Keeping London (The Flawed Heart Series Book 2) by Ellie Wade

ball. I just hope I can catch it this time around.”
    —Loïc Berkeley
    I wake with a start, yet again. Quickly sitting up, I hold my hands to my head, waiting for the dizziness to subside.
    Another fucking nightmare.
    At least London didn’t have to witness this one. She went out with friends for Paige’s birthday last night. I opted just to sleep in my own bed due to the fact that I have five a.m. PT this morning. Nothing says good morning like an intense workout before the sun even comes up.
    Looking to the clock on my bedside table, the display reads 4:03 . My alarm was set to go off in a few minutes anyway. I turn the alarm switch to off and make my way toward the shower, anxious to get the nightmare sweat off of my body.
    The constant nightmares are getting real old. I seem to be having more of them lately, and most of the time, they involve Sarah.
    Stepping into the shower, I smile at the memory of London trying to get me to figure out what the pieces of artwork represented in California. I use her prompts and questions to try to figure out the dreams. They’re similar to art in that way—using imagery to represent something else. Maybe if I could resolve the deep-seated issue that’s causing them, I could make them stop.
    After showering, I get dressed in my workout clothes, and all this time, the only explanation that I can come up with is that Sarah represents loss to me. She was someone I tried to hold on to but couldn’t. I’m getting ready to leave for a war zone in a few days, and I desperately want to come home to London in a year, but I’m scared that it isn’t going to happen. I can’t pinpoint why, but every day that passes and brings me closer to leaving, that fear gets louder.
    I know, more than anyone, that just because I want something to work doesn’t mean that it will. I can want a life with London more than anything, but I’m far from guaranteed it. I just keep waiting for the ball to drop—and there will be a ball. In my life, there’s always a falling ball. I just hope I can catch it this time around.
    I grab my bag before exiting my room. I’m met in the hall by Cooper.
    “Ready, man?” he asks.
    “Yep.”
    We make our way out to my truck, and I drive toward the base. “So, tonight’s the night, right?”
    “Sure is.”
    “Your plans all set?” I ask.
    “Yeah. It’s not going to go down in the record books as the most romantic proposal of all time, but we’re about to leave. I have limited time and options at this point, and I just want to ask her before I go.”
    “What’s the plan again?”
    “Well, when she comes home from work tonight, I’m going to have hundreds of candles and rose petals all over, lining a path to the living room, where I will be waiting to ask her. I’m also going to make her a romantic dinner—lobster Alfredo, her favorite. So, don’t forget to be gone tonight.” Cooper chuckles.
    “No worries. I’ll be at London’s. Maggie’s going to eat that shit up, dude. She’s going to love it.”
    “I hope so.”
    “She will. I guarantee she’ll be a blubbering mess. But, seriously, that girl would marry you if you put a ring in a Big Mac container and handed it to her. She doesn’t care.”
    “Uh, a Big Mac? Why didn’t I think of that?” Cooper asks sarcastically.
    “Sorry, you’ll have to go with your plan. I called the Big Mac box.”
    “Wow, never heard you even joke about getting married someday,” Cooper says seriously.
    I just shrug as a response.
    I hear the warmth in Cooper’s voice as he says, “I’m happy for you, man. London’s great.”
    “Yeah, she is,” I agree.

    “Hey, baby.” I find London sitting in her room, typing away on her laptop, obviously deep into one of her articles.
    She looks up to me, and her eyes widen in surprise. “Hey! You got out early.”
    She stands from her desk chair as I reach her, and I pull her into a hug.
    “What are you writing about?” I question, holding her in my