My Broken Soldier (Love Conquers Life Book 2) by Alison Mello Page B

takes my bag and says, “Come on, let’s get upstairs.”
    We get to the front of the building and the doorman grins and says, “Good evening, Mr. Montgomery.”
    Carter gives him a warm smile. “Good evening.”
    We walk through the door, and now I’m getting nervous that he’s going to be mad that we did this. It isn’t like his house is packed with people, but still. I have no idea how he’ll react to this.
    We’re approaching his apartment door when he slows way down. “What’s wrong, Carter?”
    He pauses. “I don’t remember anything from the day I left here.”
    “Okay, so what are you afraid of?” I ask him so I can hopefully calm him down. He looks like he’s going to have a panic attack.
    “I don’t know. I guess I’m nervous about what I’m going to find on the other side of that door.” His voice is trembling.
    “Carter, look at me, honey,” I say in a soft voice. “Your parents were here when you left right?” He nods at me. “So, do you think that if there was a mess in there they would let you come home to it?” I can see he’s thinking about it.
    “I guess not.” He takes a deep breath. “You’re probably right. Everything's probably fine.”
    I grin at him. “I know I am. It’s okay, let’s go in.”
    He narrows his eyes at me. “Are you up to no good?”
    “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I’m stifling my grin, and he’s reading me like an open book.
    He chuckles and opens the door. Our family and friends shout, “Welcome home!”
    They all hug him and tell them how happy they are he’s back. My poor man is blushing, and I think it’s so cute. After greeting everyone, he says, “Will you excuse us while we put our stuff away?”
    Everyone says sure, and we walk out of the room with our bags in hand and deposit them in the bedroom. As soon as we get through the door, I drop my bag and start to make my way back out to our guests.
    He snags my arm and says, “Where do you think you’re going?” He pulls me toward him so our bodies collide. The he presses his lips to mine and says, “Thank you. This was a sweet surprise.”
    “It was Derek and Bella’s idea. I made their day by telling them that we were coming home today.”
    “Well, thank you for helping them get it together. It’s nice to see everyone under better circumstances.”
    I kiss him. “Come on, our guests are waiting.”
    We walk back out into the living room. Thanks to his parents, a ton of food is set up buffet-style on the snack bar. They’ve gone way overboard. There’s a meat platter for sandwiches, chips, and a huge variety of hot appetizers.
    My father says to me, “So, how was the lake house? Did you get some writing done?”
    “I did,” I say, debating if I should tell him what happened this weekend. If I tell him, then he’ll definitely say that he knew it wasn’t safe for me to be out there alone and he’ll make sure I have some sort of security going forward. If I don’t tell him, then he’ll be mad.
    “Patty, I can see you internally debating. What aren’t you telling me?” My father gives me a look that says, spill it .
    I sigh. “I wish I didn’t read like an open book sometimes.”
    “Well, you do, so what happened?”
    “Nothing, thanks to Carter having perfect timing.” His brows shoot up. “Mom told Ben I was at the lake house. He came up and barged in to show me how much he loved me, or at least that’s what he told me.” I sigh. “Carter rushed in and stopped him from doing anything. He had already called the cops, so they arrived shortly after he took him down.”
    “Why the hell would she tell him you were at the lake house?” My father says in total fury.
    “Apparently he has something on her. He told me she owed him and her debt wouldn’t be paid until we were back together. I tried to get him to tell me what she owed him for, but he wouldn’t say.” I look at Carter, who walks over and places his arm around me. “I didn’t have a