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Annie loved him. He loved her. She’d said she wanted to spend her life with him. That was what he wanted too.
So far, so good.
But exactly how did two people manage that when one was a Special Ops warrior and the other was a princess?
At least the political implications were history.
Qaram was an American ally. And Annie wasn’t a princess anymore.
“But she’s doing good things,” Chay said over beers one night at the LZ. Annie and his wife, Bianca, had gone to the ladies’ room. “Bianca told me Annie’s working with an international program that helps provide educational opportunities to girls.”
Dec nodded. “Right.”
“So what’s the problem?”
“Well, you know. My life. Her life. Big differences.”
Chay lifted his bottle of beer and took a drink. “My money’s on you guys. You’ll figure it out.”
“Yeah,” Dec said, all the doubt in the world in that yeah. He made a couple of circles on the tabletop with the wet bottom of his beer bottle. “Still, how do I know she hasn’t thought it over and decided it’s just gonna be impossible?”
“Thought what over?” Chay said. “Have you actually proposed to her yet?”
“No. Not yet. I mean, I just don’t know how she’ll respond…”
“How who will respond to what?” Annie said, as she slid into the booth next to him and nuzzled her face against his shoulder.
Dec looked stricken.
“How—how you guys will respond to the idea of pizza at the little Italian place up the road from here,” Chay said.
Bianca sighed. “My favorite restaurant.”
It was, indeed. It was Chay’s too. The little Italian place was where Bianca and Chay had had their fist date. A date that had started off as awful and had ended in hot sex on the beach.
They drove to the restaurant, Chay and Bianca on his Harley, Dec and Annie in his lovingly restored Pontiac Trans Am.
The Italian place was crowded. The other four guys from Stud One were at a booth, leaning in and talking quietly.
Chay and Bianca, Dec and Annie stopped to say hello.
The guys all stood up, exchanged high fives, kissed Bianca and Annie.
When they got to their own table, Dec said, “Weird.”
“What’s weird?”
“They all looked so serious.”
Annie nodded. “Especially Nick. Is he okay?”
Dec and Chay looked at each other.
“Sure,” Chay said. “Why?”
Annie shrugged. “He looked, I don’t know, kind of upset.”
Dec frowned. “Come to think of it, Black called him in yesterday. Nick said it was about some kind of assignment.”
