Page 1 of The Unwanted Love

1

This is the prequel to The Unwanted Wife by L. Steele

Skylar

"It’s your birthday and you’re hiding in your room?"

I look up from the romance novel I’m reading, to see my brother leaning a shoulder against the doorway to my room.

"I’m not hiding." I mark the page in my book and slip it under my pillow. As discreetly as possible. Or so I hoped. Except my brother, who’s a Marine—and therefore, more sharp-eyed than any ordinary human—spots it.

"Is that one of your romance novels? The ones with burly men and the curvy women on the cover?" he asks with interest.

"It doesn’t have any man or woman on the sleeve." I hold it up for him to take a peek at the cover then lower it quickly.

"Huh, those are flowers on the front." He seems confused.

And he’s right. It does happen to be a romance, only it has a discreet cover, so I can read my spicy books in public and not worry about people getting all judgmental about it. Not that my brother is judgmental, but he does tease me about my reading tastes. I’ve triedtelling him romance is to me what video games are to him. It gives me a high to see the male and female main characters go through the emotionally gut-wrenching journey and find an HEA, and when I finish one book, I want my next fix right away. But only another romance reader would understand how important romance novels are to your mental health.

I can weather any loneliness, any teenage angst, any insecurities if I know I can end the night by reading a romance novel until I fell asleep. Of course, there are days I can’t sleep until I’ve completed the book I picked up, but it's worth the bleary-eyed book hangover I have the next day.

"It still is a romance, isn’t it?" My brother’s frown deepens. "Only, it doesn’t look like one."

Bingo. Mission accomplished. Also, I need to get his mind of this topic and onto something else.

"When are you headed back?" The words pop out. But then my heart sinks and I realize I should have cast around for some other topic. "Do you think this will be your last mission?"

I’m not surprised when he shakes his head. "No Skye, I don’t think so. I have a ways to go before I retire from the Marines." He comes into the room and takes a seat on the bed next to me. "I’m sorry, I’ve had to spend so much time away from you and Mom. Sometimes—" His throat moves as he swallows. "Sometimes, I wonder if I made the right decision enrolling in the Marines."

"Of course, you did." I sit up and take his hand in mine. "I can’t see you doing anything else in your life."

"But I ended up leaving you and Mom alone."

"We’re good at taking care of each other," I say brightly. I miss my brother terribly, but I don’t want him to realize that. "When you decided to join the Marines, I was so proud of you."That’s putting it mildly. I adore him and look up to him."What you’re doing is so selfless, so amazing. You put your life on the line so Mom and I, and all my friends, and all other citizens of this country can be safe. I wouldn’t be sleeping soundly at night if it weren’t for you, Ben.

My brother’s features soften. "You have a way with words, you know that?"

"Don't forget, a way with baking, too." I smirk.

"That too." He reaches out ruffle my hair like I’m still ten.

“Hey!” I pull away. “Don’t mess up my hairdo. It took me ages to curl it.”

“I forget that you’re all grown up,” he looks at me with such brotherly love in his eyes, that emotions clog my throat.

I was only three when Ben left to join the Royal Marines. He's fifteen years older than me. And after my father passed away, he stepped into the role of surrogate father. The benefits he's received since joining the Marines meant he was able to take care of us. But he also did it because he's a true patriot. When I was a little older, I learned from my mother that he’d always wanted to join the forces.

"I’m so happy you got to follow your dream. Truly. And I can’t think of you doing anything else,” I murmur.

"You mean, you can’t imagine me wearing a tie and riding the tube to work every day, and then staying at a desk working on presentations all day?" He mimes typing on a keyboard, and I laugh.

"Nope, definitely not. You’re a Marine. You need to be out on missions, saving people’s lives and rescuing damsels in distress."

"More like spending days camped out in old buildings while I wait for the enemy to make a move, but yeah, I take your point." He rubs his hand through his hair. "Nathan, though? He’d be equally at home on the field as a Marine or at a desk lording over the employees in his grandfather’s office."

"Is that right?" A funny little flutter ripples inside my belly. Nathan Davenport is Ben’s best friend and a fellow Marine.

The two met at Royal Marines Commando training and have been inseparable ever since. A lot of times, between tours, Ben would come home with Nathan. I hero worship my brother, but Nathan? He’s the man of my dreams. I fell for him the first time I saw him.

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