Page 2 of Pursuit of Honor

“I know it’s the fourteenth,” Martinez grumbled. Suddenly, his mouth dropped open with realization. “Holy crap, the fourteenth. I forgot. Elena is going to kill me. You think one of those delivery companies will take a short notice order? Man, I gotta get something sent to her pronto.”

Martinez’s wife Elena was for sure going to kill him for forgetting the most romantic day of the year. If he didn’t get at least a card to her, his goose was cooked.

Law chuckled as Martinez yanked his phone out again to start furiously swiping at the screen, muttering in Spanglish and Tagalog under his breath.

After a couple of minutes on his phone, Martinez seemed to calm down and their drinks arrived. Law took a few gulps of foamy beer. Sometimes life at sea got so hectic, he forgot to miss the little things. Like a good pint of beer. They couldn’t drink alcohol on the job, so he was going to savor this.

While Law slowed down to enjoy the beer, Martinez drained a shot glass, then requested two more. “You and Hendricks see any girls you like?” Martinez asked, putting his shot glass down.

“A bar is the worst place to meet a girl, you know that,” Law said. “Have to be sober to make a good impression, right?”

“Sure, but my bachelor days are behind me. That’s why I’ve got to live vicariously through you and Hendricks,” Martinez said. “You can at least chat somebody up. Maybe get a number?”

Law sighed and looked up from his beer to glance around. There were a lot of pretty girls in the sizeable crowd. But most of them were here with dates or friends. Friends could be worse than dates because nobody cock-blocked like a woman’s best friend. Which made sense, truth be told. He wouldn’t want some drunken rando badgering him or his buddies when they just wanted to relax, or in Martinez’s case, get hammered.

Still, it had been four months since he’d gone to bed with a woman. Out at sea, there was just work. Dating was for the shore. And he didn’t get shore leave all that often. That meant his dating life was made up of casual hookups and dry spells in between.

Not that he’d complain. Except...it did get lonely sometimes not having someone back home waiting for him. Law hadn’t ended up with his high school or college sweetheart like Freeman and Martinez had. Plus, it was tough for a guy like him to establish relationships with women.

There wasn’t any time for anything serious, and even if there was, he didn’t know how to begin to bond with new people. He’d only managed to befriend his shipmates because they worked in close quarters and relied on each other to survive. That sort of camaraderie didn’t really exist in the real world. At least, not for him.

Law had been orphaned pretty early on in life. Left behind with no siblings. So, he’d been shuffled back and forth between family members. While he’d been grateful that his relatives had taken him in, they’d done it out of duty rather than genuine love. They’d done their best though. Fed him, clothed him, sheltered him, and, not much else by way of connection. That was why, the minute he’d turned seventeen, he’d joined the Navy to get away from the silent loneliness and the pain of his past. The service had given him the only family he’d ever need. Regret was a waste of time. He had to remember to always be grateful that he’d found a place in the military. Some orphans weren’t as lucky as he was.

“If I see someone that catches my eye, I’ll let you know,” Law finally said.

“Don’t listen to Martinez,” Freeman cut in. “The bachelor life isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.”

Martinez gave a derisive snort. “How would you know about the bachelor life, DeAndre? You’ve practically been married to Tamara since you were fifteen years old.”

Freeman ignored him. “Listen to me, Lawrence. Forget playing the field. You need the love of a good woman.”

“Yeah, I guess,” Law muttered before taking another gulp of beer. If only it were that easy. Freeman and Martinez had normal upbringings. Stable families. They knew how to connect and make relationships last. Lawrence had no idea how to do that. Which was why he hadn’t ever really tried. What was the point? His home life had been tragic and Law was probably too damaged now as a result. No woman would want to deal with all that baggage.

“I’m telling you, there are women out there. You just have to be open to more than a one-night stand,” Freeman said. “Especially with Valentine’s Day coming up—”

Martinez scoffed. “How’s he gonna get a girlfriend in three days?”

“You telling me you don’t have faith in our friend?” Freeman demanded.

“Bro, all I’m saying is that it’s Friday. Valentine’s Day is Monday. The day we leave,” Martinez pointed out.

Freeman drank his Bourbon. “Okay, and?”

“And?” Martinez shook his head. “Your upcoming wedding has got you believing in miracles. Life isn’t a Hallmark card.”

“That’s not what I’m saying,” Freeman insisted. “All I’m saying is that he has to try. Go for it, the same way we do on the job right? Think about it...”

Law started to tune out their bickering. Honestly, the four of them really were like brothers the way they argued. And just like with brothers, Law could feel when they got on his damned nerves. Like they were now. He didn’t need them going through his love life. Because neither of them knew what it was like to yearn for something so out of reach. Law didn’t want just any woman. He wanted the right woman. His dream woman. An impossible thing for a man like him to want, considering that there was no woman out there for an orphan who had never had a real family. Normal people wanted stability, connection, commitment. They understood those things because they’d experienced them. Freeman, Martinez, and Hendricks all had loving families back home. Hell, they had homes. By contrast, Law had stilted conversations with distant relatives whenever he made the rare trip back to Iowa. How was he going to provide a home and a family to a woman when he barely even knew what that was?

His frustration mounted. Getting a drink was supposed to relax him. Not set him off. Law felt his entire body tense as he pushed the half-finished beer glass away. They should have found some rooms first. Now he was stuck here with nowhere to go. As if to further torture himself, his eyes went to the Valentine’s Day wine tasting sign. Cursing under his breath, he averted his gaze and turned to scan the room as a distraction from his troubles.

In that moment, his gaze met the most heart-stopping pair of green eyes he’d ever seen in his life. Without warning, he started to feel too winded to breathe. As if a single glimpse of those eyes was enough to squeeze all the air out of him. He was too captivated to think. Those eyes were as huge and brilliant as clear emeralds. The depths so fathomless he swore he could see right down to her soul. There was such an openness to her that when his eyes adjusted and took in her entire face, Law knew she’d be easy to talk to. If only he could get past how beautiful she was.

Because she was beautiful. In a way that was completely natural and unaffected. Creamy skin highlighted by freckles and a full pink mouth that made him think of kissing. And her hair. It was incredible. Waves of fire tumbling down her shoulders. What would it be like to run a hand through molten silk?

The barroom seemed to go into slow-motion. All the noise became distant. Movement crawled to a stop. Time expanded. Law knew that noticing her must have happened in the blink of an eye, but spending those seconds taking her in felt like an eternity. Everything went blurry and pale except for her. This woman, whoever she was, seemed to be so alive that their surroundings were lifeless by comparison.

Suddenly, the redhead came closer, time speeding up again as she approached the bar counter. She was standing close enough for Law to get the faintest hint of whatever floral shampoo she used in her hair.