Page 59 of Taking a King

I can’t help but smile as I follow him inside. He hangs my purse on the hook near the door and takes my hand.

“Fine,” I say, confused at his behavior. “What’s all this about?”

Instead of answering, Garrett tugs me along with him. “Come with me.”

Confused, I follow him. “What’s got you in such a good mood?”

“I’m just happy to see the woman I love after a long day of missing her,” he says sweetly.

“Uh huh,” I say, still skeptical. “Not that I’m not happy to see you, too. Because I am. But this isn’t your usual welcome home from work mood.”

He dips his head in acknowledgment. “You’re right,” he says as we make our way into the kitchen.

“I got some news today,” he says, grinning widely.

My eyes narrow in question. “Good news or bad news?”

He smiles. “Good news.”

“Spill it.”

“Well,” he says, reaching over to hand me a glass of champagne. I’d been too distracted by his behavior to notice the bottle and glasses on the counter. Confused, I take it from him. Garrett picks up a second one for himself and raises it toward me in a toast.

“This is to celebrate your first day at your new job,” he says. “And to commemorate the end of my military career. You are officially dating an unemployed man.”

My first reaction is confusion, followed by surprise. “What?”

Garrett looks amused. “I got the word today that my terminal leave starts at the end of the month,” he says. “Which means that in 2 more weeks, I’ll no longer be an active-duty Marine.”

I open my mouth to speak, but no words come out. I don’t know what to say. I know we’ve talked about this, and it’s been in the works, but it feels like such a shock to hear him say it aloud.

“That soon?” I ask, lamely.

Garrett smiles. “Stop freaking out,” he says, accurately reading my expression. “This is a good thing. It’s what I want. Ronan says I can start with the department as soon as I want. I’ve already filled out all the paperwork.”

“But—”

“No ‘but’,” he interrupts. “This is what I want.” He taps his glass to mine in a toast. “It’s rude not to drink to a toast.”

I take a sip of the bubbly drink, but my mind is still a whirl of scattered thoughts. I latch onto the biggest one.

“Garrett, I never wanted you to give up your career for me.”

He laughs before noticing my expression. His face turns serious. He takes my glass from me and sets it beside his on the counter. He puts his hands on my shoulders and his eyes latch onto mine.

“Is that what you think? Claire, listen to me. I’m not giving up anything. It took me a long time to realize this, but I wasn’t happy before. I was just going through the motions. I was just doing what I was ordered to do and wondering when my real life was going to start.”

He looks thoughtful for a moment, as if he’s trying to find the right words.

“You once asked me what changed. Why I stopped fighting what I felt for you. I never told you because I couldn’t figure out how to put it into words in a way that made sense. Remember that night I called you in the middle of the night? You thought something had happened and you were worried about me? Well, something did happen. Only not to me. It was one of my guys. He just—he was in a dark place, and I thought he was going to… I had to talk him down.” His eyes grow distant and all at once I know what exactly what he means.

“Oh, Garrett.”

He shakes his head, seeming to come back to the present. “That night, something shifted in me. I remember what he said. He said that all he had in life was being a Marine and he didn’t know what he would be when it was over. He’d just found out he was being medically discharged. After ten years of his life devoted to the military, his career was just over. Just like that.” He snaps his fingers.

“He didn’t have anyone or anything to come back to. His whole life was his career and he’d never made time for anything or anyone else. It got me thinking. I’m not going to be a Marine forever. What will I be when it’s all over? What will I have? I spent nearly a decade living for honor and duty and my country while I kept waiting for my life to find me.”

He smiles. “Not that I’ve been miserable or anything. I have my parents. My brother. They love me. I know. And they’re amazing.” He shakes his head.