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SARAH JUMPED UP AND down with excitement, glancing over at Ryan on Saturday evening. His lips quirked as he watched her, and he set down the large cooler he’d hauled across the sand from his SUV. The waves crashed on the shore mere feet away, and Sarah’s bohemian sundress blew in the ocean breeze. She’d braided a few front pieces of her hair to keep it back from her face, but the rest of it blew free in the wind.
She twirled around as Ryan watched her, loving the feel of the sand beneath her bare feet, the wind in her hair, and her fiancé at her side.
“This bonfire tonight is going to be fantastic!” she said excitedly. “Everyone is going to be so surprised when we tell them we’re engaged.”
“They’ll be happy for us, but surprised? We’re practically living together already,” Ryan said doubtfully.
“I know, I know. It’s just that the guys think this is a coming home celebration for the Alpha team. They’re not expecting this.”
“That they’re not,” Ryan agreed, gazing down at her. He looked as serious as always, wearing a button-down shirt and khaki pants, and Sarah knew it was because his men were coming. They’d invited both teams down to the beach for the bonfire and Ryan had an image to maintain.
There was warmth in his gray eyes though as he looked at her.
And besides, that didn’t mean he wouldn’t let loose when they were all alone later tonight though, she thought, imagining his hands and mouth moving all over her skin. Ryan was an amazing lover, and she was simply lost to the world when she was with him.
“What?” he asked, catching the expression on her face.
“Just imaging our private celebration later on,” she teased.
His eyes heated as he took a step closer to her, but then they heard a shout in the distance.
Sarah smiled and waved at her brother, watching him head toward them with Rebecca and their kids. Back in the old days, Patrick and the guys would head into Anchors, a popular bar on the Virginia Beach oceanfront, to decompress and pick up women after their missions. She’d even watched Logan once or twice so Patrick could hang out with this team.
But now?
Celebrations when the guys were home involved lots of backyard barbeques, bonfires that were more family-oriented than not, and playdates amongst the couples who had young kids.
Sarah flushed with excitement, glancing up at Ryan as she heard her nephew call out to her.
Would she and Ryan ever have children?
She’d never really wanted them in the past, although she hadn’t exactly pictured getting married either. Life had done a complete turn from what she’d expected in the past few months, and she couldn’t be happier with all the changes that had come right along with it.
“Ice,” Ryan said with a nod as Patrick walked up to them, hauling his own family’s bags and supplies.
“Sir,” Patrick replied, setting everything down on the sand. His gaze briefly swept the area around them as he stood back up, just as Ryan’s had when they’d first arrived. Those guys were attuned to their surroundings at all times. Sarah supposed it would be hard to ignore that instinct when it was literally drilled into them every day. She was admittedly oblivious much of the time, preferring to live in the moment, but she had to admit she felt a certain sense of security when she was around any of the men on the SEAL team.
“Aunt Sarah!” Logan shrieked, running up and throwing his arms around her. Abby grabbed onto her as well, and Sarah greeted Rebecca and their new baby girl as she walked up behind every else.
“Hi guys! We’ve got some big news to share before everyone else gets here,” Sarah said, glancing between her brother and Rebecca. Rebecca’s face instantly lit up, her eyes landing on Sarah’s ring finger, but Patrick raised his eyebrows, waiting for her to continue.
“Ryan and I are engaged!” Sarah yelled, the children still clinging to her.
“Engaged? You mean like before a wedding?” Abby asked, looking up at her.
Sarah looked down at the little girl. “Yes. We’re getting married!”
“Yay!” the kids shrieked, jumping up and down.
A broad smile stretched across Patrick’s face as he and Ryan shook hands, and Rebecca engulfed Sarah in a hug. “I knew it!” she whispered. “That man is infatuated with you. It’s about time he found someone to settle down with.”
“Thanks!” Sarah said, leaning over to kiss the top of the baby’s head before Rebecca pulled away. The kids ran around yelling excitedly as the women continued talking. “We’d thought about it of course, but I was shocked when he actually popped the question the other day.”
“How’d he do it?” Rebecca asked.
“One morning before breakfast,” Sarah said with a giggle. “No big fancy dinner or anything like that. He’d been on base a few days while the guys were gone on their last op, and after a great night, I guess he decided it was time.” Sarah shrugged, glancing over toward where the men stood talking.
“A very great night,” Rebecca said with a wink.
Sarah’s cheeks heated. “Understatement of the year,” she confided. “I definitely wasn’t expecting him to get down on one knee before breakfast the next morning.”
“When you know, you know,” Rebecca said.
“I’ll say. I never really thought much about marriage, to be honest, but then when I got together with Ryan it just all clicked.”
“So you’re moving here then! That’s fantastic.”
“Yep. It’ll be great not driving back and forth to Norfolk. I only had patients there one day a week, but I’m ready to be working full-time here. It was hard commuting back and forth, having some stuff at my old apartment and some things at Ryan’s house.”
“That’ll be amazing,” Rebecca agreed. “It’s so nice when you’re finally settled in one house together. And now you’ll be planning a wedding, too!”
“Yeah, it seems unreal,” Sarah said, watching as Patrick and Ryan began setting up things for the bonfire and the kids raced around in the sand. “I want a beach wedding of course—a loose, flowy dress, lots of flowers everywhere. I saw the most amazing naked wedding cakes in a bridal magazine.”
“Naked wedding cakes?” Ryan asked, raising his eyebrows.
“I’m not sure I want to know,” Patrick said with a chuckle.
“They’re natural looking,” Sarah explained. “There’s no frosting or frou-frou fondant on the sides or anything like that. You see the actual cake, and we’ll have fresh berries of course, maybe some edible flowers....”
She trailed off as both men stared at her. “Well, I’ll handle that part myself I guess.”
Ryan shook his head, a smile tugging at his lips. “Whatever you want,” he said in a low voice. “Just none of those vegan burgers Patrick grilled for you that one time.”
Sarah shuddered as Rebecca laughed beside her.
“What was wrong with the burgers?” Patrick asked, his cool blue eyes landing on her. “I bought those especially for you.”
“They tasted like cardboard,” Sarah finally admitted. “Sorry, bro.”
Ryan chuffed out a laugh as Patrick frowned. “I didn’t want to tell you,” Rebecca said with a laugh as she walked toward the men holding the baby.
Patrick grumbled to himself as Rebecca stood up on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. “I don’t know how your sister can eat that stuff anyway—no offense, Sarah.”
“Trust me, when vegan dishes are prepared well, you’ll be changing your tune. We’ll have you guys over for dinner sometime soon so I can prove you wrong.”
“As long as you have some real food, too,” Patrick quipped.
“We’ll have it all,” Ryan assured him. “Same goes for our wedding reception.”
“Thank God,” Patrick muttered.
Sarah stuck her tongue out at him and then glanced in the direction of the boardwalk and saw some of the other men and their significant others heading toward them. “It looks like more people are coming! There’s Hunter and Emma—wow, she looks like she’s ready to pop at any moment!” she said, referring to the heavily pregnant woman. While her own brother led the Alpha Team, Hunter was the team leader of Delta. “Oh, and there’s Brent and Ella—I haven’t seen them in forever. Is she taking grad school classes now?”
“I’m not sure,” Rebecca said. “It’ll be nice to catch up with everyone tonight.”
Her baby started to fuss just then, and Rebecca bounced her up and down, making soft noises to soothe her.
“I’ll go help carry some of the stuff,” Ryan said, eyeing the fussy baby.
“Sure,” Sarah teased, rolling her eyes. “That’s the reason you’re rushing off.”
Patrick winked at his sister. “I’ll go help out, too,” he said.
Sarah locked eyes with Rebecca as baby Madeleine began to calm down and more of their friends headed towards them. “You think Patrick’s having a man-to-man talk with Ryan since we’re engaged now?” she asked.
Rebecca laughed quietly. “Knowing how protective Patrick is? Probably so. But don’t worry—I know he’s thrilled that you and Ryan are together. Patrick trusts him implicitly—all the guys do. He’d have no reason to complain. And I know he worried about you living alone, so he’s thrilled.”
Sarah watched as Patrick and Ryan shook hands with some of the other guys as they arrived, and there was a loud whoop as one of them no doubt told the others about her engagement to Ryan.
She flushed, glancing over at Rebecca and the kids. “I have a feeling this is going to be an amazing night.”
***
SARAH CROSSED THE SAND and stood next to Ryan beside the bonfire later that night, taking a sip of her beer. Her long dress blew in the breeze, and Ryan wrapped his arm around her bare shoulders, pulling her close.
Their friends all laughed and ate around the bonfire, some of them chasing after their kids. Amazingly enough, everyone from both SEAL teams had made it: all twelve men with their wife or girlfriend. It was unusual to have everyone in the same place, but Sarah knew it was because she and Ryan had organized it. The guys all made a big effort when their CO was involved.
Ryan ducked down, his lips at her ear. “This is one hell of a party,” he said in a low voice. “Every single guy is here. And I love that everyone knows you’re going to be my bride.” His fingertips lightly brushed over her skin, and she shivered in delight at his touch.
“Just wait until our wedding,” she said, glancing up to see the gleam in his eyes. “That will be the celebration to end all other celebrations.”
“You sure you don’t want to elope and have a quiet wedding with just the two of us?” he asked, his lips quirking.
She laughed and gently nudged him. “Of course I’m sure. Besides, aren’t you obligated as the commanding officer to have your teams attend a reception to celebrate or something?”
Ryan chuckled. “Have you been brushing up on the Navy wives’ rulebook?”
“There’s a rulebook?” Sarah asked, aghast.
He laughed even harder. “I know you don’t understand half of the stuff we do in the military, but there are certain protocols for things. Not to worry—I’ll keep you in line,” he teased with a wink.
Despite Ryan not usually liking big events like this, she could see he was enjoying it. All his men were here, she was at his side. Celebrating their engagement was the perfect way to spend a gorgeous Saturday evening. With the waves crashing on the shore, their friends surrounding them, and enough food and drinks to keep everyone happy, the lighthearted atmosphere was infectious.
“I hear congratulations are in order!” Christopher said, walking up with his girlfriend Lexi.
“Thank you,” Ryan said, nodding at them both.
“Yes, congratulations! I never thought I’d see the commander settle down,” Lexi joked. “Only you could manage that, Sarah.”
Christopher hastily apologized, and Ryan chuffed out a laugh. Although the men all tried to stay on the good side of their CO and several of the women were reserved around him, Lexi had worked with Ryan on base at Little Creek and they’d established a rapport. Sarah appreciated the fact that someone else called it like it was around him. Goodness knows sometimes the man didn’t even know what was for his own good.
“I fought long and hard against it,” Ryan agreed with a smirk. “There was no stopping what was brewing between Sarah and me though.”
Sarah beamed. “Seriously. You argued with me for an entire year before we finally got together. Better late than never though, right?”
“Disagreed with you, perhaps. But you’re the one who tried to punch me at your brother’s house,” Ryan quipped dryly.
“You were sneaking around in the dark,” she reminded him as Christopher and Lexi both burst into laughter. “And I think you’d been arguing with me all that evening, too. Anyway,” she said, glancing back at the other couple. “Thanks! We’re so excited. We’re going to invite everyone to the wedding and throw an amazing reception.”
“Are you going to have a beach wedding?” Lexi asked, her jet-black hair blowing in the ocean breeze.
“For sure,” Sarah said. “Can you imagine anything more fantastic? Sunset. The Ocean. Ryan standing there looking handsome in something beachy. Or were you planning to wear your uniform?”
“Most likely my uniform. But I’ll let you handle the rest of the decisions. The sight of you walking down the aisle toward me in a wedding dress is all I need,” Ryan said in a low voice.
“What’s this I hear about an engagement?” Ryker “Bulls-Eye” Fletcher called out, sauntering over with a beer in hand. “Congratulations, sir,” he said, nodding at their CO.
“Where’s your better half?” Ryan joked, referring to Ryker’s new girlfriend Emily. The Delta team had recently rescued Emily from Afghanistan, and then Ryker had rescued her again when she’d been tracked by kidnappers back in Washington.
Sarah shivered slightly in the ocean breeze. A lot of the women had been involved in all sorts of scary situations. Kidnappings. Accidents. Stalkers. She was thankful and relieved nothing like that had ever happened to her. For a brief flicker of a moment she felt a chill snake down her spine, but then it passed just as quickly.
The last time she’d felt that way, Patrick had been injured on a mission. It’s like she’d had a premonition that something bad was about to happen.
Was something else going to happen to one of them soon, too?
Shaking her head slightly to clear those thoughts, she listened in on the conversation again.
Worrying about the unpredictable was crazy. She wanted to live and enjoy life, not focus on the unknown.
“Em’s down by the water,” Ryker said with a nod in the direction of the surf. A few women stood where the water lapped against the shore, the golden sunlight bathing them in its rays. Emily turned and waved, and Sarah had the sudden urge to run down there and join them.
“She’s moving down here next month,” Ryker continued. “She’s asking some of the other women for info., but she’ll move in with me.”
“That’s fantastic,” Sarah said with a smile. “It’ll be great having her here. I’m going to go over and say hi!”
She broke away from the men and Lexi, heading to greet the other women.
“Congrats, girl!” Bailey said, engulfing Sarah in a big hug. They’d only meet a handful of times, but Bailey was a local bartender and friendly and outgoing to everyone. She was dating Noah “Viper” Miller, one of the guys on the Delta team. “Some of us never thought we’d see the commander settle down,” Bailey continued. “He sure looks happy as hell now.”
The women all glanced over at them, and Ryan raised his eyebrows. Sarah waved and blew him a kiss. “He knows we’re talking about him.”
“Of course he does,” Taylor said. Her boyfriend, Mason “Riptide” Ryan was also on the Delta team. Sarah saw him over talking with Hunter and Emma. “But congrats, girl! This is amazing news.”
“Thanks! Maybe you and Mason will be next.”
Taylor nudged her best friend Bailey. “I’m convinced it’s going to be Bailey and Noah.”
“Well goodness,” Sarah joked. “Maybe we’ll have a triple wedding or something.”
Bailey laughed, pulling her blonde hair back into a ponytail as the wind whipped it around. “God, can you imagine? I doubt Ryan would want to share his big day though.”
“Agreed,” Sarah said. “It seems unreal around here lately though. I mean, shoot, I remember when Patrick and his buddies would be going out to Anchors every weekend.”
“Me too,” Taylor said with a laugh.
“That’s right!” Sarah said. “I totally blanked on the fact that you worked there. That’s how you met Mason, right?”
“Absolutely,” she agreed.
At that moment Mason and Noah came sauntering down to the water to collect their women. Bailey and Taylor immediately each sank into their guy’s arms, and Sarah grinned.
“God you guys look happy. This is pretty much the perfect night.”
“Let’s head back up,” Mason said, cocking his head toward the bonfire. “We’ll have a toast to you and the CO now that everyone else is here.”
“Sounds good!” Sarah agreed, and she walked back up toward the bonfire with the other couples. Glancing around the happy faces, she saw every guy from both teams was there. Colton and his girlfriend Camila had arrived, Jacob and Jessica were grabbing drinks, and the rest of the Alpha team had gotten there as well.
Patrick grumbled as everyone gathered around and grabbed a fresh beer or wine cooler. “You should’ve told us ahead of time, sis—we could’ve had a proper toast with champagne.”
“Right—your favorite,” Sarah joked.
Ryan walked up and came to a stop beside her. “We’ll save that for the wedding. We’ve got two SEAL teams here tonight—we’re good with beers.”
“Sir,” Patrick said with a nod.
The men all chuckled, and then Patrick raised his beer up in the air as everyone quieted. “We’re all thrilled to hear the news about your engagement to Sarah, sir. I’d love to say there’s no better couple, but everyone here is paired up now, so you’re one of many.”
“Hoorah!” one of the men shouted.
“And as Sarah’s brother, I’m of course honored to have you as part of our family now. To the future Mitchells and many happy years together!”
“To the commander and Sarah!” Hunter shouted out.
“Hoorah!” the men yelled.
“Go get ‘em, girl!” Bailey said with a laugh.
Sarah clinked her beer bottle against Ryan’s and took a swig, looking around at all of their friends. There was light from the bonfire, laughter, and an amazing group of people surrounding them. She’d been right—tonight couldn’t have been any more perfect.
