Chapter Twenty-Six
t he day I got the news, the sun shone bright and happy.
Little puffs of clouds danced in the sky, and a cool breeze blew off the ocean, a perfect contrast to the warmth of the sun above.
We lounged on a large pink towel after a dip in the ocean and I traced Anders’s newest tattoo, a perfect little unicorn, when my phone rang.
“Miss Sheppard?” An ancient voice said over the phone. One I knew well by this point. “I have excellent news for you. The judge granted your divorce. We should receive the orders in the next day or so. Enjoy the freedom.”
I hung up the phone, a smile spread across my face. Freedom. I’d been free for a while now despite Bill stubbornly refusing to sign the papers. Even in prison, he was an ass.
He had the balls to send a letter to me gloating about how, since we were married, I couldn’t testify against him.
The idiot didn’t even realize I had a choice in the whole thing.
He also didn’t realize that I didn’t need him to sign the papers for a divorce.
Signing just made everything easier and kept things out of court.
Since he refused, court it was. After the incident, my lawyer pulled some strings and got a quick court hearing.
I think he was fond of my grandma and extended that to me.
Anders grabbed me around the waist and pulled me in close. “Finally,” he said before kissing me. I melted into the kiss like I always do. I simply couldn’t resist him.
“Oh god. Get a room!” Duke shouted from the walkway to the beach. He was late in meeting us here and had a woman in tow. So the usual for Duke.
“No,” Anders called back, but let me go anyway.
“Guys, this is Lily,” Duke introduced us to the tall, curvy woman with him. Her red hair glinted like a penny in the sunlight. “Lily, this is the guys.”
“Well, one is a girl, but good on you for trying.” Lily patted Duke on the shoulder and walked over to us, a large hat shading her pale skin.
“You aren’t his usual type,” Anders said warmly, reaching out to shake her hand. At least, I hope she heard the warmth in his statement and didn’t get offended.
“I’m Grace,” I said.
“Hi Grace. I’m definitely not his type,” Lily said, sounding uncomfortable. “Duke and I have been friends for,” she cocked her head, “our whole lives, I guess.”
“Duke’s got a friend that’s a woman?” Anders asked.
Lily laughed as Duke finally made it to us, a large bag thrown over his shoulder and a cooler in one hand. A frown marring his too handsome face.
“Yes, I have a friend who is a woman, though to be fair, we were friends long before she was a woman.” He handed Lily the bag and dug around the cooler for a drink. “Why are people always surprised by that?”
Lily looked around the beach as if she were unsure of where to put her towel down. Duke chugged his drink and then took it from her, laying it out in the shade of our umbrella, and pushed a cold water bottle into her hands.
The smile she gave Duke when he did all this lit her face, and he looked momentarily dazed by it. She didn’t see his face, though, as she had already pulled out a book and planted herself on the towel, safely shaded from the sun.
I liked her already. I settled back into Anders and let him wrap me up in his embrace. There was nowhere better on earth than right here, right now, with the man I loved more than anything.
“I love you,” Anders whispered in my ear. This moment was as perfect as anything I could have dreamed of.
“I know.”
“Did he ever tell you how he got his nickname?” Duke asked after he and Lily came back from their dip in the ocean. He had another drink in his hand and leaned back in the sand like he owned it. Lily’s head rested on his leg, her eyes closed against the bright afternoon sun.
“Something about how good he was,” I said cautiously, sensing a set up. Behind me, Anders stiffened. This was definitely a setup.
“I’ll take that as a ‘no,’” Duke said with a laugh. “It’s really quite the story.”
“Don’t,” said Anders behind me. His voice held a playful warning.
“Oh, I think I will.” Duke smiled at me and I could see why women fell at his feet. He was quite handsome and charming. I heard Anders groan behind me. “He likes to say it was because he was good at his job, but it was really because he was very, very bad at his job.”
“Wait, what?” I asked. I couldn’t believe that. The man who came and rescued me was not ‘bad at his job.’
“It all started on our first day of basic,” Duke said as he played with Lily’s hair. “Anders walked in going on and on about his dad and how great he was and how he’s going to be amazing like his dad.”
“You’re not a very good storyteller,” Lily chimed in.
“Hush, woman. I’m an amazing storyteller. You just have to let me get to it,” Duke said, flicking a bit of sand at her.
Anders let out a huff that tickled my neck. “I don’t remember it quite like that,” he whispered in my ear. A little thrill went through me like it always did when his voice was quiet and low and just for me.
“He bragged about his dad so much we thought surely he taught him everything. We were all prepared to be suitably impressed. Well, we get to the first day on the gun range and Anders gets himself all set up, aims, shoots, and hits a bunny!” Duke barked out a laugh.
“He completely missed the target for all his shots, but he shot the only damn bunny on the range.”
I joined Duke in his laughter.
“Afterwards, Grey went up to him and said, ‘That was real great there, Ares. The veritable god of war.’” Duke barely got the last words out before he choked on his laughter again.
I looked back at Anders and even he couldn’t hide the smile that curved his lips.
“I ate crow and then worked twice as hard as this wastrel to make up for it,” he said in his defense.
I leaned up and kissed him lightly. “You don’t have to justify anything to me, Ares.” I tried to pitch my voice so he knew I was teasing and I saw his pupils grow at my words. I was definitely going to be making him earn god status tonight.
“So what did you decide?” Anders asked as he sat at the table across from me.
He had grabbed us both drinks, and I barely registered mine when he sat it down in front of me.
I was engrossed in the information in front of me.
I had been looking at it long enough that the words swam in front of my eyes.
I blinked several times to clear them and then reached for the drink, nearly knocking it over.
“I’m not sure. The location on Hilton Head is nice and sure to bring in a ritzy crowd willing to spend money, but the place in historic Savannah reminds me of all the good times, you know?
Jessica votes for the one in historic Savannah, and says she wants to open shop up next door.
” I looked up from my work to find him smiling at me.
I loved that smile, but I wasn’t sure what I said to earn it.
I scowled in return and took a sip of the iced tea, the perfect drink for a hot day.
“It sounds like you might know exactly what you want and you can always expand in the future,” he said. He pointed out all the drawings and inspirational photos I had surrounding me. He was right. There was a very specific vibe.
“That’s true. I need to remember what motivated me to do this. Historic Savannah it is.” I took a deep breath, like that would somehow set my decision in concrete. Really, I just needed to relax now that it was made.
“I’ll contact the Realtor today and have her put an offer on the place,” I said. Now that I’d made that choice, it was all so real.
“Have you decided on a name?” Anders asked as he took a sip of his drink.
“I was thinking Grandma’s House Bakery, ” I said, a little unsure if that was good or not. Everything opening these days had some weird trendy name like Sugar and Spice or The Sparrow. I didn’t have that. I had the memory of my grandma and a chance to share that with the world.
“I love it,” Anders said, his voice warm and smooth and strong. “It’s perfect and your bakery will be amazing.”
I smiled at him. “It is, isn’t it?”
“You know, I have some time before I meet with my new client,” Anders said with a wicked smile spreading across his face. “Whatever should we do to fill it?”
“I’ve got some ideas,” I said before I pushed my chair back and sauntered over to where he sat. The look on his face when I pushed his chair back and straddled his lap was everything I could have ever wanted.