She leaned back and looked down at her hands, then lifted her gaze to his. “I’m broken too, Landon. Maybe beyond repair, I don’t know. But I can tell you that if I found a man that would love me in spite of my brokenness? I’d do what I could to keep him.”
“I understand the nightmares,” Aidan said, “and the being afraid to sleep. I still struggle after three years. But one day I decided my time I put in with the military was no longer going to define me. That chapter’s closed.”
Aidan pushed his plate away with a sigh. “Landon, people die in war. It’s awful. But we both know you did all you could to save your men. And they still died. But they died honorably. Let them rest honorably. You walking around carrying this burden doesn’t bring them back, and worse, it doesn’t honor their sacrifice. Let them go, Landon. Let Iris help you.”
“She can handle it. But you have to let her,” Emma said.
He looked between his cousins as a flicker of hope ignited in his chest. These two had been through hell and back in their own ways and had done it on their own, without someone like he had in Iris. The truth was he didn’t want a life without Iris. A world without her in it would be like losing a limb. She was a warrior, and he needed a good man in the storm called his life. She’d proven she had his six time and again. What was he doing running away from that kind of support? That kind of love? Again?
He had a lot of ground to make up. Emma was right. He needed a big grand gesture.
Something to show Iris he wasn’t the same man he used to be, but the war hadn’t stolen all of his soul or the love he had for her.
8
Someone to Fix
The gym flooded with light when Iris flipped the switch. Her heart sank knowing her days at Ridge Fitness were numbered. In another week, she’d be managing a facility in Atlanta with a pay raise that made her eyes pop. In a few days, for the first time in her life, she’d no longer live in Madison Ridge.
The owners of Ridge Fitness had informed her they’d received another offer but that the new owners wanted her to stay on. To watch someone change things? Thanks, but no thanks. She knew she should be floating on air about her new job. Truth was, she was miserable, and the roller coaster in her stomach made her doubt her decision to leave.
A month had passed since Landon walked out, ending any sort of relationship between them. He hadn’t shown up for therapy, and her phone was quiet. In the days after he left, she’d holed up in her apartment, binge watching Grey’s Anatomy because seeing Meredith’s tormented life made her feel a smidge better about her own.
Five days later, she had popcorn in her hair, a Skittle stuck to her cheek, and her room looked like the junk food aisle exploded in it. When she came out of her sugar coma, she pulled herself out of bed and went back to living. She had packing to do.
It was just as well she lost the gym. Her family was gone. There was nothing holding her in Madison Ridge except memories too painful to contemplate.
For the next hour, she boxed up a few personal belongings and caught up on paperwork. When the bell on the front door rang, she went to the doorway and froze.
“Landon. What are you doing here?”
Eyes intense, he walked toward her. He stopped in front of her, close enough that his body heat and the spice of his cologne surrounded her. He smiled. “I need some rehabilitating. And you’re the only one who can help me.”
“I can’t—”
“Just hear me out, please?” He raised his brows, waiting for her to consent.
“Fine.” She crossed her arms over her chest. The sooner he left, the sooner she could continue to pick up the pieces.
“Thank you.” He looked down at the floor for a moment before looking up with a smile. “I’m sorry. You were right. But I wasn’t just scared, I was terrified.” He shook his head as if he couldn’t believe his stupidity.
“I want to give you everything you deserve, be your forever guy. Who protects you when you need it and stands beside you when you can protect yourself. I don’t know if I’ll get it right all the time, but I want to try. You’re the missing piece to put me back together.” He stepped closer and cupped her face. “I can’t promise I’ll be easy to love. But I can promise I will love you with everything I have. It’s you, Iris. It’s always been you.”
Tears blurred her vision, her heart too big for her chest. “Landon, I don’t care if you’re hard to love, as long as you let me.”
He captured her mouth in a kiss that sent a shock to her toes. When he pulled back, he dropped his forehead to hers. “See why you’re the only trainer I need?”
Iris closed her eyes against the rising panic in her throat. “Um, about that.” She opened her eyes and new tears started to form. “I took a job in Atlanta. I’m moving next week.”
He pulled back, confusion on his handsome face. “What?”
“The owner sold out before I could secure my loan. It was an offer they couldn’t refuse.” The bitterness was ripe on her tongue.
He frowned. “Why wouldn’t you just stay here?”
“I could—the new owners wanted me to, but I…” What the hell would she do now?
“What if the owners gave you free rein to do whatever you wanted?”
She blinked. “I don’t know. I hadn’t thought of that.” She’d only thought about leaving behind her heartache.
Landon’s grin weakened her knees. God, he was sexy as hell. He pulled out a folded piece of paper and handed it to her. “I think the owners will be open to whatever you want.”
Her name was at the top of the deed to the building. “Landon, what did you do?”
“I bought the building. For you.”
“How did you…I can’t believe you did this.”
“I had some money set aside. It was a risk since I wasn’t sure you’d talk to me ever again.” He lifted her chin with the tip of his finger. “But you’re worth the risk. I’ll spend the rest of my life proving I’m worth you taking me on.”
With a squeal, she jumped in his arms and wrapped her legs around his waist like she had six weeks before. “I love you so much, Landon Gray.”
“I love you.”
She pulled back, her eyes meeting his. “You said I didn’t need someone to fix. The truth is, I do. As long as that someone is you.”
Epilogue
Six Months Later
Landon woke to find Iris kissing her way down his chest. Her long dark hair fell around her face, shrouding her in sexy mystery.
“That’s a damn fine sight to wake up to.” He bit back a gasp when she nipped his skin, the light brush of her teeth a delicious sting.
“Good morning, husband.”
“Good morning, wife.”
A week after he gave Iris his heart and soul, he moved in with her. The next week, he put a ring on her finger. Two months later, they had a small, intimate wedding in his parents’ backyard.
The gym thrived with Iris’s changes, and Aidan offered him a job with the city police department. When he wasn’t keeping law and order, he was at the gym with Iris. He still needed rehabilitative conditioning, but he was making huge strides, especially under his wife’s plan.