Page 45 of The Biggest Sacrifice

“I got a girl.”

“Yeah? You’re an ugly fucker. She must have taken pity on you.”

Turning off the shower,I step out and grab the towel on the counter. I wipe across the mirror and stare back at a man I don’t recognize anymore. The face is familiar, the hair, and the tattoo. But the visible scars have birthed a new man that is hardened to life. That man has been coasting through, not allowing anyone in while pushing those that were in, out.

I don’t necessarily want to go back to the young man I was before, and I don’t want to ignore the man I found in the service. And I definitely don’t want to lose the man who’s learned so much from JT. But I need to be the man my family needs.

The man who Farrah needs.

Farrah deserves protection, respect, love, fun, adoration. Emotion. She calls for tenderness, warmth, worship… and I want to give all that and more to her. She’s only ever asked for my true self and it’s about time I figure that guy out and hand him over to her for safekeeping. I know she’s the only woman who will ever be all I need.

It starts tonight. She understands how to treat me. She understands exactly what I need even when I don’t know. I’m going to give her what she needs now, too.

* * *

Knockingon Farrah’s front door, the nerves have taken over. I drop my head for a moment and laugh. JT runs through my head for the thousandth time today. All of his little comments have been barrelling through and instead of the misery it once brought, right now, it brings me comfort.

As I opened the door, Cash appeared before me.

“The fuck are you doing here?”

He leans against the doorjamb, arms crossed and lips in a straight line. “You think you’re taking out my girl tonight? We’re going to have a talk first.”

I try to push past him. “What are you, her father now?”

“You want her calling me daddy, Casanova?” He raises a brow, adds a grin and waits for me to take the bait. This fucking guy is as bad as Billy, and just like JT.

“Don’t ever say that word again in my presence, O’Brien.” I shoulder bump him and walk into her home. I hear lots of chatter coming from the living room, so I follow the noise and am sorry I did the minute I see almost all of my entire intrusive family sitting there. My groan is audible, and so is Cash’s chuckle.

“Come on, Casanova, you wouldn’t expect anything less, would you? This is a significant moment.

“You fucks are making this bigger than it is. And if you fuck it up for me, I’m going to kill you.”

He claps me on the arm and pushes me further into the room.

“Oh, there’s our boy. Have a seat, Tom.” Jackson pats the couch next to him and I avoid it like the plague.

“I’m good standing right here. What’s going on? You guys have nothing else to do but get in the way of my night?”

“No, we’re making sureyoudon’t get in the way of your night.” Britt comes from down the hall, swinging her hips and popping bubble gum like the boss bitch she thinks she is.

I roll my eyes. I don’t know if I’ve missed this nonsense or not.

“This is a big night, Thomas. It’s the first day of the rest of your life where you actually don’t have your head up your ass.”

Narrowing my eyes at Cash, my hands clench and my mind spins with thoughts. “What exactly did you tell them?”

He puts his hands up in defense. “I didn’t say shit. But word travels fast around here and they all knew you were taking her out tonight. So, we decided to make an appearance and make sure your ass acts accordingly.”

“Hi Tommy.”

That voice. Her sweet, melodic, sultry tone flows through me and lands like a hand stroking my cock. She’s always had this effect on me.

What a fucking asshole I was to almost throw this away.

Looking behind me, I see Farrah has approached from the hall, and my heart races. She’s in a pale pink short dress that swings around her thighs as she walks. It’s low cut but not in a sleazy way and I track her fingertips as she pulls the strap that has fallen off her shoulder back to its place. I roll my lips in, fighting the urge to push her up against the wall.

I take a breath, settling my beating heart.

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