Zari Davis flees Dallas after witnessing her fiancee cheating, with no clear plan on where she's going. After flipping her Volkswagon Beetle, she wakes up convinced that the cute guy that's been reading raunchy novels aloud while she slept is actual...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
P L A Y L I S T
Hold Me While You Wait - Lewis Capaldi
Owen sat on the end of the bed and stared at his duffle bag. Even though he'd always known he might be called to active duty, he'd never given much thought to how it would feel. Well, it was real now. Too real. The orders were vague. Report on Monday. Ship out Tuesday. Plan to be gone at least six months. Maybe longer. No guarantee.
He'd heard his unit wasn't the only one activated. If that was the case, then maybe this mission was a rescue. Get in with enough force to make a snatch and whisk, then head home. Although he tried to look on the bright side, something twisted in his gut. It wasn't from lack of skill. Hell, the weekends he'd spent on base were just more of the same intense boot camp he'd gone through when he joined. Everything from hand-to-hand combat to chemical warfare training.
Regardless of what the future held, this was his last night in Dallas, so he should make the best of it. Get drunk—or laid. God knew it'd been a while since he'd done either. Just two problems. He didn't want to report hungover, and the only woman he wanted was off-limits and three hours away. The last few weeks he'd had to fight his urge to see Silbie and keep from going to Parkers Prairie. He'd even skipped Zari's new gig to avoid temptation. But now that he was about to be somewhere else in the world, avoiding the object of his desire was a no-brainer. Yeah, God worked in mysterious ways. He knew Owen got weaker by the day and no way in hell he'd ever be able to wait until she graduated to see her again. A clear sign to steer clear of her.
He wondered if she knew he was leaving. Given Matthew's interest in Dawn, probably. And Zari might have passed along the information. Didn't matter. Silbie hadn't called, so maybe she was over her schoolgirl crush. That was a good thing. He should be thankful she had come to her senses. Maybe in a few years if she wasn't involved with someone, then Owen would give her a call. Yeah. Right.
He took a deep breath. That was a crock of shit. She might be younger than anyone he'd dated, but he'd had a connection with her he'd never felt before. And now, it was over. Or would be by the time he got back to the states. She'd be in college and have a line of interested guys a mile long. Beautiful, amazing girls like her didn't stay on the market. The only reason she wasn't already taken was that Parkers Prairie had few choices.
He shook the thought away. Getting drunk sounded better and better. He'd call Dante. He was always up for talking people off a ledge. Besides, Owen needed to impress upon him to be diligent about the business. In the last few months, the agency had seen measurable growth, Dante was known to take care of business second to his family. Commendable, yes. But still.
He thought back to Parkers Prairie. That side of Texas was a Den of Sin for the Clan. Zari and Gabriel. Matthew and Dawn. Silbie. Maybe there was something in the water. Well, time would take care of all of it. Zari would get her memory back and come home. Matthew would realize the distance was too much for a relationship. And Silbie. Well, as soon as she got to college, she'd discover a world of new possibilities.
