“What do you have in mind?” Cruce asks.
Cage scoots his chair in closer. “I have some great ideas that—”
“Dude,” Malik drawls, holding up his hand to stop Cage midsentence. “You got drunk in Vegas and married Jaime on a whim. I doubt you have any good romantic ideas.”
Clutching at his chest, face exaggerated with faux devastation, Cage says, “That really hurts, man.”
“Trip to Paris,” Saint says. “Top of the Eiffel Tower.”
“A helicopter ride over Pittsburgh at night,” Cruce offers.
“Tropical island—Fiji is nice.” I give a pointed glance at Cage, then back to Malik. “Not Vegas.”
“All suggestions are nice,” Malik says, leaning back in his chair and stretching his arms above his head a moment before folding them on his stomach as he grins. “But I’ve already got it figured out. Hot-air balloon ride over the mountains at sunset.”
“Whoa. That’s good,” I say with an affirming nod. “Really good.”
“It’s no Eiffel Tower,” Saint quips. “But I agree it’s good.”
“I don’t think Vegas should be discounted,” Cage mutters. “My marriage is as strong as they come.”
Malik ignores Cage and smiles. “It’s booked for Saturday, so come Sunday morning, I will be officially and irrevocably off the market.”
I snort at the grandiose statement. “You were off the market the minute you laid eyes on Anna.”
A little how I felt when I laid eyes on Abby. Not instant love, like I want to marry her, because that’s the furthest thing from my mind.
Rather, it was an intense understanding that I’d never met anyone like her before. It wasn’t just her looks but those first seconds of interaction and her confidence with Bubba, and okay… a lot of it was how gorgeous she is.
Point is, sometimes you just know something is worth going after.
Saint’s phone rings, and he snags it off his desk. Glancing at the caller ID, his face softens and he answers, “Hey, babe… what’s up?”
Clearly his wife, Sin.
His face pales as he stands from his chair. “Like, right now?”
Malik and I exchange a look.
“Did you call an ambulance?” He sounds panicked.
We all stand up, ready to jump into whatever action Saint might need of us.
He takes deep breaths as he listens. His pregnant wife is due to give birth in about two weeks, but I’m guessing something has happened.
“I’m calm,” he growls into the phone, though he’s anything but. “Yes, okay… fine. I understand. I’ll meet you there.”
He listens some more, then his voice cracks. “I love you too. Can’t wait to meet the little one.”
Saint disconnects and holds out his hands, both shaking like a leaf. “Which one of you wants to drive me to the hospital?”
“Sin’s in labor?” Cage asks, grabbing his car keys from his pocket.
“Her dad is driving her there now.” Saint sucks in more air through his nose and lets it out slowly.
He’s fucking adorable.
“Let’s go,” Cage says, taking Saint by the upper arm and propelling him through the desk maze.
“Good luck!” I call after them. I doubt Saint even heard me.
Malik and Cruce drop back down into their chairs. “I’m going to shoot a quick text to Kynan and Jos. They’ll want to go to the hospital.”
That’s another big difference between Jameson and the Marines. No superiors would have ever gone to the hospital for the laboring wife of one of their troops. But Kynan McGrath is a very involved boss, and he fosters a family atmosphere. His wife, Joslyn, is like a mother to all, despite not being much older than most of the people who work here.
“I hope to fuck I’m not that much of a basket case when our time comes,” Cruce mutters. His wife Barrett is almost five months pregnant, as I recall.
I glance at my watch. “You guys want to grab lunch?”
Malik shakes his head. “I want to get this debrief report done.”
Cruce looks down at his watch and grimaces. “I’ve got a dentist appointment.”
Scanning the work area, I don’t see anyone else that I’d ask to go eat with. While I’m friendly with all, I haven’t developed good friendships with everyone yet. Most of my work has been with Malik and Cage, and they’re the ones I enjoy hanging with.
Maybe I’ll just head home and hang with the dogs. Princess has fit in solidly and is really coming out of her shell. Maybe I’ll take her for a walk, just the two of us, to do some bonding.
I could swing by the clinic and see what Abby is up to. I mean, sure… it’s her workday, but I could probably use some guidance on what type of exercise Princess should be getting. I don’t want to do too much, given her former sedentary life cooped up in a cage, but I want to get her out and about. Abby would know way better than I do how to handle it.
“I’ll catch you guys later.” I give Malik a light punch on his shoulder. “Good luck Saturday.”