by Cat Johnson
He’d said his piece, so he nodded one final farewell, grabbed his duffle, turned and left. Left the room. Left the apartment. Left his past behind him.
Will didn’t know what his future held but he knew it wasn’t with the shocked and confused woman in his bed.
He headed directly for his truck, tossed the duffle in the passenger seat and slid behind the wheel. He might end up showering and changing on base and catching a few hours of shut eye there to give Sara time to clear out of his home. But before that, he had a stop to make.
Fifteen minutes later, he stood on Jessa’s doorstep knocking and—though he hated to admit it—trying to ignore the tremble in his hand.
She didn’t answer. He knocked again, harder this time. Again, there was no response.
Jesus, was she inside hiding from him?
He finally took the time to turn around and check the cars parked nearby. Hers wasn’t among them. She wasn’t home.
Blowing out a breath, Will realized tracking down Jessa wasn’t going to be as easy as he’d assumed.
Hell, nothing about this day was turning out to be easy.
He turned back to his truck to go kill a few hours on base and try to figure out his next move.
Lately his love life made dealing with North Korea seem easy.
CHAPTER 23
Thirty-six hours later, some things had changed, and some, the really important things, remained the same.
Sara was gone again, to where he didn’t know, but she was no longer at his place when he’d finally returned.
Jessa was still MIA. He’d stopped by her apartment again yesterday afternoon and twice today, only to find her car not there and no answer to his knocking.
He was holding on to the assumption she’d gone home to visit her parents for the weekend. Will had made a deal with himself that he wouldn’t start to really worry, or do any hardcore and possibly illegal investigation into her whereabouts, until tomorrow.
That didn’t leave him much peace of mind tonight though. He wanted her. He needed her. He was falling head over heels in love with her. And he had no idea if she felt the same about him.
He was going crazy. Like an animal in a cage—except he was in his apartment and had high-speed Wi-Fi.
The one thing keeping him from contacting the commander and asking for orders to ship out immediately to Afghanistan to rejoin the team was the unresolved situation with Jessa.
Knowing one way or the other would have to be better than not knowing. Or maybe not, because right now he still had hope. Hope it was all something silly, like a lost cell phone and a trip out of town.
But if, for some reason he couldn’t fathom, she were cutting him out of her life he’d deal with it somehow. It would cut him deep, but he’d been there before and he’d survived.
The ringing of his cell—turned up to full volume so he couldn’t possibly miss hearing it—had Will diving for it on the coffee table.
The number coming through was definitely not Jessa’s. Either the guys were bothering him from Afghanistan one more time or it was his commander. Not knowing which, Will had to answer.
“Weber.”
“Hey, Wonka! What’re you up to tonight?” It was Brody Cassidy this time.
Tompkins must have passed the baton to see if Brody could get better results hounding him.
Naturally on alert when it came to his teammates and this dating app business, Will asked, “Why?”
“Damn, bud, suspicious much?”
“Yes.” Will laughed.
They’d been trying to convince him to meet the one mystery girl they’d narrowed it down to since he’d left for Fort Meade. As he’d warned them he was going to do, he refused.
The bastards were even withholding not only her name from him so he couldn’t check her out online, but the names of all three women they’d originally chosen, as well as any feedback they had on the app’s interface or glitches they’d encountered.
His supposed friends had pretty much rendered their beta test useless by refusing to turn over any results until Will agreed to go on the date. Which he was not going to do. He wanted Jessa or no one.
This whole endeavor had taught him one thing. No more beta testing apps with his friends, especially with him as the guinea pig. He’d learned his lesson.
“Wow. So cold, bro. And here I was fixin’ to ask a favor of you since me and the team are still in frigging Afghanistan while you’re stateside hob nobbing with the VP and all. But if you’re gonna be like that, forget about it.”
Will sighed. “Sorry. What do you need?”
“One of my friends got that computer thing. You know, where they lock down your files and demand money. What’s it called?”
“Ransom ware.” Will drew in a breath, wishing he had unlimited hours in the day. If he did, he’d take on those bastards too.
“Yeah. That. Well, he’s pretty freaked out about it. All his files are gone. I thought maybe if you weren’t too busy tonight you could go over and take a look. Give him some advice on what to do. I didn’t know anyone else qualified. At least no one half as good as you.”
“Sure. I can take a look.” He’d love to, actually.
Nothing fascinated Will like trying to outsmart the sons of bitches who came up with this nasty computer shit.
“Give me the address. Do you know if he’s home right now?”
“Yeah, he should be. That’d be great. Thanks so much.”
“No problem.”
Brody relayed the address and Will was in the truck with his laptop in tow in a matter of minutes, getting more excited the closer the GPS said he was to his destination.
He pulled into a neighborhood he’d never been to before not too far from where he lived. It was already dark out, but he managed to see the numbers on the doors and locate the unit Brody had given him.
Standing on the doorstep, Will rang the doorbell and waited.
He heard a lock click, then a deadbolt slide, then the door swung open and Jessa stood in the doorway. “Will. What are you doing here?”
Shocked, he said, “Me? What are you doing here?”
“I live here.”
Will frowned. “Since when?”
“I moved over a week ago.”
“So that’s why you weren’t at your old place when I stopped by.” He said it more to himself than to her as some things began to fall into place and others remained a puzzle.
“You went to my old apartment?” she asked.
“Yes.”
Four times. He kept that detail to himself.
“Why?”
Was he missing something here? What the hell kind of a question was that? They were friends. They’d slept together. She hadn’t answered his calls since. Of course he’d try to see her.
As crazy as her question was, he answered it anyway. “To see you. To talk to you.”
“Oh.” She dropped her gaze away from his then whipped it back up. “Wait.” She shook her head. “I don’t understand. If you didn’t know I’d moved, then what are you doing here?”
Yeah, that part was a little more complicated. He was still trying to work out all the details himself. All he knew for sure was that Brody—his lying, wonderful friend—was somehow involved in bringing him to Jessa’s door.
“There’s a lot we have to talk about. Can I come in?”
She hesitated and he hated that she did.
Fuck. She should be smiling to see him at her door, like she’d always done in past.
What had gone so horribly wrong? He still couldn’t figure it out.
Sara had said she’d come back because Jessa had told her to. Why would Jessa do that unless she didn’t want to be with him herself? But why would she have been with him—twice—if she wasn’t interested in him?
So many questions but at least with her right in front of him, he had a chance of getting some answers . . . if she ever let him in the door.
“Please, Jessa. Just five minutes.”
&nbs
p; Lips pressed tightly together she nodded and finally took a step back.
Will glanced at the two shiny new locks and the doorframe reinforcer as he walked through. He couldn’t help himself. It was second nature to check the security of the new home of the woman he’d fallen for. The woman who held the fate of his heart in her hands.
She closed the door behind him and stood, waiting. He didn’t waste anytime. Still standing just inside the door of what looked like a one room apartment, he said, “Jessa—”
“Will, it’s okay. I know you two are back together. She told me she was staying with you.” Jessa looked down rather than at him.
He frowned. “Me and Sara? No.”
Her eyes widened. “No?”
“I got home from an assignment and found her at my place. I told her she had to leave. But Jess, why did you tell Sara to come back to me?”
Jessa shook her head. “I didn’t tell her that at all.”
“She said you did.”
“No. I told her she was crazy for leaving you, which she was. Then she said she was leaving Jerry—again—and asked if she could live with me. I told her no because I was moving into a studio and there wasn’t room. That’s when she said she would just stay with you. I thought she’d already talked to you and you two were back together. That you kept calling me to ends things with me.”
“That’s why you weren’t answering?”
She nodded and another of his questions was answered.
Will blew out a breath, regrouping now that he knew the score. “No, Sara never talked to me, which is no surprise given how she left in the first place. She just used the code I’d never changed and moved in.”
But he couldn’t be too mad because things with him and Jessa had been just a stupid misunderstanding caused by lack of communication. In fact, it would be funny if it hadn’t caused him—both of them—so much torture.
“Jess, I’m not ever getting back with Sara. I don’t want to go back to where I was before. I’ve moved on.”
“You have?” For the first time since she’d opened that door, Jessa looked hopeful.
He laughed. “Yeah. I would think that would be pretty obvious to you. You know, since you were there for the moving on part. Twice.”
She pressed her lips together in a move he’d come to recognize as being a bad thing. She was unhappy about something, just when he’d thought they’d been making good progress toward unraveling this cluster fuck.
“I assumed that was just rebound sex.”
How wrong she was.
“No.” Will took a step closer and ran his hands up her arms, remembering the soft feel of her beneath his fingers. “Jessa, rebound sex is with a stranger when you’re drunk in some bar. Someone you’ll never see again and don’t want to. Moving on is with someone you know and care about and definitely want to see again. Often.”
She lifted her gaze to meet his and he was about to make his move and lean in for a kiss that would erase any doubt in her mind about his feelings for her, when a message came through to his phone.
Will slid it out of his pocket and glanced down, about to ignore it if it wasn’t from command until he saw it was from Brody.
Brody, the man who’d sent him to this address in the first place. In light of that, he had to read it.
Wonka. Say hello to Jessa. She’s the lucky dating app winner by a unanimous vote. Beta test complete. Hooyah! Brody, Tompkins, Fitz and Boomer
Another mystery solved. It was a hell of a coincidence but it did make complete sense. Jessa was in his friends list. And she was apparently his type. Even his teammates could recognize that. His app worked.
How they’d tracked down Jessa’s brand new address he didn’t know and since it probably entailed illegal use of their resources he probably didn’t want to know, but the fact remained they’d delivered him right to the woman he loved.
“Wow.” Will laughed.
“What?”
“Nothing. Just a text proving that my teammates are sneaky bastards.” When her brow wrinkled he continued, “I’ll explain it all. Later.”
Now he had every intention of taking her to bed and making up for lost time. They both needed a little comfort after being apart and so full of doubts for too long.
He lowered his head to kiss her, but saw the tears glistening in her eyes. He brushed a hand across her cheek and caught one drop as it cascaded down. “What’s wrong?”
“I thought I’d lost you.”
She wasn’t the only one.
“No.” Will shook his head. “But I know exactly how you feel.”
EPILOGUE
Will smiled as he caught a glimpse of Jessa at the other end of the church.
She was like something out of a fairytale in the white dress, her upswept hair showing off the porcelain skin of her neck and shoulders.
Seeing her like that made being uncomfortable all day in his rented tuxedo worth it.
“Will.”
“Yeah. Sorry. What did you say?” He turned toward his sister Megan, who was frowning at him for his inattention. “I’m sorry. I was distracted.”
“So I see.”
“What did you say?” he asked, focused once again.
She scowled. “Nothing important. I was just saying I’ll never get used to being in a white dress at my own sister’s wedding. It feels weird. White is for the bride.”
“It’s what Amanda wanted. Female guests in white. Male guests in black.” He shrugged.
“But what the hell made her think that was a good idea?” Megan scoffed.
What did he know about fashion or trends? He was going to wear his dress uniform for the ceremony until his crazy little sister decreed all men had to be in black or they wouldn’t match in the pictures.
The Instagram generation—he’d never understand them.
He laughed. “I think you should be more concerned about what the hell made her think getting married after only knowing Ryan for six months was a good idea rather than the color of the dresses. No?”
“Hey!” The bride in question appeared and looked unhappy as she caught them talking about her. She sent Will a glare. “You fixed me up with him. You don’t get to complain that I’m marrying him.”
“I’m your older brother. I get to complain whenever I want. And I believe your groom was Megan’s pick in my app. Not mine.”
Megan shook her head. “Actually, he was Gramps’s pick.”
“Gramps?” Will asked, shocked.
“Yup. I was going through the choices one day while sitting with him. You know him. He couldn’t be there and not be involved. He grabbed the phone right out of my hand and started swiping. Before I knew it, he handed it back to me and said, ‘That one. That’s the one she’s gonna end up with.’ Damned if he wasn’t right.”
“Wow.” Will laughed, impressed.
Megan continued, “I have to tell you, it was a little scary how proficient he was with a smart phone. So much for the older generation not liking technology.”
Will had a feeling their grandfather had more experience with smart phones and dating apps than Megan knew.
“What about you and Jessa? Any wedding bells?” Megan asked.
Will frowned. “It’s only been six months.”
“Um, hello?” Amanda held up her hand to flash Will her shiny new wedding band.
He laughed. “Yeah, I know. Don’t remind me how short a time it’s been for you. I like to move a little more cautiously, thank you.”
Glancing across the room, he saw Jessa heading toward him. She smiled when she saw him watching her. His heart clenched. He wouldn’t admit it to his sisters but he’d already decided to throw caution to the wind.
Hell, he’d even been ring shopping. Not ring buying yet, just window shopping, but he had a feeling it wouldn’t be long before that changed.
Jessa joined the group after having been waylaid by their mother for longer than any girlfriend should have had to at her first family event. “Amanda, it
was a beautiful ceremony.”
“Thank you,” Megan said, shooting the bride a look that challenged her to disagree.
Amanda rolled her eyes. “Megan planned most of it, but thank you. And I’m glad you could be here.”
“Hopefully there will be another family event for us to get together soon.” Megan leveled a meaningful glance on Will.
“That would be nice,” Amanda agreed too readily.
Will shook his head at how relentless his sisters could be especially when they ganged up on him two to one.
“We’re done with the family photos. Isn’t it time we head over to the reception and join the rest of the guests?” he said.
“Soon. And don’t change the subject.” Megan cocked a brow.
That had been exactly Will’s intention.
His grandfather wandered over, scotch in hand. Will grasped onto the potential diversion and asked, “Gramps, are you supposed to be drinking?”
“No one told me not to.” He took a swallow from his glass and Will had to wonder where the hell he’d gotten it, until he remembered the bar in the limousine outside.
If nothing else, the old man was resourceful.
Amanda let out a snort. “Wouldn’t have mattered if they had told him not to drink.”
“That’s the truth.” He raised his glass in a toast to his youngest granddaughter before he turned to Jessa. “Did they tell you? I’m the one who fixed this one up with her new husband.”
“No, they didn’t. That’s impressive. Are you thinking about becoming a matchmaker?” Jessa smiled.
“Nah. I don’t have the patience for that app of his. Besides, there’s nobody left who needs fixing up now that he’s settled.” He tipped his head toward Will.
Looking at a loss, and as uncomfortable as Will to have their relationship be the topic of conversation, Jessa said, “Oh.”
His grandfather nodded. “Yup. I could tell he was smitten when he got that text from you in the middle of the night. He said you were just a friend but I knew better.”
Will felt the blood rush to his cheeks at being outed. He could only imagine how Jessa felt.
As both sisters watched the conversation with much too much interest, he turned to his grandfather. “First of all, we were just friends then. And how did you know that text was from Jessa?”