Page 18 of Waiting to Love You

“Yup,” Vance responds smugly. “It wasn’t easy, but she came to her senses and came home to me.”

“Why do I have a feeling there’s more to the story than that?”

“Because there is,” Connor replies. “But none of that matters either way. Those two knuckleheads found their way back to each other. Making my girl and yours very happy.”

“You’re one to talk.” Vance grabs something off his desk and throws it at Connor. “You were determined to remain a bachelor for the rest of your life, and now look at you. Blissfully in love with Audrey and my amazing niece, Love.”

“Wait, Audrey?” I question, trying to piece everything together. “Leia and Bristol’s friend?”

“The one and only. She moved here with her teenage daughter, Love, to help Bristol at Nurture Space. Business has picked up a lot since you shipped out, so she really needed the help.” Vance shakes his head as he spins a picture on his desk around.

“And I took one look at her and knew they were the piece Jade and I have been missing since her mom passed away,” Connor says with a soft smile and a far-off look on his face.

I turn toward Vance’s desk, leaning down to get a better look at the picture. I immediately pick out both Connor’s and Vance’s smiling faces, their arms wrapped around two gorgeous women. Beside Connor is a woman with warm brown skin and curly hair that lands just below her shoulder blades, with hints of gold and red shimmering in the sunlight. Her head is resting on Connor’s shoulder, and her hand is resting on a girl’s shoulder who looks just enough like Audrey to be her daughter. To her right is Jade, who I only recognize from all the pictures Connor showed me whenever I was in town. Standing directly behind her is another beautiful woman, her hand resting on her basketball-sized belly, dark hair hanging around her shoulders, and a soft smile on her face.

“Looks like a family photo.” I laugh, yearning to have pictures like this of my own with Bristol standing beside me, maybe even a little girl with her bright hair and my brown eyes shining with happiness right back at me.

“It is,” Vance answers with a blinding smile as he spins the photo back around.

“We may not all be blood, but we share a bond that’s stronger than that. Being blood related doesn’t make you family,” Connor says with conviction, causing my heart to tug slightly in my chest.

His words settle around me like a warm blanket. I’ve spent so many years without a family and a place to belong that I was worried about what would happen once I got out of the military. The military gave me purpose and brotherhood, but maybe there is a chance I could have something more. It led me to Brady and his family—our family—but maybe my circle can grow even bigger.

“The family you chose.”

“Exactly,” Vance places a hand on my shoulder and squeezing it.

“I’ll leave you to your lunch.” I stand, gaining both men's attention. “I need to get back to the house and finish unpacking.”

Vance quickly comes around his desk, stopping me from walking out the door. “How about we grab a beer down at Crawdaddy’s tonight? We can catch up and fill you in on everything that’s happened since you were last in town. We can also take the time to introduce you to a few of the guys. I’m sure hanging around with just Brady is getting on your nerves by now.” He points over my shoulder toward Connor. “Besides, this one needs a night out.”

“Oh, no. The last time you and I went out, I couldn’t walk straight the next day.” Connor grumbles as his eyebrows pinch together. Apparently, someone doesn’t know how to pace himself.

“I was nursing a broken heart.” Vance clutches at his chest as he takes a seat behind his desk. “Lucky for you, I got my girl back, or we would have had a few more nights just like that.”

“Sure,” I mumble. I don’t want to be rude, but I have no desire to play nice with a bunch of people I don’t know. “Brady will throw a fit if I don’t bring him along. Apparently, I’m not allowed to have any other friends besides him.”

“Fucking princess.” Connor chuckles. “Bring him along. We haven’t had a chance to catch up since he got back into town.” He grabs a stack of papers from his desk, holding them out in my direction. “If you could fill these out and bring them back to the office tomorrow, we can get you started next week.”

I take the papers from Connor before shaking his hand again.

“Welcome to the team,” Vance says as I step around him and head for the door.

I have a feeling that life is about to get a lot more interesting with them in the picture. I spend the rest of the day filling out the paperwork Connor gave me this morning and trying not to call Bristol for the millionth time. After a few hours, I give up and go for a run, hoping to tire myself out before I have to head to the bar to meet Vance and the others.

“Let’s get a move on!” Brady hollers down the hall as I pull up my jeans and button them.

That run did me a lot of good. Helped me clear my mind and come up with a plan for finding Bristol. I’ve decided to stop at the local coffee shop tomorrow morning, hoping I’ll accidentally run into her as I walk past her studio. Pathetic, I know, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

“Hold your horses. They aren’t going anywhere,” I grumble as I grab a clean shirt out of the drawer and slam it shut.

Once I get it over my head, I stare at my reflection in the mirror and barely recognize myself.

Standing at a little over six feet tall, I’m not a small guy by any means, but a lot of the bulk in my muscles has disappeared. That’s what happens when your plans consist of more than just lifting weights and patrol every day. A scruffy beard covers the bottom half of my face, but I can’t say it bothers me. But there is a brightness in my eyes that wasn’t there before. Maybe it’s the excitement of having more to look forward to every day than I used to, or maybe it's something more. Instead of waking up every morning dreading the monotony that usually follows, I wake up even more excited about what the day holds or who I might run into as I familiarize myself with my new home.

“I need to get my ass back into the gym,” I mumble as I continue to examine my body in the mirror.

At least that would give me something to do besides obsess over Bristol every day. Right. As if that could happen. Bristol is the only thing I think about every day. She even seems to occupy my dreams. She’s the last person I think about before I go to bed and the first person who comes to mind when I wake up in the morning.

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