Page 33 of SEAL Ever After

Ryan ducked down and kissed her forehead. “Exactly. Now eat your breakfast. Relax. We’ve got our entire lives ahead of us, sweetheart.”

***

Sarah kissed Ryan goodbye in front of the hotel later that evening, grinning as the bellhop put her suitcase, overnight bag, and dress onto the luggage cart. “Are you sure you don’t want me to help get that to the room?” Ryan asked, his voice deep.

“I’m fine, sweetheart. Morgan will be here any minute.”

He nodded, bending down to brush his lips against her forehead one more time. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach, and she knew it was probably just wedding nerves. “The room’s in my name, and they already have my payment information. When you check in, everything should be all set.”

“Great. I’ve got my wallet and stuff, so no worries if something goes wrong.”

“I don’t need you paying for our hotel on our wedding night,” he countered.

“Good thing that’s tomorrow then,” she said with a wink. “So you have everything you need, right?”

“I’m all set,” he assured her. “Have fun with your girlfriends tonight. And you’ve got those hair appointments or whatever in the morning?”

“Hair and makeup,” she confirmed. “They’ll come right to the room, so after we have a late brunch, we’ll be getting ready for the ceremony!”

“This is the hairstylist friend of that guy you met?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yep. She’s got her own salon here in Virginia Beach and luckily had an opening, can you believe it? I think she had a cancellation or something, because everyone else was booked since this was so last minute.”

“We’ve had a few weeks to plan,” he said with a chuckle.

Sarah lightly swatted at him. “Trust me, in wedding planning, that’s last minute. You’re just saying that because of all the last-minute missions you’re involved with. Some people spend an entire year planning their wedding—maybe even longer.”

“Thank goodness that’s not us.”

“Seriously. All right,” she said, looking into the open hatch of his SUV. “I think that’s the last of my stuff. And you’ll just bring your luggage tomorrow?”

“It’ll be in my car,” he assured her. “We’ll go back to the room tomorrow night after the reception and then fly out the next day on our honeymoon.”

“Sounds perfect,” she said excitedly, jumping up and down. “Oh, my phone’s buzzing with a text. I bet that’s Morgan. So, I’ll see you tomorrow!”

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said, ducking down for one last kiss. Sarah shivered as Ryan’s lips brushed over hers. The bellhop was discreetly looking away when Ryan stood back up, and Sarah flushed. That kiss was completely chaste, but something about the fact that they were getting married tomorrow was turning her into the typical blushing bride.

Sarah stepped toward the bellhop and then turned and blew Ryan another kiss. The next time she saw him, it would be at their oceanfront ceremony. She thought she might actually explode from excitement.

Chapter 16

Sighing in contentment, Sarah stretched out on the bed in the luxurious hotel suite. Morgan and another girlfriend were in the attached living room, ordering room service. Sarah heard them shrieking with laughter and smiled.

“How many bottles of champagne do you want me to order?” Morgan called out.

“Two!” Sarah shouted just as her friend Bree called out three.

Shaking her head, Sarah rose and walked into the living room. Morgan finished placing the order and hung up the hotel room phone. “It’ll be up here in thirty minutes!”

“Awesome, I’m starving. Ryan made me breakfast in bed, but I skipped lunch. God, will you look at that view?” Sarah said, glancing out the open balcony doors to the waves crashing on the shore.

“And tomorrow you’ll be down there getting hitched,” Bree said.

“I know, I can’t believe it. The weather should be amazing, the florist confirmed the flowers—everything is going to be perfect!”

Morgan flopped down onto the sofa, brushing back her hair. “And then you and Commander Hottie can ride off into the sunset together. It doesn’t get much more perfect than that.”

“Speaking of Ryan, what’s he doing tonight?” Bree asked.