Page 51 of Princess and Country

Eight months later

I knocked on Carter’s hotel suite door. It was past two o’clock in the morning. He yanked the door open, his dark hair—now longer—disheveled, and his eyelids heavy with sleep. “Another nightmare?” he asked as he raked his fingers through his locks, messing it up even more.

I nodded and jumped into his arms, only to realize he was bare-chested. His warmth shot through me. Carter’s arms wrapped around my back. He was my safe haven. Always had been.

“Talk to me, Dah.”

I snorted and rubbed the heels of my hands over my eyes.

“It’s Jeff. I haven’t had any news from him in almost five weeks. What if something happened to him? What if he’s hurt somewhere in the desert and nobody comes to his rescue, or he has amnesia? What if—?”

Carter clamped my upper arms. “Stop. Enough. If something had happened to him, we’d know by now.” He stepped back and laced his fingers through mine. “C’mon. You need to sleep. You can’t keep worrying like this. It’s unhealthy.” He tipped my chin up with a finger. “When was the last time you slept through the night?” I shrugged. “Tell me. I’m pretty sure I know the answer anyway.”

“Fine. Since he’d been deployed. I can’t even—” Sobs rocked through me. My entire body quivered. Carter knew all about my nightmares—I’d been coming to his room in the middle of the night a few times a week for months now.

My best friend led me to his bedroom. In the dark, he slid his legs into a pair of gray sweat shorts and fished a black T-shirt from a suitcase. Then he erased the distance between us and blanketed me in his strong arms before kissing the crown of my head.

“I’m sorry for bothering you, Cart.”

“Shhh.” He flipped the covers of the bed and motioned me to climb in. “Sleep it off. We’ll talk in the morning.” I hauled myself into the king-sized bed.

“Thanks.”

“Anytime, Dah. I’m glad we have each other to go through this. I hate knowing Jeff is in danger as much as you do. Night.”

“Night, Carter.”

In a death grip, I held his hand in mine and drifted to sleep.

Whatever would happen in my life, my friendship with Carter was something I’d cherish forever. He still had feelings for me—I was well aware—but we talked about it and found a safe balance where we could be there for each other without things being awkward between us. Carter knew where my heart stood, and I loved him even more for not asking anything more from me than what I could give him.

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