Page 99 of Viking Unchained

“Bloody hell! Watch the road.”

Once the vehicle was going straight again, she remarked, “You pick an odd moment to tell me something like that.”

“Well, there are so many things that we must discuss, but I will be leaving as soon as we get to your parents’ farm.”

“Why the rush?”

“Magnus and his family have already departed, along with most of the SEALs. Torolf is with your parents, waiting for my return. We will go to the flying port together.”

“Why?” she repeated. He could not see the tears, but he heard them in her voice.

“I have been notified of my acceptance to the BUD/S program. They waived the written test ’til my language skills are better.” When she did not respond to that, he continued, “I must needs work day and night for the next few sennights to prepare for this training ordeal.” What he was saying, without words, was that he was still committed to the military. But it was more than that.

She inhaled and exhaled several times. “Mike and I can’t return yet. We’ve got to stay another week.

Spend some time with the Dentons, as originally planned.”

“I understand that. ’Tis why we must settle some things afore I depart.”

She drove the car over to a side road and turned off the motor. Only then did she ask, “Such as?”

“Our wedding. Can you set a date that coincides with my break afore entering the official training program in the fall?”

“I beg your pardon. I don’t recall hearing a marriage proposal, let alone my acceptance.”

“Will you marry me?” he asked, realizing his mistake. He had forgotten that women could be sensitive on this subject.

“I don’t know. It depends.”

“On what?” He was affronted that she did not immediately accept his proposal. In truth, it was the first he had ever made, his marriage to Luta having been arranged by both sets of parents.

“Do you love me, Finn?”

He groaned inwardly. “I care for you, Lydia. I just told you how strongly I felt when I feared for your safety.”

“Caring is not the same as love, Finn.”

“Is this about the military?”

She shook her head. “No, much as I despair of being with another military man, I concede that is what you are. But, while I can accept marriage to another SEAL, I cannot accept marriage without love.”

She is like a dog with a bone. A precious dog. “When I realized that there might be a bomb behind you today, my world crashed. From that moment ’til I saw you again an hour later, I did not know if you were still alive, or injured badly. I understood then, for the first time, how strong my feelings for you are.

Is that not enough?”

“No. I care about my dance studio. I care about world peace. I care about my friends. That is not love.”

He put both hands to his head and pulled his own hair with frustration. “I do not even know what love is.”

“Yes, you do. You love Mike, don’t you?”

“You want me to love you the same way I love Miklof?”

“You are an idiot!”

“Well, we are going to wed, and that is that.”

“It’s not a decision you can make for me.”