CHAPTER 1
DUKE
Ineed a favor.”
Jake’s laugh crackles through the phone. “Well, hello to you too, Duke. I’m great, thanks for asking. Izzy just ordered room service. Are you stateside?”
My apartment at Benning is impersonal, with just military-issue furniture, a duffel half-unpacked in the corner, nothing on the walls except a framed photo on the bookshelf that doesn’t hold more than a handful of books. Riley and I at her college graduation, her smile so wide it makes my throat tighten every time I look at it.
“Izzy’s performing in Vegas this weekend.” I push past the small talk. I’m already itching to get on the road. “Can you get me tickets?”
Jake pauses and then laughs loudly. “Are you okay? You are literally the last person I expected to ask for tickets. Did you finally meet a woman who makes you want to settle down? I know we haven’t seen each other in a while, but a lot of us are getting married these days.”
My jaw tightens. “Can you help me out or not? It’s a surprise for Riley—she really loves Izzy’s music, and she has no idea that your wife is Bella.”
“Sure,” he repeats, ignoring my question entirely. “Is this the same Riley you’ve been ‘just friends’ with since high school? The one you talk about every single time we grab a beer?”
“Wearejust friends.”
“Uh-huh.” Jake draws out the syllables like he’s savoring them. “So you’re spending your hard-earned leave time taking your ‘friend’ to Vegas to see my wife perform. On Valentine’s Day. That’s totally normal best-friend behavior.”
I scrub a hand over my face. I hadn’t even thought about it being Valentine’s Day this weekend. “She just went through a bad breakup. I want to do something nice for her. That’s it. Nothing to do with romancing her.”
“If you say so. Yeah, I’ll get you the tickets.”
My stomach drops. “I owe you, brother. I appreciate this.”
Jake’s voice is muffled for a moment, then he’s back. “I just told Izzy. She’s excited to meet Riley.” In the background, I can hear Izzy say to bring Riley backstage for a meet-and-greet. “You’re welcome, by the way.”
I toss the phone onto the bed and stare at the ceiling. Riley has been my best friend since junior year, since she laughed at my terrible jokes in Mr. Patterson’s history class. She snort-laughed at my impression of Napoleon, making a completely undignified sound that made the whole class turn and stare. Her laughter was the best thing I’d ever heard, and it still is today.
But hearing she’s heartbroken again—some asshole who didn’t deserve to breathe the same air as her making her feel like she wasn’t enough—it makes my hands curl into fists. I’d need bail money if I ran into a man who broke Riley’s heart.
I can’t solve her problems, but I can give her a weekend and make her smile and laugh.
After a long drive,I’m standing on Riley’s porch, stretching my aching muscles as I wait for her to answer the door. The lights are off, but I can see a flicker of blue that looks like the TV.
“Open up, Riley! It’s Duke!” I keep knocking until she answers the door, and when she does, rage surges through me at how sad she looks.
Riley’s in oversized sweats, hair pulled up into something she once told me is called a slop-knot, eyes red from crying. Behind her, I see a pint of ice cream on the coffee table, a movie paused on the TV, and tissues scattered across the couch.
“Duke?” Her voice is hoarse, surprised. “What are you doing here?”
“Pack a bag.” I step inside before she can protest. “I’m taking you away for the weekend.”
She blinks at me like I’m speaking in tongues. “What?”
“You heard me. Bag. Weekend. Let’s go.”
“Duke, I—” She gestures at herself, at the chaos of the apartment, at everything. “I’m a disaster right now. I can’t just—”
“That’s exactly why you need this.” I cross my arms and lean against her doorframe. “I’ve got a surprise planned, and you’re gonna be real sad if you say no.”
Her eyes narrow with suspicion. “Where?”
I grin. “Vegas.”
Her jaw drops. “Vegas? Duke, I can’t—my job—my plants—I don’t have anything towear!”
