Forever My Soldier (Love Conquers Life Book 3) by Alison Mello Page A

event. I have already managed to sell quite a few tickets, and I’ve started to round up some silent auction items.”
    “That’s great,” Derek says, excited.
    “I’m telling you, Derek. This is my mom’s thing. She’s all about these events and has always done a great job with them.”
    “Thank you, Patricia. Now I’m working on some ideas for the ball drop with some friends of mine, and I’ll fill you in as soon as we know what we can pull off.”
    “Awesome. We want this event to be a lot of fun. The hope is that we can do it again next year and it’ll become a really nice fundraiser for us,” Derek says as he takes a sip of his water.
    “Well, if you’d like my help for next year, I’m more than happy to be a part of it.” Derek and I both thank her, and then we all start looking over the menu.
    A few minutes later, the waitress comes back over to take our order. As she leaves the table, the focus of conversation becomes Bella’s big fashion show next weekend. She talks excitedly about all the dresses she will change into during the show. She tells us how the director of the show loves her and is so happy to have her. While she talks, I rub Patty’s leg under the table. She places her hand on my thigh, giving me a squeeze. I want to groan because if she squeezes any higher, I won’t be able to leave.
    I look at her with one eyebrow raised, and she giggles because she knows exactly what she’s doing. I lean in and whisper, “I’m so happy to see you smiling again.” I kiss her cheek and then turn back to the conversation, but everything has stopped and they’re all staring at us.
    Patty blushes but tries to play it off. “What? You’ve never seen a man kiss his woman on the cheek?”
    Everyone starts to laugh, and the conversation starts back up again. As our food arrives, the ladies make plans to go shopping for dresses this week. They claim they need something to wear to the fashion show as well as the New Year’s Eve event. It’s as if these women don’t each have at least eight formal dresses, never mind the less elegant ones they have in their closet. I’m sure Sandra blows Bella and Patty’s wardrobes out of the water.
    “Baby, I don’t care if you go dress shopping, but what’s wrong with one of the eight or so you have now?”
    “I’ve worn them all,” she says like they’re only made to be worn once.
    “Okay?”
    Derek jumps in. “Don’t try it, man. Women are crazy about their dresses. I’m dating a model, I know better. I won’t even go there.” He looks at Bella. “I adore you, but you girls are crazy spending hundreds or even thousands on a dress just to wear it once. That said, because I adore you, you do what you have to.”
    Bella kisses him on the cheek. “Thank you.”
    I grin at Derek. “Dude, you’re defending your girl's dress shopping addiction? I may have to take your man card.”
    Bella tries to look angry at me for picking on her man, but she fails miserably. “You leave my man alone.” We all start laughing.
    We finish our meal in a comfortable silence, and once the waitress clears our plates she hands Richard the bill. He happily signs it and hands it back to her. We all thank him for dinner. He puts up his hand. “It’s no problem. It’s my pleasure. I’m happy to see you all getting along again, especially now that Sandra and I have done a lot of talking about the entire situation that has taken place and we’re going to move past it. After the first of the year, we’re taking a trip together to renew our vows and start fresh.”
    “That’s very sweet of you, Richard,” Patty tells him with a huge grin on her face. I can tell she’s genuinely happy for her mother.
    “Thank you, Patty. I adore both you and your mother and would like to continue to be a part of this family. It appears to be growing now that you and Bella have met some nice young men. That said, remember I’m the DA and I know how to get away with things. If either of