I’ll Be Your Somebody

It’s an arrangement between friends. She’s not supposed to fall in love. But the more time coffeehouse entrepreneur Rosita Velez spends with Navy SEAL Ulrich Brown, the more she realizes the one part of herself she thought she could guard forever begins to slip right out of her chest into Ulrich’s waiting hands.

Excerpt “One Morning”

“I get jealous of him,” Ulrich said quietly in her ear.

“Why?”

“He has someone to say goodbye to,” Ulrich said, shrugging. “I shouldn’t be, you know? Yeah, I call my parents, but…for years, Tim didn’t have anyone he could call. But I see him now with Bevin and his son, and I wish I had someone like that.”

Rosita turned to him. He still gazed at the family having their moment, wistfulness emblazoned on his face. She stood directly in front of him and his black eyes moved to her.

“I can be that for you today,” she offered. “Si tú quieres.”

He said nothing for a long while, so long Rosita’s cheeks burned and she started to retract her proposal, until his large, dark-bronzed hand smoothed over the inky curls of her head to cup her cheek.

“Pray for me?” he asked quietly.

“Sí, siempre,” she responded, not even bothering to hide the tears in her eyes.

He smiled a little, touching his thumb to her cheek, and kissed her forehead. “Gracias, mi hermosa chica Rosita.”

“Regrese a mi, Ulrich,” she commanded on a whisper, clutching his shirt. “Por favor.”

“I’ll do my best,” he replied sincerely, and Rosita knew that was the only vow he could keep.