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Prologue

BIRDIE

I slid the photo from his wallet and stared at it in surprise

He kept me there all these years?

Looking up, I found hi me intently

“Coht” He said the words I hoped he wouldn’t

A shiver raced across my skin His voice had always done that to me “No,” I said, when I wanted to say yes and chase him to the ends of the earth I’d alanted to chase hi all the drea the drea hard

The taxi we shared from the airport slowed to turn a corner

God, ere the chances of running into your first love after you’d both returned from different corners of the world? “Share a taxi with ht up over a few drinks at the airport bar I should have said no then because, with every passing minute, he drew me further into his orbit

His fingers laced through e the way shit went doith us, I would, Birdie Fuck, I’d take back all my choices and make better ones”

My heart squeezed, and the pain that had never left roared to life “Don’t say that We know you wouldn’t And I wouldn’t have wanted you to Those choices were you, and I loved that about you”

His features darkened “You loved that I chose war over us? That every tied my mind and let you down?” The bitterness in his words slashed through the air “Don’t bullshit a bullshitter, baby I fucked it all up Call it for what it was”

Five years worth of ht this was all on hiet I had , but it would kill him if he knew the truth Or maybe I was more concerned it would kill me for him to know For him to hate me for what I did

He’d alanted a child Being a daddy had been higher on his list of goals than fighting for his country And I’d fucked that up for us Walking away from him had been for him, not about him I wanted hiive that to him anymore, so I’d stayed ahen he finally came home

“I can’t do this…” My voice cracked, and I gulped hard as tears threatened