“You did this on purpose. Asking Breck to cater the desserts. You know how I feel about her.” My tone is accusing and Anniston damn well knows it. I am beyond pissed. “Thirty pies, Anniston? Are you fucking kidding me?”
She ignores me, touching a strand of hair and smiling at me like she has a fucking secret. “I don’t understand what you mean. How do you feel about her?”
The low rumble in my chest feels volcanic. I’m two seconds from exploding with rage. I don’t want Breck here. She makes my body react in ways I finished warding off several years ago.
“I feel like she’s annoying,” I lie to Anniston, my arms folded across my chest to ease the tension in my body.
Anniston laughs out an amused sound. “Really? Shit, I had no idea. Maybe we should order the hundreds of jars of jam online then. I thought you liked her brand of wholesome ingredients.”
I cut her a look of death and then amend it with a sigh. “You’re being worse than Theo this morning.” A look of pride comes over her face at the mention of her soon-to-be husband.
“Zip me up, will you?” she asks, thankfully changing the subject.
I almost say no and keep with my attitude about Breck being here, but I know resolve when I see it in the hard set of her jaw. Whatever secret Anniston has, she won’t share it with me anytime soon. She has a plan, and whether I like it or not, she’s going through with it. It’s like I’m back in Afghanistan, butt clenched as I take cautious steps into enemy territory, waiting for the inevitable click of a landmine that will change my life forever.
I admit that’s a little dramatic, but after enduring another nightmare and this damn wedding, I’m feeling a bit mopey and a whole lot of pent-up. The shower I had after my run with Theo this morning did nothing to quell my overactive imagination of Breck with those innocent gray eyes and kissable lips. My dick is like Theo when he sneaks carbs and sugar—hyper as fuck. Hard. Soft. Hard. Soft. The front of my briefs has left my skin raw from the amount of pre-cum saturating the cotton material and rubbing up against me. And Anniston fucking invites her under my nose to hang around for the whole damn day?
This can’t be happening.
“Cade?”
Right, her dress.
With a sigh that rivals all the epic sighs of the world, I move behind her, clasping the tiny zipper between my fingers. I screw my lips up in a sneer and glare at her in the mirror, but my heart isn’t in it because she blows me a kiss and I chuckle.
“I hate you sometimes,” I lie, lifting the zipper along her soft curves before releasing.
Anniston turns, fully aware that I don’t mean what I said, clutching my cheeks in her hands as we stand face to face in silence. Her eyes, full of love and acceptance, seem to reach right down into my cold, dead heart and warm it from the inside out. I know what she’s going to say before she says it. “You deserve to be happy, Cade.”
Same argument, different day.
“I am happy,” I repeat for the millionth time.
Anniston pulls me in for a hug. I oblige and hug her back. I know she means well and I don’t want to fight with her on her big day. Anniston doesn’t agree with my “no women” philosophy. Probably because she and Theo think sex solves just about anything. But sex ruined my life.
Sex killed my brother.
I killed my team because of a woman.
And after Anniston changed my life by forcing me out of the ditch and shoving food down my throat, I vowed to never let down the second chance family I’ve gained through her. I don’t need any distractions. Apart from what Theo says, sex does not clear the demons from my head. Well, it’s been so long I can’t remember, but I don’t think it will.
Anniston pushes back and places a soft kiss on my cheek. “Theo wants to hire a stripper for your birthday.” I snort and she continues, lightening the mood. “I voted for a hooker but Hayes said he had girls he could get to do it for free.” She shrugs her shoulders, turning to the vanity and applying a little more gloss to her lips. “You know we like to save money around here.”
After sliding her finger in her mouth, she smacks her lips, verifying no gloss is on her teeth. Theo says the move is total bullshit—the sliding the finger in their mouths to get off the extra lipstick—he thinks they do it to make us think about blowjobs. Had Theo seen that, he would have offered to slide something else between her lips. Trust me, I’ve seen it. He’s not shy about unzipping his pants in front of an audience.
“I appreciate the birthday plans, but a quiet evening at home sounds perfect.”
She rolls her eyes.
Do I know they’ll all do what they want for my birthday? Yep. But there’s no harm in expressing my opinion even if they don’t give a shit.
“Is it time to go?” she asks.
Checking the fitness watch on my arm, I nod solemnly. “It’s time. Are you ready to marry the pain in the ass?”
Anniston smiles big, buttoning up my shirt. “I am,” she says sweetly. I finish tucking it in, foregoing the jacket since Anniston didn’t want anyone formal apart from Theo—I’m sure she has a kinky reason for it—and offer my elbow to my commander of the past year and a half. She doesn’t waste time looping her arm through mine as we head out into the hallway. “I’ll need you to make sure the reception goes smoothly. I might be indisposed for a little while,” she instructs me.
This time it’s me who rolls their eyes. “Of course, Commander.”
Hayes and I have a bet going on how long they’ll last before they disappear. Hayes thinks Anniston and Theo will disappear after they say I do. I wager they will have a little more class and at least wait an hour into the reception. But after hearing Anniston, I think Hayes might be the winner tonight.
“Thad and his girlfriend Audrey are coming. Theo claims she’s knocked up.”
“Why does he think that?”
Anniston tries to mask her chuckle when she says, “Because he says no woman would stay with Thad this long unless she had to.”
Good lord. Just when I think he’s acting like a decent human he says some bullshit like this. “I feel sorry that Thad shares the exact genetic makeup as Theo.”
Theo and Thad are identical twins. They may look exactly the same, but they could not be more different. Where Theo is aloof and rude, Thad is caring and polite. They have a weird relationship that I still don’t quite understand.
Anniston laughs. “He’s only teasing. He’s secretly happy for him, but he would never say something so sentimental and make Thad think he was going soft.”
This I know. Theo shows affection through crude and crass remarks.
We take the steps slow so Anniston doesn’t fall over her dress, and when we reach the bottom, she turns, grabbing my upper arms so I face her. “Are you going to be okay?” she asks.
The answer to this question has everyone tiptoeing around me. They think I will lose it when Ans marries Theo, but times have changed.
Do I love her? Absolutely.
Do I think Theo deserves her? Grudgingly, yes.
Will my life change after she’s married? We’ll see, won’t we?
“You’ll always be my commander,” I say instead.
My answer makes her smile. “That’s right. We’re a team.”
A family.
The only people that matter to me.
I shake off the emotions, grabbing her hand. “Let’s go get you married so we can dip into Theo’s millions.”
We laugh along the way to the backyard where we pause at the flower-lined aisle stretched across the field. Theo is pacing at the front until Hayes pulls him to a stop, forcing him to turn and look at his bride.
For once in his ADHD life, Theo stands frozen, not moving a muscle as the music starts and Anniston takes a step forward without me. Apparently, she’s ready to get to her man. I pick up the pace, trying to slow her down to the beat of the march, but she doesn’t care. She moves at a steady clip until we reach the podium and the preacher asks, “Who gives this woman’s hand in marriage?”
Anniston turns to me, waiting. Clearing my throat—I should have grabbed a mint—I announce clearly, “I do.”
And then I place her hand in Theo’s.
“Sir. Sir. Can you open your eyes for me?”
I probably could but I don’t want to. I want the woman, with the voice of an angel, to keep talking to me, the beautiful cadence of her voice lulling me into a deeper trance. I feel her presence move closer, the heat from her body warming the frostbitten skin over my arms where the blanket didn’t quite reach throughout the night. Soft fingers, filled with warmth, press against my neck, her unsteady breaths grazing across my ear, sending shivers down my spine.
No sooner than she touches me, she pulls her fingers back and places them on my forehead. I want to close my eyes and relax into her touch, but the beeping of her phone pulls me back to the land of the living. Unfortunately, I’m still alive, and the last thing I need right now is a trespassing charge. “I’ll move. Don’t call the police,” I grumble out, my voice sounding as if I’ve been smoking since puberty.
Blinking a couple of times, I try to clear the grit and dryness from my eyes, and my God … those wide, mesmerizing blue eyes stare back at me curiously. Blonde tendrils escape the gray beanie pulled over her ears, accentuating the flush of crimson along her cheekbones. Ethereal beauty is the only way I can describe it. I’m staring at an angel in the flesh.
An angel who is about to call the police.
I blink back at the swollen lips pursed between wanting to speak and being in shock at seeing a vagrant on her property, and then allow my eyes to wander as far as they can in an effort to get a look at the hand still resting on my forehead. She pulls back quickly and stumbles.
“You’re freezing. I think you’re hypothermic,” she explains, her cheeks blushing even more from the wind.
I frown, making a weird noise in response to her concern, and attempt to sit up.
“I’m fine,” I lie, waving off her concern, but it sounds like “Ifiiime.” My words slur together and I feel like it’s time to get the hell out of here before I scare her even more. I attempt to put pressure on my stiff legs, but a searing pain shoots through them, and I groan. With reluctance, I lay back down on the hard ground and just wait. This is going to take me a minute.
“You’re not fine,” the angel admonishes, giving me a look as though it’s pointless to argue with her.
Lying down feels so good.
If she would just give me a few more minutes, I could rest up enough and have the energy to endure another few miles in the cold. My eyes drift closed just as she startles me awake by yelling, “Do not fall asleep!”
I can’t deal with this right now. I’m so tired. Dragging my heavy arm over my eyes, blocking out the sun and her beautiful face, I act like a complete asshole. “Leave me alone, lady.”
“I’m calling an ambulance,” she argues.
Damn it. Do the people in this town really have nothing better to do than to chase off the homeless?
“No,” I mumble against my arm, clarifying, just in case the “no” wasn’t clear enough. “I won’t go.”
I lower my arm from my face and force open an eye just in time to see her roll hers, giving me a look that I’m sure makes men bow at her feet. Lucky for her, I don’t care.
“I’m not leaving you here to die,” she explains, growing more agitated with my blunt answers.
I try not to show my emotions. It’s a matter of life or death in the military, but for some reason, this woman makes me want to argue. Who does she think she is ordering me around? I’m not a Marine anymore. I’m a civilian, and not even a contributing one at that. I narrow my eyes and meet the defiant set of her jaw.
She’s stubborn, I’ll give her that, but so am I.
“Go away,” I repeat as firmly as I can, but it comes out slower than usual and more muffled.
With a resigned huff, she rolls her eyes at me and reaches for my arm, wrapping her tiny hands around me. “Come on, dude. Let me get you warmed up, then. I promise to let you go so you can die another day.”
Am I in the twilight zone? Is this chick for real? Is she really trying to manhandle me up and help me?
For a moment all I can do is just stare at her, my gaze tracking back and forth from her hand on my forearm to her determined eyes. And then she pulls as hard as she can. She doesn’t even jostle me. I may be boxing below my class right now, but at six-foot-two, I’m no lightweight. And this angel here, as determined as she might be, isn’t going to move me from this spot unless I allow her.
“We can do this my way or the hard way. Either way, You. Will. Do. It. Now. Come on!”
If I wasn’t nearly hypothermic, I think that bossy statement would have made my dick hard. A few years ago, I would have loved to break a little firecracker like her, but that’s not who I am anymore. The angel, adorned in running gear, gives me another pull, and against my better judgement, I let her pull me up. My legs feel like jelly when I finally struggle to my feet, and she quickly nudges her body under my shoulder, supporting my weight as best as she can, and we start taking slow steps. I try really hard to keep from leaning on her since the smell of coconut seeps out from her pores as she struggles to walk with me. It’s obvious this girl has no self- preservation. Helping a stranger out of a ditch … where is her husband? Or boyfriend? Someone should be looking out for this crazy, selfless girl.
One foot in front of the other, I drag my frozen feet across the grass, unconsciously deciding that I’ll indulge her and see her home safely before leaving. Fuck! My gear. I’ll have to go back and get it. Not that I had much, but I definitely need my blanket. It’s not often you find one of those.
We stumble several more times before finding a good rhythm and balance to our weighted steps.
“What’s your name?” She tries to make conversation as our steps crunch along the frozen ground.
Maybe I’m tired of being rude or maybe I feel guilty for not using my manners—my mama would be horrified—but I decide to indulge her curiosity and tell her my name. It comes out broken like I have a stutter. “C-C-Cade.”
My guardian angel, who has no sense at all, takes a sharp breath and holds it a few seconds before looking me straight in the eye, like whatever is in that beautiful head of hers is now decided.
“It’s nice to meet you, Cade. I’m Anniston McCallister.”
My life changed forever on that freezing February morning. Anniston McCallister took a scrawny, half-dead man who didn’t care whether he lived or died in that ditch, brought him to her house, forced food down his throat, and commanded him to be the man he is today. There isn’t a single day that goes by that I don’t try to be the man she believes me to be. She’s made sacrifices for me and the guys to have a second chance at life, and I want to make her proud.
“Come dance with me, Gorgeous!” The beauty in a dress that enhances her angelic nature waves me over, shoving a scowling Theo to the side.
I wave her off and shake my head. I’m not dealing with a grumpy Theo this evening.
“She won’t stop until you do it.” Thad, Theo’s twin brother and former manager, quietly tells me what I already know. I know she’ll come pull me out of the chair if I don’t come dance with her. But I try to keep my newfound friendship with Von Bremen intact by keeping my hands off his woman. It’s taken us a while to get to this point so I have to make sure he sees that Anniston is forcing me to dance.
Never looking at Thad, I say over the top of my beer, “I know, but your brother looks about ready to explode. I don’t need his drama right now.”
Thad chuckles, confirming that I’m accurate in my assessment of his brother’s state of mind. “You’re right. He’s liable to cut you.”
Anniston frowns at me and I try holding a smile so she knows I’m not upset. If she thinks something is wrong, she’ll shoo all of her friends and family out of here and we’ll end up in a deep conversation. But instead, she whispers something to Theo and he nods, rolling his eyes at me before stalking to the table.
“Congratulations, bro,” Thad starts but Theo waves him off, pinning me with an annoyed look. “Go dance with her so I can fuck her. I’m tired of waiting.” I can’t help but grin when he snatches my beer and downs it in one go.
“Hurry, Jameson, before I change my mind.”
Most women would be appalled at what he just admitted, but if I know Anniston that’s exactly what she whispered in his ear to get him to come over here. I don’t let her angelic nature confuse me. She’s just as wild as Theo.
Shaking my head, I stand and let Theo plop down in my seat. “I would hate to come between you and pussy.” He nods; agreeing that depriving him after Ans held out on him last night would be detrimental to his physical well-being.
“Stop talking and go make me laugh at your terrible rhythm,” he mutters, shooing me with his hands.
I ignore his remark and tell Thad and his girlfriend Audrey goodbye before I turn and head toward a smiling Anniston.
“Gorgeous,” she drawls, extending her hand to me.
Interlacing our fingers, I pull her close, hip against hip.
“Commander.”
Her eyes sparkle under the extra lighting we had installed exclusively for the wedding, and she pulls her hand from mine, touching my face with her palm, asking me the same question she always does when she’s not sure where my head is at.
“You still with me?”
I nod and spin her around, making her laugh. “I’m always with you, Anniston.”