Bastien couldn’t. It was impossible when his entire world had crashed down on him. I didn’t do anything.
Unwilling to let it go, he pulled his link out and hailed Ember.
It rolled to her voicemail in such a way as to let him know that she’d done it herself the moment she saw it was him calling for her.
With an irritated sigh, he waited for the buzz. “Hey, Em, it’s me. I just got my orders and I’m heading to my new barracks. I know you said you needed some time to decide about the marriage, but I didn’t think that meant that you were expelling me from your life entirely. You could have given me some warning.” He paused as he realized anger and accusation had crept into his tone.
He wasn’t really angry at her. Truth was, he was hurt. Kicked in the stones and bleeding internally.
Worse? He had no one to turn to for this. His drinking buddies wouldn’t understand. They’d tell him to go nail someone else and get her out of his system. His family would think him an idiot for sulking over a pleb.
Fain Hauk wouldn’t want to hear it since he was still raw about his own wife and what had happened there.
And his best friend wasn’t talking to him. She was rolling his calls to voicemail.
Honestly, Bastien didn’t want to yell at her. He just wanted her back. It was why he’d proposed. He didn’t want to live his life without her in it.
So he gentled his tone and spoke from his heart. “I miss you, Em. Love you even more. Call me.” He cut the line before he gave in to the tears that were choking him. Gave in to the misery that was about to send him to his knees.
Clearing his throat, he took a deep breath and tried to get his bearings.
“Bastien?”
He winced at the sound of Alura’s voice as she came skipping over toward him. That was all he needed right now.
Like another hole in his heart.
With a ragged breath, he braced himself to face her. “Yeah?”
“You okay?” She slowed down as she neared him.
“Fine.”
With a sympathetic frown, she placed a comforting hand on his arm. “Brandy told me about last night. You want me to give you a ride to your new post?”
Yeah, right. Ember would have a seizure on them both. While she might be pissed for the moment over some imagined slight, she’d hopefully calm down in a few days and get over it. But if she saw him with Alura that would guarantee that she’d never speak to him again. “It’s okay. My sister’s waiting.”
She nodded. “I’m sorry, Bastien. I just wanted you to know that if you need a friend, I’m here. Anytime.” She kissed his cheek.
Mumbling an insincere thanks, he quickly grabbed a transport and put as much distance between them as he could. One thing about Alura … she had a nasty habit of chasing after her sisters’ boyfriends for reasons only Alura knew. All of them wanted her head for it.
And he had enough problems with the world gossiping about his behavior. Be damned if he’d fuel that fire. There wasn’t enough alcohol in the entire Kirovarian Empire and all her territories to make Alura appealing to him. Not enough alcohol in all the Nine Worlds for that matter.
I just need some time, Bas …
His gut tightened as he heard Ember’s voice from last night in his head again. It didn’t make sense. Everything had been golden between them. They’d been dating for a year and never had he been more sure of anything. They rarely fought, and never over anything major. Day and night, they were together and she’d seemed as eager for his company as he was for hers.
Until this.
Just trust in her. She’ll come around. You know she will. She loves you. You love her. Love wins over everything else.
As stupid as it sounded, he really believed that. Most of all, he really believed in her.
Few days and everything would be back to normal. She’d get over whatever was bugging her and they’d be planning their wedding.
All he had to do was be patient …
ALMOST TWO MONTHS LATER
“You unbelievable bastard!”
Bastien had barely stepped off the ladder of his fighter when he turned to find Ember in the hangar bay. Her cheeks flushed, she glared at him with fury in her eyes, making them all the greener. Honestly, he was so happy to see her here that he didn’t even mind the fact that she’d insulted him.
At least not until a second later when she unexpectedly kneed him straight in the groin.
Pain exploded through him as he dropped his helmet and doubled over, fighting against the sudden wave of nausea that threatened to send him to ground.
“You went out with my zusa?” She ground those words out from between her teeth in an effort to keep the fight between them. But it was too late. Half the bay had seen her assault and stood frozen in curiosity.