He nodded, unsure of where she was going with this. He’d been ready to tear his own brother limb from limb thinking the two of them had fucked.
“I was out grocery shopping and ran into him right after he got back from his last tour. He wasn’t in good shape. I took him someplace quiet, a little shop I knew that did carry out only, but because I knew the owner, she sometimes let me come in and eat in the back. She knew about my anxiety. We got dead dog drunk, and he told me what happened to him, why he didn’t finish his tour.”
“My God,” Dimitri whispered, shocked to his core. “What was it?”
“That’s not my story to tell, Dimitri. I would no more break his confidence than I would yours. He needs time and patience and for someone to love him like I love you. When he finds that, then he’ll truly start to heal. Until then, though, he’s doing all he can just to get through each day. Leave him be and let him do this in his own way. And don’t ask me for details. I meant what I said. It’s not my story to tell.”
He heard the heartbreak in her voice. Whatever his brother had gone through, it broke him, because it had broken Becca just a little too. It was there for him to see in her eyes. She was haunted by what she knew.
“Does he…does he call you? Talk to you?”
“Sometimes. He knows I’m going to let him talk and that I understand the pain he’s been through. Only someone who’s suffered can understand the depth of suffering he’s going through. His soul is darker than it was, and that’s not going to change, Dimitri. All we can do is try to help him find a little more light to guide his way back to us. He’ll never be the Conner you all knew, but hopefully you’ll get a version of him back.”
“I’m sorry I snapped at you.” He felt like such an ass. While everything in him screamed he demand the truth from her, he refrained. She was right. It wasn’t her story to tell, and until Conner was ready to confide in them, he’d just have to deal. He was glad his brother had at least leaned on one person, even if that person was Dimitri’s woman.
She smiled softly. “You’re allowed to be jealous, just not when it comes to family. I’d never do that to you, D.”
He reached over and took her hand, holding it up so he could kiss her palm. “I love you.”
“You’re still not getting sex.”
“You’re seriously going to make me have blue balls for days, aren’t you?”
She nodded, her eyes twinkling.
He laughed and continued to hold her hand the rest of the way to his beach condo. He couldn’t wait to show her the ocean. And for her to meet his chocolate lab. Mason had been coming by to feed the guy and take him for his daily walks.
When they pulled up, the lights were on. He’d left them on for the dog.
“It’s not as big as I thought it would be,” she mused.
“What, you were expecting a million-dollar beach house?”
“Maybe.”
“Sorry, sweetheart. I don’t need much. I grew up in a small house, and I guess I still love the comfort of one.”
“No, I like it. It’s what I’d be living in if it were me.”
“See, we’re two peas in a pod. You should surrender now and say yes.”
She only hummed and got out, her arms going around herself as the chill of the night air hit her.
He strolled over and pulled her close as they walked up the driveway. He could hear his dog’s nails clacking on the hardwood inside. Carefully, he stepped aside and opened the door. The dog barreled out and hit him full force. He staggered under the weight, but he caught the dog and lifted him, trying to avoid all the wet kisses.
Becca laughed at the dog’s eagerness. Oliver turned his head to look at Becca. Dimitri put him down, and Becca held her hand out for the dog to sniff. It took him three seconds before his tail started wagging. Her hand got covered in the same wet kisses Dimitri suffered.
“I think someone likes you.”
Becca petted the dog for several minutes, rubbing his belly when he’d flopped down and over, whining like a baby. She loved him instantly. Her dad never let them have pets when they