocking her path.His bodyguard remained in the hallway, on alert and ready to assist.
“Daddy, I’m twenty-eight years old.I don’t need your permission to do what I want.If I want pepperoni on my pizza, I’ll have pepperoni on my pizza.”
Her father stared at her as if she’d lost her mind.“What in the fool-darn-hell are you talking about?”
“I’m going.And there’s nothing you can do to stop me.”Dragging her suitcase behind her, Alana dodged her father and headed for the elevator.
Chase started to pass Mr.Neal when the man shifted to stand in front of him.This wasn’t the best first impression a man could make on his father-in-law, but he couldn’t worry about it now.Not when Alana was still in danger.
Mr.Neal poked a finger into Chase’s chest.“If you so much as make my daughter cry, I’ll hire a hit man and put you out of her misery.Do you understand?”
Chase didn’t bother to tell Mr.Neal that all of Alana’s protestations were bogus and that she planned to ditch him as soon as it was humanly possible.Annulment, divorce, whatever it took, she planned to untie the knot they’d forged with tequila and good times on the beaches of Cabo.
He couldn’t blame her or her father for their skepticism.If he had a daughter, he’d be livid if she married a guy after knowing him for only a few hours.He’d be worried like Alana’s father that he’d married her for other than honorable reasons.
“Sir, I can assure you I’m not after your money.Your daughter is special.She’s a beautiful woman who deserves to love whomever she wants.But she also deserves someone who respects her and treats her right.I can promise you, I would never hurt your daughter.I only want to protect her.Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going with my wife.”He pushed past Mr.Neal and joined Alana at the elevator just as the bell rang and the doors slid open.He’d just promised Alana’s father he’d protect her.Hell, he’d already promised himself that he would.Now, he had to live up to that promise.
As he stepped into the elevator, he heard a shout from the hallway.“Hey, wait up.”
