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All of them were personable, good guys. Some he knew better than others, but he was still riding the outskirts of the team when he signed his resignation and officially booted himself out of their tight inner circle.
It didn’t help that he’d been sidelined for weeks leading up to that decision.
Indika rubbed her thumb lightly over his. “It’s going to all be fine, AJ.”
He remained quiet the rest of the drive, too deep in his own thoughts about his future. He still didn’t know what he planned on doing with his time. He was never good at downtime, even between deployments.
Ramsey’s home came into view. The enormous warehouse he’d remodeled into a home for his family didn’t look like much from the street, but Apollo knew firsthand that the place was a work of art, and Ramsey had done most of the work himself.
Maybe Apollo could take a page from Ramsey’s book and buy his own downtrodden building and make it a home for him and Indika.
The prospect warmed him as they climbed out of the vehicle. He circled the car to take Indika’s hand. Her cast thumped on the cobblestones leading up to the front of the home, which brought a smile to his lips.
She hated that cast. But each time he saw it—or felt it wrapped around him in bed—he was reminded of how damn lucky he was to have her.
Before they even reached the door, it opened. Ramsey stood there with a big smile on his face. “Hey, it’s Lazarus.”
He jerked his stare to Indika. She shrugged. “Guess Brown’s nickname got out.”
He issued a short rasp that cut off when they entered the enormous open space. Pink and blue balloons were formed into a massive spiral that created a runway to the modern doors leading out back.
Indika laughed. “It looks like your balloons in my apartment served as inspiration today.”
Ramsey led the way under the balloon ceiling to the party going on outdoors on the patio. A playlist of popular music projected through hidden speakers, and the chatter of conversation filled the air.
“Ohhh you guys came!” A beautiful ball of energy launched across the patio at them. Gia rushed up to Indika and threw her arms around her. The women squeezed each other while he looked on, feeling out of place.
Gia broke from Indika and turned to him, arms outstretched. Trying to hide his surprise, he patted her back.
When they drew apart, Gia and Indika started talking about clothes and decorations and Gia’s baby “bump.” He stuffed his hands in his pockets and pretended to be interested.
Across the patio, he spotted the grill. Smoke was already rolling out of it. Now, that was something he could get on board with—a nice big slab of beef.
Some of the guys clustered around it, holding drinks. When he started toward them, they all looked up.
He held his breath, waiting for what came next. To his relief, Sparrow stepped forward, a huge grin on his face and his fist out.
Apollo bumped knuckles with him and clapped him on the back. “How’s it going, Big Papa? Already got the shirt, I see.”
Sparrow flexed his muscles, making the button-down shirt that was pink on one side and blue on the other stretch over his chest. “Like it? I’m hoping for blue.”
“Indika mentioned the party being a gender reveal.” He sauntered to the coolers along the edge of the patio and grabbed a water.
He rejoined the guys, listening to them discuss sports and the usual poker games that took place between ops. He stood there listening to every word, trying to decide how he felt about it all. Did he miss discussing baseball, football, hockey? He didn’t think so. The only thing he missed was the camaraderie, the shared experiences of hard battle and the euphoria of knowing they’d made it through another fight.
A soft laugh from behind him alerted him that Indika was steps away. His back was to her, but he’d know her voice anywhere. It was a call to him to join in, but just then Mustang asked him a question about Oz and The Guard, and he lost track of what Indika was saying to her girlfriends.
Gia’s voice broke through to him. “When is he gonna realize he made a mistake?”
“I don’t know,” came Indika’s quiet reply. “I hope it’s soon. He’s…beige.”
Her words punched him. He held the sip of water he’d taken in his mouth, unable to swallow it around the lump in his throat.
They were talking about him. He was the beige one.
“What does that mean?” Gia asked.
“It’s an inside joke. But I have an idea. Do you mind if I take some of these balloons?”
