The sequel to Eight Years from author Donna Schwartze.
Reality. Who needs it? Definitely not Millie. Sheās had enough to last a lifetime. In the past six months, she finally found out who killed her mom and took out a terrorist network in the process.
Phew! Enough reality. Itās time for a little fantasy. And sheās definitely got the right man for that: Masonāthe alpha male with a tender sideāwho protected her from danger and healed her broken heart. Then he made a life-changing sacrifice just to be near her. Who could ask for anything more?
But two months into living in this blissful bubble, reality strikes again. Millieās boss tells her a shocking secret. Itās news Millie has been wanting to hear for almost nine years. But is it the truth? Or is her boss only dangling this tantalizing tidbit to get her to take on another dangerous mission?
Thereās only one way to find outādive headfirst back into reality. But will this decision risk her relationship with Mason? Will she lose the small amount of peace sheās been able to find? Is she putting any chance she has at happiness on hold to chase a ghost?
The sequel to Eight Years from author Donna Schwartze.
Reality. Who needs it? Definitely not Millie. Sheās had enough to last a lifetime. In the past six months, she finally found out who killed her mom and took out a terrorist network in the process.
Phew! Enough reality. Itās time for a little fantasy. And sheās definitely got the right man for that: Masonāthe alpha male with a tender sideāwho protected her from danger and healed her broken heart. Then he made a life-changing sacrifice just to be near her. Who could ask for anything more?
But two months into living in this blissful bubble, reality strikes again. Millieās boss tells her a shocking secret. Itās news Millie has been wanting to hear for almost nine years. But is it the truth? Or is her boss only dangling this tantalizing tidbit to get her to take on another dangerous mission?
Thereās only one way to find outādive headfirst back into reality. But will this decision risk her relationship with Mason? Will she lose the small amount of peace sheās been able to find? Is she putting any chance she has at happiness on hold to chase a ghost?
āHave you told him you love him yet?ā Mariel looks at me like the correct answer is definitely no. She peers at me judgmentally over her wine glass as she takes a long, slow sip.Ā
āYes. I have,ā I say, draining the last of my martini to prepare for the tongue-lashing I know Iām about to receive.Ā
āOh my God, Millie. Why? Youāve only been togetherāI mean really togetherāfor two months.ā She shakes her head with so much force that her dangling earrings slap her repeatedly in the face.
āI said it because itās true. I do love him,ā I say, quickly adding. āMason said it, too. Weāre in love. Why is that bad?ā
Mariel has become my best girlfriend since I moved to San Diego six months ago. Let me emphasize girlfriendbecause her husband, Chase, is my best friend. He has been since the day my dadāhis best friendādied. I havenāt always made it easy for Chase to love me, but he never gave up and thatās made me almost as devoted to him as I was to my dad.
Mariel motions to the waiter to bring her another glass of wine. Itās her third. She usually stops at two. This is obviously about to get serious. āItās not bad, Millie. Itās just unrealistic. You arenāt living in the real world right now. Youāre still recovering from the kidnapping. Heās still adjusting from stepping down as an active SEAL. You both had traumatic, life-changing things happen recently. You shouldnāt be making big decisions.ā
āI donāt think being in love is a decision. It just kind of happens.āĀ
She rests her chin on her hands as she bats her eyelashes. āOh sweetie. That entire statement makes me want to slap you so badly.ā
āWhat?ā I say, laughing. āHow long did it take you to realize you were in love with Chase?ā
āIāll let you know when it happens.ā She flashes her most wicked smile at me.Ā
āMariel!āĀ
Iāve known them since I was sixteen. They took me in for a few months after my dad died. They have the most loving marriage Iāve ever seen, but they are complete opposites. Deep down, Chaseālike meāis a dreamer. Mariel is not. Sheās one hundred percent pragmatic all the time. Itās probably why Chase married her. Itās definitely why I value her friendship. She keeps us grounded.
āOf course I love him, Millie. But it hasnāt always been easy. It took Chase years to adjust to not being active anymore. Iām still not sure heās there and itās been almost ten years. Our marriage has taken a lot of work. A lot. Iām just saying this little blissful bubble you and Mason are in right now isnāt going to last.ā
The waiter thankfully delivers me another martini. āWell even if reality sets in . . .ā
Before I can finish, Mariel grabs my hand across the table and pats it. āNot if, sweetie. When. When it sets in.ā
āWhen,ā I say sharply. āWhen it sets in, Iām still going to love him.ā
She sits back and crosses her arms. We stare at each other for a few minutes before she finally says, āAnd what are you going to say when he asks you to marry him?ā
I roll my eyes so severely it almost gives me a headache. āOh my God, Mar. Heās not going to ask me to marry him. Youāre drunk.ā
āI am,ā she laughs. āBut that doesnāt mean Iām wrong. Thatās what comes after the āI love you.ā Marriage then babies. And I know youāre not ready for all that. I mean, are you?ā
āNo. God no. Not even close.ā Iām starting to think the double shot in my second martini was a mistake. My brain is getting fuzzy. āHeās not either. I know that. I mean itās only been two months.ā
She flings her hands in the air like sheās suddenly conducting an orchestra. āAnd finally you say something that makes sense,ā she says, slamming her hands back down on the table. She hits them five more times to emphasize each of her next words. āItās only been two months.ā
āI really hate you right now.ā I eat the last olive from my martini and fling the cocktail pick at her.Ā
She laughs victoriously. āHave you even had a fight with him yet? Do you know enough about each other to disagree on anything?ā
āThere is one thing we argue about,ā I say slowly.
āOooo. Do tell.ā
āWell you know how independent I am . . .ā
āGirl, please.ā She starts massaging her temples. āI almost killed you during your college years. You put us through hell with your bullshit independence.ā
āIām not explaining my reasons for that again,ā I say, pointing at her. āLetās stay focused on the present please.ā
āFine. Please go on, princess.ā She drains the last of her third glass of wine.
āWell weāve been having arguments because Mason is overly protective of me and itās driving me a little crazy. For some reason, he feels responsible for my kidnappingāeven though he wasnāt there. Itās made him start acting like my bodyguard as much as he acts like my boyfriend. He tries to control everything. And Iāve never been very good at being controlled.ā
She takes a deep breath. āYeah. Thatās something Chase and I went through. First, you know thatās just part of who they are. Thatās what they do for a living. SEALs protect people. They control people. Itās hard to do that at work and then completely turn it off when you get home. It took years for Chase to turn that down and heās not nearly as alpha as Mason. You probably need to give him a break. But bottom line, heās never going to lose that completely, so you either learn how to live with it or the relationship isnāt going to work.ā
Thatās not the advice I wanted. I was hoping she would have a magic solutionālike a pill Mason could take to turn down the alpha a little bit.
āAnd second,ā she continues. āThe reason he feels responsible for the kidnapping is precisely because he wasnāt there. He and his team worked the mission with you from day one. Then not to be there when the shit really went down . . . Thatās a tough pill for these guys to swallow. Add in the way he feels about you and Iām sure itās enough to make his head feel like itās going to explode. He thinks he failed you and failed at the mission. These guys donāt like to fail and they rarely do. Itās tough on them.ā
āSo what youāre telling me is that Iām the problem. That I need to let him control me because of the way heās programmed.ā
āIām saying because of the way heās programmed, heās going to control things one way or another. Whether you can tolerate it is up to you. Do you think you can give him a little control here and there?ā
āYeah. I mean I do already. There are areas where I donāt mind it at all.ā
āSexually.ā She nods her head way too enthusiastically.
āOh my God! I didnāt say that.ā
āBut the sex is great, right? You know what Iām saying. When they get all alpha and take control . . .ā
āMar! Youāre like my mom. Stop it.ā I bury my face in my hands and then peer through my fingers at her. āBut yeah. Itās out-of-this-world. Like crazy good.ā
She makes a check mark in the air with her finger. āKnew it,ā she says smugly. āAnd thatās part of whatās blinding you from reality. No judgement on that part though. Get yours, you know?ā
āOh my God. No more wine for you. Youāre out of control.ā
She stands up suddenly, swaying slightly. āIām going to the bathroom. It will give you ample time to think about how right I am about everything.ā
I watch her until the click of her stilettos fades away into the restaurant. I know sheās right about the blissful bubble. Since Mason moved here, weāve been surviving on a steady diet of sex and surfingāabsolutely no real world problems allowed. Itās been breathtaking. But in the last few weeks, a few ugly issues have been trying to creep into our utopia.
Captain CulverāMasonās old bossācalled him last week and asked him to take control of his SEAL team again. The guy who replaced him was injured and wonāt be back for months. Mason said no, but I can tell he wanted to say yes. He misses that life. Itās something I donāt understandāthat absolute love for your job. My dad felt that way about the teams, too. He told me he thought about quitting every day after I was born. He never did though. And sixteen years later he died on the job. I canāt take another man I love dying that way. Mason knows that, but it doesnāt make him miss the job any less.
My old boss, George, has been calling me, too. He wants me to come back to the CIA. I have absolutely no interest in going back. I chose that career path only to find out who my mom was and who killed her. I spent eight years focused on almost nothing else. I know the truth now. I have no need to be at the agency anymore. And more importantly, I have no desire to be there. My biggest problem is that I have no idea what I want to do with my life now.
Masonās regretting his decision. I canāt make a decision. Itās all threatening the bubble. I hate when Mariel is right. But it looks like reality might be starting to set in. All I want to do right now is go home and cuddle up on the couch with Masonāmaybe keep the bubble intact for at least one more night.
The Only Reason is the second book in the Trident Trilogy. It is a beautifully written sequel to Eight Years yet it also works perfectly as a stand-alone book. It is filled to the brim with navy SEALs, romance, action and story that simply whisks you away.
Mille Marsh, ex CIA agent and daughter of navy SEAL Mack Marsh returns, forced back into the heart of the action yet again because of her family.Ā Thereās certainly no surprise that her navy SEAL squad is along for the ride (fronted by her adoring boyfriend Mason). Read as she discovers more of her hidden family, how she is dragged back into the CIA and sit with mouth agape as shocking truths are discovered, threatening everything within her world...oh and national security too.
My review for this book can only be a love note. I am equally as hooked by the story in Millieās voice as well as Masonāsā. It is so well written, realistic and never over dramatised. Once again, Donna Schwartze has written a fantastic book both as a sequel and as a stand-alone book which is no mean feat. The writing style is still flawless, swapping between the different points of view just like itās predecessor and there is never a dull or forced moment within. The expanding collection of characters only help to enrich the story and never once hampers the story in any way. Yet again I was hooked in minutes and devoured the book page by page until I finished the book within hours of sitting down.
I am overjoyed by the fact that this sequel not only lived up to the first but the fact that one day soon there will be a third book to complete this trilogy! Donna Schwartze, you have done it again! I definitely cannot wait to read whatever you write next...