She stopped breathing, her throat contracting, tears welling in her eyes. There wasn’t a single sound in the room except her heart, thundering in her ears. He wasn’t using notes. No, Jamie’s words were coming straight from his heart.
“This is what I can tell you, as a United States Navy SEAL. That all the example you need to succeed in life, to resist whatever temptation is calling you, to achieve whatever goal you think you can’t possibly achieve, is right here in front of you. When you think you can’t read one more page of Shakespeare or run one more lap, when you can’t say no to that party, know this: the example you need is in the cops and teachers and firefighters, and your parents, as crazy as that sounds right now. Trust me, it’s in your parents. It’s in your coaches. It’s in your teammates. I guarantee it’s in your teammates, the young men and women you compete with to represent East Side High. And you’re their example, too. The talent and dedication in this room has the power to shape lives for generations to come. Don’t forget it. Thank you.”
*
Jamie disappeared into a crush of people wanting to shake his hand, tell stories, and generally rub shoulders with him. Charlie knew exactly how they felt, but every time she tried to get close, he managed to put someone between them. She finally tracked him down standing at the end of the hallway to the kitchen, watching Eve Webber slip through a door marked MANAGEMENT. Keenan, one of Jamie’s SEAL friends, dressed in a quiet navy business suit, was at the other end, by the restrooms. He gave Jamie a nod.
“You’re pretty popular tonight,” she said, the clink of silverware against plates the high notes over a steady low hum of laughter and conversation.
He gave her a look that cut to the bone, then returned his gaze to the end of the hallway.
She hardly knew where to begin. All she knew was that her friendly competitive high school crush had subtly turned into a Navy SEAL, right in front of her eyes. “Jamie,” she said uncertainly, “I assumed.” She paused. Coach Gould had a saying about assumptions, and it was running through both her head and Jamie’s. “I thought we understood what this was.”
He cut her a look, sharp and knowing. “Here’s what I understand, Charlie. I love you.”
She froze while her heart did a soaring-to-the-basket alley-oop in her chest.
“No,” he said, half to himself, half to her. “I love you, of course I love you, but I’m in love with you.”
“You can’t be serious. No one falls in love after a long weekend,” she said, but even as she spoke she knew she was talking to herself as much as to him.
“It’s not a long weekend for me,” Jamie said. His eyes were determined, sure. “I’ve been in love with you since we were seventeen.”
“What?”
“You heard me.”
Ian strode down the hall, then into the office Eve hadn’t come out of. This time when the door closed, Charlie could hear the lock catch. “What’s that all about?” she asked, clutching onto anything that wasn’t Jamie making a declaration of love. “Tell me that’s not some secret hookup. Eve Webber’s about as likely to date a Lancaster cop as I am.”
“It definitely isn’t,” Jamie said. “Ian would appreciate it if you’d forget you saw that.”
“No problem,” she said. “I should get back to—”
She turned away, but he caught her by the upper arm, his grip like iron, his thumb stealing a caress, holding her there, holding her up, holding her. He hid nothing from her, let her see all his hopes and fears, the vulnerability of this warrior man of steel on full display for her. “I love you,” he repeated. “I have since we were kids.”
“Jamie,” she said weakly. “It’s just infatuation. You want what you never had.”
“You’ve spent too much time with teenagers and playboys,” he said. “Real men don’t operate that way. Is that really how you see yourself? Forgettable? Like I’d want you less because we’ve had sex? I want you more. I want you always, forever, in my bed, in my life, in my heart. I will never stop wanting you. I accepted that a long time ago.”
Another direct hit to the chest, rattling her to her foundation. She fell back on the one thing she knew for sure: long-distance relationships don’t work. “I live here. You live in Virginia Beach. What about that?”
“You said it yourself. There are a dozen ways to stay in touch now.”
“That’s fine for friendship. It’s not enough for love, for a relationship to really succeed.”
“We’ll make it work.”
“How do you know? You’ve never really tried to have a relationship with a woman while you were on active duty.”
“Because the only woman I want a relationship with is you.”
“I’ve tried. It’s never worked,” she countered.
“It’s never been me.”