Wounded Soldiers by Milly Taiden

Author:Milly Taiden [Taiden, Milly]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Latin Goddess Press
Published: 2015-11-17T18:30:00+00:00

TWO

“Tell me this is a joke?” Matt groaned. He ran his hand through his hair, tugging at the strands. Frustration ate at his stomach.

“Matthew Payne! Quit being so dramatic.” Kayla giggled. “This isn’t a joke.”

Why did all women think that just because they were happily married he needed to be in the same situation? Kayla was such a sweetheart. He hated to be rude to her, but Ryan’s wife was getting way too involved in this setting up all Ryan’s friends’ project.

“Kayla…” He didn’t know how to explain to her that he didn’t want to date. There was a reason he didn’t date. His issues went beyond normal PTSD.

“Oh, shush.” She pouted, her eyes sparkling with laughter. “I happen to know this woman is very nice.”

He snorted. Yeah, they were all nice. Until they got to talking to him, that is. Then it was “oh you poor thing” or “they have surgery for that.” Like that’s what he wanted to hear on a date. Those kinds of comments were what kept his ass out of the dating zone.

“Matt, she’s not gonna let it go.” Ryan grimaced as he took a seat next to his wife. He stretched the leg with the prosthetic out in front of him. “You may as well say yes.”

Kayla moved a hand to his knee, massaging Ryan’s leg without even realizing it. Her impish smile grew wide. “Come on, Matthew. Don’t be such a baby.”

A cool afternoon breeze swept over the backyard. Two years ago, Ryan and Kayla had been set up on a blind date; the last date either had gone on. That one night had turned into a strong long-term relationship that led to marriage a few months back.

“Hey, I’m not a baby.” Well, not quite. Though his mother and sisters loved calling him spoiled. He knew he wasn’t. He was just tired. There was no blaming him either. He was tired of everyone feeling sorry for him. All the fucking time. Like he wasn’t the same person from before—before his life had turned to shit.

“What do you say, pretty boy?” Ryan used the nickname he’d been given years ago when he’d joined the special ops team.

Pretty boy. There lay his problem. His stomach tightened. If only he could erase that name out of his existence. Maybe then he’d stop feeling so goddamned insecure. He watched the other couple. They were so in tune with each other. So real. If, and that was a very big if, he were going to start a relationship with a woman, that’s what he wanted.

Kayla knew exactly how to deal with his friend and former team member. She hadn’t cared that he was missing a limb. Knew that the real man inside was whole. But Matt didn’t seem to be able to find women like that. Most of them were so stuck on his face and how “pretty” he was. Once they realized what he’d been through in Afghanistan, they couldn’t seem to find what to say. Which in turn led him into the shit-this-is-uncomfortable zone.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.