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He was tiny, no doubt. But also looked so peaceful and happy in his mother’s arms that you’d have no idea he’d had such a scary birthday if you weren’t there.
“He’s adorable,” I said, smiling stiffly and handing it back.
Since when did I use words like adorable?I blame Lyndi.
“He really is,” Layla agreed as she put her phone away. “I think Aria’s finally convinced she didn’t put herself into labor with all that work. The doctors told her she didn’t do anything wrong because she’d been working that hard her whole pregnancy, but she felt really guilty at first.”
Paul shook his head. “Wait, she did? Man, now I feel like a jerk.”
“Why?” I asked.
“Because I may have teased my little sis about that very thing if she didn’t chill out,” he replied, his lips tugging up on one side.
“I’m pretty sure we all did that,” Shelby told him as she rubbed his back. “But seriously, the doctors said she was fit and healthy, so being on her feet so much wouldn’t have been enough to cause it. Sometimes babies are just ready. It was scary at the time, but everyone’s okay now.”
I looked at Lyndi then, instantly spotting the shadow of fear I knew I’d find there. I waited until she met my gaze, then gave her a small, encouraging smile. As freaked out as I’d been to be at the hospital that day for my own reasons, I’d hated to see how worried Lyndi was for her friend. I wanted to remind her that everything was fine, just like I’d told her it would be.
Her eyes brightened slightly, the residual fear slipping away. Then she replied with a more relaxed smile of her own, and it made me sit up taller, glad to have helped.
“How was your day, Beau?” Shelby asked, pulling me out of the silent conversation with her friend.
I ran my hand over the back of my neck. “It was long but could have been worse. I met a new DI. He’s a good kill hat already, despite being such a nice dude when he’s not in front of the recruits.”
Zac chuckled. “Those are my favorite DIs. The ones who are chill in real life, but then they’re so good at being scary, it’s almost scary.”
“Oh, that was definitely him,” I said with a laugh. “He was cool. We talked a bit between sets, and he told me he just came from the base in Hawaii.”
Chase perked up at this. “Wait, who is it? Maybe I know him.”
“What, just because you’re from Hawaii, you think you know everyone who’s ever lived there?” Paul joked, then turned to me. “But hey, I might actually know him. I was stationed there, too.”
“Ha, wouldn’t be surprised,” Chase replied with a laugh. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned since becoming a Marine, it’s that the only thing smaller than Oahu is the Marine Corps.”
“Aren’t there several islands in that chain that are smaller than Oahu?” Layla teased him, ducking when he picked up Shelby’s straw wrapper and chucked it at her.
“His name is Logan Grant,” I told them, causing Paul’s mouth to fall open. “No way. You really know him?”
“Yes, and I totally forgot he was coming out here. My buddy from recruiting duty told me to invite them to hang with us once in a while since they didn’t know anyone out here.”
“Told you, small world,” Chase said, holding up a finger and tapping it to his brow line.
I turned to Chase, eyes wide. “Okay, yeah, the Marine Corps is definitely smaller than Oahu.”
“It gets worse,” he snickered. “The guy he’s talking about, Wilson, was my recruiter. And he’s married to Grant’s sister-in-law.”
“Yeah, he mentioned something about his sister-in-law being a Marine and also married to one. You don’t know Grant, though?” I asked, all the connections making my head spin.
Chase shook his head. “Nah, I might have met him since Wilson’s friends were always hanging around while I was there, but I don’t remember.”
“Well, you’ll meet him soon enough,” Paul said. “Grant’s gotta stay at the depot a lot since he’s still a kill hat, but I need to start inviting his wife around so she can be friends with Shelby.”
Shelby rolled her eyes with a laugh. “I don’t mind being her friend since I’m sure it’s hard being away from her family, but don’t make her feel obligated, Paul.”
“No one who knows you would feel obligated to be your friend,” he said, looking at her with so much love in his eyes that it made me a little queasy. “I would know, I was your friend foryears. Too long, in fact.”
She made a little enamored noise and they started to kiss, so I looked away, desperate for something—anything—else to focus on. But then my eyes found Lyndi’s again. Okay, not that either.
“I’m gonna go hit the head,” I said, hopping up. I didn’t really have to go to the bathroom, but apparently Chase being there wasn’t making me feel any better about hanging around these couples in my disturbinglymopeystate.
Again, I sent a half-hearted angry thought toward my old man. But it wasn’t his fault he was dying and wanted to see me happy. It was probably mine for not being strong enough to risk a shot at happiness in the first place. Not that I wanted to start now, no matter what I’d promised him.
I went into the bathroom and tried to get my head on straight—or else I should leave, because this wouldn’t turn out to be a very fun night if I didn’t. When I came out and ran into Lyndi in the hallway—literally smacked right into her—the feel of her soft arms under my hands as I kept her from falling brought me right back to thoughts I didn’t want to have.
Thoughts about not letting go of her arms but bringing her close and touching my lips to hers. Thoughts about what that would feel like if I did.
