Chapter 39
Chapter thirty-nine
Greyson
Four and a half years ago . . .
“Bro, who’s got you smiling like that?” Liam teased, trying to swipe my phone out of my hands.
I leaned back in the Adirondack chair on Gabe and Ivy’s back patio and swatted his hand away. “Go make out with your wife and leave me in peace.”
Liam’s grin turned wicked, and he circled his arms around Nora, his wife, who was five months pregnant and currently sitting on his lap. “You are so gone for her, man.”
“It’s cute,” Ivy defended as she brought out a pitcher of iced tea. “Paisley’s a sweetheart.”
Gabe clapped my shoulder, passing behind me with a platter of steaks in his other hand. “Love is the making of a man.”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m in love with my girlfriend. Someone call the news station,” I deadpanned, returning to reading Paisley’s text. It had come with a bunch of pictures since she and her best friends were on a trip to Yellowstone at the moment.
I appreciated that my friends were happy for me.
I didn’t even mind the ribbing most of the time.
But it had been a couple months since I’d seen Paisley in person, and watching Liam and Nora and Gabe and Ivy all the time had my chest aching.
I wanted to see Paisley smile, hear her laugh, hold her.
I had a deployment coming up, and she was flying out to see me soon, but then it would be back to long distance.
Liam leaned back in his chair and sighed contentedly. “Love is a good thing.”
Rhys, one of our squad buddies, grunted without looking up from his book across the deck.
“You got something to say?” Liam teased. “We don’t speak fluent caveman.”
“I thought you and Moriah hit it off,” Ivy offered innocently.
Rhys’s face tinged red. “She’s all right.” The faint trace of his British accent seeped through.
“You should have brought her!” Nora said. “We need more women to balance all this testosterone.”
I refocused on my phone as the teasing chatter circled around me. I zoomed in on the photo of Paisley and Juliet, arms around each other, smiling, in front of Old Faithful. It might be a cool natural phenomenon, but I had eyes only for Paisley. She was beautiful, and I missed her.
ME:
You have no idea how much I wish that were me standing next to you.
PAISLEY:
Only two more weeks and then I’m all yours, Sergeant. *kissy face emoji*
ME:
I love you.
PAISLEY:
I love you more.
ME:
Not possible, love.
“Earth to Grey!” Liam hollered, and I reluctantly slipped my phone into my jeans pocket. “A toast.” He theatrically lifted a glass of Ivy’s iced tea. “To love and friends.”
And as our little group clinked glasses and went back to good-natured ribbing, a warm sensation settled in my gut, making my sternum ache. To love and friends. Thank God for both.