Читать книгу Ultimate Romance Collection - Rebecca Winters, Amalie Berlin - Страница 73

Sixteen

Swan glanced down at the ring David had put on her finger last week. Seeing it gave her strength and she definitely needed strength now, she thought as she entered a huge ballroom on his arm. It was his mother’s sixtieth birthday party.

They had flown into Dallas last night so this would be the first time she met his family. Nervous jitters had tried taking over her stomach but a smile from David was keeping most of them at bay. He was convinced his family would love her and he had told her over and over that she was worrying for nothing. She was the woman he wanted and his family would love his choice.

“There’s Mom and Dad,” he said, with his arms around her shoulders as she carried his mother’s gift. The same gift he’d purchased that first day he’d come into her shop.

A man she knew had to be one of David’s brothers whispered something to the older couple and they turned with huge smiles on their faces.

At that moment, Swan knew David had inherited his father’s eyes and that the smiles on the couple’s faces were genuine. She could actually feel their warmth. David’s mom was beautiful and did not look like she was sixty or that she had five grown sons.

When they reached his parents, David made the introduction. “Mom. Dad. I want you to meet the woman who has agreed to be my wife, Swan Jamison.”

“It’s an honor to meet you,” Swan said, extending her hand to his mother.

Instead of taking it, the older woman engulfed Swan in a huge hug. “It’s wonderful meeting you as well, Swan, and welcome to the family.”

“Thank you. Here’s your gift. Happy birthday.”

“Thank you.”

She received a hug from David’s father as well. Then suddenly she was surrounded and a laughing David made introductions. All his brothers had those same blue eyes and like David, they were very handsome men. She could see why when she looked at the older Holloways; they were a beautiful couple. And Swan could tell from the way Mr. Holloway looked at his wife and the way Mrs. Holloway would look back at him that the couple was still very much in love.

A few nights ago, David had shared the fact that because his mother had been married to a Navy SEAL for over forty years and had five sons who were SEALs, she counseled a number of SEAL wives who had difficulties with the frequency and longevity of their spouses’ missions. Swan had been glad to hear that since she would become a SEAL’s wife soon.

Because David would be leaving in less than four months on anther mission, they hoped to marry within a year. Surprisingly, David wanted a big wedding. She agreed as long as the wedding took place in the Keys.

The logistics of having a big wedding were enormous, given he had four brothers who were SEALs on different teams. Not to mention his closest four friends were SEALs as well. That meant Swan and David had to make sure everyone would be on leave in the States at the same time.

David also introduced Swan to her future sisters-in-law and they loved her engagement ring. The three were friendly and she liked them immediately. She was also introduced to other members of David’s family—his grandparents, his niece, nephews, cousins, aunts, uncles—it was obvious the Holloway family was a huge one.

“Now I want to reintroduce you to four guys who are just as close to me as brothers. As you know, they came to the Keys to assist me in proving your innocence. And even when my assignment with you ended, they didn’t leave. They stayed.”

She had met his four friends that night after the incident on the boat, when they’d had to give statements. She had thanked them for their help but they hadn’t been officially introduced.

“Did I tell you how beautiful you look tonight, sweetheart?”

She smiled up at him as they walked across the ballroom floor to the four men and their wives. “Yes, you told me. Thank you.” She, Candy and Jamila had gone shopping in Miami. She’d known this was the perfect dress when she’d seen it on a store mannequin.

Within a few minutes, she had been introduced to Brisbane “Bane” Westmoreland and his wife, Crystal; Gavin “Viper” Blake and his very pregnant wife, Layla; Laramie “Coop” Cooper and his wife, Bristol; and Thurston “Mac” McRoy and his wife, Teri.

After spending time with the couples, Swan felt that just like her future sisters-in-law, the four women were genuinely friendly and Swan looked forward to getting to know them better. They loved her engagement ring as well and told David he’d done a great job in picking it out.

“So what do you think?” David leaned down to ask, taking her hand in his and leading her to where his parents, siblings and their spouses were getting ready to take a group picture.

She grinned up at him. “Um, for starters, I think I need to start calling you Flipper, since everyone else does. And then, Flipper, I think I am one of the luckiest women in the world right now. I love you.”

He chuckled as he pulled her to the side of the room and wrapped his arms around her waist. “And I, Swan Jamison, think I’m the luckiest man in the world, and I love you.”

“A very wise woman, my mother, once told me that when you meet a man who puts that sparkle in your eyes then you’d know he was a keeper. You, Flipper, are a keeper.”

He smiled. “You, my beautiful Swan, are a keeper as well.”

Flipper then lowered his mouth to hers.