Lincoln doesn’t have much to say as he checks us into the hotel. In all honesty, he’s taking the news of what his brother did all those years ago better than I could’ve hoped. His anger dissipated considerably after our talk outside the diner—almost too much. Enough that it scared me. Until he suggested we find a place downtown, I was starting to worry that maybe he was planning to camp outside our apartment and wait for Kellen to return so he could slit his throat.

After we left the diner, I called in sick to work and he called his commanding officer to ask for an extension, saying he had “an emergency to attend to of the upmost importance.” I’m not entirely convinced that wasn’t code for the fact that he’s preparing to kill someone out of revenge. Still, I was secretly pleased when he was granted another 48 hours. Hopefully that will be enough time for us to get on the same page.

Walking into the suite, I bite down on my lips when getting an eyeful of the elegant layout. There’s a glass dining room table that seats eight in the center of the first room. We pass through gold-plated archways to a large sitting area filled with white couches outside the bedroom. The king bed sits on a platform, surrounded by large pillars and situated to give a spectacular view of the piers. It’s far too big and too grand, especially considering he’ll be sleeping here alone. As much as he’ll hate the idea of me returning to his brother, I have to keep up with appearances so Kellen doesn’t catch on that I’m involved in something more meaningful than a fling.

Lincoln stands with his broad back to me as he stares out the floor-to-ceiling windows. Shoulders taut, head held high, he’s so severe looking in this moment, making it easy to see him play the role of a predator in the face of an enemy. A shiver runs down my spine when his deep voice cuts through the silence.

“Wanna know the thing I hate most about being a SEAL?”

Assuming it’s another one of his rhetorical questions, I suck in a deep breath, bracing myself for his answer.

“Knowing I can’t always be there when you need me. I won’t always be around to protect you. I’ve watched SEAL wives go through some pretty horrific shit. Raising kids alone for months, spending each day their husbands are deployed in a hellish country wondering if they’re alive or dead…the SEAL way of life isn’t for everyone. I won’t lie to you, Quinn. If you choose to be with me, I can’t promise you an easy future.”

“If you’re trying to scare me off, it won’t work,” I say, starting for him. Wrapping my arms around his stomach from behind, I rest my head against his firm back. “I've never loved anyone the way I love you, Linc. And if it means I’m signing up for a shit-storm by being with you, I guess I’ll just have to buy a big umbrella because I’m in this for the long haul…or for as long as you’ll have me.”

He lifts my hands and turns to me, his gaze hard with frustration. “I know you don’t scare easy. You’re brave enough to survive whatever hell comes your way. Between the shit you went through with your parents and my brother, you’ve been through more than most people have to endure in a lifetime.”

Sensing there’s more to his line of thought, I tilt my head. “But…?”

“If you stay with Kellen until you can get your hands on his money, every day I’m away from you I’ll be the one sick with worry, wondering if he’s knocking you around, or if he’s onto your plan. I can’t afford to make mistakes when I’m on a mission. My team counts on me to have a clear head.”

“Are you giving me an ultimatum?” I ask, narrowing my eyes. “Because it won’t be long before this is over and I can finally leave that asshole behind.”

“Then what? Once both you and the money have disappeared, he’ll know it was you, Quinn. You think he’s going to simply let us live in peace? What about your mom? If you disappear, he’ll go after her to make you return.”

There were times I had worried Kellen would go after my mom, but hearing Lincoln say the same thing out loud sends a chill down my spine. “We don’t have to run from him. We can hide the money somewhere that can't be traced back to either one of us. This isn’t about getting rich. I just want to take something important away from him the way he took something from me.”

His expression softens as he takes my face in his hands. “No one wants him to pay more than I do, baby. But what you’re planning could end badly in so many ways. You could end up in prison for the rest of your life, or fucking dead. You can’t expect me to live with either of those options.”

“Nothing bad will happen to me. I’m ten times smarter than him, and he’s not going to get the authorities involved when it’s money he embezzled. I can do this, Linc. You have to have faith in me. I need you to believe that I can do this.”

“I have more faith in you than I could ever find in myself.” Running the pad of his thumb over my lips, he gives me a sad little smile that doesn't reach his eyes. “It’s one of the reasons I once thought you were better off without me.”

Then he’s capturing my mouth with his, kissing me with a crippling hunger. I hop up into his arms, letting him carry me over to the lavish bed as I kiss him back with a renewed hope. Although he hasn’t agreed to anything, I’m starting to think he sees the value in my planned revenge. I’m at least optimistic that he understands why it’s so important to me.

He draws away long enough to strip us both of our clothing, his eyes lit with fire as our bodies join once again, silently making the promise that we’ll be okay even if neither of us can say the words.

Lost in his manly scent, the way he gently enters me, his beautifully hard body rubbing against mine, and the flavor of his tongue, I allow myself to ignore whatever problems remain between us, and live in the moment.

“I love you so damn much, baby,” he whispers against my lips just before his entire body jerks and he releases into me. Then, true to the manners he’s adapted, he strokes his fingers between my legs and sucks on my nipples until I’m fisting the sheets and finding my own release.

As I’m coming down, my entire body tingling in satisfaction, he pulls me over to lay tucked in against his side. I hum with contentment and snuggle in, wishing I could stay this way forever. I would give anything to return to Coronado with him and leave this city behind.

While he runs his hand over my head and through my hair, I draw shapes against his tight six-pack. Whatever they do to stay in shape as SEALs must be pretty intense, because his body’s a fine-oiled machine.

“From what I see in the news, they send you guys in to deal with the world’s most dangerous terrorists,” I say. “Does it scare you?”

“Maybe if I stop to think about it. But I’m too focused on what has to be done to really give it much thought.”

“How long before they send you on another mission?”

“At the soonest, three months. Then I’ll be gone for six months. But that could change at any moment. Depends on where we’re needed.”

My heart sinks deeper into my chest with the idea of him being gone for that long. I can see how it’s tolling for the wives, knowing their husbands are out on some of the most dangerous missions in the world. It’s exceptionally unfair when I just got him back that he’ll be gone again so soon.

“Six months is a long time,” I say.

His fingers tilt my chin upward so I’m looking at him. “We’re getting that money before I leave. And then I’m going to make you my wife.”

Tears prick my eyes and my stomach dips. “You want to marry me?”

“Hell yeah,” he says, breaking out into a wide grin. He laces his fingers with mine. “You think I was going to let you slip through my fingers a second time?”

This severe, beautiful man whom for years I thought I had lost for good wants to be mine forever. A happy little snorting noise bubbles out of me. “Is it possible to be engaged to two guys at once?”

With my question, his grin flattens. “Your engagement to that asshole is a sham. This is the only one that counts.” Then he pulls away from me to slide off the bed, moving around until he’s facing me on one knee. He reaches for my nearest hand. “Cameron Elizabeth Quinn, please say you’ll make me the happiest fucking man on the planet by marrying me.”

Another happy sound sticks in my throat. Seeing him down on his knees while naked is adorable and charming, but the fierce look he’s giving me takes my breath away. I hate the situation we’re in and the fact that I’ll have to hide my relationship with him until I’m done with Kellen, but there’s no way I’m passing up the opportunity to marry the love of my life.

I scoot over to the edge of the mattress and take his bearded face in my hands. “Hell yeah.”

With a shout of victory, he springs forward and pins me down on the bed. Our lips meet for a celebratory kiss that’s filled with joy and relief, knowing however things end with Kellen, we’ll at least have each other.

Even though it’s necessary to keep up appearances, returning to Kellen a few hours later is nearly the death of me. Time with Lincoln will be limited until we can get our hands on Kellen’s money, and it kills me to know he’s sitting alone in the hotel room as I walk back into our apartment. I wanted to stay in his arms all night while making wedding plans and shopping online for apartments in San Diego.

The fact that this is really happening after our whirlwind reunion is mind-boggling. The reality that we’ll be spending the rest of our lives together like we planned all those years ago has my heart skipping to an erratic beat. Picturing Lincoln in a suit, waiting for me at the end of an aisle, drenches my thong.

I’m going to be Mrs. Lincoln Farrington.

After enduring the heartache of losing him, thinking he’d never return to me, it seems too perfect to really be happening.

As I reach for the apartment door, I’m suddenly reminded of something my mom once said while high as a kite, a couple years after my dad’s death.

---

“He didn’t want to stick around long enough to walk you down the aisle on your wedding day.”

Frozen in place, I stopped cleaning the fridge to frown her way. She was sitting on the ratty old sofa, staring absentmindedly out the apartment window. I balled my hands into fists, wondering why I ever tried reasoning with her when she was that way, except I hated it when she would sometimes speak ill of my dad.

It wasn’t anything new for her to babble about random things when she was stoned, but I had just returned from an afternoon of messing around with Lincoln, so the strange comment caught me off guard. I didn’t tell her about Lincoln because it was the only good thing in my life, and I didn’t want her to ruin it the way she ruined everything else.

The statement seemed unusually cruel and filled with malice. Where was it coming from?

“It’s not his fault he died. It has nothing to do with what he wanted. He wasn’t asking to be attacked in the park.”

“You’re wrong,” she muttered. “He was a coward.”

---

Pushing my way into the apartment, I jump when Kellen appears from the darkest shadows of the living room, dressed in a blazer and khakis, a garment bag draped over one arm. I don’t hold my breath waiting for his apology, because I know it won’t come in this lifetime.

“You’re just in time. I bought you something to wear for dinner with my parents. We’re leaving in half an hour.”

My cheeks burn hot as he hands me the bag. After an all-afternoon celebration with Lincoln that involved him licking champagne and strawberries off every crevice of my body, how the fuck am I going to switch gears by being sociable with Kellen? Worst of all, words cannot express how much I despise the fact that after all these years, I’ll be reunited with Lincoln’s parents as his brother’s fiancée.

I snatch the bag from him, scowling. “Your parents are going to love the shiner you gave me.”

Kellen shrugs. “I’m telling them you got in a fight with your mom. It’s a more believable story since they don’t know she sobered up.”

What an asshole. “A half hour’s hardly enough time to get ready.”

“Maybe if you had read the texts I sent, you would’ve planned your time more wisely.” Without another word, he turns away and heads for the wet bar.

Oh shit. I was on such a blissful high when I left the hotel that I only grabbed my keys and totally forgot my wristlet with my phone inside. Lincoln will become unglued when he’s unable to reach me again.

I sulk back to the bedroom and lay the garment bag on the bed, unzipping it to find a slinky little red dress with more sequins than material.

Shit.

This dinner is going to be a complete nightmare.

As the waiter leads us back to our table in the elegant French restaurant, along the way I catch several lingering looks from men and disgusted glares from women. It’s no surprise considering I legitimately look like a hooker. Unless Kellen wanted everyone to think he pays for his date, he missed the mark with the slutty little number that barely covers my crotch and reveals the inside curves of my breasts. I decided to roll with it, giving myself dramatic eyes and wearing my highest fuck-me heels.

I giggle to myself, wondering what Lincoln would do if he could see me now. I’m guessing he would either come totally unhinged and punch every man who looks my way, or fuck me in the middle of the restaurant. The way Kellen’s parents look at me from where they sit waiting, mouths slacked and eyes bulging from their sockets, I’m guessing it’d be the latter.

Oh, Elaine and Howard Farrington.

They always were a pretentious, snobbish pair, especially when Lincoln brought me around in high school as his girlfriend. It’s the sole reason I refused to go to his house unless he knew they wouldn’t be home.

Aside from having a tighter forehead, Elaine hasn’t changed much in seven years. White-blond hair pulled back into a tight bun, strand of pearls around her neck, expensive designer dress, she’s just as I remembered her. Howard, on the other hand, looks more like his sons now that they’re adults. Dark hair, broad jaw, dark brown eyes, it would seem I’m given a preview of the man I love thirty years into the future.

Never dreamed that I’d be seeing them again. Certainly not in this situation. The way Mr. Farrington gawks at me, he seems to feel the same.

“Cameron, is that you?” Elaine asks as they both rise from the white linen table. With her lips quirked in a tight smile, her eyes dance all over my slinky dress and my bruised eye. “When Kellen said he was bringing a date, you’re the last person I expected to see.”

“I wanted it to be a surprise,” Kellen tells her, bending in to kiss her cheek.

“Hi, Mrs. Farrington.” I greet her with a nod. “It’s been a few years.” I look over at their father and say, “Mr. Farrington.”

The old man’s eyes narrow, flickering between us as I take a seat next to Kellen. Maybe this will be more fun than I thought. I’ll always hate the man for the way he treated Lincoln. Making him uncomfortable is a total trip.

“If this is some kind of a joke, I’m not amused,” Howard growls.

“I assure you, this is no joke,” Kellen tells him, reaching out to lift my hand with the engagement ring. A shit-ass grin spread over his lips. “Mom, dad, Cameron and I are getting married.”

Elaine lets out a loud gasp, quickly covering it behind her hand, and Howard’s fist slams down on the table. Lips curled and eyes dangerously dark, the elderly Farrington glowers at Kellen. “I need a word with you outside, son.”

Kellen turns in his seat and takes my chin in his hand. He makes a production of kissing me until vomit surges into my throat and I’m tempted to bite his tongue clean off. Then he pulls away, smiling at his dad. “Sure thing, pops.”

The two men leave me alone with Elaine, who’s still clearly in shock. She stares at me with impossibly wide eyes, jaw slack. I grab the bottle of wine from a container filled with ice beside the table and pour myself a full glass, practically finishing the entire thing in one swallow. When I reach for the bottle again, I pause and look at Elaine.

“You want some?”

She finally breaks out of her trance with the sound of a ringing cell phone. As she digs in her purse, I shrug and take a pull directly from the bottle. I’ve only drank expensive wine a few times with Kellen, and this tastes like high quality stuff. With any luck it’s also potent and will take the sting off the next several hours of having to deal with these people.

Elaine brings her phone up to her ear, nearly blinding me when her monstrous diamond catches in one of the restaurant’s lights. “This is Elaine.” I watch her face blanch as the person on the other end answers. Then, “What? Oh my dear Lord! Where are you?” She stands suddenly, knocking the table with her legs and making the drinks slosh in their glasses. “What?”

The phone slips from her hands, clattering against the table, and her jaw drops once more as she gapes at something behind me. I turn in my chair and almost choke on a gasp.

Lincoln.