Page 55 of Alana's Hero

Carson grinned.“That’s classified.”

Alana snorted.“Classified, my ass.”But she shook her head.“One of these days you’ll have to tell us.”

“One of these days, I might,” Carson said.

Alana grinned and looked up to Chase.“Your team has some interesting names.And that’s where you got the nickname Salty Dog?”she asked.“You like grapefruit juice and vodka?”

He nodded.“Yes, it is.Now that my rowdy family is here, and because my girl has a propensity for forgetting some of the most important moments of her life, I wanted you all to bear witness to what I’m about to do.”

Alana frowned.“What’s this all about?”Her heart fluttered in her chest, and butterflies erupted in her belly.

Chase puffed out his chest and dug a hand into the pocket of his jeans as he pulled out a small box and sank to one knee.

His friends whistled, hooted and called out.

“Go, Salty Dog!”Rusty Nail called out.

“Do it right, old man!”Carson yelled.

Dirty Martini snorted.“Another one bites the dust.”

Chase shot them a glaring look.“Shut up and listen.I need witnesses.”

Every one of the men pulled out their cell phones and hit their video recording buttons.

Alana’s knees weakened as she stared down at Chase looking up at her.

“Just so you know,” he said.“I’ve cleared this with your father.”

Her breath caught.“My father?You two are talking?”

Chase nodded.“Yes, we are.He doesn’t hate me anymore.”

She chuckled.“You’re a miracle worker.My father hates everyone.”

“Not his son-in-law.Not anymore.We’ve bonded.And I worked it out with Hank Patterson that I’d go to work with the Hawaii branch of the Brotherhood Protectors.It helps that Jace Hawkins and I worked together for a couple of years.He put in a good word for me with Patterson.”

His gaze settled on her expression.His wife’s eyes were beginning to look a little glassy.His wife.Man, he liked the sound of it.

“Are you kidding me?”Alana’s eyes widened and she flung her arms around his neck.“You’re going to work in Hawaii?”

Chase frowned.“I thought you’d like to be close to home—and your dad was all for it.For the record, he doesn’t expect you to go back to work for him, unless you want to.”

She leaned back, her brow dipping low on her forehead.“I thought you had your heart set on Montana?”

“If you want to go to Montana, Hank left that option open as well.Or we can go to the Louisiana bayou or Colorado.”

She laughed.“I love where I’m from.Hawaii is in my blood and bones.Of course, I’d love to stay there, and it would be nice to be close to my father, as cantankerous as he can be.I know all the Brotherhood Protectors there.They helped me when my friend Kimo and I were kidnapped.Hawk is an amazing man.You’ll love the entire team.Which means more family and friends.”

She’d already filled him in on her last adventure, so he didn’t wince too hard at the mention of it.“Good.Hawaii, it is.But that’s not all.”Chase took a deep breath and launched.“Alana Neal Flannigan, you’ve shown me that marriage isn’t as scary as I always thought.You’ve shown me how strong a woman can be, and how much joy she can bring to a relationship.I wanted to show you how much that has meant to me by giving you a token of my love.”He opened the box and extracted a beautiful ring with a large diamond solitaire at the center, the band lined with smaller diamonds.“I know we skipped the whole engagement thing.So, we don’t have to do that.And we got married before we got to know each other, and I have the certificate to prove it.So, Alana, will younotannul our marriage, will you stay married to me for richer or poorer, until death do us part?”He took her left hand in his and held it with the ring poised to join the wedding band on her ring finger.He paused, waiting for her response.

The lump forming in Alana’s throat almost made it impossible for her to answer.She swallowed several times, delaying the inevitable conclusion.

“Oh, sweetheart,” Chase said.“Don’t hesitate.You’re getting me worried.”

She laughed, the joy of the moment bringing tears to her eyes.Finally, she forced words past her vocal cords.“Yes, yes, yes,” she said, and pulled him to his feet and into her arms.“I wasn’t sure who you were at first, but you’ve shown me a man I can trust to save me when the cartel is after me.A man who likes to dance and isn’t afraid to do it in front of every barhopping drunk in Cabo San Lucas.And you’ve shown me that falling in love doesn’t have to take months to get there.When you find the right person, you just know, even through a haze of alcohol.I love you, Chase Flannigan…my best friend, my hero and my husband.I’ll stay married to you for as long as we both shall live.”

Alana flung her arms around her husband’s neck and kissed him with all the love and passion she felt for the stranger she’d woken up married to in a foreign country.

The men congratulated Chase amid hugs and good-natured ribbing.All of them lined up to kiss Alana’s cheek before they resumed their seats and lifted their drinks for a toast.

“To the newlyweds!”Carson said.“May they live long and procreate.We need the next generation of Navy SEALs to carry on the tradition.”

A cheer went up from the table of Navy SEALs, and the party of Alana’s life began in earnest.

THE END