Carlotta did not like leaving Caleb with Gordon. Not that she thought her man incapable of defending himself against the weasel. More that she worried Caleb would not see Gordon’s sneaky manipulation until it was too late. But he had respected her need to speak her mind. She could allow him no less.
In the car, she waited, wringing her hands, watching with an unblinking gaze. They exchanged some low, heated words—nothing she could hear. Suddenly, Gordon paled and stepped back. Caleb smiled, gave him the one-fingered salute, and marched back to the car.
When he hopped in, she stared, mouth agape. “What did you say to him?”
Caleb just grinned, supremely satisfied. “Let’s just say he understands now that if he bothers you again he’ll have a sniper, two SEALs, a former Army Ranger, and a former CIA operative willing to end his miserable life and hide the body so it will never be identified. I might have described just a bit how that could happen. Just for a minute. Nothing too over the top.”
Carlotta thought she should probably be horrified or maybe even angry that it had taken Caleb’s threat to make Gordon understand. But she wasn’t going to change the little bastard. The important thing was that she had changed herself. And even when she had not let Caleb hold her hand for every part of this journey, he had been with her in spirit, showing her from the beginning what a true man should be.
“You really are a wicked, wonderful man.”
Later that evening, Caleb sneaked a kiss as Carlotta put the last of the accessories in place. For the last two hours, she’d been running from room to room, checking drapes, fluffing pillows, straightening out area rugs, flipping on lights…
“It looks perfect, baby. You’ve done a terrific job. Come have a glass of wine and enjoy how great the house looks before everyone arrives.”
Earlier in the day, Tyler, Deke, Jack, and Logan, who had just gotten leave, brought over all Hunter and Kata’s furniture, setting it perfectly in place. Carlotta had packed a few of their clothes and essentials into boxes and brought them over as well. Kata and Hunter would no doubt move the rest out of their old apartment. But everything in the house now looked fresh and organized and like something out of a magazine—a far cry from the house they’d walked into a few weeks ago.
“Everything you did to the house, querido, made it a much better place to live. I merely added color.”
“Along with a lot of love.”
He hugged her tight as Logan shoved open the front door, holding Tara’s hand. They both looked around the house with big smiles, stopping in front of the towering Christmas tree decorated entirely in red and gold, a shimmering jewel in an otherwise sleek great room.
Caleb approached his younger son and clapped him on the back. “Good to see you.”
“Hey, Dad.” He turned, and they bumped shoulders.
Then Caleb broke away and leaned over to Tara. As always, she was such a tiny thing, and he was careful as he wrapped her in a gentle hug.
“Everything looks great,” Logan’s wife said with a wondrous smile. “Hi, Carlotta.”
She bustled forward, looking sexy as hell in a black V-neck sweater with gold flecks, a short black skirt that showed off those legs he’d become addicted to getting between. It hugged her luscious ass…and damn, he’d better stop this train of thought or he’d be sporting a hard-on when the party started.
After Carlotta hugged both Logan and Tara warmly, his son’s wife handed Lottie some of the drinks they’d brought for the party. The two women immediately went to the kitchen to chill the cans and bottles.
Logan sent him a speculative glance. “Still just looking at Carlotta?”
“Nope.” He grinned widely.
His son laughed. “I kind of got that impression. I wasn’t sure if we were going to have to leave the room quickly because you sure looked like you wanted to undress her right that instant.”
“I did. I still do. But I can wait. At least five minutes.”
“That long?” Logan drawled, then he laughed. “Good for you, Dad. I hope you two will be really happy.”
“I think we will. Time will tell, right?” He shrugged. “What about you? How long is your leave?”
Logan’s smile fell. “A few days. I’ve been promised a longer one in the spring. In the meantime, I’ve talked to Hunter. He’s going to let Tara stay here with Kata while I’m on active duty, and it’s a huge relief to me to know she’ll be with family, just in case.”
“That’s great. It’s perfect.”
“Almost. Yeah…”
Before Caleb could question his son on that comment, Kimber clattered in on a pair of towering black heels, carrying bags of chips and a couple of bowls of dip. Behind her, Deke entered with their son, Cal, balanced on one hip. He held a twelve-pack of beer in his free hand.
Cal lunged out of Deke’s arms to reach Caleb, and he grabbed his growing grandson, tossing him in the air just to hear the little boy giggle.
Kimber kissed his cheek, and Caleb marveled again at how beautiful she’d grown and how happy she looked. Never in a billion years would he have thought she and Deke would be good for one another, but they’d both seemed to flourish, their love almost a tangible thing.