Page 7 of CJ

“Hug?”

“I’m so humiliated,” she cried, falling into his chest.

“It can’t be that bad. I’m sure you’ve done nothing wrong,” he said, gently rubbing her back.

She continued to cry into his chest, and he backed her into her living room, closing the door behind them. He sat her down on the sofa and went into the kitchen, searching for a cup and tea bags. Starting the kettle, he placed the tea bag into a cup and, a few moments later, set it down in front of her.

“Oh, my gosh, that’s the sweetest thing ever,” she said, crying harder. CJ laughed, shaking his head.

“You’re killing me here, Jill. I don’t handle crying women very well, but I’ll do whatever I can for you. What can I do to help?” She sniffed, pulling back from him. He handed her the tea, and she took a sip.

“You’re doing it,” she smiled through red eyes. “The stupid thing is, I’m not really shocked by this, and in a weird way, I’m not mad that it happened. I knew something was wrong, and I had a weird feeling he might be seeing someone else. What hurts is that he was seeing her on the side. She’s pregnant! A teammate’s widow!”

“Yeah, I overheard that,” he lied. He didn’t want to tell her that he knew. It might hurt her even more, telling her that others knew as well. “I have to say that rubs me all kinds of wrong. I hate that he hurt you. Fucking seriously hate it.”

She stared at him, tilting her head. He looked pissed, and she was trying to figure out why without hoping for too much.

“Why? I mean, why are you mad? You didn’t do anything. He didn’t do anything to you, and we’ve only just met a few weeks ago.”

“Look, Jill, this won’t make any sense to you, and it’s probably going to freak you out big time, but in my family, we tend to know pretty quickly when someone is right for us. When I saw you with him, I thought my family genes had skipped over me,” he smirked. “But I kept seeing you and your beautiful face and that damn smile. Every time we spoke, I knew in my gut that there was a colossal mistake in the universe. You and I were meant to be together. Please don’t run.”

CJ stood, pushing his hands through his hair. Jill just stared at him, shocked at his admission of feelings for her but also at her own excitement hearing him say it.

“I know this is shitty timing. I damn sure never planned for it to happen this way. I’m sorry,” he said, shaking his head.

“No. I mean, yes. God, what I mean is yes, it feels like shitty timing, but the truth is, CJ, I watch you every day walking out to your car and walking back, and every day, I try to time my departure or arrival accordingly. Maybe I’m as guilty as Tim.”

“No,” he said, sitting beside her once again. He took her hand in his and loved the feeling of her soft skin. Her nails were painted a light blush pink. Neatly trimmed. “No, it doesn’t make you guilty of anything other than being human. Maybe you knew that you and Tim weren’t right for one another.”

She leaned back on the sofa, her head resting on the back. Looking up, she slowly closed her eyes and let out a long breath.

“I think I just believed if we dated this long, lived together, the next logical step was marriage. I should have known something was wrong after he decided not to move in fully, keeping his apartment in Norfolk.”

“Why is a Ranger in Norfolk?” he asked.

“I-I don’t know,” she said, sitting up again. “I mean. I don’t know.”

“It doesn’t matter. Is everything of his gone?”

“I think so. It looks like he took everything before I even got home. He must have been making trips in and out all week, and I didn’t notice. Again, not saying a lot for my observational skills.”

“Listen, why don’t I order us some Chinese food, and we can just sit and talk,” smiled CJ.

“Can I take a rain check? I just need to get things sorted out here first, CJ. I want to, please believe me. But can we do it later this week?”

“Definitely,” he smiled. He stood, and she walked him to the door. When he turned, he placed a soft kiss on her cheek, giving her one more hug. “I know it doesn’t feel like it now, but everything is going to work out. I promise.”

“I wish I had your confidence,” she whispered.

“You know where to find me if you need me,” he smiled.

She watched as he went into his own condo, then closed and locked her door. Turning, she stared at the empty space and shook her head. She realized two things.

She wasn’t as angry as she thought she’d be, and all she could think about was the man behind the door next to her.

CHAPTER FOUR

For the next two weeks, CJ checked in on Jill every single day. He brought her coffee, Thai food, picked up her dry cleaning, anything she needed. They sat for hours in the evenings talking about anything and everything, mostly ridiculous things like music or movies.

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