Away From You (Back To You Book 2) (24 page)

“Liv’s not like that,” Ellie defended me. “Even
after he said he wanted a divorce she still considered herself married and
taken by him.”

I kicked her shin under the table with my own
cowgirl boot. “Airing dirty laundry, much?”

Ellie flushed. “Oops. Must be the booze.”

“Gee, thanks.” I was grateful that the rest of the
group was in another conversation at their end of the table and it was only the
four of us listening. Ellie and Catherine obviously knew every detail of the
situation, and Jo knew the gist of it, but that didn’t mean I wanted Ellie’s
cousins and the other squadron wives to know about it.

“Don’t worry, my lips are sealed. I’m glad you guys
are working things out,” Jo said with a smile. “Hopefully y’all are on the same
page about being exclusive though. Aren’t they at Hawk’s bachelor party right
now?”

Her words hit me like a ton of bricks. The logical
part of me knew that she was only kidding, but I didn’t actually know if Matt
and I were on the same page about our exclusivity. Of course, I hoped that he
hadn’t seen anyone else while he was working on his PTSD, but self-destructive
behavior was a symptom, after all. What if he’d been out at the bars bringing
home girls before he’d started making progress with his recovery? Or, worse,
what if he’d just gone out on normal dates with girls and then eventually asked
me to date him, too? Was I the only girl he was dating?

I downed the rest of my mixed drink without really
listening to the conversation around me. I assumed they were still talking
about the guys having their bachelor party on the same night, but I couldn’t
stop picturing Matt out on the dance floor with other girls. It was a
completely unreasonable and irrational thing to worry about, but that didn’t
stop me from going there anyway. Ellie was right, must be the booze.

“Olivia!” Ellie snapped her fingers in front of my
face. “Look!”

I spun around in the direction she was pointing and
the smile that spread over my face was instantaneous. Matt and the rest of the
bachelor party group were coming in the front entrance of the bar. All of my
worries from a moment before floated away as soon as our eyes met through the
crowd. That was my Matt. He had gone away for a while, but he was still my Matt
and no one else’s. That I knew with my heart and soul.

Matt

The dim lighting in the country bar made Olivia’s
tan complexion and long dark hair look exotic and sensual. Her smile was
radiant and I didn’t even check behind me to see where the guys were headed
before I made my way toward her. It was almost like she was pulling me to her
with a giant magnet and I was powerless to stop it. I’d done a couple of shots
in the limo and this was the third stop on our bachelor party tour, so I was
good and buzzed. I didn’t care that I was crossing the great bachelor and
bachelorette party divide. I was on a mission and my thoughts were singular.

She’d turned on her barstool to face me as I
approached. She was wearing tight jeans tucked into her cowgirl boots and a red
low cut top. I wanted to peel it off of her. When I reached the stool she was perched
on, I brought my hands to her neck and pulled her against me, kissing her
deeply. She bound her legs around the backs of my thighs and wrapped her arms
around my waist, holding me tightly in place. The noise and the lights of the
bar faded away, leaving only us in our fervent embrace.

The alcohol on our breaths mingled and her lips
felt warm and pliable as I moved mine over them. After who knows how long, I
felt myself getting aroused. I figured she could probably feel it too, the way
our bodies were welded together. I broke the kiss and rested my forehead to
hers, panting. She looked mussed and excited, and if we were some place
private
there was no way I could have stopped.

But we weren’t some place private, and I started to
realize that in my drunken haze I might have just made a scene. Olivia looked
equally abashed and we both peeked from side-to-side, simultaneously sighing
with relief when we saw that no one was paying attention to us whatsoever. She
brought her hand up and touched my hair. Our faces were still inches apart, and
I could tell that the wheels were turning in her head.

“What’s up, babe?” I asked, smoothing my thumbs
over her cheeks.

“Nothing, I was just thinking that no matter how
different you might be now, you’re still my husband. I still know you.”

“I was a little worried along the way that we’d
lost each other.”

“Me too.”

I kissed her forehead and pulled her in for a tight
hug. “I can’t spend any more time away from you. Come home, Liv.”

*

“Man, I’m nervous as hell.”

I turned to Spencer, beer in hand. It was five
o’clock somewhere, right? “Here you go, pal. This’ll help.

He gratefully took the bottle and clinked it to
mine. “How much longer do we have?”

“Show time is in about an hour. Maybe more if the
girls are late getting ready.” I answered, referring to the Bride-to-be and her
ladies in waiting. “Do you still have anything you need to do besides throw on
your blues?”

Spencer looked around the messy hotel room where
all of us guys had been getting ready. “No, I don’t think so. Did you write
your speech already?”

I snorted. “Did I write my speech? Who do you think
I am? You?”

“Yeah, whatever, bro. It better be a good one. No
bringing up my slutty past, okay? You’ll embarrass Ellie.”

“Sure, sure. It’s Ellie being embarrassed that you’re
worried about.”

He took a swig of his beer. “I’m thoughtful like
that.”

The groomsmen consisted of all Marines, so none of
us had gotten into our dress blues yet. That was the last step every time,
considering how stifling they were with their high necks and long sleeved coat.
Brooks was currently taking his turn in the shower, and the two other Marines
from our shop were shaving at the double vanity in the bathroom. If there was
one thing Marines were used to, it was getting ready with a bunch of other
dudes in close quarters.

“Distract me.”

“What?” I asked.

“Distract me. All I keep thinking about is how easy
it would be to fuck this whole thing up. Talk about something else so I don’t
have to think about it.”

I shook my head at him. “I seriously can’t believe
you’re this nervous. You’re such a showoff half the time that stage fright
seems pretty out of character for you.”

Spencer shrugged. “This is the most important thing
I’ve ever done. Weren’t you nervous?”

I thought back to the day I’d married Olivia. It
was definitely under different circumstances, being that we said our vows in a
courthouse and they were “gettin’ hitched” at a country inn in the mountains
outside of San Diego. I was nervous, sure, but with only our parents, Spencer,
and Ellie as witnesses, there wasn’t much stage fright involved.

“I don’t know, man. Just focus on the fact that
you’ll be a happily married stiff like me when this day is over.”

Spencer cocked a brow. “Ah, so you’re a ‘happily
married stiff’ now? You sure have come a long way since calling her your ex a
month ago.”

“Yeah, I guess we have. And I guess that means you
win the bet, too.”

“Oh, I know. I’m just waiting to cash in until I
decide what I’m owed.”

I tossed my empty beer bottle in the tiny trashcan
under the desk. “I don’t think you’re supposed to decide on the terms of the
bet after the fact, bro. If there were no terms, you just win bragging rights.”

“We’ll see.”

Brooks joined us in the living area of the hotel
room, freshly showered and still wrapped in one of the hotel’s white towels.
“What are you guys talking about?”

“Oh, just how Mills is apparently happily married
again.”

Brooks nodded. “Good for you, Mills.”

“Thanks. I will say having her home is much better
than living like a bachelor. A still married bachelor, but you know what I
mean.”

Spencer wagged his eyebrows. “Yeah I figured when I
saw you guys at the bar that night that you wouldn’t be going home alone. I’m
glad you finally got to bang your wife again. How many dates was that, anyway?”

I sighed. “Five.”

Olivia

Everyone but Ellie and the flower girls stood in
their places when I made it down the aisle as the Matron of Honor. The three
other bridesmaids looked radiant in royal blue dresses with dark brown cowgirl
boots. They held bouquets of bright yellow sunflowers and the halos of yellow
daisies in their hair matched the bouquets perfectly.

I cut my eyes over to the other side of the flowery
arch at the groom and his boys. They looked devilishly handsome in their dress
blues, each of them carrying that swagger that most Marines possessed by
nature. I smiled brightly when I caught Spencer’s eye. He looked so excited. I
couldn’t be happier for him and my best friend. They took the rough road
getting here and it all seemed worth it when you saw how happy they made each
other.

Next to Spencer, Matt watched me walk down the
aisle with a familiar glint in his eye. His smile and the warmth of his
expression had me blushing slightly as I reached my position in line with the
girls. I had to admit, there was a tiny selfish part of me that pretended I was
walking down the aisle to meet Matt at the end and renew our vows in front of
God and all these witnesses. It was a fun fantasy for a moment, but I knew it
wasn’t my day.

The wedding march began and the guests stood to
await the bride. I couldn’t see her until she was halfway down the aisle, but I
could see Spencer, and that was even better. Any time I’d ever gone to a
wedding, my favorite place to look when the bride came down the aisle was at
the groom. There was no truer showing of the love a man had for his woman than
the moment he laid eyes on her as his bride. Spencer’s expression did not
disappoint.

Ellie came into view and my smile widened even
more. She looked absolutely radiant in her wedding gown. She’d known it was the
one before she’d even tried it on. The gown was strapless with a sweetheart
neckline and lace covering the bodice. Several layers of lightweight chiffon
billowed out from her hips, leaving no train and hiding bejeweled cowgirl boots
underneath. She’d wanted the dress to be light and airy so that she could
comfortably dance the night away while also looking fit for a country princess.
She’d succeeded on both counts.

The ceremony was brief, just like they’d wanted. It
was a non-denominational service, but involved 1 Corinthians 13:4-7. It had
been in Ellie’s parents’ wedding too. When the officiant began reading the
words, my eyes flew to Mr. and Mrs. Burton. Their hands clasped between them,
they gazed at their daughter and future son-in-law with tears in their eyes.

“Love is patient, love is kind,” the white-haired
man began, “It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.”

Matt met my gaze from across the altar. His eyes
bore into mine with all of the intensity of a man who had almost lost the woman
he loved. I recognized the fire burning within him. I knew how it felt to think
that all hope was gone and then the amazing sense of gratitude when the pieces
started to fall back into place.

“It does not dishonor others, it is not
self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs,” the
officiant continued.

I sighed. We’d had a period in our marriage where
we were both easily angered. Matt was going through the hardest and most
traumatizing thing either one of us had ever experienced, but we’d let it get
between us. I vowed in that moment to never again let something pull us apart.
We couldn’t take back the things we’d said in anger or how quickly we’d snapped
at one another, but we could move forward.

“Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with
the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes,
always
perseveres.”

The final verse rang through my soul, bringing with
it a sense of peace I hadn’t felt before. That was the kind of love we had.
After everything we’d been through, after everything he had seen and I had
needed to understand, we were persevering. There were moments of the last
half-year when I questioned our destiny to be together. In the end, we
persevered.

Olivia

“Congrats,
Mrs.
Hawkins
!” Jo hugged Ellie and grinned at Spencer over her shoulder. “And
congrats to you, too, Hawk.”

“Thank you, Corporal.” Spencer replied.

“Where’s Barney Stinson?” I asked Jo, knowing that
there was no way she’d invite her ball date to anything else.

“I’m actually flying solo, tonight. A little birdie
told me there might be a single guy here worth checking out.” She winked at Ellie.

“There’s plenty of single Marines here, Corporal,”
Matt threw in.

“Very funny, Mills. I’d sooner call Barney Stinson
back.” Jo laughed. “Really, though, I’m just here for the open bar. Anyone need
a beer while I’m over there?”