Finding Carly, page 13
Carly was practically sweating by the time she’d finished speaking, but it felt good to stand up to Luke. She’d tried to make the man like her for way too long, and it was freeing to finally not give a shit what he thought of her.
Luke took a step toward her, and Kenna said, “Do it, asshole. I dare you.” She was holding her phone up, obviously filming.
He glared at them both and scowled. “You aren’t worth the effort,” he said.
“Come on,” Rebecca said, tugging on his arm.
“I’m guessing he treats you like shit,” Carly said in a slightly more subdued tone. “Get out now while you can. Before he ruins your life.”
“Shut up, bitch!” Luke growled. He turned to his girlfriend and pushed her hard enough to make her stumble. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”
He left his cart right there at the end of the aisle as he stomped off, with Rebecca protesting about leaving their groceries.
“What a fucking dickhead,” Kenna said, lowering her phone.
Carly couldn’t stop herself from throwing her arms around her friend. She wanted to thank her for standing up for her. For being there. For being smart enough to film their encounter, thus making Luke think twice about whatever he might have done to her. She also needed Kenna’s support so she didn’t fall into a puddle right there in the middle of the store.
“You’re okay,” Kenna soothed, holding onto her tightly. She obviously felt her shaking. They stood there in each other’s arms for at least a minute before Carly felt as if she wouldn’t fall on her face if she let go.
Taking a deep breath, she did her best to get control over her emotions. “That was kind of fun.”
Kenna grinned. “It was, wasn’t it?”
“And Elizabeth was right, pretending you aren’t scared does kind of work.”
“You were amazing,” Kenna praised. “I bet it felt good too, didn’t it?”
“It totally did,” Carly agreed. “I used to tiptoe around him because I so desperately wanted him to like me. And getting along with him made Shawn happy. Well, not happy, but you know what I mean. Not worrying about what Luke thought of me and saying what I was thinking felt awesome.”
“He’s a dick,” Kenna said.
“Yup. It’s gonna suck having to tell Jag about this. I’m sure he’s going to want me to call Detective Lee too.”
“Which will probably mean the attention Luke’s getting from the cops will increase, which in turn will piss him off more,” Kenna said.
“No doubt,” Carly agreed. Then she shook her head in amazement. “I can’t believe I’m not a complete basket case right now. If this happened even a few weeks ago, I would’ve probably needed to be carted away and sedated.”
“Would it be weird for me to tell you how much I love you right now?” Kenna asked.
Carly grinned. “Nope.”
“Good. I love you, Carly. You’re amazing.”
“I think the same about you,” Carly told her. They smiled at each other.
“Come on, let’s finish up shopping and get you home. You need to get on with seducing Jag.”
Carly almost choked. “Um, what?”
“You guys have been tiptoeing around each other for months. You need to get on with things already.”
“How do you know we haven’t?” Carly asked.
“Because you would’ve told me about it by now,” Kenna said as they headed up another aisle.
Carly wrinkled her nose. Her friend was probably right. “You don’t think it’s too fast?”
Kenna raised both brows and looked at her incredulously.
Laughing, Carly said, “Right, little miss, ‘I married my man two-point-three seconds after I met him.’”
Kenna giggled. “It wasn’t quite that bad.”
It was Carly’s turn to look incredulous now.
“But seriously…our SEALs move fast when they find the woman they want to spend the rest of their lives with, because they know how short our time on earth really is. As much as I hate to even think about it, what they do is crazy dangerous. They could die on any of their missions. They don’t fuck around when it comes to tying their women to them permanently. So no, you aren’t moving too fast at all. If anything, I’d say you and Jag have moved slowly. You were actually friends before anything else.”
She was right. Carly felt as if Jag had gotten to know her pretty well over the previous months, but she didn’t feel as if she knew him all that well. She knew he was dependable, protective, a little bossy. Knew he smelled absolutely amazing and that sleeping next to him every night made her feel safe and secure. He liked pizza and sushi, but hated pineapples and mangos…which was amusing, since he lived in Hawaii.
“Yeah,” Carly said after realizing she hadn’t responded to Kenna’s last comment.
Her friend just chuckled. “There’s no timetable on love,” she said after a moment. “Everyone’s relationship is different. I want you to be happy, Carly, and I think Jag does that for you.”
“He does,” Carly agreed.
“So just go with the flow. I’m not surprised Jag moved you in. It seems to be a pattern with the guys on his team. But if you want to just be friends with him, that’s okay. You have to do what’s right for you.”
“I don’t want that,” Carly said without hesitation. “I just…I don’t want him to be with me because he feels responsible for me.”
“Talk to him,” Kenna urged. “There’s been a lot going on with your life, and with his, recently. My suggestion is to tell him what you want. Open up. You want sex? I think you’re going to have to make the first move. He’s been in this weird friendship role for a while now, and he probably doesn’t know exactly how to change the status quo. It’s obvious he wants you, the chemistry between you is off the charts. You just need to give him the green light to move forward.”
Just the thought of Jag doing more than holding her at night made Carly squirm. She wanted that. A lot. And Kenna was probably right. Jag had been her friend, her lifeline, for so long, he was probably leery of doing something that might scare her. She’d even had to initiate their first kiss. “You’re right,” she said.
“I know,” Kenna said smugly. “Come on, let’s finish up here. I’m guessing Luke and his girlfriend are probably gone, but I’m not all that keen on having another confrontation with them anytime soon.”
Carly shivered. She wasn’t either.
They finished the rest of their shopping and checked out. There was no sign of Luke, thank goodness. But when they were putting the grocery bags into Kenna’s Chevy Malibu, Carly glanced to her right—and was shocked to see Beau Langford. Another one of Shawn’s best friends.
“Holy shit, I can’t believe this,” she muttered.
“What?” Kenna asked.
“Over there, to our right,” Carly said, gesturing in Beau’s direction with her head.
“Who? What? The guy over there at the over-the-top sports car? What is that, a Corvette?”
“I guess. And yes. That’s Beau Langford.”
“Am I supposed to know who that is?” Kenna asked.
“Yes!” Carly hissed. “I mean no.” She took a breath. “That’s one of Shawn’s friends. One of the men I told the detective might be involved in Shawn’s kidnapping plot.”
“Holy shit. I can’t believe this. What are the odds of running into two suspects on the same day, in the same place?” Kenna asked. “Get in the car,” she ordered.
“But we have to take the cart back,” Carly protested.
“I’ll do it. Get in.”
Carly did as her friend ordered. She felt like a coward, but standing up to Luke was all she could manage for one day. She kept her eye on Beau, but he didn’t even look in her direction. He put his own groceries into his trunk, then shut it. Carly hadn’t even seen him in the store, but it was obvious he’d been there.
By the time Kenna opened her door and climbed in, Beau was backing out of his parking spot. Just when Carly thought he’d been totally oblivious to her presence, he turned his head and met her gaze.
Time seemed to stop as they stared at each other. For a second, Beau looked as if he didn’t recognize her. Then his lip curled into a scowl, and he put his car in drive and drove away as fast as he could.
“Okay, I know the island is small, but this is ridiculous,” Kenna bitched as she started the engine.
Carly didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, so she settled on simply shaking her head. “Right? This feels like some sort of immersion therapy or something. Who’s next? Wes? Shawn’s landlord? His ex?”
“No. Next is no one,” Kenna said. “Next is you going home, telling Jag about your tough day—and how amazing you did being out and about by yourself—then putting it all behind you and telling your man that you want to jump his bones.”
Carly burst out laughing. God, Kenna always seemed to know just what to say. “Right,” she said sarcastically.
“I’m serious,” Kenna protested.
“I want him, I can’t lie about that, but I kinda like how things are between us right now. They’re…comfortable.”
“There’s more to life than being comfortable,” Kenna said.
“I know, but for now, it’s what I need,” Carly told her friend.
“Okay. But when you’re ready to get out of that comfort zone, I’m sure he’ll be ready too.”
Carly nodded. Kenna had more experience when it came to relationships than she did, but because she’d been such a bad judge of character in the past, she was liking the way things were with her and Jag right now. “And…for the record…I’m not out and about by myself today.”
“You know what I meant,” Kenna said, waving her hand dismissively. “Without Jag by your side. I know firsthand how our men can be a crutch. It’s hard to worry about anything when they’re with us. And you coming out with me today, and trusting me to have your back, means the world.”
She smiled at her friend. She knew exactly what Kenna meant about their men being crutches. It was part of the reason she’d forced herself to say yes when Kenna asked her to go to the store. It was scary, but Carly didn’t want to cower in her apartment anymore.
The ride back to Jag’s complex didn’t take very long and, to her relief, she didn’t see any more of Shawn’s buddies. Kenna parked and helped Carly carry her bags up to Jag’s apartment. He lived on the sixth floor, and his building was much safer than hers.
“I’ll see you tomorrow?” Kenna asked.
“Same time?”
“Yup. Mark and I’ll be here around noon.”
Mark was the former Marine and all-around badass who drove them to work. “Sounds good,” Carly said.
“Talk to Jag,” Kenna ordered.
“I will.”
“Good. See you tomorrow.”
Carly watched out the window facing the parking lot until Kenna got into her car and drove off, then began putting away the groceries she’d bought. It felt good having money in her bank account again. It wasn’t much, but it was a start. She didn’t want to mooch off Jag, though he’d said he had no problem paying for food, since he had to eat too.
Sitting on the couch after she was done, Carly stared off into space as she thought about the day. Seeing Luke, and Beau, had been stressful…but she was beginning to think she’d overreacted.
She used to believe that someone had to be waiting to pick up Shawn from the beach. Of course he had to have an escape plan. But Detective Lee had worked his ass off to try to come up with leads on someone, anyone, with no luck. Even the amazing Baker, who Carly still hadn’t met, hadn’t found any concrete evidence against anyone yet.
It really was beginning to look like she’d overreacted. All those months of hiding out, of feeling like she was being watched, of feeling her skin crawl when she left her apartment, just might’ve been her imagination.
Carly wasn’t going to be like one of those stupid women in horror movies who recklessly put herself in danger, but she felt some of the dread that had lingered within her for months slowly begin to slip away.
She wanted the old Carly back. The woman she’d been before Shawn had started trying to beat her down. She resolved to purge him from her life and mind once and for all. She wasn’t the stupid, useless person he’d tried to make her into. She was Carly Stewart. Smart, funny, and a damn good catch for someone.
And she wanted that someone to be Jag.
Smiling, she rested her head on the back of the couch and hugged a throw pillow to her chest. Jag was her friend. He’d said they were dating, but she didn’t really feel like they were quite yet. They’d kissed that one day, but never since. Yes, he touched her all the time, and they held hands when they went anywhere…but she practically did that with Kenna.
She wanted more, even if she didn’t want to just jump into bed with him.
Which was somewhat amusing, since she’d done that already. Sleeping with him every night was one of the highlights of her life right now. But she didn’t want to ruin what they had by throwing sex into the mix prematurely.
Kenna was right. She needed to talk to Jag. Get to know him better. When the time was right, they’d make love, she had no doubt. But until that moment, Carly vowed to be a better girlfriend. To talk to her man.
Chapter Twelve
Jag smiled the second he entered his apartment. Carly was in the kitchen, leaning over to put a pan into the oven.
She stood up and turned, gifting him with a huge smile of her own.
His breath hitched. She was so damn pretty. He’d been told all his life that he was handsome, but inside, he never really felt as if he was anything special. He even sometimes wished that he looked different…fatter, uglier…maybe if he did, his life would’ve been different. He’d never cared about physical looks, his or anyone else’s. Just because someone was pleasing to the eye didn’t mean they were a good person.
But the longer he knew Carly, the more in awe he became. Her blonde hair fell in waves around her shoulders and her blue eyes seemed to sparkle. She was wearing a pair of leggings that showed off her curvy legs and an oversized T-shirt. He hadn’t ever seen her look so…relaxed.
“Jag! You’re home,” she said happily.
He strode toward the kitchen, drawn to her like a moth to a flame. He couldn’t stay away. Told himself not to alarm her, to go easy—when all he really wanted to do was take her in his arms and kiss the hell out of her. He couldn’t forget that first kiss in his car. It had blown him away…and frankly, scared him a bit. Being horny and lusting after a woman wasn’t like him.
“It smells great in here,” he said as he reached for her.
Carly snuggled into him without hesitation, and Jag’s heart swelled. He bent his head and inhaled her cherry blossom scent and smiled. God, he loved that. It made him think of dark nights and holding her against him as she slept.
“I made lasagna,” she said, pulling back and looking up at him. “But I have no idea if it’ll be good or not. I found the recipe online.”
“Did we have all the stuff to make lasagna?” Jag asked, his brow furrowing.
“Nope. But Kenna and I went shopping.”
Jag blinked at her. She hadn’t stepped away from him, and he had his hands looped together at the small of her back. He loved how perfectly she fit against him. He’d never been the tallest guy, but her five-foot-five frame perfectly matched his five-nine. “You went shopping?” he asked.
“Yeah. I didn’t want to, but I needed to, if that makes sense.”
Jag was proud of her, even though he had to admit, he was a little freaked out at the same time. “It does,” he managed to say.
“And before you hear about what happened from Aleck or one of the other guys, because I have no doubt Kenna’s gonna tell her husband, who will probably blab to the rest of your team…You guys are the biggest gossips in the world. I swear no one can do anything without the rest of you hearing about it within hours.”
She was babbling, which he knew was a sign of nervousness. And Jag needed her to tell him what had happened to cause those nerves. “Angel, what happened?” he asked gruffly.
“We ran into Luke and his girlfriend.”
Jag inhaled sharply. That was her worst nightmare. The thing he knew she was terrified about the most. But before he could say anything, she continued.
“And he was a jerk, but it was okay. I mean, not him being a jerk, but seeing him. I was scared, I can’t lie about that. But Kenna was right there and something in me kind of snapped when he said something about me ruining his dad’s life. I thought about what Elizabeth said…sorry, Senior Chief Petty Officer Albertson, to you. She said that sometimes pretending to be brave actually makes you feel a bit more courageous in stressful situations, and can throw off your attacker. So I told him to go fuck himself. Okay, I didn’t really say that, but that’s the point I was trying to get across. He wasn’t happy, but Kenna was filming him, so if he did anything or said anything, he knew he’d be in deep shit. So he grabbed his girlfriend and left.”
Jag stared down at the woman in his arms. There was so much he was feeling at that moment. Fury that Luke Keyes dared to infer Carly had ruined his dad’s life. What a fucking joke. Pride that Carly had stuck up for herself. Gratitude that Kenna knew just what to do to deescalate the situation. And regret that he hadn’t been there to shield Carly from the vitriol Keyes had spewed.
“Jag?” she asked, her brows furrowing as she flattened her palms on his chest. “Say something. You’re kind of worrying me here.”
“I’m having a hard time coming up with the right words to tell you how impressed I am,” Jag admitted. “I know being outside the apartment is still hard for you. And seeing Like had to be difficult. I hate that I wasn’t with you, but it sounds as if you handled the situation perfectly.”
