Prologue
Tori
If you had asked me ten years ago what I wanted from my life, I would have told you I wanted the husband, the kids, the dog, and the white picket fence. I wanted what my parents had. I dreamed of finding the love of my life, my soul mate, falling in love and living a life that was worthy of being written about. They say we get three great loves in our lifetime. The first, the idealistic love, the puppy love. The second is the hard love, the one that is the most intense and painful, and then there’s the third; that’s the unconditional love, the love you never see coming, but it feels so easy and natural.
But what if you thought you had met the one who became all three, and then he was taken from you before you had the chance to start, and suddenly everything you wanted felt wrong, andinstead of the dream life you thought you were getting, you are thrust into darkness, left drowning in the shadows.
But then, what if the most unexpected thing happens and you get a second chance, another go at the life you dreamed of? You are saved from the darkness by someone who was never meant to be the one to do it, but who ends up being everything you never knew you needed, who allows you to experience all the types of love all over again, and who maybe ends up being the greatest love of your life?
Because thatwhat ifis now my reality.
Chapter One
Tori
March 2011
Deployment day. The day every military spouse and family dreads, but I think the lead up is the worst part. The feeling of dread and uncertainty hangs in the air, making it hard to function, but the lead weight of fear that burrows itself into the pit of your stomach and the constant threat of tears that you know you have to keep back may be the hardest part, because we have to be strong, make them believe that we will be okay in their absence. That we will continue with our days as if the most precious parts of us weren’t thousands of miles away fighting for the freedom of others. Yes, that is the role of a military spouse and sibling, because not only is the man I can see spending the rest of my life with heading off today, so is my twin brother, Harry.
I discreetly swipe a tear that’s rolled down my cheek as I stand back and watch them load their kit bags onto the waiting bus. I scan the crowd of people. Men cradling children they won’t get to hold for many months, and wives they won’t get to kiss goodnight until the task is done. Each one of them is putting on the same brave face that I am because that’s the only way we can get through this goodbye. We can fall apart later, behind closed doors, and when the drapes are pulled, we will sit in the darkness alone and weep in silence as we pray for their safe return.
I’m pulled back to the present when strong arms lift me, and my feet leave the ground. I’m spun around, and I can’t help the giggle that escapes me.
“Put me down.” I squeal, conscious of my blue summer dress riding up.
“Nope, I’m holding you for as long as I can, beautiful.” Trent’s words linger as he deposits me back on the ground, never taking his hands off my waist. Our relationship has been a complicated one. We have been together for around eight months now, but we have been fooling around for years. Taking moments where we could, hiding our feelings from my brother, and never really being brave enough to admit how we really felt. To his friends, he was Scotty, but to me, he was Trent Scott. We have never said I love you, but in this moment, when his emerald green eyes stare back at me, I feel the urge to finally tell him. He must sense it because his index finger presses against my lips.
“I know what you want to say, and I want to say it too, but those words will sound so much sweeter when I get home. Can you keep them safe for me? Knowing I’ll get to hear those words will be the thing that keeps me going on the tough days, Victoria. Can you do that for me?” I nod slowly. His hands now cup my face, and his forehead presses against mine. I close my eyes andinhale his scent for a final time. Mint and cedarwood invade my senses, and I want to bottle it.
“Kiss me,” I murmur. “And make it a good one. This one needs to last until you are back.”
A grin spreads across his tanned face. “Yes, ma’am.” And he does. He kisses me like it will be the last time. I feel it all the way down to my toes and back up through my fingertips. I could get lost in this kiss and not ever want to find my way back home.
“Okay, Scotty boy. Let her go.” My brother’s voice rings out, and we break the kiss as I give my brother the stink eye; the one I’ve given him since we were little and he was getting on my nerves.
“Don’t be a hater, Haz.” His friend Noah calls out, and their friends Brad and Jack snicker—friends who I can safely say are now my friends too, after years of hanging out with them when I visited Trent, or my brother.
“Get back to me when you catch your best friend kissing your sister, okay?” Harry calls back as Noah shakes his head playfully.
“Come here, big brother.” I open my arms, and Harry wraps his arms around me in a bear hug. He’s only six minutes older than me, but he loves nothing more than for me to inflate his ego and call him my big brother, my hero, my savior, but he is, in every sense of the word. He may get on my last nerve, but he has always been there for me, and when he’s gone and we are apart, I feel like a piece of me is missing, the piece that only your twin can fill. It’s a unique bond, one I can’t quite put into words, and as the reality hits me that these are the last moments with him for months, I hold him just a little tighter.
“Be safe, yeah,” I say. It’s not a question, more of a plea.
“Always, Tor. You be safe too, okay?” I nod and whisper, “I love you, butthead.” I tease him with my childhood nickname for him.
“I love you too, booger-face.” He chuckles before he presses a kiss to my cheek and walks away. Patting Scotty on the chest before he heads for the bus.
“Bye, Tor,” Noah yells, giving me a sympathetic smile, and his gaze lingers just a little longer than usual, but my focus turns to the others when they say their goodbyes.
“Bye, Tori,” Jack and Brad call back and wave.
“Bye, guys. Stay safe.” They both salute me and step onto the bus.
I turn to face Trent and take a deep breath. “I’ll see you soon, yeah?” I say, my voice trembling slightly.
“Yes. Bye, beautiful. Be good and be safe, okay?” He blows me a kiss, and I chew on the inside of my cheek. Just as he puts a leather boot on the first step of the bus, something inside me tells me to get one final kiss.
“Trent,” I yell, and he steps back off the bus.
