Famous last words.
The second we connect, my eyes roll back in my head. My hands tug at the hem of her shirt and lift it over her head. Ryley’s head falls back as I cup her breasts. When her nails dig into my sides, I submit and let her guide us. It’s crystal clear that Ryley needs this from me. For us. And maybe it’s because we’re doing this on the sly, but the sensation of being inside of her right now is nothing short of extraordinary.
When we’ve come down from our natural high, we lay on our sides and look at each other. “Why did we wait so long to get married?” I ask her.
“I don’t know. I ask myself the same question.”
I shake my head and wish like hell I had an answer. “We’ve lost so much time.”
“The time would’ve been the same, Evan. I think what happened to us would’ve happened if we were married or not. It’s not like we were chosen because we hadn’t tied the knot. Nothing would’ve changed. You still would’ve been gone, and I would’ve lived six years as a widow. The time we have now is what’s important. We’ve built a life, and it’s a beautiful one.”
I let her words sink in and know she’s right. I doubt anything would be different in our lives. “I suppose we’d still be getting married today if . . .” my words trail off. I can’t bring myself to say the words. To this day, I hate that I had to reclaim my life.
“See, it’s meant to be.”
“Meant to be from the moment I hit you with the football.”
Ryley laughs. “I’ve never been so thankful to my parents, then in that moment, for raising an Army brat.”
“Me, too.”
I’m out of the house before the sun rises. Ryley and I stayed up all night, talking about the past and the future. We want more kids, and she’d like to start trying soon. I’m on board with the trying part. It’s the kids’ part I’m unsure of. Right now, I feel like I struggle with EJ and parenting. He does what I ask, but I feel like we are missing the father/son connection that I desperately want. I was close to my dad and Jensen. He and I have a great relationship, but I see how EJ gravitates toward Nate and can’t help the jealousy that creeps in. Nate deserves credit though and has tried to limit his time with EJ for us to strengthen our bond. My fear is that if Ryley and I have another child, and I’m there from the beginning, what will EJ think? The last thing I want is for him to feel left out.
When I get back to the house, I find Cara sitting at the bar in our kitchen. “Good morning,” I say as I head to the coffee pot and pour myself a mug. I don’t wait for it to cool before taking a much-needed drink of the caffeine.
“Morning. Nate took Deefur for a walk, and EJ is in the shower.”
“Thanks. How did the rest of the night go?”
“Perfect.”
Cara focuses on her laptop, and I can’t tell if she’s telling the truth or not. I suppose if something’s wrong, they’ll tell me after the wedding. I finish my cup of coffee and head upstairs, meeting EJ in the hallway. His hair is damp, and he’s dressed more for the beach than a wedding.
“Hey,” he says.
“Hey, good morning. How come you didn’t go with Uncle Nate to walk Deefur?”
EJ shrugs. “He didn’t wake me up.”
“Deefur?”
He nods. “When I woke up, he wasn’t in my room. Cara told me to jump in the shower.”
They’re definitely hiding something.
I place my hand on his shoulder. “Are you hungry?”
“Yeah. Is mom home?”
“No, she’s going to stay with grandma and papa today. I’ll shower, and then we’ll walk down to the food truck and pick up some burritos. Does that work?”
“Yes, sir.”
“All right, bud. I’ll be down in a minute.” EJ starts to walk away, and I call out to him. “Stay in the house, okay?”
He stares at me for a second, and his head drops. He knows I’m paranoid about something. “Okay,” he finally says and walks down the stairs.
CHAPTER 8
RYLEY
When we arrive at our beach location, April greets us. She beams with an infectious smile and reaches for my hands. “You must be loved because someone set up a dressing room for you. Come on, let me show you.” She pulls me along behind her, forcing my feet to move. I look over my shoulder at my mom, who looks like she coerced her face to smile. Why is this my life? Why does a nice gesture turn into thoughts of who is trying to hurt my family or me?
The dressing room or shed, because that is what it looks like, sits on the sand with wedding decorations on the outside. I suppose those are to alleviate the eyesore the wood structure is, or to deter people from looking inside. I would be one of those people.