Her parents ushered A.J.’s parents into the living room. Sienna turned to A.J. and kissed his mouth.
Life was good. Taylor was behind bars awaiting trial while Jericho used Merchant and Knight to build an airtight case. Rojas was also going down and he’d implicated Knight in several murders. Tyrone Knight wouldn’t be seeing the light of day anytime soon. David would be busy testifying against Jimmy Lee Moran in US District Court, as well as acting as a witness for Jericho in his many prosecutions.
When she turned to go into the living room, he said, “Wait. You caught me off guard that day at the beach.”
Her eyes fell to his hand and the velvet box he held. Holding it out to her, he said, “This is for you.”
She took the box but held her breath as she opened the lid and then it rushed out in admiration. The ring caught the light and flashed.
“I want everyone to know that you’re mine.”
He slipped the ring on her finger and Sienna wrapped her arms around him and held on.
“One more surprise. I put in my papers to become a SEAL instructor.”
“You’re sure this is what you want?”
“I’m sure. I promised to be honest with myself. Real courage was when you let your fears go and admitted to me that you loved me. Telling my commander that I couldn’t continue as an active-duty SEAL because of my injury was something I didn’t want to face, but you gave me the courage to step up and be brave.”
She cupped his face. “If it wasn’t for you, I would never have realized what I was doing with my family and my fears.”
“Looks like you took care of that. I want to make a life with you, and I want to be here to do it. The best part is that I can still contribute to the SEALs.”
“Life, love, happiness. Sounds pretty damn good to me. I’m glad I was a woman who dared, and I have you and your trident pin to prove it.”
“When do you get together with your friends again?”
“Not until we all have souvenirs.”
“If we really tried,” he whispered in her ear, “I bet we could come up with something much sexier than my trident pin.”
“No. I don’t think so, A.J. The pin is perfect. Just perfect.”
Sienna wondered if her friends knew what they were getting themselves into. Lana, tough and determined, and Kate, sweet and levelheaded. She hoped they learned as much from their journeys as Sienna had learned from hers.
“Sienna,” her mother whispered from the hall. “Get in here quick before your father drags Senator Buckner into the garage.”
“I don’t know, Lynne,” A.J. said with a wink to Sienna. “That’s a damn fine jigsaw.”
“Don’t even joke about it, A.J.,” Lynne said, giving him a scolding look.
“How about we show them this?” Sienna said, proudly displaying the ring to her mother.
Her mother squealed and all heads turned.
A.J. chuckled as he put his arm around Sienna, and they went forward together.
* * *