“I want my dream to come true, and I think Pittsburgh is the place,” I concede vaguely.
“What will it take to make it come true?” he asks, hands slipping to my waist, and then he pulls me into him. His face is filled with love and tenderness as he peers down at me.
“A house with a white-picket fence, a dog because I am not allergic to them,” I say. He grins, clearly liking the direction of my thoughts. “Maybe a brother or sister for Ethan?”
Ladd’s smile slides, but not in a way that says he’s dismayed by that proclamation. He stares at me so intently, I feel like I might implode under the weight of it.
“Are you serious?” he asks in such a low voice, I barely hear him. But I can tell by his demeanor, the answer to his question will mean everything.
“I’m very serious. That is… if you think Ethan would be okay with it.”
Ladd chuckles. “Nothing would please Ethan more. In fact, he’s the one who pushed me to come out here and get this resolved so I’d stop pining.”
“Smart kid,” I murmur, knowing I’m going to adore him as much as I do his father.
I expect Ladd to hug me or at least lean in for a delicious kiss. Instead, he releases me suddenly and steps back a few feet to the porch’s edge. His eyes are wide, disbelieving. “You really want to have a child with me?”
“Maybe two,” I reply candidly.
There’s a very long moment where he studies me, and then it seems a wave of comprehension slams into him. He turns away, lifts his fists in the air in an exclamation of victory, and shouts out to the entire neighborhood, “She wants to have my baby!”
“Oh Jesus,” I mutter in horror as Mr. Sneed across the street watering his flowers looks over at us. He waves politely, and I wave back as I grab Ladd by the waistband of his jeans and tug him backward. “Get your ass inside and stop making a spectacle of yourself.”
He whirls on me, drops to one knee, and I stagger at the implication. His hand snatches mine. Bringing my fingers to his mouth, he kisses my knuckles. His eyes glitter with happiness. “I don’t have a ring. This is me being spontaneous, but I’ll get you one as soon as you say yes. Will you marry me, Greer?”
“This should feel like déjà vu,” I whisper, my emotions overwhelming me. I give a tiny shake of my head. “But it’s not. This is totally different. We’re different.”
“Is that a yes?” he prods.
I nod my head effusively. “I’m so ready. Yes!”
Then he’s standing, and I’m in his arms, and he’s swinging me around in a circle as his face presses into my neck.
“I love you so much,” I say. “I’m never going to let you down again.”
“Stop,” he exclaims, lifting his head and glaring at me. “No recriminations. Not against yourself, not against me. Our past is the past. We start new from right now, okay?”
I needed to hear that. I didn’t realize how much until tears spring to my eyes and I can do nothing but nod my agreement.
“I love you, Greer.” Ladd’s tone is solemn as he wipes the tears from my face, and it makes me listen intently. “Our time is now. Let’s not waste one single second.”
Letting out a shaky breath, I whisper, “Okay.”
“Okay?” he asks, to make sure.
“Okay,” I say, this time confidently.
“Good,” he says, bending down to grab my purse. “Then let’s go find a ring.”
“Then lunch,” I suggest, because I’m hungry. “We can plan the wedding.”
“Sounds like the best second first date ever,” he says with a grin, and I couldn’t agree more.
He’ll drop everything to save her. Dozer Burney is the brains behind the brawn of Jameson Force Security, working to provide the highest level of technology and surveillance to the team out in the field. When Dozer finds out someone from his past is in danger, he’ll stop at nothing to make sure she’s safe. Click here for details on Code Name: Revenge.
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CHAPTER 1
Dozer
No one thought it strange, least of all me, that Greer and Ladd wasted no time in getting married. They were on the verge of doing just such a thing twelve years ago when mutual stupidity drove them apart. I feel I can say that in a judgmental tone because I, too, have done such a thing. But we all have regrets in life, many of which aren’t fixable.
Luckily for the new Mr. and Mrs. McDermott, theirs was easy enough to repair.
Since neither Greer nor Ladd are overly religious, they chose to have the ceremony in a community hall in Upper St. Clair, which is where Ladd lives. From the time he went out to California to retrieve the one who got away until the exchange of vows, a mere four days passed. Greer had no family to worry about in terms of schedule and ability to fly in for the wedding, and Ladd’s parents live in Ohio. They own a flooring company and had no problem taking a few days off to come see their son get married for the second time, but to the woman he should’ve been wed to all along.
Many people were deeply touched that Greer asked Ladd’s ex-wife, Britney, to be her matron of honor. Weird? Yes, but also just very right. I’ve always admired Ladd and Britney’s ability to maintain a steadfast friendship even after their divorce, and Britney has become fast friends with Greer.
Completely weird. Completely right.
The actual ceremony was short but heartfelt, and what followed was an immense party filled with good food, even better liquor, and a really crappy-looking wedding cake from the local grocery store since there was no time to have a decent one made. Ladd wore a tailored suit, just one of many he has to have for our line of work when formal attire is needed. Greer went about as nontraditional as one could get and opted for a bloodred cocktail dress that she happened to have in her array of clothing. They made a striking couple, not only because of their near-perfect good looks but because they looked like two halves of a whole coming together.
I normally don’t wax poetic about this sort of shit, given that I’ve been unsuccessful in love, but it doesn’t mean I can’t take joy in my friend’s happiness.
My gaze sweeps across the room of mostly Jameson employees and a few outside friends. Groups of two, three, four, and five people talk and laugh. There was no time to get a DJ, so music spins from an iPhone hooked to Bluetooth speakers. Cage and Jaime are the only ones dancing, looking like quite the fools. But I suppose the fact that they can be silly together is a testament to how right they are for each other. After all, Cage married her under false pretenses, telling her he was a used car salesman rather than a secret security agent. It took Jaime getting kidnapped—and Cage saving her—for the truth to come out. Luckily, she’s a forgiving soul.
My eyes land on Kynan, the man who started this company, who’s considered the patriarch of the Jameson family. He served as Ladd’s best man.
Kynan stands with his hand wound around his wife Joslyn as they talk with Camille and Jackson. Kynan and Joslyn are very much like Greer and Ladd, having been in love long ago and with that common theme of stupidity tearing them apart. Their second chance is working out nicely. Camille and Jackson are newly in love. He was assigned as her bodyguard and fell in love with the royal princess who stands to inherit not only a country but the world’s largest and wealthiest ruby mine. Many would call him a lucky son of a bitch for those reasons alone, but he scored big time by the mere fact that Camille is an incredibly genuine and down-to-earth woman. She doesn’t give a rat’s ass about her wealth and only wants to help people. I suspect we’ll all be in Bretaria in about a year’s time for their wedding, but no official word on that yet.