Sawyer: Alpha Company Renegades, #11

By Kali Hart

Blaire

I've been best friends with Sawyer for ten years.
We met when we were both in the military when he was engaged to another woman.
We stayed friends even after that engagement broke apart.
I got out, he stayed in.
Hundreds, sometimes thousands of miles separated us.
But we never lost touch.
Now, we're finally in the same place again.
It's amazing having my best friend so close again.
Until I make the mistake of kissing him after a bad breakup.

Sawyer

For ten years, timing has never been on our side.
Even now when I get stationed at the same base Blaire works at, she's with someone else.
Until the jerk breaks her heart.
I'm the first person she turns to.
Then she kisses me.
After years of waiting, it's everything I thought it'd be and more.
I thought I was in love before, but now I know for sure.
Blaire is the one for me.
But that kiss spooked her and now she's avoiding me.
She's my best friend and the love of my life.
I'll do whatever it takes to prove to her that we belong together.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jackie M. Wallick
• Release date: Aug 15, 2020
• ISBN: 9798223867920

Book preview

1

BLAIRE

Still a strawberry kind of girl, huh? Sawyer, my best friend of ten years, asks me. Midnight milkshakes are a cornerstone of our friendship. Even when we were separated for years at a time, we kept the tradition going strong through FaceTime.

I hold my glass goblet up in toast. "Always a strawberry kind of girl."

It feels so good to finally have my best friend close by again. For years, our friendship has survived through text and phone conversations. I’m pretty sure the thing I missed most was texting him to go with me on a late night milkshake run at Dani’s Diner.

Midnight milkshakes have solved many a problem for the both of us, from relationships, family conflicts, and major decisions.

When Sawyer and I first met, we were both in the Army. For me, that feels like a lifetime ago. I did my four-year commitment and got out just after I turned twenty-two. But Sawyer is going on twelve years, and has been all over the world because of it. He’s only stationed here for the next four years, but I’m still excited to have him close by while I can.

Are you sure you can’t come to the lake this weekend? I give him my best pouty face, but all it does is make his eyes sparkle. I still can’t believe the man isn’t married with a couple of kids. I know he’s always wanted that.

Got a training exercise that starts Saturday afternoon, he says, stirring a straw around his chocolate shake. "Plus, I don’t know how much your boyfriend will appreciate my company."

Sawyer and Brett haven’t met yet, but not because I’m trying to keep them apart. Sawyer’s just been busy, getting settled in and everything. I even took the day off work to help him get his household goods unpacked into his rented house. They could’ve met when Sawyer picked me up, but Brett was already dead to the world and not answering my text messages. Having a boyfriend who works graveyards for a security company puts a damper on a lot of introductions.

"I want you to meet him."

You sure about that?

Over the years, we’ve always vetted each other’s significant others. I can’t remember a single boyfriend that Sawyer actually approved of, but that’s not surprising. My choice in men won’t win me any awards anytime soon. He’s a good one. I promise.

I’m pinning a lot of hopes on this weekend out at the lake. It holds the potential to take our relationship to the next level. I don’t think Brett is quite ready to pop the question, but I think he’s ready to move in together. I’ve hinted at it a few times, and I think he’s finally ready to give me a key.

You say that…

Oh, come on. Like you’ve dated any great women yourself, mister. On the flip side of this, I’ve never really liked anyone Sawyer dated either. He’s a great guy, and it’s entirely possible my standards for the perfect woman he deserves are impossibly high. But I stand by them. I’ve seen one too many take advantage of him.

When Sawyer and I first met, we were both