I pushed away those thoughts and remembered what I had been looking for. “Why?” I asked with a disbelieving chuckle.
She dug her teeth into her lower lip. “I have sweetened iced tea. Want some of that?”
“Sweet tea? What, are we in the south now?”
She giggled. “No, but I had a craving for it so I made some earlier today. Want some? Or I have water, apple juice, milk, or coconut milk.”
“Why do you have coconut milk?” I asked.
“For smoothies.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’ll take water.”
She made her way to the fridge and opened it, grabbed a bottle of water, and handed it to me. “Here. I thought you would go for the apple juice; it’s freshly squeezed.”
“Maybe I’ll need something stronger here in a bit.”
With a wink, she replied, “Maybe.”
Willa motioned for us to go back into the living room, where we sat on the sofa. I undid my tie and then unbuttoned the first few buttons of my shirt. After that, I proceeded to unbutton and roll up my sleeves. When I glanced at Willa, she was staring at me with her mouth slightly open.
“You okay?” I asked as her eyes jumped from my forearms to my face.
“Yes. Yeah. Of course.”
I nodded and then took a sip of my water.
“Aiden, I need you to please let me talk before you say anything. Promise me?”
A feeling of dread came over me before I saw the look in her eyes. She didn’t have to tell me how she felt about me, I could see it in those baby blues. It was the same way she’d looked at me all those years ago. That moment in the barn when I’d kissed her and my entire world had changed.
I’d made a promise to myself then that Willamina Turner would be the woman I married, the woman I made a life with when I was done with my career in the Navy.
“I promise,” I whispered.
She cleared her throat and said, “That day in the barn, when you told me that we couldn’t be together…do you remember that?”
I nodded. “Like it was yesterday.”
After drawing in a deep breath, she exhaled slowly. “I made a vow to myself that night that I would never love anyone like I loved you. And I haven’t.”
My heart felt like it slammed against the wall of my chest. It was like she had read my own thoughts from only moments ago. “Willa, you don’t have to—”
She held up her hand and raised one brow, reminding me of my promise to let her speak first.
I motioned with my hand for her to go on.
She looked down at her hands before she continued. “I swore I was going to wait for you. I remember Ellen telling me you would most likely be married to the Navy SEALs, and I would be old and gray before you ever came back to Boggy Creek. Hunter even said the same thing. So, when Brian entered the picture, he was a good distraction. I remember when he asked me to marry him in front of everyone…I closed my eyes and wished it was you.”
“Willa,” I said, my voice cracking.
“Let me keep going.”
I pressed my lips together tightly.
“When I told you that Brian had asked me to marry him, a part of me hoped that you’d tell me not to do it. That you might have changed your mind. I felt so guilty for thinking like that, but it’s the truth. I almost asked you to tell me to wait, but I was so afraid you’d tell me to marry him instead.”
I closed my eyes and let out a breath before I focused on her. “You have no idea how many times I wanted to tell you not to marry him, but I couldn’t do that to you. I couldn’t.”
Willa reached for her water and took a sip before she set it back on the table. “When you came home and I saw you that night at Drew’s, it felt like a part of me came to life again, Aiden. Yes, I’d seen you a few other times over the years, but this time it felt different. This time, this time I could…I could be yours, because you were home for good. You weren’t going back to Virginia Beach or wherever it was you always went off to. You were home, and as much as I know you loved being a SEAL, I was so over-the-moon happy. I could finally be yours.”
I closed my eyes and exhaled. “You’ve always been mine.”
“Not that way, Aiden. I want to be yours completely. I want Ben to be yours. I want you in our life, and I know this is super-sonic fast, and I know you’re worried about your P—”
Her voice abruptly halted.
“My what?” I asked.
She sat up straighter and looked me directly in the eyes. “Your PTSD. And don’t say a damn word right now or try to deny it. I spoke with a counselor who specializes in PTSD with soldiers.”