Page 57 of Achievement Unlocked

“Find a family thing?” Nigel finished the thought for me. “No worries. I hope you find it. It’s not easy to do, but it’s worth it.”

Before I could respond, he walked away toward a check-in clerk.

I had more in common with him than I’d initially thought. More than just being fascinated by the woman he loved.

But that one thing could bethething that undid me. And I didn’t know that he was right about finding family. It didn’t seem to be in my cards. Talk about a bummer way to crash after a fantastic road trip.

19

nigel

When Landon mentioned finding a family, I almost saidyou’re part of ours now.

Fucking weird. Glad I choked back that compulsion. Instead, I was going to ask something I’d avoided up until now because I didn’t need Megan walking in on it. “So you have a history with Easton?”

Landon glanced at me, one brow raised, as we waited for the desk clerk to find my reservation. “You could say that.”

“I’d rather not unless it was true.” I handed over my credit card when the clerk asked for it. The hotel part of the building was gleamand glamor. It radiatedhigh class, up until the floors collided with the same tacky, nauseating carpet that was in every casino. The man processed our check-in like the professional he was. “Sonya would be so disappointed,” I muttered, amused, as we walked away, toward the elevators.

“Why?” Landon asked. “Because that went quickly?”

“That they had my name in the computer, and that they didn’t tell me there was only one room left and it only had one bed.”

Landon frowned. “Why…? Actually, I’m not sure I want to know.”

“In that case, you could answermyquestion instead.” In the elevator, I hit the button for one of the top floors. Growing up, we slept in the camper most of the time, and when the weather required we stay someplace we wouldn’t freeze, it was the cheapest pay-by-the-hour motel we could find.

I tended to be frugal, but if there was a chance for nice lodging, I was smart but I never skimped.

“I went to high school with Easton, so it’sancienthistory.” Landon worked his jaw. “He turned high school for my boyfriend and me into an experience I remember with less fondness than bootcamp.”

Been there. Walked away the first chance I got. “So you knew back then? That you were bi.”

“I did. At least, I did after Brian helped me figure it out.” The elevator stopped on our floor and the door slid open.

There were a couple of other people in the hall, but they didn’t give a fuck who we were or what we were doing. Landon and I walked in silence to our room. I let us in and gave him one of the extra keycards.

“High school sweethearts. I know how that goes.” Except mine was downstairs adding to her wardrobe. “What are the odds of yours walking back into your life?” I didn’t like the question, or that there was any chance it might happen, and I liked even less that I cared.

Landon’s barking laugh was sharp. “Odds are zero to none.” He leaned against the wall, folded his arms, and fixed me with a stare. “We were together for a while, though. Early twenties. We decided if we were going to spend the rest of our lives together, we should make sure we didn’t have any regrets about missed opportunities.”

Huh. Sounded familiar. Was I going to hate what I was about to hear? Nope. Because I’d figured out how to dono regretsyears ago.

There were missed opportunities. There were people lost who I still mourned, and I’d do most anything to save.

But no regrets.

“How so?” I pulled out a chair from a table in the living area part of the suite. The room was divided by a half wall almost smack in the middle, with two king beds on one side, and a couch, TV, and table on the other. I straddled the chair and rested my arms on the back.

Landon stayed in his spot. “Neither of us had ever had a girlfriend, or even been with a woman. In a case like that, what’s the only logical way to solve the issue?”

I could guess the answer, but I wasn’t sure it was smart for me to do so. “Tell me.”

“Threesome.” He spat the word out as if it tasted foul. “Except they fell for each other, and he left me for her. I enlisted to get away from my pain. My grandmother—the one person who’d loved and supported me growing up—died while I was deployed, and I hate that I couldn’t be here when she needed me. I stayed in until I felt like I couldn’t any more, and now you know my life story.”

If Megan were here, she’d know how to approach the surge of emotion. The best I could offer was, “I’m sorry.”

No wonder he looked at what Megan and I were doing with that air ofI’ll play, but I’m out at the end of the day.

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