Holiday at Magnolia Bay (Southern Born Christmas Book 1) (15 page)

“I normally don’t tolerate such insubordination from a junior officer, but in this case, what he said made sense.” Her father pushed back her silly Santa hat and kissed her on the forehead. “Because I love you, I won’t have him court martialed. Yet. But if he breaks your heart, he’ll answer to me.”

He gave her a gentle shove in Drew’s direction before wandering off toward the stern. “Okay, Captain, let’s get this vessel ready to leave the dock,” he called as he walked away.

The music from the pier and the boisterous voices of the assembled crowd melted away as Jenna lost herself in the depths of Drew’s all-knowing eyes. She wasn’t sure if it was the gentle bobbing of the boat or a sudden loss of oxygen to the brain, but her head felt as though it was floating.
Drew is here.
The bravado she had summoned up only moments before was quickly seeping out of her trembling body. But if she didn’t take this chance, she might lose him forever so she forced herself to speak.

“Hey there, Sailor,” she said as she took a step closer, leaving scant inches between their bodies before she stopped. “I understand I have you to thank for getting my father here.”

Drew chuckled seductively before his hands came out of his pockets to grip her waist pulling her into contact with his body. Her hands flew around his neck.

“I can think of a million ways I’d like you to thank me, most of them requiring privacy, but before you do, you should know your Christmas present is a two-fer deal.”

Her breath hitched and she arched an eyebrow at him. “Two-fer?”

“Yeah, the Admiral.” She watched as he swallowed roughly. “And me. I’ve been floundering at sea for awhile,” he said, the gentleness in his deep voice making Jenna’s heart skip a beat. “It takes some of us a little longer than others to find our passion. But I think I’ve found mine.”

She arched her body into his, the familiar warmth and feel of it making her stomach flutter. “Oh, yeah?”

His hat bumped against her forehead as he kissed the tip of her nose. “Definitely, yeah.”

“Took you long enough,” she teased before nipping at his bottom lip.

“Hey!” He kissed her then. It was a kiss so full of promise and passion that Jenna’s stomach soared.

“You saved me a trip,” she teased when his lips moved to her cheek. Jenna’s throat squeezed painfully when he pulled back to gaze questioningly into her eyes. “I was wrong to believe that you’d turn out like my father. And you were wrong to believe you are unworthy of my love.” She cupped his face in her hands. “This passion you’ve discovered, is there enough left over for me?”

Drew’s lips brushed her palms. “You’ve got it backwards, sweetheart.
You
are my heaven. All my passion and all my love go to you first. My tour is up the end of the month and I’m leaving the Navy. The Lanham Group is funding a foundation to help veterans find jobs and other assistance they’ll need after returning to civilian life. I can run the project from the deck of a beach house here in Magnolia Bay just as easily as I can from an office in DC. We can grow old together in the one spot on earth that makes you happy.”

Tears burned the back of her eyes again. “I’ll be happy wherever I am, as long as you’re beside me,” she said before he took her mouth in a kiss. The ship rocked beneath them and Jenna hugged Drew close. “I love you,” she whispered against his mouth. A cheer went up along the pier as a chorus of boat horns blasted the beginning of the Flotilla.

“Merry Christmas, Jenna,” Drew said before he took her lips again.

The End

If you enjoyed
Holiday in Magnolia Bay
, you’ll love some other Southern Born Christmas stories!

Just in Time for Christmas
by Kim Boykin

Coming soon

A Very Married Christmas
by Erika Marks

Coming soon

The Trouble with Christmas
by Kaira Rouda

Coming soon

Tracy Solheim
is the international bestselling author of the Out of Bound Series for Penguin. Her books feature members of the fictitious Baltimore Blaze football team and the women who love them. In a previous life, Tracy wrote best sellers for Congress and was a freelance journalist for regional and national magazines. She’s a military brat who now makes her home in Johns Creek, Georgia, with her husband, their two children, a pesky Labrador retriever puppy and a horse named after her first novel. Her fifth book for Berkley, Back To Before, will be released in January. She also has a digital holiday novella for Tule Publishing’s Southern Born Books coming October 20. See what she’s up to at
www.tracysolheim.com
. Or on facebook at
Tracy Solheim Books
and Twitter at
TracyKSolheim
.