“You think I’m going back to the Army?”
I shrug my shoulders, not wanting to even say it out loud.
He pulls back enough to look at me. He takes the pad of his thumb and wipes the tears off my cheeks. “Baby, a month and a half ago, I would have gone back in an instant, but now, knowing you, feeling what we have together, I won’t leave you. I can’t.”
“But you love the Army. That’s what you’ve always wanted to do.”
He shakes his head. “And I did it. I served my country, and I did it with pride. But I love you, Sierra. I won’t leave you. I promised you I wouldn’t hurt you and I won’t.”
“You love me?” I ask in shock.
“Fuck, isn’t it obvious? I’m obsessed with you.”
Elation and guilt build at the same time. “But I don’t want to hold you back.”
He laughs and shakes his head. “You would never hold me back. It’s my decision. I have vertigo, yes, the symptoms are less, and I can resume working out and running, but I’m not cleared for duty. I’m here to stay, Sierra. I want to build a life with you.”
I kiss his chest, right over his heart and whisper up to him with emotion thick in my voice. “I’d like that too. I love you, Evan.”
* * *
Evan
She doesn’t even know. She has no clue that my life starts and ends with her. She has become my everything in such a short amount of time. We may not have gotten together in high school, but now, it’s like perfect timing because we fit together perfectly. “I love you more,” I tell her before lifting her up and carrying her to the bedroom. I’m insatiable when it comes to her. I can’t get enough.
I slide my hands down the front of her shorts, and she’s already soaked for me. I strip us both from the waist down because I have to have her and can’t wait another second.
She slides her hips back. “We can’t. Not without anything. Not unless you want a little Evan popping out in nine months.”
“Fuck,” I grunt as my hips thrust against her.
I kiss her, fitting my body between her legs, my cock already leaking precum. Just the thought of getting her pregnant is enough to make me come right now. “I’m fine with that.”
Her eyes grow wide. “Evan!”
I shrug and slide my cock along her slit, begging for entrance. “What? I am. We’re going to get married and have babies anyway.”
“Evan...”
I grab my cock and stroke it along her clit. “It’s up to you, baby. I can stop if you want me to.”
She moans, and I leak more cum, our juices mixing together. “Don’t you dare stop, Evan McCarthy.”
I plunge into her hot depths and fuck, it feels like home. “I won’t, baby. I’ll never stop.”
Epilogue 2
Violet
I’m a genius, if I do say so myself. I’m looking around my little diner, and seeing the couples in the room all happy and enjoying their life makes me smile. I’ve helped the majority of them get together, and I swear I should open a matchmaking company. I could make a killing.
Evan and Sierra are sitting in the corner, and they can’t keep their hands off each other. I’m sure there’s going to be an announcement soon about upcoming nuptials, and I’m sure I’ll get to be a bridesmaid... again.
Without thinking about it, I put my hand in the front pocket of my jeans and run my fingers across the smooth metal ring that I carry there every day. It’s great seeing all the people of Whiskey Run finding love, it really is. But there’s a part of me that is bothered that I’ll never have that. I won’t ever go to sleep in my husband’s arms or wake up with him next to me. No, as a matter of fact, I probably won’t even be married much longer.
I turn and wipe down the counter, not wanting Sierra to see me upset. She knows a little about things. Well, she at least knows I’m married, but I never told her the details. I couldn’t. I am so embarrassed; I feel my face heat just thinking about it.
The bell over the door chimes, and I turn with a smile plastered to my face, ready to welcome the newcomer. But instantly my smile drops because in walks Josh Chambers, the running back for the Jasper Eagles. I drop the cloth in my hand, and all the blood drains from my face. I grip the edge of the counter to try and stay upright.