Triple Beat-nook(55)

Enjoy this excerpt from Mari Carr’s Waiting for You.



Sydney stood next to Gran, who was flanked by Julian on the right. The three of them were standing at the international arrivals gate, grinning like fools as they held the banner Sydney had made. Chas’ flight had landed and her heart was racing a million miles an hour. She’d seen him just a few months earlier over the holidays. They’d exchanged small gifts and consumed a bottle of eggnog together. Chas had even told her a little bit about two friends he’d lost in combat, the story breaking her heart.

Chas had ended up sleeping on her couch that night, while she’d tossed and turned in her bedroom, fighting the urge to go out and comfort him. However, there had been something in his eyes—some dark, unfamiliar sadness—that had stopped her, that had told her to keep her distance.

Several more people walked through the gate. Sydney watched as relatives reunited with hugs, laughter and sometimes tears. She loved coming to the airport, loved the energy and the atmosphere, the hustle and bustle. It was a hotbed of emotions unlike any other place.

Gran captured her attention with a nudge of the elbow. “There he is.”

Chas strolled through the doors in jeans and a t-shirt. It would seem so weird to see him dressed in civilian clothing rather than his fatigues from now on, and she wondered if he’d give up the crew cut he’d kept for so many years and return to the longer style of his youth. He looked around the area, searching for them. Sydney smiled and waved when his eyes met hers.

Chas walked faster then, laughing when he read their banner. Sydney took it from Julian and Gran, stepping back so that Chas could greet his family.

She was shocked when he bypassed both of them and walked right up to her. He tugged the banner out of her hands and dropped it to the floor a split second before he grabbed her in his embrace and kissed her.

His mouth was demanding, forcing her lips apart so he could stroke her tongue with his. Sydney fought off a wave of dizziness and disbelief. Even a bit of embarrassment when she recalled his grandmother was standing less than five feet away from them. She put her hands on his shoulders, intent on pushing him away, but Chas only gripped her tighter, one of his hands rising to cup the back of her neck, his fingers lightly stroking the sensitive skin there.

She was a goner. Sydney stopped giving a shit who was there and what they were seeing. Chas was home. And he was kissing her.

Twelve years melted away into a haze of nothingness. He was home. Finally.