She stared up into his eyes. He was tall. Six foot two. She was only five-six, and he’d shot up a lot in the last two years. She always teased him about that too. “Can’t be this serious tonight, Tom. It’s our graduation. The beginning of the rest of our lives.” The last bit was spoken with mock solemnity, mimicking the principal’s speech earlier that day.
A smile emerged on Tom’s face, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Ems, I have two things, important things, I need to talk to you about.”
She didn’t want to talk about important things, so she reached up and looped her arms around his neck, kissing him.
Soft, eager, and knowing the motions, Tom gave in for a moment and kissed her in return. Then he tried to pull back.
She was determined, deepening the kiss, holding him closer. “No,” she whispered before planting another kiss on his jaw. “You must not understand,” she said, opting to kiss his neck. “This means I don’t want to talk right now.” She found his lips, again, and felt him smile against her. Her mind screamed, Yes, I want to be with you. Kiss you. Hold you.
Once again, Tom allowed a bit of kissing before pulling back. “Ems,” he said, letting out a skittering laugh. He took her hands in his and brought them to his chest. “I need to talk to you.”
Emily’s stomach flip-flopped, and the spine tingling was back. “Okay. Let’s talk.”
Tom hesitated. Then he ripped the words out like you would rip duct tape from someone’s lips. “I enlisted.”
All the air whooshed out of her lungs. His admission couldn’t have more impact if he’d told her another bomb akin to Hiroshima had just been dropped on their hometown of Greeley, Colorado. She coughed. “What?”
“I had to. I just …” He let go of her hands and put a fist to his chest. “I just had this feeling inside of me, nagging at me. Like destiny was pulling me forward, and if I ignored it, I couldn’t live with myself.”
Anger flared in her, and already tears were forming in her eyes. She thought of his oldest brother, Zane, the SEAL, who was super into stuff like duty, honor, and commitment. He was always pushing his agenda with Tom. He’d been home this whole past week. Not to mention all of his brothers had served or were serving. “When?” she asked softly, realizing it shouldn’t have surprised her.
Squeezing his eyes shut, Tom put his fingers to his eyes and scrubbed them. “I did it yesterday. I’m shipping out for boot camp at the end of next week.”
Yesterday … The word rang through her mind, and the rest of the Beatles lyrics fell neatly in line. All my troubles seemed so far away. Pain filled the center of her chest, and she put her hand to it, backing up.
“Ems, Ems!” Tom closed the gap between them, holding her shoulders. “Are you okay?”
She felt like she’d felt on the day she’d found her mother on the couch. The day her father had left. Dizzily, she reached out and held on to him for dear life. “We weren’t going to leave each other, remember? We chose each other!”
Pulling Emily against him, wrapping his arms around her, he whispered, “I do choose you, Ems. Always. I would never leave you.”
She felt herself trembling. “Yes. You. Are.”
“Not permanently. Not ever.”
Closing her eyes, she let him hold her. It wasn’t okay, but Tom had always been the dreamer, and she’d always been the practical one. This couldn’t work. Tears poured down her cheeks. “You can’t do this.”
Bending down, Tom picked her up like a father would pick up a child. He held her to his chest as he walked down to a patch of grass on the river, far away from the bonfire.
When he sat with her on his lap, he said, “Ems, please don’t cry. Please don’t.” His voice cracked as he held her. “You always break me when you cry.”
She didn’t know how long they sat there. Him, holding her. Her, crying herself out. Of course he would serve. Tom was that kind of guy. It all came down to God, country, family. She’d known that. She let all those thoughts be drowned out. All she could hear was the river. All she could feel was Tom’s warmth.
Suddenly, he moved, adjusting her to the side of him. “I have something I want to give you, ask you.”
He pulled a ring from his pocket. A ring they’d looked at when they were messing around at the mall in Fort Collins, the same day they’d gone to campus. A diamond ring.
In a flash, he was on one knee. “I know I just exploded our plan. But … Even though I’ve enlisted, I can’t see my life without you.” He took one of her trembling hands and kissed the back of it. “You’re my girl. You have been since, well—I want to say since the night we first kissed, but you and I both know it’s always been us.” He winked at her. “We’re this town’s greatest love story.”
Unwillingly, she laughed at his reference. They both loved this country song about first love. She couldn’t help but smile even though she was crying again and feeling so confused.
“I want to marry you. I want to do what we’ve always talked about doing. I want to marry you and then honeymoon in Hawaii.”
She was so shocked she didn’t know what to say. He was leaving. Leaving?
He gripped her hand tighter. “I want to fix up an old house with you.” Another thing they’d talked about doing. “With a wraparound porch and acres of property for all the kids to run on.”
Shaking her head, she didn’t understand. “You’re leaving, Tom?” She gulped out a cry that ripped from her chest.
He was back on his feet, holding her, stroking her hair. “I know, but I want you, Ems. I want you to be my wife. Say you’ll be my wife. I talked it over with all my brothers. They said I’ll get leave over Christmas. We could do the wedding then and then head to Hawaii. Say yes.”
For a long time, she didn’t answer, thinking about how she couldn’t imagine a life without him either. Even though he’d enlisted. “I got a scholarship to Yale,” she finally said. She pushed out a breath, feeling like she had to tell him this.
“What?” He pulled back, a huge smile on his face. “Are you kidding me?”
Despite herself, she smiled back. His happiness was infectious. “I just got the letter today. It’s a full ride.”
He engulfed her in another hug. “I’m so happy for you.” He squeezed her tighter.
Feeling better, but still whiplashed that he was leaving, she gave in to the hug. “Thank you.”
Determination glinted in his eyes. “I think this just confirms it. I’m supposed to go in the Army. You’re supposed to go to Yale, and we’ll get married by Christmas.”
“By Christmas?” They’d always joked about it, but now it was sounding too real. Yet confusion simmered inside her. “But I’ll be at Yale.”
He took her hand and squeezed it. “Right. And you’ll come home and I’ll come home and we’ll get married by Christmas.”
“We’ll be living apart,” she protested.
“I know, but it’s really the best of everything, because I picked a two-year active commitment with a two-year reserve. So really, I’ll only be gone two years. Then I’ll be able to become a firefighter, and I can do that wherever you want to go.” His brow furrowed briefly in thought, and then he gave her a dopey grin. “I mean, I always thought we’d live here by our mothers, but I guess we can live anywhere. We’ll move them to us.”
Her heart pounded, and she felt like all of this was happening so fast. Tom was right. It might work. But everything was unraveling so quickly, all their old plans turning to dust. She laced her arms around his back and put her head against his chest. “I don’t want to lose you.” The thought of bullets flying by his head made her feel sick.
Wrapping his arms around her, he held her and whispered, “You won’t. You could never lose me, Ems.”
She blinked and wished she could pause time, pause this moment. She hadn’t worried about her future because Tom was supposed to be by her side. Now, it all felt so uncertain. “I’m scared.”
He searched her eyes, then got back on one knee aga
in. “Emily Ann Times, will you marry me? Will you be my wife? C’mon, Ems. Just say yes.”
She burst out in a half laugh, half cry. “Yes.”
“Yes!” He punched the air, and she saw tears in his eyes. They stood, and he slipped the ring onto her finger. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
He grinned at her. “Married by Christmas.”
Warmth flooded her, and she thought about how happy her mom and sister would be. They loved Tom. “Married by Christmas,” she agreed.
Tom kissed her, and fire coursed through her veins. She kissed him back, feeling desperate and dumbfounded that she was actually engaged to him. Usually, they had firm boundaries, but she deepened the kiss, wanting him closer, wanting everything.
A groan escaped his throat. “Ems, we better stop.”
Thinking of him leaving her, all she knew was that she couldn’t. Not tonight. “Tom, I don’t want to stop.”
Buy it HERE or read for FREE in KU!
Also by Taylor Hart
Bachelor Second Chance Cowboy Romance:
Her Country Star Billionaire Groom: Sweet, Christian Married by Christmas
Her Quiet Billionaire Groom: Sweet, Christian Married by Christmas by guest author
Her Football Star Billionaire Groom: Sweet, Christian Married by Christmas by guest author
Her Horse Racing Billionaire Groom: Sweet, Christian Married by Christmas by guest author
Her Protector Billionaire Groom: A KB Ranch Married by Christmas
Bachelor Texas Rebel Romances:
Her Second Chance Prodigal Groom: No Regrets Christmas
#NorthStar Series:
#Lost
#Seen
#Lured by guest author
#Caged by guest author
Coconut Bachelor Beach Romances:
The Second Chance Billionaire Boss
A Timeless Romance Anthology
Kissing a Billionaire Anthology—The Forgotten Billionaire by Taylor Hart
Royal Palm Resort Series:
The Dancing Groom: A Sweet Beach Romance
Last Play Masquerade Romances:
The No Regrets Groom (A Brady Brother’s Romance)
The Bighearted Groom by guest author
The Ever After Groom by guest author
The Blindsided Groom by guest author
Last Play Christmas Romances:
Pre Order Now! New Release December 20th - The Beauty's Groom
The Betting Groom (The Legendary Kent Brother Romances)
The Risky Groom by guest author
The Haunted Groom by guest author
The Midnight Groom (A sequel to The Football Groom)
The About Face Groom by guest author
Christmas Romance Series:
Her Hollywood Fake fiance (The Legendary Kent Brother Romances)
Pre-Order Now! New Release November 18th - Her Football Boss Fake Fiancé: Sweet Brother's Romance
Texas Titan Romances (I recommend this order to read them)
The Tough Love Groom
The Second Chance Groom
The Dream Groom
The Prince Charming Groom
The Good Groom (A Brady Brother’s Romance)
Navy Seal Romances
The Broken Warrior
The Found Warrior
Bachelor Billionaire Romance Series (I recommend this order to read them)
The Football Groom
The Country Groom
The Unfinished Groom
The Barefoot Groom
The Masquerading Groom
The Christmas Groom
Rescue Me (Park City Firefighter Romances--Cross over with Bachelor Billionaire Romances) (Freestone Brother Romances)
The Lost Groom (Freestone Brother Romances)
The Undercover Groom (Freestone Brother Romances)
The Lone Star Groom
Last Play Romance Series
Last Play
The Rookie
Just Play
A Player for Christmas
End Zone
Snow Valley Romances
Pre-Order Now! New Release December 30th - Her Snow Valley Fake New Year's Eve Boyfriend
Her Snow Valley Christmas Eve Kiss
Her Snow Valley Second Chance First Love Boyfriend
Spring in Snow Valley: The Bet
Fall in Snow Valley: The Better Man
A Return to Snow Valley: The Christmas Boyfriend
A Return to Snow Valley: The Christmas Girlfriend
The Real Thing Suspense, Romantic Series
Book 1 On the Run
Book 2 Going Rogue
Book 3 Get You Back
Stand Alone Books
A Girl Named Grace
The Secret
Prom Diaries
Her First Love Billionaire: Second Chance Time Travel Romance
Collections
Cozy Christmas Mistletoe Collection
Snow Valley Collection
The Legendary Kent Brother Collection
Country Star Romance Collection
The Freestone Brother Collection
Bachelor Billionaire Romance Collection
Football Romance Collection (Last Play)
Taylor’s Football Collection (Texas Titans)
Christmas Romance Sampler Collection
Movie Star Romances Billionaire Collection
Her Fireman, Movie Star, Navy Seal, and Football Players Box Set
About the Author
Taylor Hart has always been drawn to a good love triangle, hot chocolate and long conversations with new friends. Writing has always been a passion that has consumed her dreams and forced her to sit in a trance for long hours, completely obsessed with people that don’t really exist. Taylor would have been a country star if she could have carried a tune—maybe in the next life. Find Taylor at:
www.taylorhartbooks.com │ Twitter: @taylorfaithhart │ Facebook: Taylor Hart