Page 9 of My Forever Soldier

Ollie slipped out of bed and pulled on her robe, checking to see she had everything covered. She took a deep breath before opening the door.

“Hey.” It was Luke. Who else had she expected?

“Hey,” she whispered back.

She didn’t know if it was the dream or just the time of night, but she couldn’t take her eyes from his face. His hair, his lips, the stubble on his jaw. Just like he used to look.Yet somehow even better.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

Her eyebrows knotted. Why wouldn’t she be okay? It was the middle of the night. “Ah, sure, I’m fine.”

Luke looked uncomfortable. “It’s just, I heard you calling out. Must have been a dream.”

This time it was Ollie who was uncomfortable. Her stomach churned as if she’d eaten something bad. “Mmm,” she mumbled, “must have.”

“Okay, well, I’ll, uh, head back to bed then.”

Ollie watched him, her embarrassment starting to fade. There had been a time when she would have told Luke anything, had thought they would be in love and happy forever. And looking at him now, she almost felt they had gone back. Gone back to when they were dating, to the early days of her pregnancy, before they’d realized that maybe they’d rushed into marriage, that things weren’t so easy with a newborn baby. That they hadn’t talked through their pasts or their problems enough, before making such a massive commitment to one another.

She took in the pajama bottoms, the bare chest, the trail of hair that skewered from his belly button as he turned back to face her. He was standing there, just looking at her, not moving,

“Ollie...” His voice trailed off.

“Yes?” She waited expectantly, desperate for him to say something,anything.

His swift movement took her by surprise. She gasped, eyes locked on his as he pulled her tight against him, pressed his lips hard onto hers. She knew she was rigid, fought it, but as she softened into him, melted into his arms, he, too, softened the kiss. Moved his lips over hers so delicately that she thought her legs would buckle.

It was over too quick. He pulled away and took a step back, his eyes tracing her face, looking for an answer.

“I never stopped thinking about you, Ollie,” he said, his voice low and husky. “I never, ever stopped wondering how the hell things had gone so wrong. How I’d managed to wreck what we had, and wished we could just go back in time.”

She stood there, mute, hand raised to her lips. What could she say to that? He’d sure had a bad way of showing how he felt.

“Luke, I…”

“No.” He said the word firmly. “Don’t say anything. Just promise you won’t give up on us, not yet. Let’s give it one more go. I might not deserve it, but let me try to make it up to you, Ollie.”

Olivia stayed still. She didn’t know what to say, any- way. She loved the memory of him, loved the look of the man standing in front of her, but she didn’t know if sheactuallyloved him now or not. Didn’t know if she could ever truly forgive him, or trust him not to leave her. Did he still wanther, or was it just for Charlie’s sake that he wanted to try again?

“I’m going to make you trust me, but first you have to say you’ll give me a chance.”

“Luke, I already have the divorce papers.”

“Give me a month, Ollie, or two. After that, I’ll sign the papers.” The look on his face told her he was being honest, that he genuinely believed it was worth trying. “I’ve had a lot of time to think, and I know things ended badly between us, but we’re married and we have a son. That counts for something. I know it and you know it.”

She bit down on her bottom lip, eyes on him. He was staring at her with that deep, brooding look. The sort of look she hadn’t seen on his face other than the day Charlie had been born.

“There’s something about being back here that makes me think we could be a family. For real.”

“You will actually be here for a whole month?” she asked.

He’d never said how long he was back for, never said when he’d be needed again. She didn’t know anything other than he was “off duty” for a while.

Luke just stared at her, unblinking. “I promise I’m here for a while. I haven’t signed up for anything else yet, and I’m owed a decent amount of time off.”

Could she do it? Actually put her heart on the line and give him a second chance? Believe what he was telling her? Change her mind and actually sayyesto him?

“So what do you say?” Luke asked.

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