Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 61190 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 306(@200wpm)___ 245(@250wpm)___ 204(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61190 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 306(@200wpm)___ 245(@250wpm)___ 204(@300wpm)
“And we’ve been on a lot,” Erick said with a nod.
“There’s definitely one difference,” Andre replied as he smiled at Brianna.
Brianna smiled back, but her bottom lip trembled for a second. She breathed in deeply before stepping forward and wrapping her arms around Andre’s neck to hug him tightly.
“I’ll miss all of you. Thank you for making me feel welcome,” she said before hugging Emmett. “And for making me feel like I could truly make a difference.”
The sadness weighing down the air was crushing, making each breath feel like a struggle. I didn’t want this to end. I didn’t want to go home without knowing if I would ever see her again. I didn’t expect to fall in love during this mission, especially with my captain’s wife.
“You made more of a difference than you know,” Mo told her, kissing the top of her head as she winded her arms around him.
Brianna sighed wistfully before leaning into Elijah’s embrace, nestling her cheek against his chest.
“You guys have too,” she said.
But how big of a difference? Enough for her to want this to somehow continue? But how could it? The mission was over, and we all lived apart.
“You shouldn’t be a stranger, you know,” Bowen told her as he took her hand and drew her close, his hands settling on the small of her back.
“I know,” Brianna murmured, her eyes gleaming as she fought back tears. She squeezed his hand before turning to Aziel, accepting a kiss on the cheek that made her smile. She went to Erick, letting him sweep her into a tight hug before she moved toward me. “I’ll never forget this.”
I held her gaze as she came closer, my heart threatening to beat out of my chest. I hadn’t ever felt this way before. I was fine letting women flit in and out of my life, but I wanted to beg her to stay.
“We won’t either,” I managed to say before hugging her tightly, inhaling the sweet scent of her hair. I rested my chin on top of her head, my burning eyes sweeping around to see the others gazing at her longingly. Our moments with her felt too short. “Take care of yourself, okay?”
Brianna sniffled a little and nodded, squeezing me extra tight before eventually letting go and stepping back. She looked at the others again, her eyes noticeably glimmering.
“Again, thank you… for everything,” she said.
The guys and I nodded, but I could feel the desperation and defeat in the air. There was more that we wanted to say, but we didn’t know if it was right to say those things. The feelings that we kept locked away.
Brianna returned to David’s side, tucking herself under his arm. She waved goodbye to us before letting him lead her away. Her eyes caught mine one more time, and my throat tightened as I lost every ounce of oxygen in my lungs. Once more, she left me breathless.
But just like that. It was over. She was gone.
Chapter 22
David
Silence filled the car as Brianna and I headed back home. I glanced over at her briefly, watching the way her mouth formed a stiff line as she peered out of the side window. She hadn’t said much since we left the airport. It was supposed to be exciting coming home, but excitement was the last emotion that I felt in this car.
“I told Matty we’d catch dinner with him sometime, now that we’re back,” I told her, referring to my little brother. Well, not exactly little anymore. He was a firefighter saving lives, while I was overseas saving lives.
“Hm?” Brianna asked, snapping out of her daze to look at me.
I frowned when I realized just how distracted she was. We were so in tune with each other back in Vlasica, but when I looked at her now, her attention was far from being focused on me.
“Matty wants to get dinner with us sometime,” I repeated.
Brianna’s shoulders slumped a little, but she put on a small smile and nodded. She then drew her eyes away and looked out of the window again. The car fell silent again, and it was unnerving. It wasn’t usually like this.
Excitement and happiness had burned up and darkened into tension and sadness. Maybe regret.
We didn’t explicitly talk about what we were going to do once we got back home. Whether the arrangement was going to continue or not. Maybe it would be good for us to spend some time together alone, to see what our marriage truly needed. Maybe the arrangement was a temporary need.
But we wouldn’t know until we got home and saw how things unfolded.
“I love you,” I said as I glanced over at her.
Brianna slowly drew herself out of her thoughts, tearing her eyes away from the window to peer at me once more. She smiled at me, but she had smiled at me for years. This one looked… forced. Like she wanted to smile for me, but she really wasn’t smiling for herself.