Page 115 of Finally Mine
“Let’s keep it simple. Private,” Luke said. “And don’t tell anyone. That town has bigger mouths than a lake full of bass.”
“I’ll have to tell Gloria. She’d murder me in my sleep if I kept a secret like this from her. Plus, she’s a good organizer.”
“How are things there?” Luke prodded.
“Good, good,” Aldo said, playing it cool. The first person to find out he was in love with Gloria Parker was not going to be Luke. “Diller’s in prison for a long-ass time. Gloria and I are…seeing each other.” He was a gentleman after all. Plus it would be plain mean to tell Luke about his explosive sex life while his friend had nothing but miles of desert and his hand.
“So, how’s everything else going?” Luke asked. It was bro code for “how’s life with only one leg?”
“Oh, you know. Living the dream. Sleeping in a real bed, taking hot showers, sleeping late on Sundays.” He could stick it to Luke just a little.
Luke sighed. “I can’t wait to come home.”
“You better make it quick. I saw Linc chatting up Harper at the bar the other night.”
“What?” Luke’s general dislike of Lincoln Reed was still alive and well.
Aldo chuckled. “Relax. I’m just messing with you.”
“You’re such an ass. Why are we friends again?”
“Because no one else will put up with your surly ass.”
“Right. I forgot.”
Aldo ignored the steady stream of emails pouring into his inbox as clients around the tri-county region started panicking at the start of their business day. “Given any more thought to retirement?” he asked. Aldo knew the idea would be more tempting at this stage of deployment: close enough to home to taste his mama’s apple pie and his girlfriend’s sweet mouth.
“Yeah,” Luke nodded. “I’m thinking about it a lot. We’ll see how things go when I get home. Talk it over with Harper.”
Luke Garrison wanted to talk his future plans over with a woman. It was about fucking time. Maybe Luke didn’t realize it, but Aldo could see the truth written plainly on his friend’s face. Luke was in love with Harper. And that also was about fucking time.
64
Things are good. Really good. I’m sleeping. I’m…doing other things that a healthy adult does in bed. Ivan finally stopped trying to claw my eyes out.
And Gloria is. Everything.
I’m happy. Happier than before I deployed. I’m better than I was with two fucking—sorry—legs. I never thought I’d get to this point. I’m still working my way back to where I was in some areas. But overall, this is the best time in my entire life.
I didn’t realize how much I wanted someone to come home to. Instead of hanging out at work, clearing a few hundred things off my list when everyone else leaves, I’m leading the pack out the door so I can see her face faster, get that smile fixed on me sooner.
She’s doing great. She’s planning the hell out of the town Christmas festival and light show. Things at work are going well for her. It’s like she’s this flower that’s finally bloomed. I think she’s surprised by how far she’s come. But I’m not. It was always in her.
I want to move things in a more permanent direction. You know? Like more than just swapping house keys and sleepovers. I want to ask her to move in. But I don’t want to spook her. Not when things are this good.
She’s been there for me. Even when I didn’t deserve her. Even when I was trying to fix everything myself. She stood by me, nudged me when I needed it. I want a hell of a lot more than just living together. I want a life together.
One step at a time. One foot in front of the other. Right?
65
Things were practically perfect exactly the way they were. For the first time in her adult life, Gloria felt comfortable, secure, appreciated. Work was challenging and interesting. She’d survived an online QuickBooks course and thoroughly enjoyed a weekend workshop on floral design. Her apartment was the cozy home she’d always wanted. And Aldo was…Aldo. He was the burliest, brightest part of every day.
There was just one teeny, tiny thing.
He’d been holding back on her. Keeping her up on that sky-high pedestal, drowning her in romance and sweetness. She wasn’t complaining. She wasn’t a monster, for God’s sake. But every glimpse she got of the darker side of sex, she wanted to explore it more. And she wanted Aldo to take her there.
He made her feel safe. Because of that, she could trust him to make her feelcraved.
