Page 2 of Waggs

He got to the red door with pink and purple flowers in the front yard and stopped. Part of him knew he shouldn’t be there, that no good would ever come of it, but that didn’t stop him knocking on the door. He held on to the frame as he swayed, the alcohol he’d consumed catching up with him.

The door opened, and there she was, the love of both his and his brother’s life.

Willow gripped the door frame, and he could see him being there hurt her and yet he couldn’t stop. She was looking up at him with her dark chocolate brown eyes. Her long lashes swept across her pink cheeks as she closed her eyes briefly, her arms crossed over her middle as if to protect herself. “What are you doing here, Aiden?”

“Please, Willow, I won’t stay long.”

Willow sighed and his eyes went to her small breasts, her flat tummy, and down to her long-tanned legs that made his mouth water. She was wearing sleep shorts and a tee and looked so young. Yet the pain she held was there in her eyes.

Stumbling past, he caught her scent, and it was like coming home. It was so familiar and yet hurt so much. Fresh and floral, it danced around him. She uncrossed her arms, and he could see the points of her nipples through the top she wore. Her chestnut hair had waves in it today and fell to her shoulders. She looked pretty, but then she always had. Even grief hadn’t dulled her light.

Moving past him, she opened the bedroom door and stepped back. Waggs stopped, staring at the precious form of his sleeping nephew.

AJ was just five years old and had been conceived the night before he and Aaron had redeployed. He walked closer and sank to his knees by the bed, looking at the boy who was the image of his father in every way and, therefore, him too. He stroked the blond hair back from his head and wished his brother were there to see his son, to play catch and teach him to ride a bike.

Aaron would be horrified with the way Aiden had abandoned Willow and AJ, but he’d be furious if he knew the rest.

Waggs straightened and saw Willow leaning against the door-jamb, arms crossed over her middle as if it physically pained her to watch him with AJ. He leaned down and kissed the child’s head, wishing he were a better man.

Moving back into the hallway of the single storey home, he looked around and saw that it really was a home. Willow had made this a place for her and her son, with pictures of his father around the room, some including him in them, too. He picked one up and studied it, and it showed him and Aaron with their arms around each other’s shoulders the day they’d passed their Special Forces training. The smiles on their faces and the hope and excitement were gone now for both of them.

“You can’t keep doing this, Aiden. You’re only hurting us both.”

He turned and looked at her, the peachy flesh of her lips, the curve of her breast in the cheap white t-shirt, and he thought she’d never looked more beautiful.

“I know.”

Then he dropped the picture on the side and took her in his arms, backing her against the wall and kissing her like she was the air he needed to breathe. Each tearing at the other clothes as passion and grief, love and betrayal consumed them, and they did the one thing they shouldn’t do. It had begun the night they’d buried Aaron, and every year on the anniversary of his death they’d found solace in each other’s arms.

It was never spoken of or talked about—it just was. It was the one night he allowed himself to pretend that she was his, that life hadn’t dealt them the cruellest of blows. They spent the night in each other’s arms and then in the morning he was gone.

She was back to being a mother, and he went back to his life on the other side of the world.

Chapter 1

Waggs straightened the mint green tie at his throat and then turned to the groom at his side, who was making an absolute meal out of pinning on a button-hole. “Here, give me that.” Waggs plucked the white orchid from Gunner’s hand and proceeded to pin it on his lapel. Grinning, he patted the man he’d thought twelve months ago was his enemy on the shoulder. “There you go, all set. Not sure what a woman as gorgeous as Lacey sees in your ugly ass but that’s true love, I guess.”

Gunner chuckled. “Me either, bro. Me either. I’m just glad as fuck she does.”

The wedding would take place at Charleston Court Hotel, where they were currently getting ready. To say he’d been shocked when Gunner had asked him to be best man was an understatement, but he’d been honoured as well. He and Gunner had grown close since his return to the fold. In fact, the entire team seemed tighter, more unified, now. They still had issues to deal with, but those didn’t cause a fracture like the Gunner issue had.

“You ready to get married?”

Gunner sucked in a breath through his nose and blew it out a show of nerves not often seen by any of the Eidolon men. “Yes, I can’t wait to marry her.”

Waggs smiled and clapped his friend on the back, ushering him towards the stairs. The Charleston was a beautiful old mansion owned by the Duchy of Cornwall. It had been a gift to Gunner from the Royal Family, allowing the wedding to be held there.

Waggs saw the other Eidolon men on the right-hand side, all acting as part of the wedding party in some way, their significant others all seated behind them. The men and women of Fortis Security sat on the left side of the room with their children. There were so many kids now Waggs struggled to keep up, and he had a feeling it wouldn’t be long before Eidolon went the same way, if the way Alex and Blake kept fussing over Evelyn and Pax was any indication.

Gunner headed for his Amma and his sister Milla, who was wearing a beautiful gown to match the bridesmaids. Milla was an amazing person, and so was Amma, and they loved Gunner and Lacey.

Waggs took his place by Gunner’s side as the music began to play and Lacey walked down the aisle on her own. When she was asked why she was doing it alone, she told them it was because nobody had the right to give her away to another person except herself, and he understood that. She looked stunning in a white dress with lots of frills and lace, which Waggs didn’t have words to describe.

Her bridesmaids, Skye, Roz, and Bebe, stood behind her and everyone watched as the two became husband and wife. Promising to love each other and protect each other for life. Waggs knew that was never on the cards for himself, and he’d made peace with it. It was one of the only things he’d made peace with. To marry someone and drag her into his life when he’d always have feelings for another woman he couldn’t have, was cruel and senseless, and he was a lot of things, but that wasn’t one of them.

After the wedding was finished, it was time for photos, and he smiled until his face hurt. He went around ordering people into groups for the photographer, and felt it was more of a military operation than a wedding at that point.

It was late afternoon, and he’d just sat down after giving his best man’s speech when Lopez tapped him on the shoulder. He looked up at his friend, just wanting two minutes to down his pint and take a piss before he had to start again.