Off Limits Marine

“My soon-to-be husband was in charge of that side of the guest list, so I can’t be blamed. What’s wrong with a military man?”

“I don’t think I can go through all of that again. The waiting, the worrying. I just want a regular guy. An accountant or a salesman. Someone who will be home every night and doesn’t have anyone shooting at him.”

“I know exactly what you mean. That’s why I refused to marry Nellie for so long,” Lisa said. “I waited until he was done with active duty.”

“You have three children,” Annie said.

“I couldn’t help myself. But now he’s home and safe. It’s the right time. The kids are old enough to start questioning why Mommy and Daddy have different last names. Nellie’s got an engineering job lined up with Lockheed, and we’re going to finally live a normal life.”

A knock sounded on the door, and Annie went over to open it. Lisa’s six-year-old daughter, Sky, waited on the other side. She was a bridesmaid and carried three bouquets in her arms.

“Grandma said I should bring these to you and that they’re ready for you to come down.”

She handed Annie a simple clutch of daisies and gave her mother a bouquet of white roses. Lisa gave her daughter a hug. “Do you remember what to do?”

Sky nodded. “I walk with Riv on this side and Breezie on this side. And Riv carries the rings and Breezie throws the petals. And then we stand next to Annie and try not to squirm. And if we’re good, we get to drink as much soda as we want to.”

Annie laughed. “That’s a nice reward.”

“You dance with a few men, and I’ll let you have soda, too,” Lisa said.

“All right.” Annie grabbed Sky’s hand. “Let’s go have a wedding. Are you excited?”

The little girl nodded.

“Me, too.” They walked out into the hall, Lisa trailing behind them. As they reached the first floor, the rest of the bridal party was waiting. River and Breezie looked more nervous than excited, as did Lisa’s father, John.

They arranged themselves on the back deck, taking last-minute instructions from Lisa, before they began their walk to the orchard. They were in sight of the guests when a dark-haired man in a blue Oxford shirt came jogging past them.

He turned and faced Lisa, his hands up, his expression contrite. “Sorry I’m late. You look great. Where should I go?”

“Gabe! We didn’t think you’d make it.”

“Change of plans,” he said. He glanced over at Annie and for an instant their gazes locked. The smile faded from his face. “Annie? What are you doing here?”

She swallowed hard, unable to fashion a coherent reply. All that she could manage was a very meek “Hello.”

He quickly turned and headed toward the gathering of guests. Annie let out a tightly held breath and tried to keep her whole body from melting into a puddle. How many times over the past seventeen months had she thought about that kiss? Too many to count. And every time it had come to mind, always in speculation of what might have happened had she responded, it had been followed by waves of guilt.

“What was that?” Lisa asked, looking back and forth between the retreating Gabe and her matron of honor.

“Nothing,” Annie murmured. “I was just startled. I didn’t know you were going to invite him.”

“He’s one of Nellie’s buddies. Remember? He and Nellie were in flight school together.”

“I remember. Erik, too.” She drew a ragged breath. “I...I just haven’t seen him since that night. You know, the kiss.”

Lisa’s mother grabbed her daughter’s arm. “Darling, they’re waiting. We need to go. We’re already seven minutes late.”

“They’ll wait,” Lisa said. She turned back to Annie. “What kiss?”

“Didn’t I tell you about that?” Annie asked.

“No.”

“Oh, I thought I had. Well, a few weeks after Erik’s funeral, Gabe kissed me. In the boat shed. We were talking and I was crying and he was holding me and...it just happened.”

“Darling, they’ve started the processional music. Everyone is waiting.”

“Mother, I’m the bride. Nellie has been waiting all these years to marry me. Believe me, he’ll wait a few minutes longer.”

“I’m fine,” Annie said. “We have to go.” She took River’s hand and gently drew him along. “Come on, let’s go get married. Your mother and I can talk later.”

“Damn right we’ll be talking later,” Lisa muttered. “I’m going to want all the details.”

When they reached the far end of the aisle, Annie sent the children down, pointing to their father and their uncle Peter, who were waiting next to the minister. River chose to run, while Breeze took her job seriously, plucking one pink rose petal at a time from the basket and placing it on the ground in front of her. Meanwhile, Sky was forced to walk at a snail’s pace behind her, rolling her eyes and urging her little sister to speed it up.

The processional music finished before Annie had even taken a step up the aisle, so to everyone’s laughter, the vocalist began the song all over. Annie slowly walked toward the flower-covered arbor, her gaze fixed on the white ribbons as they blew in the breeze.

She knew he was watching her, but she was afraid to look around and risk meeting his gaze. If she had told Lisa about the kiss, then she could have written this off as a setup, pure and simple. They were best friends and she should have at least mentioned it. But Annie had kept that night a secret and, over time, tried to rationalize her response.

She’d been mourning her dead husband, she’d been emotionally overwrought, she hadn’t been thinking straight. Her whole world had been turned upside down, and Gabe had offered her comfort in the only way he knew how—by kissing her. By kissing her?

Even she wasn’t deluded enough to admit that the kiss wasn’t about just comfort. There was an underlying passion, a need that couldn’t be ignored. It had been the last thing she’d expected Gabe to do.

Since that unexpected moment had happened, she’d wondered what Gabe had been thinking. Had he been so crude to believe that now that she was a widow she was free to indulge? She couldn’t come up with any other explanation. In all the time they’d spent together before Erik’s death, he’d always seemed mildly annoyed with her, as if she were standing in the way of “bro” time with his best friend.

She clutched her bouquet more tightly, trying to focus on the job at hand. Just five more steps. Four. Three. Two. And stop. She slowly turned to watch the bride come down the aisle, flanked by her parents.

Maybe he’d been testing her. That was probably it. Testing her loyalty to her husband. What better place than after his funeral. Annie felt her anger rise. How dare he question her fidelity. After all, she was the one left behind all those times when Erik was deployed.

He was out fighting wars and doing his patriotic duty, while she was at home, worrying about him. And never once, not in five years of marriage, had she thought about straying. Never once had she regretted marrying Erik, even though they’d been miles apart for more days than they’d been together.

She wouldn’t be tempted by Gabe again, Annie mused. As far as she was concerned, there was nothing between them. He was her husband’s best friend, but they had never had a relationship. She’d say hello, make polite chitchat and then leave him to his own devices.

She glanced over at him again and found him staring at her. He smiled, and Annie felt her stomach flutter. He looked good. He was even more handsome than she remembered. Oh, damn, this was going to be a lot harder than she could have ever imagined.

* * *

SHE WAS DELIBERATELY avoiding him. The reception was in full swing beneath an open-air tent at the edge of the orchard, people dancing to a country band after a meal of barbecue and burgers. Strings of lights crisscrossed the canvas above their heads, mimicking the stars that twinkled in the night sky.

The mood was casual, and everyone was out of uniform and primed to party into the night. Hell, most of the guests were already well beyond their limit, but Gabe had decided to forgo the alcohol and keep his mind sharp and focused on just one thing—Annie. Oddly, every time he moved in to try to talk to her, she slipped away.

He was beginning to feel like some crazy stalker, but he’d decided the moment he saw her that he was going to find a way to talk to her, to apologize for what had happened that night in the boat shed.

Annie had danced with nearly every single guy at the reception and was dancing with Lisa and her kids when he decided to make his move. She was distracted and didn’t see his approach.

“Hey, kids. Can I dance with you, too?”