Page 58 of My Forever Soldier

She wanted to yell at Luke, to beat her fists against his chest till it hurt him, to tell him to walk out that door and never come back. But she couldn’t.

Because she loved him. He was her husband, the father of her child and her first love. And because once again she’d let him down by not listening to him.

“I can’t keep going on like this, Luke,” she said, “If you say you’re staying, then I need to know that you mean it.”

He towered over her, looking more determined than she’d ever seen him. “Ollie, I’m staying and I love you. It’s that simple.”

“Saying it and meaning it are two different things.” Her words were strong, her tears had faded and her voice had regained its full power. “I trusted you last night, Luke, but…” She swallowed, nodding her head to make herself continue. “You can’t pretend to be someone you’re not, just for our sake. I want you to be happy as much as I want Charlie to be happy, and I know that you’ll never be content if you have to leave the army behind.”

The look on his face made her heart pound, loudly, as if it was in her ears and not her chest.

“I meant what I said to you yesterday, last night,” he told her. “I meant every word.”

“What did you mean when you said you were staying?” Olivia asked, needing to know, wanting to know if it was actually possible.

“That I’m here, Ollie. For good this time. I promise I’m not going anywhere unless you and Charlie are with me.” Luke smiled as he looked at her. “I came back here to reconnect with my son, but I realized when I got back that that wasn’t enough. I want the whole package, and that means youandCharlie.”

“I don’t believe you.” She shifted her weight from one foot to the other. The nature of the army didn’t let that be an option, and Luke was a soldier. “You can’t just change who you are, Luke.”

“The only reason I didn’t get here sooner is because I’ve been negotiating a new position,” Luke told her, a smile taking over his mouth. “I’ve been completely released from active duty in exchange for taking over a training role, here on home soil. We’ll need to move close to base, so it does mean a change, but I’m not leaving you, Ollie. I’m not leaving you or Charlie, no matter what. I want you both by my side, now and always.”

Olivia’s heart hiccuped, as if it actually stopped beating, then reignited.Staying? Did he mean it this time? Her first instinct was to tell him no, to avoid being hurt, in case what he said wasn’t true. But the truth was that the moment she’d heard his words, she’d started to hope. Truly hope. Because all along Luke had been torn between his home family and his army family, and him being part of both meant she wouldn’t have to lose him again. That he wouldn’t have to make a choice that ruined either his family or his career.

“What base?” She had to ask, had to know the realities.

“Fort Bragg.” He took her hand, staring straight into her eyes. “I don’t know yet if we’d be living on base or off, but I want us to do this together, if you’ll come with me.” He sighed, never breaking their gaze. “I don’t want to do this without you, Ollie. Without either of you.”

Olivia felt what she knew was a dangerous emotion: real hope. It had resurfaced, and no matter how hard she tried to push it down, it was fluttering around her. Beating in her ears so she couldn’t avoid it.

20

OLLIE STILL LOOKED angry, but Luke had a fire in his belly that he knew couldn’t be extinguished. Not now that he’d finally opened up and changed the path of his life to keep his familyandhis career. It was like the rush of first love, but even stronger.

“Olivia,” he said, forcing his voice to stay steady. He prised her other hand from her hip, needing to hold both her hands in his for what he was about to say, needing to know that she was going to be by his side, now and always. “Olivia, will you marry me?”

She looked as if he’d asked her to go giraffe riding.

“Marry you?”

Luke smiled, unable to help himself, before dropping to one knee.

“I know we’re already married, but I want a fresh beginning, to be the husband I should have been.” His voice caught on the emotion in his throat. “I love you, baby. I love you so much and I can’t believe what a fool I’ve been for so long. This is about me making a decision for us, So we don’t have to be apart. So that we can move on and be a real family.”

Her mouth hung open, as if her jaw muscles had disintegrated. As if she didn’t know what to say or how to say it.

“What do you say, Ollie? Will you give me a second chance to be the man I know I can be?”

As she finally met his eyes, looked at him with the expression he’d hoped for, a little voice called out, so loud it made him turn.

“Say yes, Mommy! Say you’ll marry Daddy again!”

A cheeky face was watching them from the doorway. Luke gave his son a wink and stood in front of his wife, knowing that it was now or never, that he was finally doing the right thing.

“What do you say, Ollie?” he asked. “Will you do me the honor of being my wife?”

“Yes,” she whispered, so only he could hear. “Yes, Luke, I will.”

Tears flowed freely down her cheeks and he pulled her close, enveloped her in his arms. He only wished he never had to let her go.

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