Chapter 26
June woke up feeling refreshed, even if a bit tender, and had a giant grin on her face. She stretched her arms over her head as she let out a big yawn, feeling sore in places she had never felt sore before. The smile spread wider on her face, recalling why she was so sore.
June was glad she had waited to lose her virginity. Well, not lose. It wasn’t like she’d misplaced her hymen. She had gotten rid of the pesky thing and couldn’t be happier her first time had been with Rob.
He had been gentle and caring. More than once, she had been forced to tell him to take her. Something she was mortified about now after the fact, but at the time, she had been horny, and he was taking too long. She’d been a virgin, not a porcelain doll. After that, it had been magical.
June’s eyes popped open when she felt the empty bed next to her. The bed felt cold, and the pillow didn’t even look slept on. There wasn’t even a note.
“Rob,” she called sitting up. There was only silence for an answer. Where could he be?
She looked down on the side of her bed to put her legs on, thankful to see them, considering Rob had taken them off of her last night when he’d given her the leg rub. June put them on and found some clothes before making her way down the silent hallway. She already knew he was gone.
June looked for her phone and found it in the living room. She had to blink hard at seeing the time. No wonder Rob wasn’t there; it was well after ten in the morning. She never slept in this late. Next, she checked her messages. Nothing.
Maybe he had to go to work or something. She would have thought he would at least leave her a note or something though.
June debated calling or texting, but she didn’t want to be that needy girlfriend or whatever they were and start hounding him about where he was. She would text him later if she didn’t hear from him.
The morning was already practically done, but that didn’t mean she was going to laze about the day anymore. June ate a quick breakfast and headed out for her daily run.
She was headed home when her phone rang. June looked at her watch to check the caller ID, hoping it was Rob, but it was only her brother. Not that she didn’t love talking to him.
“Hey, Liam,” June answered, slowing down to a walk so she wasn’t panting in his ear.
“Hey, June bug, did I catch you at a bad time? You sound a little out of breath.”
“I was just finishing up a run. I’m almost home.”
“Nice, it’s a little late for a run, isn’t it?”
She normally did it early when the sun wasn’t so high, and it wasn’t so hot out. “I got a late start today.” She was not about to tell her brother it was because she had been in a sex-induced coma and catching up on no sleep from the past week with one of the girls out on vacation.
“How far did you make it?” That was his age-old question he’d asked since she’d taken up running. She knew she would never hit his ridiculous number of twenty miles, nor did she want to.
“Three miles.”
“That’s awesome.”
“Thanks. How are things at home?”
“Great, I…ah…actually have something to tell you,” he said nervously.
Uh oh, this couldn’t be good. “What’s that?”
“Cora’s pregnant.”
“That’s awesome. I’m going to be an aunt.
Does this mean you’ll finally set a date for the wedding, or will that be in a few years?
Maybe your kiddo can be your ring bearer or flower girl depending on what you have.
” They had only been dating for five years.
By common law, they were married, but Cora wanted the big white wedding.
June already considered her a sister though.
She didn’t need a piece of paper to prove it.
“Ha ha,” he replied dryly. “We haven’t set a date. I’ve actually suggested we just elope and come out to Vegas. See you and get married at the same time.”
“It’s the place to do it, but I don’t think Cora would agree. That’s why you’ve held off for so long. She wants the big wedding.”
“I think she’s coming to realize the timing will never be perfect. Our schedules just don’t always collaborate to make it work. Now there will be a baby to fill in our time. I’m thinking I’ll be retired by the time we get around to doing the wedding.”
“You might need to hold off on retiring, big guy, to save up for college.”
“Ugh,” Liam groaned.
“Are you excited?” June had never heard of Liam or Cora mentioning kids. June had assumed that one day they would have them, but she’d figured it would have been long before her brother was inching closer to forty.
“I am. I’m also scared as well. Which is funny considering what I do for a living.”
“Those are situations you’re prepared for. Kids are a different ball game.”
“Tell me about it. I don’t know what I’m doing,” Liam commented, almost sounding panicked.
“You’re going to be a great dad, Liam. You’ll figure it out like you have everything else in life.” She had nicknamed him Golden Midas long ago because there wasn’t anything he tried that he hadn’t succeeded at almost on the first try.
“Thanks, June bug. Enough about me, what’s going on with you?”
“Well, I’m seeing someone.” A smile crossed her face as she thought about Rob.
“What? When? That’s awesome,” Liam said, sounding just as excited as she was. It was the first time she’d had a boyfriend. Like Liam, she was excited but nervous. Relationships were new to her.
“It’s very new, so don’t get too excited.” Already after their first night together, she hadn’t heard from him. She hoped that wasn’t a sign of bad karma.
“How can I not be, my little sister has finally found someone. Tell me about him.”
“His name is Rob; he used to be Special Forces.”
“I like him already. What does he do now?”
“He does contract work.” June hoped Liam didn’t press her for more details because she didn’t know. He was more hush-hush about his job than her brother.
“Nice, how did you two meet?”
“We met through my work. He’s a patient there with Dr. Shane.” It wasn’t a complete lie, but she wasn’t about to tell her brother that she was being assaulted in an alley when Rob rescued her. Liam would be on a plane this afternoon to drag her back to Fort Irwin.
“A patient?” Liam sounded shocked.
“Yeah, he lost his ear and partial hearing in the other ear while on active duty. All of his friends are vets and have lost limbs.”
“You’ve already met his friends? It must be serious.”
“Liam, stop.” June felt her cheeks heat, but she was willing to blame that on the weather. “It was a cookout that he had with his friends, and I was invited. It’s nothing to get excited about.” Though it had meant the world to her.
“I’m happy for you, June bug. You sound happy.”
“I am.” June was on cloud nine. She was dating the man of her dreams. “I have to go. I need to shower and grocery shop for the week.” June walked into her air-conditioned house, feeling the instant relief from the dry desert heat. Served her right for running so late in the morning.
“Alright, June bug. I’ll be in touch. Cora and I may just have to plan a visit so we can meet this guy.”
“You just want to interrogate him.” She wasn’t fooled by his sudden brotherly love and wanting to visit her out of the blue.
“Hey, it’s my brotherly right.” Liam didn’t even bother trying to deny it.
“Whatever. Bye, Liam. Give Cora my love, and congrats to you both.” June was happy for them. She would have to plan on more visits back home to spoil the baby.
“Thanks. Bye, June bug.” June hung up as she chugged a glass of ice-cold water before getting on with the rest of her day.