“Why?”
“He didn’t want you to think he was interfering in your career. And if TW was interested, he wanted you to think you’d done it on your own. But I think trying to keep it a secret was silly,” Jane said with a shrug. “He went to great lengths to make this opportunity happen for you, and I think you deserve to know that.”
Jen’s heart constricted. As annoying it was that Cash had copied her pictures without her consent, his intentions had been anything but malicious. Hell, he clearly knew her better than she’d thought. She’d been second-guessing herself with that portfolio for days—obviously he’d decided to speed up the process.
And now, thanks to Cash, she might land a job with a magazine she’d never have dreamed of showing her work to out of fear she’d be laughed out of the prestigious building.
But Cash had believed she could do it. He’d believed in her from day one.
“I might be in the minority here, but I’m pretty sure Hot Stuff is in love with you,” Savannah said with a grin. “Like big-time in love.”
The other women nodded fervently.
“Oh yeah,” Annabelle agreed. “A man doesn’t take on the task of personally getting a girl her dream job if he doesn’t love her.”
Jen felt like someone had knocked the wind out of her. She wasn’t surprised to hear everyone’s assessment of Cash’s feelings—she already suspected how he felt. No, what startled her was the multitude of emotions swirling in her chest. She’d been trying so hard to keep an emotional distance, but who was she kidding? Her emotions had entered the picture a long time ago.
She was in love with Cash.
Her heart felt both lighter and heavier as she absorbed the truth. She loved Cash. She loved his gruff voice and toe-curling kisses and rough hands. She loved his strength and unceasing support and the way he laughed. She loved that he didn’t mind the way she stuck Post-its all over his apartment, how he grumbled every time she forgot to hang up her towel in the bathroom, his willingness to cook every time she burned something in the kitchen.
From the moment they’d met, Cash had accepted her for who she was. Supported her. Encouraged her. Introduced her to passion she’d never known.
And she knew now, without a shred of doubt, that even one day with Cash McCoy would be worth however many months without him.
“Holy shit,” she mumbled.
From her cross-legged perch on the floor, Annabelle chuckled. “You love him too.”
Jen shook her head to clear the fog from it. “Yeah, I think I do.” Amazement trickled through her. “How did that happen?”
“Love has a way of sneaking up on you.” Smiling, Savannah swiped a tortilla chip from the bowl on the coffee table and popped it in her mouth. “Same thing happened to me with Matt.”
“I wanted a casual fling. I never expected… I didn’t want to fall in love with him,” Jen said softly.
Annabelle frowned. “Why not? Cash is a great guy.”
“I know, but…” She hesitated, not wanting to talk about her military issues with a roomful of military wives and girlfriends. “I’m just blindsided, I guess. I don’t know what this means for us. I went in looking for a fling, and now…”
“I tried to have a fling once,” Holly spoke up in a faraway tone. “When Carson and I met, all I wanted was to have some fun, but that stubborn brother of yours, Jen, well, he convinced me to give a relationship a shot. And now it’s five years later, and look at us.”
Jen swallowed. “Hol—”
“Sometimes I wonder if I should have dug my heels in and left it as a fling.” Tears welled up in Holly’s alcohol-glazed eyes. “But I know that if I could do it again, I’d make the same damn decision.” She wiped her eyes with the vicious swipe of her hand. “Because no matter how infuriating he can be, I know he’s the love of my life.”
“All right. The kids are asleep and I’m ready to rob you losers of all your money,” John Garrett announced, striding into the spacious den with a baby monitor in his hand.
The den was packed with SEALs, beers and open wallets. Poker night was a twice-monthly tradition, hosted at a different house each time, and Cash looked forward to these gatherings. His teammates were damn good men. Good company too, and he felt honored to be included in what had been a tradition long before he’d come on board. Aidan Rhodes was also a recent addition to poker night, but he’d already been close to most of the guys thanks to his tight-knit friendship with O’Connor.
Sitting down, Garrett tossed the baby monitor to Becker, who placed it on the green felt poker table. “The girls went down okay?” the lieutenant commander asked.
Garrett nodded. “Fell asleep holding hands. It was pretty fucking adorable.”