Christmas with the Marine Read online

  She wouldn’t confront him even though she was on edge. She didn’t want to spoil his special night.

  Tomorrow would be soon enough to set the record straight. If the Marine wanted her, well, she was ready to take that leap. Not into marriage. But to whatever the next step in their relationship might be.

  And her family would get on board or else. She was done letting them walk all over her.

  When the limo finally pulled up in front her parents’ home in San Antonio, it was nearly two in the morning and she was wiped. Still, a promise was a promise.

  She texted Ben as she headed upstairs. We’re back. Miss you.

  Call me when you get in bed, he texted back. He’d answered quickly and she wondered if he was still out with his friends.

  Ok

  She washed her face and changed. Then she crawled into bed and hit the FaceTime button to call him. She wanted to see his face.

  “Hey, gorgeous,” he said as he yawned.

  “Did I wake you up with the text?” she asked.

  He nodded. “You know I’m a light sleeper, but I wanted you to wake me up, remember? So how was tonight? I bet you’re exhausted.”

  She smiled. “It was fine. Really great for my dad. There was a lot of turbulence on the way home. You’re so much better at finding me calmer weather.” In more ways than one.

  “You sure you’re okay?”

  “Yeah...I’m just really tired. I might have a tough time going to sleep without you holding me.”

  “Or you holding me,” he said.

  “Would it be really needy if I asked you to keep the phone line open so I can go to sleep looking at you?” she asked. Praying that he didn’t think she was some kind of lost soul who couldn’t live without him for a night.

  He chuckled and then gave her one of his best smiles. The kind that sent instant heat to her core. “I was thinking the same thing.”

  She lifted up and positioned the phone on the pillow so that she could look straight at it when lying down.

  “We’re lame, right?”

  “Yep. Babe, but we’re lame together.” They both laughed.

  “So how was the officers’ party?”

  “Okay. The food wasn’t too bad, though. And Jake didn’t puke in my car, which happened a few months ago and I’m never going to let him forget it. That reminds me, I have something to show you.”

  A picture flashed up on the screen of Matt, Jake and Brody in elf outfits. For a full minute she laughed so hard her stomach hurt.

  “That might be one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen. How did you get them to do that?”

  He explained about his friends’ wives playing a little joke on the guys. Then he switched to a picture of him in a Santa suit.

  “I bet the kids went crazy,” she said.

  “I actually had a lot of fun.”

  “It wasn’t too loud?” She’d been worried with the way noise bothered him that it might be tough. It was one of the many reasons she’d wanted to be there for him.

  “It was at first, but then, those kids were so happy, I didn’t think about the noise, or the fact that they wanted to hug me. It was just pure joy.”

  “I’m so mad I had to miss it. I love kids, and I would have paid big money to see you in that suit in person. Maybe you can wear it for me sometime?”

  He grinned.

  “What time will you be here later?” she asked.

  “I needed to talk to you about that.”

  For a minute, she panicked. If he couldn’t come, she’d have to make an excuse that she was needed for work because she could not face this party without him. Maybe that made her weak, but she needed Ben.

  “O-kay,” she said carefully. “What’s up?” She tried to be cheerful so he wouldn’t see her abject fear at the thought of being at her parents’ party without a date.

  “I might be an hour or so late getting there.”

  Whew.

  “They had to move the graduation ceremonies to oh sixteen—I mean four p.m. We don’t have that many grunts, but the ceremony is important and then there’s a reception. I have an arrangement with Brody, that if we’re not done by six, I sneak out and he’ll cover for me. I’ve had to do it three times for him so he could make doctor’s appointments with Mari. We’ve got a system.”

  That might actually be better. It would give her time to talk to her dad. She didn’t want him to make Ben feel uncomfortable in any way. “That’s fine. The good thing is we’re only a short drive away.”

  “True. I thought about showing up tonight and waiting for you. But I can’t miss that graduation and besides, it might have come across strangely. ‘Hello, Mr. Garrett, I know I’m supposed to meet you tomorrow night, but I have a difficult time sleeping without your daughter. And by difficult, I mean hard.’”

  Then he flashed the camera down his body to his cock, which had tented his pajama bottoms. She hissed in a breath at the sight, as warmth tingled through her to her toes. He was stunning. And she needed him.

  “You should do something about that.”

  He laughed. “I will once we hang up.”

  “No, I mean now,” she said. “Show me. Touch yourself—I want to watch.” He brought the camera back up to his face.

  “I will if you will,” he said. His voice had dropped to that husky tone.

  “Deal,” she said.

  13

  MOSTLY, BEN ENJOYED the graduation ceremonies. He understood the work the grunts had put in and it was a joyous time after a lot of blood, sweat and tears. But today all he could think about was Ainsley. He wanted to see her.

  She’d texted him a couple of times already, and he knew she was anxious. So was he. Meeting her parents was nothing short of fear-inducing and he’d been in a lot of scary situations.

  Finally, after two hours in traffic, he pulled up on what he thought was the right road.

  This can’t be it.

  Ben stretched his neck out of the truck to look past the iron gate that had been left open for the line of cars pulling through. He’d thought she said the event was at her parents’ home. Glancing down at his phone, he double-checked the numbers and then looked back at the address carved in the stone wall.

  Yep, this was the place. As he moved farther along the long drive and the house came into view, he blew out a long whistle.

  Home sweet hotel.

  She was rich. He’d known that in theory. But he hadn’t been expecting this. The house was bigger than some makeshift bases he’d stayed at, and that was not an exaggeration.

  This kind of rich was something that didn’t seem to be within the realm of possibility. It was one thing to read about it and look at pictures, but quite another to have it hit you hard in the face. The collar of his dress blues grew tight around his neck. It took a lot to make his palms sweat, but they were damp against the steering wheel.

  No way he’d fit in here. All those insecurities about being a kid from a modest one-parent household—and a struggling one parent at that—flooded his mind.

  Her dad would see right through him.

  He could text her. Tell her that his mom was upset he wasn’t already in Austin, which was true. Mom had called earlier and told him that if helping a woman was so important, he should bring her home to meet his mother.

  He’d promised to see what he could do, but explained that Christmas was a big deal to her family. That this party was important to her, and he wanted to be there for her.

  He glanced up again and took a deep breath.

  The monstrosity of a house made of stone and glass leered back at him, reminding him just how naive he could be sometimes, even after everything he’d been through.

  No wonder her father was trying to find her a rich husband—somebody w
ho would fit easily into this world, know what to expect. Ben didn’t measure up.

  Feeling protective toward Ainsley was something he could understand. But this—he just couldn’t wrap his mind around it.

  His phone buzzed. He answered without looking.

  “Hello.”

  “Where are you?” she asked. The anxiousness in her voice brought him back to earth. She was upset. “I swear if Dad introduces me to one more of his young associates I’m going to scream. Loud. I’m not saying that to make you jealous. I don’t think he believes you are real. That’s the only thing I can figure. I will start screaming soon, and then my mom’s going to be really embarrassed and I’ll probably end up on the gossip pages as they haul me out in a white coat with those funny arms. I’m...weak. I guess. I don’t know. But I can’t take it anymore. Tell me not to go crazy and run through the party screaming ‘I have date. I have a date. I have a date.’”

  The idea of her father pushing other men on her was not sitting well with Ben. Even if part of him understood why.

  That should be me.

  No, it shouldn’t.

  He would never be able to live up to her expectations. She might be okay with giving up the rich life for a little while, but he wasn’t sure she’d turn her back on it for good.

  “Ben, I need you.” And there it was—the whole reason he was here. “Please.”

  “Ains, did you forget to tell me something?”

  “You’re wearing your dress blues, right? You look so hot in those. I’m going to have to keep my eye on you the whole time around these women. Wait, did I type the address wrong? I’m always transposing numbers. It’s the one with the big iron gate.”

  “And even bigger house. This looks more like a museum than where someone lives.”

  “Whew. You’re here. Thank goodness. I was so, oh, the ‘forgot to tell you’ part. But you knew about my dad,” she said.

  “Knowing and seeing are two different things.”

  “I’ll meet you outside. We can chat. I really want this evening to be good—for both of us.”

  And so he promised himself that no matter how he felt, he would fake it for her.

  At least for tonight.

  True to her word, as he pulled up to the valet, she was there on the steps. Dressed in a dark blue gown that matched his uniform, with her hair in curls on top of her head, she looked like a princess.

  She was a princess.

  He handed his keys and a ten-dollar bill to the valet. “No, sir, we aren’t allowed to take tips,” the valet said.

  “Keep it,” he said. “It’s not a tip. It’s a ‘sorry it’s not a Mercedes or a Ferarri’ gift.”

  The kid laughed. “It’s the truck I want. No gift needed. And it’s American-made. Oorah.”

  “Oorah. You’re all right, kid,” Ben said.

  They fist-bumped, and then he climbed the steps to Ainsley, who was twisting her hands nervously. There were others coming up behind him, but she hugged him and then tugged his hand. “Come on inside, I promise we’ll talk before I introduce you to everyone.”

  He nodded.

  Inside, the foyer was a rotunda with painted ceilings and a chandelier the size of a small car. She pulled him to the left and into a private room. When she flipped on a light, he saw it was a study with a large desk.

  Wrapping her arms around his neck, she gave him a quick peck on the jaw, and then rubbed away her lipstick mark with her thumb.

  “You’re probably mad, but to be honest I just didn’t think about how the place looks. You’d asked about my house in Corpus and I kind of skirted around the fact that I’d inherited it from one of my great aunts. But I don’t tell people who my parents are for a good reason. I don’t want them to possibly like me because of this.” She waved a hand toward the expensive-looking painting on the wall.

  “I get that, but you could have given me a heads-up before I got here. I thought maybe I was in the wrong place. Yes, I figured out who your dad was, but still, I was surprised. This is— You’re so normal.”

  “Yes. Exactly. To you, I’m normal. That’s what I want. I never know who likes me for who I am. My whole life has been that way. I’m not some poor little rich girl, but I’ve had situations where I was friends with people because their parents told them to make nice with me for some lucrative business reason. That’s this world...sometimes. But it isn’t who I am.”

  He couldn’t even imagine what that must be like, people coming after you with agendas. Never knowing if those closest to you were really folks you could trust.

  One of the things he liked best about being a Marine was even though they didn’t always agree or necessarily get along, his team had each other’s backs. No matter what, they were there for one another. Ainsley didn’t have a lot of that. At least, until she met him.

  “Those guys I was telling you about? It isn’t about love or even attraction. It’s about mergers and acquisitions. That is not a life I choose for myself. If I ever decide to spend my life with someone, it will be for love. And it won’t matter what they do or how much money either of us has.”

  She took his hands in hers and clasped them between their chests. “Tell me you understand.”

  He nodded again. “I do. It’s just a lot to take in, Ains.”

  She gave him a nervous smile. “It is. I get that. I do. But we’re good, right? What we have is real. That’s what I’m holding on to tonight. The rest of this, it doesn’t matter, okay? It’s one night in fantasyland. And then we get to go back to our regular lives. Please, don’t be mad. Please. I thought we would be driving together and I had this big plan to explain about what you were going to see. There aren’t any pics of the house in the media because dad doesn’t want to advertise for security reasons.

  “That’s partly why when they moved here, I stayed in Corpus. I just didn’t want to be a part of this. I’m grateful, don’t get me wrong. I’ve had a lot of amazing opportunities, and a good life. But I told you before, this was never me. It was just the situation I was born into.”

  * * *

  HOW COULD HE blame her? It wasn’t her fault her father was a billionaire several times over. She was right. He didn’t exactly announce how he’d grown up when they first met. Not that it was that bad, but it was a far cry from this.

  “I forgot to tell you something,” he said as he drew her hands to his lips and kissed her knuckles.

  “What?” she asked hesitantly.

  “You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”

  She blessed him with one of her angelic smiles and then blinked really fast as though she was trying to keep her tears at bay.

  “I’m sorry I gave you a hard time. I thought I was prepared, but it was a shock. I’m good now. We’re good.”

  “You’re the most honorable, handsome man I’ve ever met.” Then she kissed him, and he pushed away all his troubles and the fact that she was so rich.

  When she backed away, they were both breathing heavy.

  “You ready for this?” She cocked her head toward the study door.

  He chuckled. “After that kiss, I need a second.”

  She laughed with him. “So I’ll give you a tour. We might as well start here. This is my dad’s study. He never uses it. He’s got his own man cave in the back of the house with his televisions, pool table and a bar. I’ll take you back there in a bit.

  “It’s where he does most of his business these days. Mom likes having him around, and he’s never been one for sitting behind a desk. He’s always moving, always doing. And, uh, I just want you to know that I talk a lot about my mom and dad but they’re good people. Still, I’m not really sure what to expect. But they’ve loved me. They’ve given me an incredible life. It’s just, you know, they drive me nuts. The way parents can do sometimes.”


  He’d been through several tours, and nearly died twice. He could do this.

  I’m a Marine.

  Funny how that statement meant so much to him. When he first started at boot camp, he’d hated it. It wasn’t until his first tour when he helped save some kids from a village that was being bombed that he realized he was making a difference. And that’s when he changed. The Marines became his life. A brotherhood.

  A bunch of rich people were nothing. He’d faced much worse. And he was his own man.

  As he and Ainsley left the study, a man with almost white hair was coming in through the front door. His skin was tanned leather, but it was the blue eyes just like Ainsley’s that made him recognizable. He stared directly at Ben.

  “Dad, what are you doing?” Ainsley sounded upset. Ben couldn’t see her face since she was just a step in front of him.

  “I was looking for you. One of the caterers said they’d seen you with someone in a uniform. I’m guessing that’s you,” her father said. His eyes never left Ben.

  “Yes, sir. I just arrived.”

  Her father glanced to the study door and then back to them. “Why are you hiding in my study?”

  “Dad! We weren’t hiding. We were talking. I kind of forgot to tell him about...well, everything. He’d met mom, but...” She was fumbling with her words. She hardly ever did that.

  “It’s nice to meet you, sir.” He stuck out his hand and the other man shook it. “I wasn’t aware that Ainsley came from such a wealthy family. She’s so accomplished and such a savvy businesswoman, I assumed what she had, she had earned.”

  She turned to Ben. “I did earn it,” she said, an eyebrow going up.

  Ben shook his head. Great first impression. Not. “Not what I meant. Of course you earned it. You’re one of the smartest people I’ve ever met.”

  “That’s better.” Ainsley pretended to be perturbed, but clearly she’d liked his save.

  Her father started laughing. “So this is the Marine you’ve been talking about?”

  “No. I just invited some random Marine to our Christmas party because that’s how I roll, Dad.”

  “Always with the snappy comeback,” her father said. “It’s nice to meet you, Major. Welcome to our Christmas party.”