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Lena choked on a mouthful of hot tea. Coughing, she struggled to find her voice. “We’re not getting married. We’re not even—­”
Dating.
She couldn’t say the word, revealing their plan to Georgia and his sister. Chad’s dream had turned into reality. He was flying. Even when they staged a breakup and went their separate ways, she couldn’t reveal the truth and put everything he’d hoped for at risk.
“I’m not interested in marrying anyone right now,” she said.
“Lena, I know, believe me I do, that you have a lot to deal with right now,” Georgia said. “But life is too short to second-­guess happiness.”
“I know.” Lena stared out the window at the mountain peaks. “And I’m getting there, bit by bit. But it’s a long battle.”
And it was one she refused to lose. But with Chad it was not a question of winning or losing—­because she couldn’t claim a victory when the prize was merely an illusion.
“Right now, I just need to get through the next few days.” Lena turned to Georgia. “And you need to buy a wedding gown. Do you have any ideas or should we start tearing out pages from bridal magazines?”
ON THURSDAY EVENING, Lena followed the waiter to the far corner of the Red Dragon’s elaborately decorated dining room. Her steps were slow, as if she were trudging through ankle-­deep sand, wishing she could fast-­forward hours into the future.
“We could skip dinner and go straight to the bedroom at the motel,” she whispered.
Chad took her hand, probably to ensure she didn’t run for the door before they s
aw the menu. “We’ve been driving for eight hours. I need egg rolls before sex.” Raising his voice, he called to the waiter: “How are the egg rolls?”
Ignoring the answer, Lena studied the space. Red walls lined with gold trim suggested this was a step up from the Asian take-­out in Independence Falls. But unlike the fancy Chinese food place near her old home in Portland, the large dining room was mostly empty.
“We’re ten minutes early,” she said when they reached the circular table in the far corner of the restaurant.
“We’ll order some starters.” Chad walked around, selecting two seats that faced out, the backs against the wall. “Your folks had a long trip from Texas, I bet they’ll be hungry too.”
Sitting down, she ran her hands over her long skirt, smoothing the fabric. Wearing his ser­vice dog vest, Hero remained glued to her side, hidden from view by the large table.
“Before my family arrives,” she said, “I should warn you—­”
“You dad will hate me from the moment he walks in?” Chad accepted a menu from the waiter. “Your brother will demand to know my intentions? Don’t worry, Lena. I’d do the same in his shoes. Ask Liam. When he started seeing Katie again, I tried to start the conversation with my fists. But I’m guessing your family might be a little more civilized. Especially if there is food on the table when they arrive.”
Lena shook her head. “My brother stopped trying to defend my honor years ago. Joe doesn’t think like that.”
Her brother treated her like a soldier, and he expected her to behave like one. The same went for her father. They refused to accept any signs of weakness. They had fought, suffered, and pushed through it. And they were baffled when she’d failed to do the same.
“Joe and I were never close growing up,” she added. “And when he left the military and moved back home, I was already deployed.”
“Joe lives in Texas too?” Chad asked, scanning the menu.
“Down the street from my parents in the town where we grew up.” She drew a deep breath as a tremor ran through her body. Hero rested his head in her lap.
“Lena,” Chad said. “Don’t worry about it. Even if they hate me, we’ll survive dinner. I promise.”
“But I should have warned you in the car,” she said quickly, hating the trembling in her voice. “I should have—­”
“I don’t need warnings, Lena.”
“But—­”
“Right now, Hero is thinking about climbing onto your lap and making you do some deep breathing exercises.” Chad nodded to her dog without taking his eyes off the menu. “I think we need to focus on two things, breathing and food.”
“You can read my dog’s mind now?”
Hero lifted his head and looked at Chad. She could have sworn the golden retriever smiled at him. Over the past few weeks, her pseudo-­boyfriend and her ser­vice dog had grown close, becoming a team. The Keep Lena From Freaking Out Duo. It was sweet, but also disheartening to admit she needed so much help. Still. After being home for a year and a half. A point her father would likely drive home over egg rolls.