At that moment, Caleb’s skin tingled with awareness. His gaze lifted, searched and connected. With Shay’s. With the hurt in her eyes at the sight of the other woman next to him. “Shay!” he yelled, but she was already turning and cutting through the crowd. He was not going to get to her.
Caleb’s mind raced and he turned to Heather. “Don’t go anywhere.” He dug in his pocket and rushed to the DJ booth, holding up a big bill. That and the fact that he and the Aces were well known around here would buy him favors. The DJ leaned down, and Caleb made his request.
He grabbed Heather’s hand. “Come with me.” They rushed through the crowd right about the time the DJ made an announcement.
“Shay White—Caleb Martin requests you wait for him at the door. I repeat, Shay White, meet Caleb Martin at the door.”
Caleb was almost to the door, Shay in view, when she grabbed the microphone at the front desk, and made her own announcement. “Caleb Martin, go to hell.”
The crowd roared with laughter and cheers, but the announcement had told the doorman, an ex-Army Ranger and friend, Caleb wanted Shay stopped. She was arguing with the guy when Caleb came up behind her.
“Shay,” he said.
She whirled and took one look at Heather and turned back around. “Shay, she’s not with me.” He gave Heather a look of appeal.
“This is her?” Heather asked.
Shay whirled. “Yes, this is her.”
“He’s telling the truth,” Heather said. “He was just telling me about the woman he’s in love with, and it wasn’t me. It was you. I swear to you there was nothing going on.” She glanced at Caleb, and said, “I’m so sorry.” And then faded into the crowd.
Caleb walked toward Shay, and she backed away. “Damn it, Shay,” he said. “That woman is nothing. But if you need another reason not to be with me, then I guess you can use her. I’m not the problem here. I love you. I’m ready to announce it to the world.” He grabbed the microphone on the counter. “I love Shay White.” He faced Shay again. “Your brother is here. I don’t give a damn anymore.”
Frustration overcame him, and he walked to the door and headed outside. He was done. He had no idea why she was here, but it clearly wasn’t for the right reason.
“Caleb,” she called from behind him.
He kept walking and then realized he didn’t even have his truck. Shit. He stopped. The minute he did, she was there, in front of him, hugging him—warm and soft and smelling that special way only she smelled.
“I love you,” she said, her cheeks tear-streaked. “I love you so much, Caleb, and I don’t care who knows. I told my parents.”
His arm wrapped around her waist. “What? When?”
“Tonight. Or my mom, but same thing. I told them tonight, and then I came to find you. They knew, Caleb. Mom said she always knew about us. Caleb, I didn’t tell them because I was afraid if something went wrong, you’d leave again. I know you said you won’t, but it’s hard to put that aside. I’m so afraid of depending on you, and you being gone again.”
He kissed her, drank her in with the news that she’d finally accepted them. “Marry me, Shay,” he said. “That should be proof enough I’m not going anywhere. Marry me tonight. Let’s get on a plane and elope. I’ve waited for you for ten years. I don’t want to wait anymore.”
She smiled, tears welling in her eyes. “So if you leave again, I go with you?”
“Shay. Sweetheart.” He ran his hand over her hair. “I’m not going anywhere without you. Never again. Where I go, you go. Starting with an airplane and an elopement destination. I haven’t heard a yes. Marry me, Shay.”
“Yes,” she said. “Yes, a million times over.”
“Tonight.”
She laughed. “If you can find a place to do it, then yes. Tonight.”
EPILOGUE
SHAY STEERED HER CHUTE to the open ground beneath her, hitting the dirt with an easy tumble. On either side of her, Jennifer and Sabrina landed, both laughing as they all cut themselves loose and discarded their goggles.
“That’s what they get for telling us we have to wait for them to jump,” Sabrina said, eying the second plane overhead.
Jennifer laughed. “And here they come,” she said. “They can’t stand that we went out alone.”
Shay laughed and lay on her back. “I can’t believe I did,” she said. “Only a month ago I didn’t even want to jump.” But a month-long honeymoon after an elopement to Italy had included some amazing skydiving scenery, and Shay was hooked on jumping. Caleb was thrilled. She still couldn’t believe she was officially Mrs. Caleb Martin and a Hotzone woman.
She and her Hotzone sisters rolled to their backs and watched the Aces, plus one—Kent, no doubt—floating through the sky. Two weeks out of rehab, Kent was determined to make skydiving his new diversion. He wanted to become a jump-master.