She hugged his warm little body close while he patted her cheeks and babbled at her, until a loud, ostentatious snore from Geo made her glance over to where he now sprawled on his back, arms thrown over his head.
“Uh-oh,” she hissed. “Daddy’s asleep.”
“Dada up?”
“Right. Dada up.”
She helped Aidan stand, and he turned around and sat down—hard—right on Geo’s stomach.
“Oof!”
Cackling with glee, Aidan did it again, and again, each time Geo letting out a loud, mock-pained grunt. At last Aidan tired of the game, and Geo scooped him up in his arms, saying, “Go on and shower, love. You have a big day ahead, and I have everything under control.”
She knew he did. Since Aidan’d been born, Geo had thrown himself whole-heartedly into family life, soaking it up like a thirsty sponge. Some careful planning, combined with being in the right place at the right time, had opened up an opportunity neither of them could’ve foreseen.
“I’ve been offered a billet with the LeapFrogs,” he’d told her one night, his eyes bright with excitement.
Pulled exclusively from the spec ops community, the Navy’s parachute demonstration team traveled to events all over the country.
“They want to add a K9 handler to the troop to raise awareness of what military working dogs can do.”
He’d get to jump out of airplanes with Bosch, swoop in on a helicopter and fast-rope with him to the ground, and conduct mock searches and takedowns.
At first she’d been worried that he’d be bored, that he’d miss the close camaraderie of deployment or the thrill of combat, but to her surprise and delight, he didn’t seem to miss either. He was still involved in the community he loved, he got to work with his favorite badass dog, and best of all, he was safely stateside, even if sometimes he was gone for a few weeks at a time.
Yeah, life was pretty damn good.
Oh, the joys of a leisurely soak under a hot spray! Lani took full advantage of it, running a deep conditioner through her hair and taking the time to shave her legs. She applied her makeup carefully, then put on a pair of dark jeans, a black tank and a sheer, emerald green blouse. Slipping her feet into some strappy sandals, she made her way next door to where Matt and Shane sprawled out on the patio, cups of coffee in hand. With a pleased exclamation, she bent to hug Matt and give him a kiss on the cheek.
“Welcome home. We missed you ’round here.”
“Thanks. Good to be home.” He squeezed Shane’s ankle where it rested across his thigh.
Shane glanced up at her, his smile welcoming but his blue eyes shadowed with exhaustion. “Morning, beautiful.” A huge yawn seemed to catch him off-guard, and he barely had time to cover it with his hand. “Sorry. Didn’t get much sleep last night.”
Lani waggled her eyebrows. “Ah, the joys of homecoming.”
“I wish it was just that.” Shane grunted. “Matt sprung a big decision on me.”
“Oh?” Declining his offer of coffee, she sank down into a patio chair opposite them. “You finally decide about the DEVGRU slot?”
Shane huffed, and Matt shot him a warning look. “Don’t start, clown.”
Lani had been surprised to learn that a SEAL could delay reporting to Green Team, the training platoon for the elite SEAL Team Six. If a guy didn’t feel ready, or if he wanted to go through another deployment cycle with his original team, he could choose to do that and not lose his spot.
Matt had been putting it off for over two years now.
She searched their faces. Matt himself appeared completely relaxed, but Shane’s lips were tight. “Like I said last night, you don’t have to make any grand gestures, okay? You’re already stuck with me.”
“Oh, my God. It’s not a ‘grand gesture,’ so would you fucking stop calling it that?” Matt swatted Shane’s leg. “And I’ll say again, accepting the slot means us moving to Virginia. That means ripping you away from this house you’ve worked so hard on—”
“It’s just a damn house—” Shane began, subsiding when Matt growled, “Let me finish, please.”
“Humph.”
Lani couldn’t help but suppress a smile at the mutinous look that crossed Shane’s face. God, these two could be stubborn, and passionate in both love and conflict. It’d made for some very interesting times during the year she’d been their neighbor.
“Your support system is here,” Matt was saying. “Your pain doc. Your school.”
She gave an internal wince. Finally accepting that he wouldn’t be suitable for an operational command, Shane announced one night that he was seeking a medical discharge from the Navy and would enroll in the SDSU occupational therapy program, his ultimate goal to work with wounded warriors living with traumatic brain injuries.
“I can transfer schools. I’m willing to do whatever it takes—”
“To what? To make sure I’m living out my dream?” Matt waved his arm. “What about your dreams? Your happiness? Your well-being? You honestly think none of that matters to me?”
Shane’s face softened. “Of course I think it matters.”
“Then let me show you how much it matters. How much you matter. It’s not a grand gesture, it’s me saying that I don’t need DEVGRU to feel complete, but I do need you.”
Putting his coffee cup down, Matt slid into Shane’s lap and draped his arms around his neck. “You’re going to be my husband long after I’m done being a SEAL. At least, I hope you will.”
“Oh, you know you’re never getting rid of me.” Shane lifted his face and they shared a lingering kiss, his fingertips drawing tiny circles on Matt’s bare back.
Heaving a deep sigh, Matt finally moved from Shane’s lap, picked up his coffee again and headed into the house. “Guess we’d better get going.”
As soon as he’d gone, Shane leapt to his feet. “Okay. We’re headed to the base to work out with the platoon and run the O-course, and then Rhys and Devon are meeting us at the courthouse at two to act as witnesses. Ceremony’s supposed to be at three. You’ll get everything set up here?”
“I’ve got it all under control,” she assured him. “Geo’s taken Aidan out for the day, and then he’ll drop him at our babysitter’s in time to be back for the big surprise.”
“Good.” Shane slid his arm around her shoulders. “I’m getting married today, oh, my God!” His voice sounded a little squeaky with nerves, and she gave him a squeeze.