Jen smiled. “So no, I’m not angry with you. And hell no, I’m not dumping you. I was strong enough to deal with my psycho ex, and I’m definitely strong enough to be in this relationship with you.”
Before she could blink, Cash tugged her into his arms again and kissed the living daylights out of her. His lips were firm, his tongue insistent, his beard growth prickly as it scraped her chin. The kiss robbed her of breath and made her heart pound, and when they broke apart, the relief in Cash’s eyes was unmistakable.
“You mean it, right? You’re okay that I wasn’t here when you needed me? Because it could happen again, sweetheart. The military is my life. I will be gone at times.”
She traced his mouth with her fingers. “I know. And I can handle that. We can make this work.” She paused. “And anyway, you won’t be the only traveling partner in this relationship.”
He cocked a brow. “Oh really?”
“Uh-huh. In fact, I’m flying to Lake Tahoe Wednesday morning. It’s just a day trip, but it still counts as travel, right?”
“Is this your way of telling me you got the job?” he teased.
“Yep.”
Jen yelped when Cash lifted her off her feet and hugged her. His happiness was contagious, making her forget about this morning’s terrifying showdown with Brendan and reminding her of all the incredible things she had going in her life at the moment.
“I knew you’d get it,” he said gruffly.
Her heart constricted as he bent down to capture her lips in another deep kiss that left her tingling in all the right places.
“I’m so damn proud of you, sweetheart,” he went on, sweeping his thumb over her lower lip. “I believed in you from the start, and I’m glad you’re finally believing in yourself.”
“I am,” she agreed softly. Emotion clogged her throat. “And even more than that, I believe in you, Cash. I believe in us.”
Chapter Fifteen
Carson paced Jen’s living room carpet, distress creasing his forehead. “What if she doesn’t come?” he said for the tenth time in the last five minutes.
“She just texted saying she’s on her way,” Jen reminded him.
He kept pacing. “What if she sees my car and realizes it’s an ambush?”
“You parked at the grocery store around the corner,” Cash spoke up. “She won’t see your car.”
“But what if she stops to buy groceries?” He sounded anguished. “Fuck. She’s not going to come.”
With a sigh, Jen rose from the couch and marched over to her brother. Cash stayed seated, watching her with an amused expression on his gorgeous face. For a second, she was tempted to flop right back on the couch and kiss that sexy mouth of his, but she reined in the impulse. Besides, she and Cash had done plenty of kissing over the past two days—surely they could afford to take a short break to help her brother.
Clapping both hands on Carson’s shoulders, she fixed him with a stern look. “Chill the fuck out. Holly is on her way here. Any second now, she’ll knock on the door and—”
The knock came as if on cue.
Jen gave those broad shoulders a reassuring squeeze. “See?”
His Adam’s apple bobbed. “How do I look?”
She swept her gaze over his perfectly starched dress whites, the blond hair he’d slicked back with care, the clean-shaven jaw and familiar blue eyes, the same shade as her own.
“You look as handsome as ever,” she said softly.
Saying a silent prayer that Holly wouldn’t bolt the second she saw Carson, Jen walked to the front hall and opened the door to let Holly in. “Hey. Thanks for coming,” she told her sister-in-law.
Holly’s low ponytail fell over one dainty shoulder as she followed Jen inside. “It’s no problem. You sounded so upset over the phone. I still can’t believe you broke up with Cash! I thought you said the two of you were—Carson?”
The brunette stopped in her tracks when she spotted her husband. She immediately turned to Jen with a wary look. “What’s going on?” Then she noticed Cash sitting on the sofa, and the wariness deepened. “You two didn’t break up, did you?”
Jen smiled sheepishly. “No.”
Carson took a step toward his wife, his nervousness clearly etched into his face. “Hey, Hol.”
Holly frowned at her husband. “Why are you in uniform?”
“I figured it was appropriate.” He shot her a faint smile. “I was wearing this uniform the night of Garrett and Shelby’s wedding, remember? When we ran into each other again after you abandoned me in a supply closet.”
After a beat, Holly smiled back. “I never thought I’d see you again after that night at the club.” Her green eyes glimmered with humor before going dull again. “But what does that night have to do with right now?”
As the pair eyed each other, Jen edged away, wanting to give them privacy. Cash did the same—he’d already risen from the sofa and was creeping toward the bedroom.
But her brother stopped them before they could make their escape. “Stay,” he said hoarsely. “I might as well grovel in front of an audience.”