Away From You (Back To You Book 2) (5 page)

I almost
dropped the cup that he was filling up for me. “We’re doing
what?
”

Spencer
opened his mouth, probably to repeat himself, but I held up a hand to show that
I’d heard him. He closed it again and waited for my reaction. Unfortunately, I
had no idea how to react. On the one hand, he talked a lot of shit to me about
proposing to Olivia this young, so I kind of wanted to ask him why it was
suddenly okay now. On the other hand, I really didn’t care. If he was happy,
which he was, who was I to question him?

“I can see a
lot of shit going on in your head right now, dude. Out with it.” Spencer said, visibly
bracing himself.

I patted him
on the shoulder. “Congrats, man. I’m happy for you guys.”

He raised a
brow. “That’s it?”

“Yeah,
that’s it.”

“Wow. I
would’ve thought you’d give me some shit for pulling a one-eighty like this.
Especially after everything I said to you when you were going to propose to
Liv.”

“I thought
about that. Guess I’m just a better friend than you.”

He scowled,
but not without humor. “Guess you are, man. Guess you are.”

*

“So, aren’t
you curious why I changed my mind about this whole getting married thing?” Spencer
asked the next day in the jewelry store.

“Not really,
but I bet you’re going to tell me.” I chuckled.

“Honestly,
it was switching to your unit that did it. The thought of actually going on
deployment made things seem a lot more real to me. I just want her to have more
than just words and promises if something happens.”

I looked up
from the jewelry case and gaped at him. I’d never heard him talk like that
about deployment before. “Hey, nothing’s going to happen out there, okay? We’re
gonna
be safely on the carrier loading bombs on planes
like we do everyday at work. It’s not like you’re gonna be running around in
Afghanistan with an M16 on your chest.”

“Yeah.” Spencer
nodded. “I know, but still.”

We’d poured
over a hundred different rings in the glass case. He shot down every single one
that I pointed out to him, so the process was taking forever. I had known right
away which ring would be perfect for Olivia. She’d always gone on and on about
her grandmother’s antique ring, so I picked the one that looked the most like
it.
Easy-peasy
.

“Hasn’t
Ellie ever done that thing where girls show you their dream ring and hope that
you’ll get the hint?”

“Yes, but
Ellie never really cared about the prices of those dream rings, so I can’t
afford any of them. Besides, since she was showing me as just a friend, it was
like,
‘This is why I want a rich
husband,’
and shit.”

I laughed.
“Fail.”

“Right?”

“Well,
there’s got to be a smaller version of the one she liked.”

“This is as
close to it as I could find.” Spencer pulled out his phone and showed me a
picture of a gigantic round diamond set in a white gold band with etching in
the sides. There were rose gold and yellow gold accents in the design. It was
really pretty and appeared to be equally expensive.

I whistled
and took the phone over to the saleswoman. She had been helping us in the
beginning, but had since gone to help other customers. Maybe she didn’t believe
we were actually going to buy anything. She should have known that we were.
It’s not like it’s an uncommon sight for a young guy with a military haircut to
be buying an engagement ring.

“Do you have
anything like this?” I asked her, showing her the picture.

The woman
took the phone and peered closely at the ring. “I have something much smaller
that would work in your budget. We haven’t even put them out yet, one moment.”

As she
turned to go to the back of the store, I saw Spencer take a deep breath. It was
crazy to think about where we were just a short year ago. He and Ellie were in
this weird limbo stage, and Olivia and I were attempting to break regulation
and get hitched in Vegas. I wondered what would be different this time next
year. At this rate, it could be anything.

*

Thoughts of
ring shopping with Spencer distracted me from my conversation with Olivia over
dinner. She was talking about the deployment, I knew that much, but I
accidentally stopped listening at some point and was currently lost. I zeroed
back in on what she was saying hoping to play catch up, but it was too late.

“Are you
even listening to me?” She asked, pointing at me with her fork.

“Easy, killer,”
I used my finger to slowly lower the weapon. “I have a lot on my mind. What
were you saying?”

“What’s on
your mind?” She looked concerned rather than annoyed. “Can I help?”

I grimaced.
I still hadn’t made up my mind about whether I was going to tell her about Spencer
proposing to Ellie. He hadn’t specifically said that I couldn’t tell her, but I
wasn’t sure if I should. Would it get back to Ellie? I mean, I trusted my wife,
but she was still a girl, after all.

She waved a
hand in front of my face. “Hello?”

“Sorry,
babe. Just tell me what you were saying earlier, and if I feel like talking
about this afterward I’ll let you know, okay?”

She seemed
suspicious, but nodded. I liked that she didn’t try to pester me into spilling
my guts. “I was just talking about the deployment, and how I think it might be
good to move back in with my mom while you’re gone so we can save money.”

“Seriously?
No. I hate moving. We just moved in here.”

Olivia
shrugged. “Yeah, but think about how much we could save if we did that! If I
lived rent-free the whole time you were gone we’d have a lot in savings. Other
wives are doing that, and it sounds like a good idea.”

“Yeah,” I
took a bite of the pasta that I’d been neglecting. “I know of a couple of guys
in my shop who said their wives are doing that, but that’s because they’re from
other states and don’t want to be alone while we’re gone.”

She
considered this. “Well, I don’t necessarily want to live alone either.”

“Then have
Ellie move in. You guys can be roomies. And if she chips in on rent we’ll save
money.”

“That’s a
thought.”

I took her
hand. “Babe, I really don’t want to do all of that moving. Besides, we’d have
to pay for storage and all of that anyway. Are you really worried about being
alone?”

Olivia
looked down, suddenly seeming sad. “Yeah, I guess.”

I kissed the
hand that I was holding. “Honey, you’ll be fine. You’re so strong. And plus,
you have Ellie now, too. And your family is close by. Don’t worry about it.”

She nodded,
but didn’t seem entirely cheered up. I finished off the last of my pasta and
made a decision. “So, do you want to hear why I was so preoccupied before?”

She looked
up and nodded, already distracted from her worrying.

“Hawk and I
were looking at rings for Ellie.”

Olivia
stared at me wide-eyed. “You were
ring
shopping?
”

“Yes.”

“With
Spencer.
”

“Yes.”

“For
Ellie
.”

“Yes.”

She took a
deep breath. “
Ring shopping?
”

“Olivia.”

“Okay,” she
laughed. “But that’s insane. My mind is blown.”

“You’re
telling me! He asked me to go with him at the Halloween party last night.”

“No wonder
he was acting so off.” Olivia picked up our empty dinner plates and took them
to the sink. I gathered up our silverware, napkins, and glasses. I piled it all
on the counter next to the sink where she stood rinsing the plates. “I mean, I’m
super happy for them, but I’m more shocked than anything. Did you give him hell
about being a hypocrite?”

“No, but he
expected me to.”

She smirked.
“You should’ve.”

“Yeah, well,
it’s not my business.” I hopped up to sit on the counter next to the sink. “I
mean, they’re our friends and everything, but it’s not really my place to stick
my nose in his relationship.”

“Even though
that’s what he did to you?”

“Yes.”

She leaned
up to kiss me. “And that’s why I love you. Very mature, Mr. Mills.”

“Why, thank
you, Mrs. Mills.”

She loaded
the rest of our dishes into the dishwasher, and I couldn’t help but check out
her butt as she bent to pour the soap in the dispenser. She had a great butt.
She turned around and I apparently didn’t avert my eyes quickly enough, because
she grinned when she caught my expression.

“Perv.”

I jumped
down from the counter and grabbed her around the waist. “It’s not being a perv
when I’m checking out my own wife.”

She wrapped
her arms around my neck and brought her lips up to mine. I let my hands wander
down her back, feeling her warm skin through her shirt. She started to take a
step back, but I caught sight of the open dishwasher behind her and quickly
pulled her in the other direction before we both fell on it. She immediately
started cracking up.

“Smooth.”

She grinned.
“Nice catch, though.”

I brushed
her hair back from her face and kissed her forehead. “I didn’t marry you
because you were graceful, that’s for sure.”

“Very true,”
she stepped closer and laid her head on my shoulder, “but as long as you’re
always there to catch me, I can be as clumsy as I want.”

Olivia

We stepped out of the elevator and into
the lobby of the casino. The satin of the royal blue gown felt lush under my
fingers as I smoothed my hands down my waist. Everywhere I looked, there were
Marines in Dress Blues and women in gorgeous flowing dresses. The Marine Corps
Birthday Ball was being held at a ritzy resort an hour outside of San Diego. It
was my first time at the celebrated event, and I’d been looking forward to it
ever since Matt had left for boot camp. There weren’t many opportunities in the
civilian world to have a Cinderella moment outside of a high school prom.

“You look
amazing,” my husband whispered in my ear.

“Thank you.”
I smiled shyly at him. His flattery never ceased to make me blush, even after
all this time. “You look great, too.”

Matt
adjusted the alignment of his gold belt buckle and pulled at his collar. “I
better. This is so uncomfortable.”

“I hear
that,” Spencer agreed, “but the ladies love it.”

Ellie rolled
her eyes at me and I giggled.

“Oh, don’t
even pretend that you don’t.” Spencer wagged a finger at her with mock
seriousness.

“You’re
right, Spence. Now, just focus on being seen and not heard.” Ellie placed a
finger over his lips to silence him and he tried to bite it before she snatched
it back.

“I don’t
know,” I narrowed my eyes thoughtfully as I considered Matt from head to toe.
“He looks hot, don’t get me wrong, but cammies are much less time consuming to
take off.”

Matt’s eyebrows
shot up.

Spencer
clapped him on the back. “She’s a keeper, my friend.”

“That she
is,” he agreed.

We made our
way toward the bar in the center of the casino floor. The rest of the ball
guests were milling about, gambling at various tables and slots while enjoying
the open bar. I saw a few of the women we’d met at the spouse event. Candace,
one of the nice ones, was wearing a beautiful red dress that complimented her
blonde hair perfectly. Based on the iconic colors of the Dress Blues, the
majority of the women wore colors that complimented their Marines. Black
dresses like Ellie’s were the most common, with various blues and reds coming
in close behind. There were a few scatterings of gold, and I made a mental note
to look for a gold dress for the next ball.

One of the
high tables with four barstools opened up and we snagged it. I reached down and
adjusted the straps of my black heels, grimacing. My feet already hurt and we’d
only just arrived. Another mental note for the next ball – wear heels
that were already broken in.

“Yours,
too?” Ellie asked, nodding at my feet.

I blew out a
breath. “Beauty is pain?”

Matt shook
his head and took a swig of his beer. “Maybe you should have picked more
comfortable shoes.”

“I can’t
wear Nikes with my ball gown, dear.” I glared at him.

“You could,”
a voice from behind us spoke up, “or you could wear
these
fancy numbers.”

I turned
around to see a female Marine. She gestured to her feet, so I looked down and
smiled at her shiny black pumps with less than a two-inch heel. She wore them
with black nylons and a knee-length skirt, as per the female dress uniform. If
anyone could make that uniform look pretty and feminine, she could.