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Walking down the street from the subway station, she stopped at the local pizza joint and picked up a sausage and cheese. The last week, she’d immersed herself in movies and books and everything she could to keep her mind occupied. Anything to pass the time between work and sleep.
And when the thought of Luis and Trevor crept in, she quickly pushed them out of her mind. Right now, it hurt too much to think about them.
Opening her apartment door, she threw the mail on the table and set her pizza down. Then she went into the bedroom and put on her pajamas.
Tonight she had ordered a book from her favorite author and after her dinner of pizza and wine, she would indulge in a romance where there was a guaranteed happily ever after. Where the men were not afraid of marrying and having children. Where the heroine would get the happiness she deserved.
With a sigh, she glanced through the mail and then opened the bottle of wine. The memory of the champagne bottle and how Luis had poured it over her body came to mind and she quickly shoved it out of her thoughts.
She’d save that memory for another time and another day when she could remember it without her heart shattering, her body aching for their touch, and her mind screaming to call them.
Just no.
It would never work. Time to move on. Let her heart heal.
Sitting at the table, she heard a knock at the door. Probably someone selling something useless.
Getting up, she walked to the door and opened it without checking the viewer.
Her heart plummeted to her feet at the sight of Luis and Trevor.
What were they doing here? She couldn’t handle them trying to persuade her to change her mind.
“We want to talk,” Trevor said.
“There’s nothing left to say,” she said.
“Yes, there is,” Luis replied. “We flew all the way from Texas. Can’t you at least give us five minutes?”
With a sigh, she opened the door farther, remembering she was in her pajamas. Oh well, they’d seen her in even less. But this felt more intimate.
“Have a seat,” she said, pointing to her couch. The pizza box was on the table. “Would you like a slice of pizza?”
“Yes,” Trevor said. “I’m starving because someone wouldn’t stop to eat before we got over here.”
She fixed them each a plate and then sat in a chair across from them.
For a few minutes, it was silent as they ate. When they were finished, she picked up the plates and put them in the sink.
“What do you want to discuss?”
Luis licked his lips. “The morning you got so upset, I spoke to my mother. She reminded me how I wanted children before I went into the Navy. She explained that most women want children. And then she told me to get home because you were probably on your way out the door. And you were.”
Trevor sighed. “I didn’t know you’d left. I was too busy speaking to my mother and talking her off the ledge regarding my younger brother who had decided he wanted to become a cage fighter.”
Stacy couldn’t help herself, she smiled. “A cage fighter? Really?”
“Yes, but don’t worry, he’s already had his face busted up and decided that’s not for him. He’s now talking about going into the service and I think that’s a good place for him. I love my family. As crazy as they are, I want them to have a better life than me.
“And I want a wife and children. You reminded me that was the reason I’ve worked so hard to get where I’m at. To give my children a better life than I had growing up,” he said. “I’ve spent the last week in Houston working at my company and visiting with my family. I needed to decide if Luis and I could remain partners.”
She nodded. But they still had not said what she needed to hear before she agreed to continue seeing them. She wasn’t going to go through this hurt again if they didn’t want a true family. It was more than she could bear.
Luis stood and began to pace her small apartment. “The day you left, Trevor also left. I was alone and I crawled inside a bottle of scotch. While I was drunk, either my mind played a trick on me or my best friend returned from the dead. You see the reason I have episodes and return to that battle is because John took a bullet meant for me. We were in the jungles of Africa on a secret mission. We were fighting a group of Russian soldiers called The Wagner Group. They’re vicious killers and we had them holed up in a little town where they were stealing diamonds from the locals.”
Taking a deep breath, tears welled in his eyes. “One snuck up behind us. John stepped behind me and raised his gun. He took a bullet to the chest that was meant for me. He killed the soldier, but he died protecting me.”
For a moment, he closed his eyes like pain was washing over him before he opened them and stared at her. “I’ve felt guilty ever since. He was my wingman, and because of him, I’m still alive. He came back and said to me, ‘I’m dead, but you’re alive. Don’t fuck up the life you have. Make a decision and learn to live with it. Time to get over my death, Luis, and live your life. Don’t disappoint me, soldier.’”
