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“I was afraid I’d have to wake you from a nap.”
“I didn’t think the three-hour time difference would be so bad, but they kept me up late in LA, and I cannot sleep on a plane if my life depended on it.”
He leaned over to brush a kiss on her forehead. Smokey gave a possessive meow at being disturbed. “The cats missed you. Not as much as I did.” He sat and stroked Smokey’s fur. Even though they’d talked the three days Erin had been gone, he’d missed her even more than he’d expected.
“I was able to go back to sleep after you left to play golf, but I still took a short nap. I wanted to be refreshed for the wedding. Let me change.” She lifted Smokey off her lap, then stepped over Tink, who’d made her way to sit near Graham’s feet. “Be back in a minute.”
She’d been so animated last night telling him all about her meetings with Levi and the other writers. He was proud of her talent and bravery in pursuing her dream. That they didn’t expect her to live in LA full-time was the best part of her news for him.
She came back in a few minutes later. “Wow.” Graham’s gaze roved slowly down her body, then back up. “I may be underdressed.”
“It’s outside and casual, but still a wedding. It’s not too much, is it?”
“It’s perfect. I like how it shows off your legs.”
“They are one of my better features.”
“I like your eyes and your smile even better.” He slid a hand around her waist and pulled her close enough that he could breathe in her sweet floral scent. “And everything about you,” he added lowly. He stared into her eyes for several long seconds, his body reacting to her nearness before finally kissing her. “We’ll pick this up later. We’ve got a wedding to go to, and nothing says a couple is in a serious relationship like attending a wedding together.” He steered her toward the door.
She had her professional reasons for attending, and he had his. Though a top-tier officer, Bryson was susceptible to the same fears and distractions about a spouse’s fidelity as the men under him. Maybe more so since Bryson had returned from a deployment to find out his girlfriend at the time had reunited with her ex while he was deployed—and hadn’t told him. Graham hadn’t met that woman, but that Elizabeth had been willing to give up her counseling practice here and move to Florida with John showed her commitment to him. Bryson passed on a promotion to stay with her and his team with Graham’s full support. If Bryson hadn’t mentioned Graham getting remarried, he might not have met Erin. Funny how that worked. He owed Bryson.
The GPS directed them down a two-lane rural road. Fields of cotton grew on the left, and neat rows of tall pines in a timber field to their right gave way to a white fence running along the road. A message saying they’d arrived flashed on the navigation screen as they reached an open security gate decorated with oversized pale pink bows and greenery.
“Is that a police car?” Erin drew out the words and stared at the cruiser parked alongside the white clapboard, two-story farmhouse with two inviting rocking chairs and a hanging swing on the porch.
“It is. I don’t know if that’s a bad thing or a warning.” Operators had a reputation for partying hard, but this wasn’t the time or place, and they knew it.
As the parking attendant, Cruz motioned to them from a row of cars in the grassy field.
“What’s up with the police presence?” Graham asked Cruz.
Cruz laughed. “I wondered the same, especially since Bryson’s truck isn’t here.”
“Did you find out anything?” Erin’s grip on Graham’s arm tightened.
“One of the bridesmaids is a police officer. And she says she’ll arrest anyone who tries to stop the wedding or us guys if we get out of line.”
Graham laughed at that. It’d take more than one cop with a weapon concealed under her bridesmaid’s gown to deal with one of his teams. “Where’s Bryson?”
“They said the captain spent the night at a hotel because Elizabeth wouldn’t let him see her in the dress before the wedding. I know for a fact he’s not ditching out. The entire Taliban couldn’t keep him away.”
They headed to the rows of chairs in front of an arbor draped with white fabric and accented with greenery and pink flowers.
Half the seats were already filled. Erin waved to a group of women in the second row. Graham didn’t recognize any of them as team wives, but one did a double-take. Her mouth hung open before she motioned them to join her. She got to her feet and hugged Erin. “What are you doing here?”
“John didn’t tell you?”
“No. He just mentioned he had a surprise.”
“Graham, this is Cecilia Crenshaw, my former student I told you about. Her husband is John’s best man. Graham’s a colonel in John’s unit and arranged for me to observe his team for research purposes.”
“Research? For the project you pitched Ian?” Cecilia’s eyes lit up. “Has anything come of it?”
“His boss, Levi, loved it but wanted to change it from a movie to a TV series.”
“That’s still awesome!”
“Initially, they offered to buy the rights. But I told them I wanted a shot at writing.”
