Page 37 of Saved By the SEAL

My blood runs cold. I expect the worst. I don’t know how Michelle will take bad news. I’ve attempted to broach the subject with her just in case she does find out that he’s no longer alive, but she hasn’t wanted to think about it. She doesn’t want to give up hope. If that’s shattered today, I can’t even begin to imagine how she’ll take it. It won’t be good, though.

“He’s fine,” Max finally confirms happily, making my head spin with the news. I didn’t dare to dream this was possible, but it is. “Still in the military, in secret divisions, which is why it’s taken us such a long time to find him, but he’s doing well. Reallywell, actually. He might have been forced into that job, but he’s worked hard and earned respect. He is very happy where he is.”

“Oh, wow.” I sink into the couch and rake my fingers through my hair. “That’s amazing, Max. I don’t know what to say…”

“It’s good, it’s all fantastic news, isn’t it? After such a shitty time you’ve had, it’s nice for you to get some positivity.”

“It is. This is just… it’s incredible. I can’t wait for Michelle to come back so I can tell her. She’ll be so pleased.”

“Unfortunately, I can’t get communication to him from Michelle because of his position, for the time being.”

“She’ll understand that, don’t you worry. Thank you so much for this, Max. You have no idea what it means.”

For me and Michelle, this is the last puzzle piece, the one thing that we have been waiting on ever since we started trying to find our new life. With this closure and a positive outcome, I just know that we can put the past behind us properly at long last and begin looking toward the future. It’s something that we’ve been talking about and wanting to happen for a while now, but this is the moment we can really do it. We can start looking toward everything that we’ve wanted at last.

“I’ll keep in touch with you, Jordan,” Max promises me. “I can’t call you all the time, you know how busy life gets, but I’ll talk to you as and when I can. I want to know how things are going with you. We might have only worked directly together for a short while, but I care about you. Both of you. I want to know that the pair of you are okay. And if you ever need anything…”

“Same.” I’m a little choked up, to be honest, but I need Max to know that the sentiment goes both ways. “Definitely.”

We talk for a little while longer, but at the time I hang up the phone, it feels like the end of an era has hit. That whole area of my life is long gone, behind me at last, which means certain things that I’ve been planning have finally arrived. It’s time, at long last, for me to seal the bond between us at last. It might seem soon for us to be considering such a serious future from an outsider’s perspective, but for me and Michelle, it feels like we have been holding off forever. It’s time. At last.

I set about putting my plan into action right away, not wanting to hold off for another second longer. Everything is ready already. I can do it all myself… well, mostly. But luckily, I have a good friend at work, Dennis Walker, who knows I might need him at the drop of a hat, so I put in a call to him and tell him it’s time at last. Things are rolling in the right direction…

She’s here.My heart skips a beat as I hear the door clicking open. Michelle is back from work at long last, and she has no idea what will face her. Excitement blooms in my chest as I just know how much she’s going to love this. It’ll be amazing.

“Honey, I’m hooome,” she calls out in a teasing sing-song tone of voice. “Oh, my goodness, what a day…”

Her words trail off as she takes a look around at the room which is all decorated with hearts, rose petals, and flowers everywhere. Sweet music plays softly, and she drinks me in wearing my finest suit. She’s stunned to the core.

“Michelle, I have some good news.” I step closer to her with a small smile playing on my lips. “Some great news, actually. Maxhas found your brother, alive and well, really loving his life in the military. Everything is good there.”

“It is?” Happy tears fill her eyes. “Oh, my God, I was starting to think that we wouldneverfind out about him. That’s incredible. So, he’s okay in the military? He doesn’t want to leave or anything like that? He doesn’t need to be rescued?”

“Not at all. He’s really happy.” I feel my own eyes well up too. “He’s really enjoying what he’s doing.”

“Oh, wow.” She clings to me. I hold her tightly so she doesn’t stumble and fall. This has taken the wind out of her sails, but in a good way. Relief is flooding her completely. This has been plaguing her for far too long. “That’s awesome, Jordan. Thank you so much. I would never have found that out if it weren’t for you. You pushed Max and got the truth for me.”

She leans into me, and I hold her tightly. We bask in this moment for a little while, enjoying this win. It feels incredible to have this wonderful news surging between us and pushing us forward into the future that we have always wanted.

“Did you do all of this to celebrate my brother?” Michelle asks. “Because this is incredible. It’s a lot, though…”

“Well, we do need to celebrate that because it’s the last puzzle piece, isn’t it? You might not be able to see your father and brother at the moment, but finally, you know that they are okay. Alexander and his circle of spies won’t be getting out of jail anytime soon, and your family are doing just fine. This is a brilliant day for us, don’t you think? One of the best ever.”

“It’s the first step for properly putting everything behind us, I suppose.” She nods and giggles. “My God, I never thought thatthis day would come. I can’t quite wrap my head around it at the moment. I can’t process it yet.”

I step back and give her a little break so she can catch her breath before we turn our attention to the next topic.

“Are you okay?” I hold onto her shoulders as I check in on her. “Do you need a drink or anything like that?”

She nods eagerly, so I hand her a glass of water and wait while she glugs it down. As soon as the glass hits the table, I take the moment to drop down onto one knee and hold up the ring box for her to see. Again, Michelle gasps, and she claps her hand to her mouth as if she can’t quite believe it. Her eyes almost pop out of her head in shock.

“What is this?” she gushes as her eyes run over my face. “Oh, my God, is this what I think it is?”

“Michelle Lebedev, I love you,” I begin, my voice already getting choked up with emotion. “I’ve loved you for a very long time. You have changed my life in every way possible and made it so much better. I didn’t know how happy I could be until I met you.” She’s tearing up now, and I might well be too. “You have inspired me and made my life incredible. I don’t ever want this to end. I want our love to last a lifetime, starting today, so what I’m really asking is will you marry me?”

“You want me to be your wife?” she stammers, hardly able to talk in her shock. “Are you serious?”

“Of course I do. I would love nothing more than to be your husband. This love… it’s unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before, and I want this to be my reality for the rest of my life. I’m hoping that you might want that too.”

---