Today was going to be one of the worst days of my life. While Garrett had done his best to wear me out, I slept restlessly. I tossed and turned until I finally gave up. I left Garrett to sleep as I padded through the hotel suite. The sky outside was dark, but the first rays of dawn were starting to break through the horizon. I glanced down at the ring on my finger as it caught the light. He was right—fuck tradition. He didn’t need to ask because it was easy to guess my answer. Since Garrett had entered my life, my heart only beat for him. He showed me everything I was missing, everything I had given up for my father, and he made me realize that I wanted it all back.

“Hey.” Garrett’s whispered voice startled me as he placed a kiss on the curve of my neck. “It’s early.”

“I couldn’t sleep.”

Garrett must have noticed me studying the ring because he picked up my left hand and inspected it himself. “Do you wish I had waited?”

“No. I’m going to need this reminder too.”

“If it makes you feel any better, I told your father,” he said with a shy look.

My face lit up instantly. “You did?”

He nodded. “Yesterday, when you ran out of his room. I wanted him to know my intentions.” He brought my hand up to his lips and kissed it. “Do you wish I had gotten down on one knee? Said all of the words? Showered you with thousands of rose petals?”

“Do I seem like the type of girl who wants thousands of rose petals?”

He smirked. “No. But that doesn’t mean you don’t deserve it.”

“Your proposal, if that’s what it was, was totally unorthodox, but it was perfect.”

His brow scrunched in mock confusion. “Well, let me clarify.” Dropping to one knee, Garrett held my left hand loosely in his and looked up at me. He cleared his throat and said, “Camille Sorenson, will you do me the incredible honor of becoming my wife and spending the rest of your life with me?”

I couldn’t help the heaviness in my chest that existed in tandem to the emotions bubbling to the surface. I’d said I was okay with not having the words, but now that they were out, I couldn’t help myself. Tears fell, and my lip trembled as I answered him. “Yes.”

The biggest smile I had ever seen spread across his face, and he stood, wrapping his arms tightly around me and lifting me. “Thank you,” he whispered into my hair.

There was no point in trying to go back to sleep, so Garrett ordered breakfast from room service, and we ate it while the sun rose over Tacoma. There was hardly any conversation; instead, we spoke to each other with looks and soft touches. After breakfast, I led him into the shower, and we took our time washing each other.

“I’m sorry,” Garrett growled as he pushed me back against the cold tile and thrust inside me with barely a warning. This wasn’t the slow, methodical lovemaking from last night. This was fast and desperate, his last attempt to leave his mark on my body. Our last chance to be connected completely.

I had asked him earlier what time he needed to report to base. He responded gruffly, “They can’t leave without me.” As we stood in the shower, the water now lukewarm, his words replayed in my head. He wasn’t in a hurry. Everything today was going to be deliberate.

We dressed quietly and then headed out. He still needed to pick up his stuff from the guest house and then return the rental car before Palmer took him and Jackson back to base. It seemed like an impossibly long list of things to do yet, here we were, taking our sweet time.

“Listen,” he said, breaking our self-imposed silence as we drove back to Gig Harbor. “If something should happen to me, I’ve asked my brother Oliver to call you. And if you need something, or if shit gets too intense with your mother, then I want you to go to Healdsburg. Oliver is your family now, and you can count on him.”

“Okay,” I acquiesced.

“And I know this is probably going to piss you off, but I swiped your bank account information from a bank statement and had some money transferred into it. You’re not working, and I don’t know how you’re supporting yourself, but it’s important to me that you’re taken care of.”

He was right, that did piss me off. If he had asked, I would have told him that I didn’t need his money. The Sorensons weren’t billionaires, but my family did well enough. Even though I didn’t currently have a job, I had income from a trust that my grandparents had created for me. And I had plans to sell my condo in Seattle, which would also net me a hefty profit. But I wasn’t going to argue because that’s not what today was about; today was about relishing our last moments together before we were separated.

“You’re seriously not going to argue with me about that?” He seemed stunned that I was caving so easily.

“No, I am. Trust me, if you weren’t deploying, you’d be spending the night on the couch or at Palmer’s. You should have asked me first.” Garrett was driving, and I reached across to place a hand on his thigh, which he immediately covered with his own. “But there’s no point in arguing with you because I don’t want you to leave like that.”

Garrett picked up my hand and brought it to his lips. “God, I don’t fucking deserve you.”

When we arrived back at my house, there weren’t any cars in the driveway, which I took as a good sign. I wasn’t in the mood for confrontation. Garrett left to take care of some last-minute business while I did the only thing I could for him—his laundry.

I got lost in the mundane task of sorting his laundry, which put my mind at ease but gave me the perfect opportunity to reflect. In the span of two weeks, Garrett and I found each other and realized that our lives were missing something just like this: a whirlwind romance that ignited instantly and never fizzled. I had waited patiently for something just like love, but Garrett gave me more than love; he gave me forever.

There wasn’t much laundry to do, and between loads, I baked for Jackson. I asked Garrett to make me a list of things to send them a few days ago and already had a care package ready to go.

Garrett ended a phone call just as I was folding the last load. He took it from me and smiled thinly. Our time was drawing to a close, and I couldn’t stop the tears from intermittently streaming down my cheeks. I stood in the doorway and watched him pack up the last of his clothes. Then I watched him transform from civilian to soldier.

His uniform was laid out on the bed, all of the pieces neatly arranged, and his big, heavy boots sat next to the bed. Slowly, he pulled on each item, and I had to cover my mouth to quiet the cry that threatened to escape. This was my first time seeing him in uniform, and he was breathtaking. He looked so serious and powerful but also handsome. Finally, he turned and offered himself for my inspection. I pulled my phone free from my back pocket and took his picture.

I stepped forward and ran my shaking fingers across the patch with his last name stitched on it. It would be mine eventually.

“Camille Hammond,” he said softly. “It has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?”

I worked my bottom lip between my teeth and nodded, looking up at him. “Will you wear your service uniform when we get married?”

“Do you want me to?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. The question just popped into my head, so I thought I’d ask.”

“Well, if that’s what you want.”

“We have a lot of time to figure it all out,” I said casually, turning away. I couldn’t let myself plan for an unknown future.

“Hey.” Garrett grasped my elbow lightly and spun me back to face him. “I want to show you something.”

He walked me over to the full-length mirror attached to one wall. I stood in front of him, so small against his much larger frame. His hands rested lightly on my shoulders. “This is who we are now. A couple ready to separate, a couple with an unknown future. But that’s not who we will always be, Cami. So, I want you to let yourself dream, okay? If you want me to wear my service uniform on the day I become your husband, then I’ll wear it. If you just want a civil ceremony, then that’s what I want too. But don’t be afraid to think about the future.”

“I don’t deserve you,” I said, echoing his words.

“We deserve each other,” he whispered.

For what seemed like forever, we stood in front of that mirror. He made me whole, completed me in a way I didn’t think was possible. But until he came into my life, I hadn’t realized that something was missing. Him.

Garrett cleared his throat and released his hold on me. The clock was ticking, and we didn’t have much time left before he had to report to base.

“Come on,” he said quietly. “Let’s get this over with.”

He loaded his rental car with his large duffel bag, and we drove silently to Palmer’s house. Jackson looked equally impressive as he walked out the front door. He was lighter than Garrett with his sandy blond hair and blue eyes. He was clean-shaven, which gave him a baby face and made me realize how much younger he was than Garrett.

“Man, it’s about time you shaved all of that shit off your face,” Jackson teased, pointing at Garrett’s smooth cheeks. “I have no idea how Cami could stand kissing you with all of that crap. You must have given her rug burns.”

“That’s none of your business, asshole. Let’s get on the road. The sooner we get to that hellhole, the sooner we can leave.” I giggled with delight at their playful teasing. I glanced over at Palmer, who just stood in the front doorway watching them.

“You’re going to miss it, aren’t you?” I asked, walking up to him.

“I’ll miss them.” He lifted his chin in their direction. “They’ll always be my brothers. But I won’t miss being in the Army. It did me some good, but it didn’t turn me into the man I wanted to become.”

“Who did you want to become?”

“Someone worthy of you.”

He brushed past me, leaving me standing on the front porch of his house completely stunned. I watched him greet Jackson and Garrett like a brother, and I wondered if they would all be together again after this. Palmer turned back to me with longing and disappointment in his eyes. I hoped he would eventually move on from his unrequited feelings and find someone worthy of him.