by KB Winters
He locked eyes with me. “Trust me, I would take very good care of her.”
Chapter Two
Holly
I was still buzzing with excitement an hour later when I headed up to the Rosen Air Museum with the two dogs in tow to visit Jack at work. Since getting back, he’d transitioned into the life of a Naval Reserve Officer and his oldest friend, Aaron Rosen, had offered him a job flying tourists up and down the Californian coast from his air museum that sat on top of a bluff overlooking the ocean. Aaron’s father had started the museum and left it to his son when he passed away. Since Aaron’s takeover, he’d expanded from a hangar full of old planes to a full-scale museum complete with two realistic flight simulation pods, a second wing of exhibits, and built an airstrip to do aerial tours. He was in escrow on his second property and would be launching a second museum within the next twelve months. Jack loved flying, so it seemed like a natural fit for him to work at the air museum. Especially since it meant getting to hang out with his best friend all day.
Princess and Hunter led the way as soon as we entered the museum and I didn’t even have a chance to stop and make small talk with Lola, the girl who worked the ticket desk on the weekends, before the dogs were dragging me to the large shop at the back of the museum. I pushed through the door and spotted Aaron and Nick bent over a table that had several layers of blueprint pages spread across its surface. Princess barked and they both jolted upright.
“Hey, Holly.” Aaron dropped a pen to the table and came over to see us. Nick stayed at the table but offered a smile and a wave. “And of course, Princess and Hunty. What are you three up to today?”
I returned Nick’s friendly wave and then smiled at Aaron as he knelt down and scratched Princess’s ears. “Just out for a walk and thought we’d come crash the party over here.”
Aaron ruffled the tuft of fur on Hunter’s head and pushed up to his feet. “Boomer’s out on a tour. He just left so it might be another forty minutes or so. We’ve been jammed all day.”
My eyebrows knit together and I dropped a look at my watch. “Don’t you guys have to get going?”
Aaron rubbed the back of his neck. “Get going? Where to? Trust me, we’ve got more than enough shit to do around here.”
I looked past his shoulders to the open hangar door as a surge of anger rose inside me. “Jack said something about an auction. He said you guys were going to Modesto or somewhere.”
Aaron walked across the room to where a desk, disguised as a mountain of paperwork, sat. A huge calendar hung above it with notes in multiple colors scrawled all over the boxes. It was to the point that there was barely any white space showing through the mess. Aaron dragged a finger along the glossy surface and came away shaking his head. “Nope. Not on the calendar. Maybe he was thinking of next Sunday. I was gonna steal him for a run to LA.”
I pasted on a placid smile and tossed my long blonde ponytail over my shoulder. “That’s probably what it was.”
“You wanna leave him a note or something?” Aaron offered.
I shook my head. “No, thanks. Just let him know I look forward to seeing him at dinner.”
Aaron gave me a strange look but nodded as he slipped his hands into his pockets. “You got it.”
I turned away, tugging at the leashes in my hand. “And tell that gorgeous fiancée of yours that we need to get together soon!”
Aaron smiled—the same giddy look he always got whenever Gemma was brought up in conversation—and waved. “Will do. See you later, Holls.”
“Bye, guys,” I replied, waving at Aaron and Nick before leaving the shop.
****
Hours later, the smell of ricotta cheese, and fresh marinara sauce swirled together with the mouth-watering aroma of fresh baked garlic bread as I poured my frustration into making a homemade feast of ravioli. Not that Jack deserved it. My anger at his lie had faded over the afternoon and at some point, I’d decided it would be better to channel my energy into making him the best dinner of his life and reminding him why it was nice to come home for dinner. But even as I lost myself in the process, I couldn’t fully move past the idea that he lied to me and if I hadn’t gone to the museum and talked to Aaron, he’d be off somewhere by himself for dinner. And why? If given the choice to be home or be off by himself for the night, why would he choose to be alone? Were things that bad? And why lie about it?
There was one dark and disturbing theory brewing in the back of my mind, but I refused to give it much attention. Over the course of our relationship, I’d been incredibly diligent to keep my history from influencing my current reality. I’d already been divorced once before and struggled to keep my haunting past from damaging my chances at my happily ever after. I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jack was nothing like my ex-husband but this new lie was starting to chip away at the wall of security and trust I’d painstakingly built around us.
The timer on the oven went off, signaling the bread was done, and jolted me from my mental wanderings. I shoved my hands into a pair of oven mitts and opened the oven door. Moments later, the front door shut and Princess and Hunter started howling. A flicker of panic washed over me but I shoved it down and fixed a pleasant smile on my face as I set the steaming bread on the island.
Jack appeared, still in his jacket. “Smells good in here. I could smell the bread halfway up the street.” Princess and Hunter danced around his feet and he sighed. “Come on, guys.” He threw open the back door and they raced outside into the backyard.
“I thought I’d do something special since we haven’t had dinner together in a while,” I said calmly. I went to the stove and stirred the sauce as it simmered in a large stock pot. “Did Aaron tell you I stopped by?”
Jack moved to the counter and planted his hands on the smooth surface. He sagged forward and exhaled long and hard. “Holly, listen—”
I whipped around, the spoon still in my hand. “Don’t. Please. I shouldn’t have brought it up.”
Jack pushed off the counter and shrugged out of his jacket. “I got my dates mixed up. That’s all.”
Tears blurred my vision as I turned back to the sauce on the stove. I flicked the burner off and set the wooden spoon in the rest between the two back burners. “You’d tell me, right?”
“Tell you what?”
I steeled myself with a deep breath and then slowly turned around. I met Jack’s dark eyes and searched for a sign of the light and glow that used to be there when he saw me. The memory of the photo on my desk struck another blow and the tears built back up again. “You’d tell me if you didn’t want to do this,” I said, barely able to raise my voice above a scratchy whisper. “You’d tell me if you didn’t want to get married.”
“Holly.” Jack’s expression melted and he rushed toward me. “What would even make you ask something like that? Of course I want to get married.” He rounded the counter and gathered me against his chest. His hand went through the strands of my ponytail as it hung down my back.
“Then why won’t you set a date? You get so weird about it every time I even hint at it, and it feels like you’ve been avoiding me. Or the house. I’m not sure which.”
Jack sighed deeply. “Baby, I’m not trying to avoid you. I told you, I got the dates mixed up. If you saw the calendar at work you would understand.”
“I did see it.”
“Okay, well, there ya go. Aaron scribbles all over that thing and then he’s got Lana running around spouting off ideas and dates and appointments.”
I wanted to believe him. He was right about the calendar, but he was leaving out the part that he was a detail man to the nth degree. He knew everything about everything and somehow kept track of it all. Of the two of them, Aaron was the big picture man and Jack was the one who would actually get shit handled. It was hard for me to believe that he’d simply mixed up the dates. And somewhere underneath that disbelief was the ugly question I didn’t want to outright ask myself. Would he have come home once he realized it was a mistake?
/> He let go of me and I went back to the stove to dish up dinner. “Let’s just eat dinner.”
“Holly…”
“It’s fine, Jack. It was just a mistake, like you said.”
He sighed. “We’ll set a date as soon as I have a job.”
I turned to look at him. “You have a job.”
One of the dogs scratched at the back door and Jack moved to open it. Princess and Hunter thundered back into the house, leaving sandy paw prints on the hard wood floors as they bounded into the living room and chased each other around the coffee table. Jack swore loudly as he chased after them. “Knock it off, guys!”
I ignored the chaos and took the garlic bread and salad bowl to the dining table. By the time I had glasses and a bottle of wine on the table Jack had the dogs in their kennels so they wouldn’t beg all through dinner and had swept up the sand.
“You know that me working for Aaron is a temporary thing,” he said, picking up where we’d left off.
“No, actually, I didn’t know that.” I stopped what I was doing and turned around to face him. “Does Aaron know that?”
A guilty look crossed Jack’s face.
I took that as a no.
“It’s complicated,” Jack continued. “Aaron is so busy with the expansion that he hasn’t had much of a chance to breathe. I don’t want to dump this on him. Besides, nothing else has panned out yet so it’s not important. I’ll tell him when the time is right. He knows the museum is his thing.”
I nodded but I wasn’t entirely convinced. “What do you want to do?”
“I don’t know,” he said quietly. “For the first time in my life, I really don’t know.”
Something clicked as I watched him. I’d never seen Jack unnerved before. He was the epitome of calm, cool, and collected. It took a lot to ruffle his feathers and even in the worst situations he was always rational and calm. If the airline lost our luggage he would fill out the paperwork and tell me it was all going to work out. When Hunter had gotten sick our first month in Germany, he’d arranged a vet visit and found a taxi service that would help us without breaking a sweat. Nothing fazed him.
But looking at him across the kitchen island, I saw it. The first sign of a crack in his bulletproof armor. Right under the surface, he was freaking the fuck out.
And I didn’t know why.
Chapter Three
Jack
How could Holly think that I didn’t want to marry her? I’d heard the question and seen the words fall from her pretty lips, but I still couldn’t believe she’d asked them. Sure, I’d been a little slow on the trigger when it came to picking a venue and plunking down a non-refundable deposit check, but that didn’t mean I was ready to call the whole damned thing off. She was wearing my ring, wasn’t she? Didn’t that count for anything?
She had to know I was crazy about her. From the second we’d met, I was hooked. How could she not see that? Hell, in Germany I got heckled by the guys on a weekly basis. They called me pussy-whipped every Friday as I rushed off base to go pick her up. I didn’t care. I wanted to be with her. Had things really changed that much?
“If you don’t want to work for Aaron then what do you want to do? You don’t want to go back on active duty, do you?”
The tone of her voice made it clear that it wasn’t an option. Holly was a trooper during our time overseas in Germany, but she’d made it clear that once we got home, she was ready to settle down and plant some roots. That was what was important to her. I’d bought her a ring and proposed to her to show I was ready to settle down and make her dreams come true. And I still was. But I needed time. I didn’t want to stand there and promise to give her the world on a silver platter when my world was such a fucking disaster.
Holly turned back to the stove and I watched her back as she opened cupboards, brought down plates and glasses, and went about finishing up the dinner preparations. My self-loathing grew with each passing second. God, when had I turned into such a dick?
I hurried forward and reached her in time to swipe a pair of wine glasses from her fingertips. She met my eyes as I set them on the counter and my stomach plummeted. She was so damn beautiful. I didn’t deserve her. Not like this. “Holly,” I whispered, reaching a finger up to trace the soft lines of her face. Her honey-blonde hair was tied back in a low ponytail and my fingers ached to run through the strands. “I’m sorry.”
She blinked and when her eyes opened they were glossy with unshed tears. Seeing her like that gutted me. I grabbed her and gathered her against my chest in a crushing embrace. I needed her. Wanted her. And I could feel her slipping away.
“We’ll figure it out, okay? Let me get some of this shit handled and then we’ll set the date. I promise.”
She sniffled and nodded against my chest. “Okay.”
“I love you.”
She moved her chin up until it was propped against me. Her big brown eyes met mine and a smile crossed her full lips. “I love you, too.”
Our lips met in the middle in a sweet kiss that quickly turned sultry. I hadn’t had her for what felt like forever. Our schedules hadn’t matched up and in the few times we were together, there was always something going on under the surface that prevented it. But in just a few seconds, all the excuses fell away and I wanted her. I needed to feel her soft skin against mine. I wanted to show her that she was still mine and that she always would be.
A small moan bubbled up from Holly and vibrated through the kiss. Every inch of me lit on fire at the sound and taste of her. I tugged at the buttons on her sweater and ran my hands up under the top she wore underneath it. Her skin felt like heaven. Warm and soft. She moved her hips against me and I felt her lips tug into a smile as they slid down my neck. “What about dinner?” she asked, her voice delirious and husky.
My fingers went to unbutton her jeans. The jeans that made her ass look irresistible. God, I hoped she wasn’t wearing any panties. “Fuck dinner, baby. I want you,” I growled.
Holly giggled and slid my jacket and t-shirt off. Her fingers roved over my bare torso and her eyes followed, as if she was mesmerized by the body she’d seen a hundred times before. The hungry look in her eyes got me even hornier and I impatiently tugged the jeans over her hips. Her dental-floss thin thong went next. As soon as she stepped out of them I boosted her up onto the counter. I spread her legs open and stared down at her sweet pussy. One stroke of my fingers and my breath hitched in my throat. She was soaking wet. Ready. Desperate.
Holly moaned and wiggled her hips against my hand, begging for more.
I slid a finger deep inside of her. “Fuck...” I flexed my jaw as she clenched around me.
Holly smiled and nibbled on her lower lip as she went to work on the fly of my jeans. As soon as she got the button free, I pulled away from her just long enough to tear off my pants and boxer briefs. Her hand immediately went to my thick cock and she lazily stroked the tip. A teasing glint in her eyes. “Damn it, baby, you’re such a tease” I groaned. “Get over here.”
I pulled her hips forward, balancing her on the edge of the counter. Without another word, I pushed inside her and nearly lost control on the first pulse. She fit me like a glove. Always had. But there was something even sweeter about the way she felt in the aftermath of a tense, frustrated night.
Holly wound her arms around my neck and panted into my ear as I fucked her hard and fast there against the kitchen counter. She cried out when she was close and I grinned down at her, teasing her with a couple of slow strokes before slamming back inside.
“Jack!” The sound of my name turned into a satisfied purr as she crashed over the edge. Her nails dug into my shoulder blades and with a few more thrusts, I rode the twisted sensations of pain and pleasure over the edge and came hard inside her.
We crumpled together against the counter and caught our breath. Our eyes met a moment before our lips did and by the time Holly was done with me, the fire in my belly was reignited.
Holly smirked as she traced her finge
rtips over my balls. She knew exactly what she was doing. “Should we take the next round upstairs?”
I kissed her sweet lips and mumbled, “You’re on.”
I grabbed her around the waist, lifted her up, and then swung her legs into my opposite arm, smiling as she giggled.
****
Eventually, we returned downstairs to dinner. Holly wrapped up in her black robe and me in a pair of loose fitting sweat pants and a t-shirt. “What’s the occasion?” I asked her as we stepped into the kitchen. She’d made homemade ravioli and marinara sauce. The garlic bread on the table was cold, but looked homemade as well. Holly was a kick ass cook but didn’t usually go through so much trouble for a regular weeknight dinner.
Holly moved past me and went to the stove to reheat the sauce. Her shoulders stiffened as she stirred the contents of the sauce pot.
“What is it?” I asked, moving so she could see me from her peripheral.
Her hand stilled and she glanced over at me. “I wanted to remind you why you came home for dinner. In case you were…” Her words faded and she looked back to the marinara.
I brushed my fingers against her arm. “In case I was what?” I prompted gently.
“In case you were having dinner somewhere else. With…with someone else.”
“Baby,” I said with a sigh. “Come here.”
She let me gather her against me and I kissed the top of her head. “There isn’t anyone else. There will never be anyone else. You are my lady. Now and forever, all right?”
She nodded. “I know that now.”
It stung that she’d even had room for a shadow of a doubt. I brushed her hair—now loose—out of her face and kissed her lips, letting mine linger there for an extra moment. When we broke apart she smiled up at me. “I also wanted to celebrate a little…”
“Good news?”
“Mmm-hmm,” she replied and went back to the pot of water that was rolling into a boil. She dropped a handful of the raviolis into the water and stirred them before turning back to face me. “I have a job interview.”
