Read The SEAL's Best Man (Special Ops: Homefront Book 2) for Free Online Page B

simply from having
his hand on her knee?
    Oblivious, he scooted closer. “I just
don’t want to see you waste your talent on the wrong company again. Just think
about it, okay?”
    “Okay,” she murmured, her eyes still
locked on his as her skin simmered beneath her cotton top. “And thanks. That
really means a lot.”
    Tossing his hands aside casually as he
rose, he walked to his console table and picked up a box. “I’ve seen your work.
I think it’s a good investment.” He passed it to her. “Now. Ready to be wowed?”
    She opened it, and felt a grin spreading
across her face. The invitations were classic. Just as she had imagined. Scrolling
raised red lettering on textured white stock with a tasteful border. “Couldn’t
be more perfect.”
    “That’s what all the women say about me. But
what do you think of the cards?”
    Maeve laughed. “They’re not so bad
either.” She thumbed through the contents. “I can’t believe you got them
printed so quickly. You’re a miracle worker. If we don’t give people enough time
to make plans to come, then we’re sunk.” She stared at her best friend’s name
on the card. “Wow. I guess this is really going to happen, isn’t it?”
    “Lacey and Mick. It’s going to work for
them, you know,” Jack said, seeming to spot the skepticism building in Maeve’s
eyes.
    “It has to. It just does. She loves him
so damn much.”
    “It will.” Jack gave her a friendly
squeeze that seemed to last a second longer than it should.
    And yet not nearly long enough for Maeve.
    “So… invitations. Check. What’s next, wedding
planner?”
    “ Everything . Bess called six
different caterers that got good reviews online and had no luck with any of
them. Everyone is booked next month. I still haven’t found any kind of arch or
arbor for where they’ll actually say their vows that doesn’t look cheesy or mass-produced.”
    “Ouch. You’ve just described half my
furniture.”
    Maeve smirked, and glanced around the
room in mock appraisal. “Yeah, I wasn’t going to say anything, but now that you
mention it—”
    “You don’t really need an arch. The view
itself is great.”
    “But I need to define the ceremony
space.” She exhaled slowly, picturing a white arch draped in delicate sheers,
punctuated by roses.
    “Try a garden store. You know, one of
those arches that you grow vines on. My mom has one for her raspberries.”
    Maeve’s shoulders drooped. “That’s not
the kind I’m picturing. I want something… different.” She paused. “Something
that has a more surprising profile to it. I don’t know…” Her voice trailed as
she pulled from her purse the set of calligraphy pens she had bought. She
handed him one. “Then there’s the dress. I already called a couple bridal
boutiques and they literally laughed when I told them I needed a dress in six
weeks. There’s a few samples we’re going to look at, but from the descriptions,
I don’t think they’ll pan out.”
    “Why not?”
    “The designers are too over-the-top for
Lacey. Picture bling on steroids.”
    “Yeah. That won’t work for her. Besides,
for a backyard wedding, she needs something a bit understated. And nothing with
a cathedral train. Maybe an a-line or mermaid.”
    Maeve’s jaw dropped. “How does a man who
has a sword and a stack of cammies know so much about wedding gowns? You’re
freaking me out here.”
    “I have four sisters, remember? I’ve had
to survive more wedding gown talk than you’ve probably heard in your life.”
    Not these days, Maeve pondered. For the
past two days she had watched every bridal reality show on TV and set her DVR
to record them indefinitely. Styles had changed so much since her ill-fated wedding
years ago, and Maeve had some catching up to do.
    She sat at the tiny kitchen table he had
just cleared off. “So, we’re going to try one of those huge bridal warehouse
places off the beltway.” Maeve couldn’t resist a cringe. “Lacey won’t mind