Page 97 of First in Line

I chuckle. “Of course I won’t, princess. I only have eyes for you, and nothing will ever change that fact. No matter how far apart we are and for how long.”

She nods, looking down at my jacket’s buttons. “I’m going to miss you so much, Jax.”

“I’ll miss you too. Every minute of every hour. But I’ll call as often as I can, okay?”

“I will whoop your butt if you don’t.”

Her eyes are glistening with tears again, and because it breaks my heart to see her cry, I wrap her in a close embrace. Her arms come around my chest, and she holds me as tightly as she can.

“I love you, Evie. I love you so fucking much.”

“I love you too.”

When I pull away, even I am on the verge of tears. “You’ll have time to focus on your courses now. When I see you again, you’ll have so many credits.”

She winces. “I’ll try. I still have my shifts at the Dairy Mill.”

“I’ll send you as much money as I can. I’ll live like a monk anyway, so it’s not like I’ll need it for myself.”

“A monk sounds right. If I hear that you’ve been with another girl, I’ll—”

I grab her face in my hands, forcing her to look up at me. “How could I ever be into other girls when you are my wife?”

It’s been three months since we tied the knot in that shitty little chapel in Vegas, and I’m still not over how lucky I am to call her that.

My wife. The greatest treasure of my life. Evangeline Reyes…

We move in unison to kiss—a profound, longing exchange that tastes like tears and heartache. When I let her go, my throat is tight, achy. This is what we need. Those few months apart will shape our entire future, and once she joins me in Belgium, we’ll never be apart ever again.

“I need to go,” I whisper.

“I know.” Her arms around me don’t loosen, though.

“Evie, princess… I’ll call you when I’m in Washington.”

She nods, the tip of her nose an adorable shade of pink. I give her one more kiss, an adamant one, and pry myself away from her arms.

I pick up my duffel bag from the floor and, with a heavy heart, walk toward the TSA line. I wait for my turn and arrange my things in the trays. Her eyes are on me the entire time, waiting for mine whenever I turn around.

This is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. Walk away from her, even though I know it won’t be forever. But we can do this. We’ve come so far together, accomplished so much… I know we can do this.

I look down at the wedding band on my finger, still not used to it even though it clearly belongs there. My fucking wife… How did I ever get lucky enough to marry the love of my life at twenty? Who does this even happen to?

When it’s my turn to pass the metal detector, the awareness that this is it, my last chance to hold her, triggers an unstoppable impulse.

“Excuse me,” I tell the TSA agent on the other side of it.

Without giving it another thought, I turn around and launch myself toward Evie. Her face lights up as I approach, her smile a stark contrast to the tears wetting her cheeks.

Because my shoes are in a tray being X-rayed, I don’t stop as efficiently as I’d planned, my socks sliding on the airport floor. I practically crash into her, squeezing her into my arms on impact.

“I love you so much, princess,” I let out, holding her as tightly as I can without hurting her. I pull away as quickly as I arrived and cover her face in hurried kisses.

I force myself away and say, “I’ll see you in May, okay? I’ll give everything I have to make that happen.”

Her grin as she nods is full of hope.

This is what we need. As painful as this turning point is, it’ll redefine the rest of our lives for the best. This is short-term pain for long-term happiness. In ten years, we’ll look back, remembering how silly we were for being so brokenhearted over a few months apart.