A Reason to Love Read Online Free

scrutiny. It was too late to retreat. All he could do was let the drama play itself out.
    Eventually, the news reached the bride and groom, because he heard Callie cry out as Nick shouted his name. A few seconds later, the pair broke through the line of people facing Spence. He glanced briefly at Nick, noticing he wore a tux instead of dress blues. Guess that confirmed that Sarge had left the military.
    “Wheelman, where the fuck have you been?” Spence’s friend’s voice was little better than a growl choked with emotion.
    Spence ignored both the question and the man, choosing instead to focus on the woman who had been his best friend for most of his life. “You look beautiful, Callie.”
    Her eyes were huge and shiny with tears and her face looked ghostly pale in the dim light. “Spence.”
    He wanted to grab her, hold her, maybe stake his claim, but that sparkling diamond band on the hand that she held out toward him stopped him in his tracks. She already belonged to someone else. He understood that. She’d thought he was dead, and she’d moved on. He hadn’t expected her to pine away for him and wouldn’t have wanted her to. It was who she had chosen that had him clenching his hands into fists.
    When she tried to close the distance between them, he shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest. She gasped and looked to Nick for help. Spence hated that his actions had hurt her, but he couldn’t stand the thought of her touching him. Not now.
    When she tried again, he shook his head. “No, Callie, don’t.”
    Nick pushed his way in between them. “Wheels, what the hell happened to you? Where have you been?”
    “Like you care, you bastard!”
    When Spence tried to shove him away from Callie, Leif joined the party. “Spence, cut it out. It’s their wedding.”
    Yeah, like that truth didn’t just pour gas on the fire. “Believe me, I know.”
    He got right up in Nick’s face. “What’s the matter, Sarge? Feeling a little guilty for stealing my life when you couldn’t find one of your own?”
    Nick gave him a hard shove. “What the hell is wrong with you? We thought you were dead! The whole fucking squad dug through the dirt with their bare hands looking for you. All we found were your bloody dog tags!”
    He ran his hands through his hair, leaving it standing on end. “Damn it, Spence, I thought I got you killed.”
    What could Spence say to that? Even if he had the words, right now his throat was nearly closed shut with pain and regrets. He closed his eyes, trying to figure out what to do next. When he opened them again, all he could see were the tears streaming down Callie’s pretty face.
    He did an end run around Nick to get to her. Already he could feel Leif’s hand on his shoulder, trying to pull him back. He shook him off. “Let go of me, damn it. I just want to tell her something.”
    He stared down at her, memorizing how she looked at that moment and feeling sick that he’d put that expression on her face. “Sorry, Callie. I shouldn’t have come. Forget I was even here. Be happy.”
    He pressed a kiss to her forehead and went into full retreat. Turning his back on her and on the future he’d hoped to have was the hardest thing he’d ever done, but he did it anyway. He had no memory of how he reached his motorcycle without falling apart completely, but somehow he made it. Shoving his helmet on his head, he straddled his bike and tore out of the parking lot.
    •   •   •
    Melanie hovered on the outskirts of the parking lot, horrified by what had just happened. Yeah, she hadn’t heard that Spence was alive before seeing him at the cemetery, but she’d figured that was only because she’d been out of town on business and only just returned. If she’d had any idea that neither Nick nor Callie had known about his return from the dead, she would have done something to soften the blow. Called Callie or maybe her mother. Anything to have prevented this whole fiasco.
    In a