after his rescue, before his wife had known he’d survived, after years of believing her husband was dead, neither of them had betrayed the vows they made when they married.
They were happy now. Their son, Riordan Nathan Blake, Nate as they called him, was six, in kindergarten, and driving his parents crazy. Noah lived and breathed for them.
“You okay?” Noah asked quietly, his darker blue eyes probing as he watched Jordan.
CHAPTER 19
The dress was absolutely beautiful, and Nik’s wife Mikayla was one of those serene, at-peace souls who seemed to bring comfort to everyone around her.
Long, heavy blond hair was pulled back into a braid, her classically pretty face emphasized by the smile on her lips and the laughter in her eyes. And the sheer adoration present whenever she talked about her husband and their daughter.
Tehya knew Nik had lost his first wife and only child before he came into the Ops. The haunted pain she had always sensed in him had evaporated after he met Mikayla Martin, though. And now, she was still taken aback every time she saw him smile.
“I knew this dress would be absolutely perfect for you,” Mikayla commented as Tehya stepped out of the large dressing room/bath attached to the guest room and let Mikayla see her creation.
The floor-length, tissue thin, dual-layer white-and-violet silk whispered from the shoulders to the cinched waist, where it then fell in soft clouds of material to her feet and the matching four-inch heels.
Tiny violet sequins were sewn in patterns of soft falls of intricate detail along the shoulders and again in a gentle wave to emphasize her breasts. More had been placed at the cinched waist at her hips and again at her midriff.
The bold splash of color drew attention to her eyes and the soft light tan on her skin. It also managed to give her an air of frailty, despite the height of the heels.
“Absolutely beautiful,” Mikayla sighed as she moved around, bending and fluffing the material here and there as she checked for whatever it was a clothing designer and maker checked for.
Whatever she was looking for, she must not have found it. When she straightened and rose, there was a look of supreme satisfaction on her face. “I am proud.” She sighed again as she fluttered her fingers against her chest. “You look like a fairy princess, Tehya.”
“Well, I don’t know about that.” Tehya stared into the full-length mirror. “But the dress looks damned good, Mikayla.”
Mikayla gave a little light laugh and a wink. “The dress complements the girl, is what I always say. It takes more than a pretty dress and a little makeup to do what you do to that dress, Tehya. And it takes a girl just as unique to catch the eye and the heart of the commander Nik and Noah feared would come home in a body bag if he went back into the Ops as a field agent rather than a commander, as he was considering.”
Tehya ducked her head. She hadn’t known he was considering such a thing. If Noah had discussed it with Nik though, then she knew for a fact it had been a possibility.
The fact that Mikayla believed Jordan was in the SEALs was besides the point. If he’d returned to the Ops as a field agent, rather than a commander, then the chances of that would be higher.
She knew Jordan. And she had sensed his discontent in his life before the Ops unit disbanded was riding higher than he let on. But she hadn’t expected that decision.
“What makes Nik think I have his heart?” That question was uppermost in her mind.
Mikayla’s smile was soft when she glanced back at her. “I’ve only seen Jordan a few times, Tehya. Each time I’ve seen him, until these last weeks, he’s been tense, cold. But now, it’s like there’s something different about him. It’s Nik’s opinion he’s in love.”
No, he wasn’t in love, but she wouldn’t be the one to disillusion the little romantic.
Tehya looked into the mirror again. This dress was a beautiful confection of silk and dreams. It was the romantic heart that had envisioned it, that had created it.
But when it was all said and done, Jordan would walk away from her just as he had countless other women before her. He didn’t believe in love. It was an illusion as far as he was concerned.
“You know, Nik hasn’t told me what’s going on.”
Tehya’s head lifted as she stared back at the other woman.