by Taylor Hart
She rolled her eyes, pulling her seat to an upright position.
JJ got out of the car. “I’m going to run and check us in. Be back soon.”
Outside, he stretched for a second, and she couldn’t stop herself from checking pretty much every developed muscle in his arms. He caught her staring and winked.
“Dang him,” she muttered. Her thoughts went to Tonya and his recent decision to end things so suddenly. She wanted to know about their relationship.
Fifteen minutes later, Chantel stared at the two queen beds, unsettled about sharing a room with him. “So there really aren’t two rooms?”
He stepped out of the bathroom, where he’d been freshening up. “There’s a big convention in town, so the place is booked.”
She shifted her weight from one foot to the other. She wasn’t sure she could handle being so close to him all night.
With a sad smile, he said, “I actually had to use some star power to get us this room.”
She gave him a mocking look. “And you just hate it when you’re recognized for your amazing voice.”
He laughed. “I do.”
A sudden wave of nausea left her lightheaded. She sat on the bed. “Shoot.”
“What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know.” She held her stomach. “My blood sugar, probably.”
“What’s wrong with your blood sugar?” he demanded. He reached for her hands, holding them in his and kneeling in front of her.
“I’m fine. I just get low blood sugar when I don’t eat consistently, and I only had Ho Hos in the car.” Her heart raced as she saw true concern in his eyes. She stared at their hands, thinking of all the times she’d held his when they were sitting in the tree house together. It had just been a normal part of her life when she was young.
“Are you okay?”
She let his hands go, and with them, the feeling of being young again. “I’m fine. Let’s go eat, but not a steak place.”
His eyebrows lifted. “Why not?”
She laughed, teasing him. He’d always liked steak places. She grabbed her purse and headed for the door.
Quickly, he reached around her, flinging back the door and holding it for her. They were close enough for her to smell him. Carefully, he reached up, taking one of her loose hairs and gently sweeping it behind her ear.
She batted at him. “Don’t touch my hair.”
“It gets in your way,” he said, smiling.
She turned on her heel. “You’re in my way.”
He laughed.
“Italian. We’re doing Italian.” She winked at him. “Because you could use some fattening up.”
Chapter 10
JJ walked into the open-air Italian restaurant, and the first thing he noticed was the dancing at the center of the floor. The lighting was soft, and three older couples were out dancing to jazz music. “I like the ambiance here.”
The hostess seated them and went through the specials.
Chantel shot JJ a smug look, and he knew she was feeling self-satisfied that they weren’t at a steak place. He scrolled through the menu. With the lighter options, he could blow her “fattening him up” thing if he wanted.
She wagged a finger at him, looking at his menu. “Don’t be a baby and make me have to eat spaghetti by myself.”
He smiled. They really could always tell what the other was thinking.
The server came back with waters, and Chantel ordered spaghetti.
He ordered the same.
“Well,” Chantel said, “I guess you’ll be all carbed up and have to run five miles before we leave tomorrow.” She frowned. “Does running hurt?”
“Not really. I mean, I don’t run as much as I used to, but I still run.” Talking about everything with Chantel was strangely natural. Even though it had been six years since they’d spent this much time together, the time just melted away. He gestured to her. “Do you still work out like you did?” She wouldn’t like it if he told her how amazing she looked.
She laughed. “I work out, but not your kind of working out.”
He studied her face, which was even prettier now than it’d been years ago. She’d been a girl then; now, she was a woman. “Do you want to dance?”
“Um, I probably shouldn’t.”
He was disappointed, but he just moved on. “So do you still skate a lot?”
Hesitating, she took a bit of water on her pointer finger and rubbed the rim of the glass.
It didn’t make a sound, but it made him smile. “Guess it’s not a musical glass.”
“Nope. I have to skate,” she said quietly, still looking at the glass. “Dustin tells me that I still train like I’m trying to get another Olympic spot, but I can’t help it.”
“Up at five.”
“Usually.”
He gave her a sweeping look. “And I know you don’t carb up every day.”
“No, usually I’m pretty strict on my diet.” She shrugged. “But I like to take a few off days.”
“Yeah, it’s been a hard couple of days.”
She grinned at him. “Ho Ho days.”
He grinned back. He could get used to having Ho Ho days with her.
“I bet you have actually eaten less since everything with your dad. And you don’t even want to admit it.”
JJ focused on his water. “Guess you’re right.”
She stared at him. “When do you train while you’re on the road?”
“Early morning like you, late evening sometimes. I can’t quit training.” Lifting and lowering his shoulder, he ran his finger along the rim of his glass, just like she was doing.
They broke off as the server put their food down.
JJ’s mouth was watering when he took his first bite.
Chantel waited, not touching hers yet.
“What?” he asked, his mouth half full.
“And?”
Oh man, it was so good. “It’s okay.”
Narrowing her eyes, she took a bite. Her eyes closed for a moment, and she let out a soft moan.
Her delight was intoxicating. He smiled and took another bite.
She pointed her fork at him. “You have to say this is Geronimo. You have to!”
He laughed, wiping his mouth. He’d forgotten about Geronimo. It had been their thing one summer, to think of the coolest word ever. “No!”
“Say it!”
“Fine. Geronimo. Are you happy?”
“Yes.” She stuffed another bite in, moaning again.
Eating with Chantel was an experience in itself, and he’d missed it over the years. Most of the women he dated wouldn’t eat. Tonya had been on some protein supplement diet, and if she had real food, it was on a holiday.
His heart yearned for Chantel. Yes, it was stupid to think of the word yearn, or maybe the word would end up in some country romance novel. “I’ve missed eating with you,” he said. Dang it, he was nervous to tell her. There was clearly a lot going on in her life.
“Calgary had the best restaurants,” she said, smiling at him.
He thought of the three months he’d spent with her. He’d been out for an injury to his elbow. At that point, he hadn’t known if he’d re-enlist or not. Now, he regretted his decision. He should have stayed with her.
“Do you remember that fish place we loved?”
“Umm,” he said, screwing up his face as he remembered the seasoning they’d put on their salmon. “I didn’t like fish until that fish place.”
She smiled. “Right.”
On impulse, he reached across the table, putting his hand out for hers.
She stared at it.
“Sorry.” Quickly, he pulled it back.
She cocked an eyebrow. “Another infraction.”
“It doesn’t count, because I didn’t even touch you.” Their eyes held, and hope pulsed through him. He couldn’t lose this woman again. He just couldn’t.
She pushed back her plate. “So tell me more about Tonya.”
He frowned slightly.
“What do you want to know?”
“Don’t go all SEAL on me, JJ Kelly.”
“Oh, am I annoying you?” He couldn’t help but smile.
She narrowed her eyes. “Yes, your extreme calm annoys me.”
He sighed. “Fine. As you heard, she’s upset.”
“Because you broke everything off out of the blue.”
“I told you—”
“You found clarity,” she filled in for him.
“Exactly.”
“Don’t go all ‘clarity’ speak on me. You forget I’ve been on the receiving end of being shut out by you, too.”
He scowled. “That’s not fair.”
“Why?”
JJ gritted his teeth.
She smiled. “There it is.”
“What?”
“The JJ who shuts people out,” she said. “Like that.”
He crossed his arms. “You’re talking about when I wouldn’t talk to you after Mama’s funeral. Nope, I don’t want to do this with you.”
“JJ, just tell me why.”
He exhaled, raked a hand over his face, put his elbows on the table, and narrowed his eyes. “Do you remember what happened with Dustin?”
“You shut me out way before you and Dustin had your little tiff.”
“Do you know what he said to me?”
Chantel fidgeted. “No. What did he say?”
JJ leaned back. He let out a bitter laugh. “It was so stupid.”
“What did he say?”
“He said that you never loved me and that he somehow had proof.”
Chapter 11
Chantel sat in the car at the gas station while JJ pumped gas, and she tried to not freak out. She couldn’t believe Dustin had done that.
Strike that. She could. After she’d gotten the silver medal and Dustin had officially proposed to her, their relationship had changed. As she’d taken a step back from her skating career and became a coach, it had been eye-opening to see how Dustin manipulated their clients.
Now, the last vestige of darkness had been stripped from her eyes, and she could see exactly how he had manipulated her. How dare he say that to JJ? Her hand trembled as she thought of the lies he’d fed her over the years, telling her JJ was a hothead who’d never deserved the truth. He’d told her over and over how much she needed him, not JJ or her surrogate family.
She’d been young, and she’d believed him. Her mother had died in childbirth and her father had tried really hard, but he hadn’t known how to guide her through the ice skating world. When Dustin had taken her on as a client, she and her father had both been so grateful. Now she could see how he’d taken advantage of her youth—and she’d allowed it.
On impulse, she dialed his number.
It rang twice before he answered it. “Chantel.”
“Shut up.”
He scoffed. “What?”
“You told JJ that I never loved him and that you had proof? That’s what you said to him at his mother’s funeral?”
JJ’s door opened and he got inside, but she hopped out in response. “Hey,” JJ called out.
She shook her head and pointed to the phone.
Dustin was going berserk. “Are you talking to JJ? Are you with him right now?”
She shut the door and stormed across the parking lot. “You do the listening, and I do the talking. I want you to understand something. You don’t get to control me anymore.”
“Chantel, listen—”
“No, you listen.” Every part of her trembled as she remembered how, at every turn, he had tried to control her, even doing his best to convince her to sell the house Jack had given her. “I don’t know what is going to happen with us, but I’m never selling my parents’ house. Got it?”
He was silent.
Her mind was whirling. She walked around the gas station, taking a path labeled Dog Park. She continued, “And I’ll go to the Kelly ranch anytime I want. Whenever I want. Because they are a part of my life.” Tears washed down her face.
“Are you done with your tantrum?” Dustin asked in a snide tone.
Everything broke loose—all of the pain and anger and therapy and years of misdeeds and letting him walk all over her. “I’m done with you.”
“What?” he barked out.
“It’s over. I’m not marrying you.”
“Chantel!”
She hung up, her hand still shaking. She stared at a bench where an older man was sitting, accompanied by a dog on a leash. She sucked in a breath. It was done. Unpaused. Over.
“Chantel?”
She turned and saw JJ coming toward her on the path. “It’s over.”
He slowed, moving carefully like he might have on one of his missions as a SEAL, as though he could step on a tripwire at any second. “Are you okay?”
“Will you take me back to the hotel?”
He stopped and studied her. “Yep.”
When they got back to the hotel, JJ stepped ahead of Chantel and opened the door for her.
“Thank you.” She managed a weak smile. It was stupid, but holding doors was something Dustin had never done for her. The drive had helped, and she was feeling much better about her decision—even though it left so many other things in her life up in the air. What would happen on Friday? Where would she live? What about her business? Would she even still coach?
The hotel lobby was packed with people. Some sort of convention must have been going on, because men and women were walking around with lanyards around their necks.
When JJ took her hand, she swallowed. “J—”
“Listen, just to clarify, I’m only holding your hand for safety.” He nodded to all the people. “It looks like a scary bunch.”
His ridiculousness made her laugh, easing the tension. She squeezed his hand, feeling the bandage she’d put on it earlier. She was grateful that he was here.
The room had a gold-and-white theme going on. Straight lines. Very modern. Piano music filled the air. “I like this place,” she said, pausing to examine a picture of a cactus on the wall.
“Ya know, I like this place, too.” He was staring at her. “And I like you.”
“Stop.”
He lifted his brows. “O-kay.”
Her phone buzzed in her purse, and she pulled it out. It was a text from Dustin. I’m sorry. We need to talk.
She turned off all notifications and put the phone back inside her purse.
JJ looked skeptical. “Are you sure you should do that?”
“What?”
“Shut him out.”
The resonance of his words hit her like a ton of bricks. “Don’t compare our situation to this situation.”
“I’m not,” he said. “I just think you should deal with him.”
“Like you dealt with Tonya.”
Neither of them spoke, and she wondered why she was still holding hands with him. “Can we just not talk about…” She trailed off.
“The exes,” he said softly, his lips turning up.
“This is crazy.”
“I’ll take crazy.”
She searched his face, confused. Then she laughed, pushing his shoulder and feeling a rush of butterflies.
“Ouch, I’m fragile.” He caught her hand as he moved closer, using his other hand to caress her shoulder down her arm to her wrist.
Fire burned through her. “Don’t—”
“Shh.” He leaned in, smelling her neck deeply. “Man, you smell good.”
Her nerves pulsed with excitement. “Stop.”
“I won’t kiss you,” he said, staring at her lips. “Don’t worry.”
She felt herself weakening. Every part of her was tense and nervous and longed for the man’s lips.
“The next time we kiss, you have to kiss me,” he said, wagging a finger at her. “And I don’t give out my kisses easily.”
She scoffed, loving and hating the way he teased her. She caught another hint of his delicious cologne. All her impulses urged her to give in and brush her lips
against his.
Leaning in, he put his mouth so close to her ear that she could feel his breath. “Cowboy.”
Instinctively, she tugged back. “What are you talking about?”
“That’s the name of my cologne.”
She laughed. “Cowboy?”
He looked a bit embarrassed. “What? It’s the new scent by Montana Crew.”
“Oh man.”
He joined her in the laughter. “Geronimo, right?”
She smacked his shoulder. “Geronimo!”
“Dang, I want to kiss you,” he whispered, staring at her lips. “So just kiss me.”
There was no way she could share a room with this man. She knew that. She had so many things to think about without being in his presence. Slightly panicked, she rushed back toward the lobby. “They have to find another room, because you can’t stay in mine.”
Chapter 12
JJ stared up at the ceiling, the moonlight illuminating the orange walls of his room like a Texas sunset. The hotel had found another room. That was probably a good thing, he thought, turning on his side and trying to get comfortable. He wouldn’t have been able to sleep with Chantel so close, driving him to a slow madness. She and Dustin were through. Over. Finished.
Somehow, it didn’t feel right. He stared at the clock on the bedside table. Three a.m. He threw back the covers and began pacing, wondering what he could do to convince this woman they were meant to be together.
Picking up his phone, he called Ryan. It rang and rang and then went to voicemail. “Dang it.”
There was a slew of texts from Tonya that he ignored. He texted his brother, not caring if he was sleeping. How many freaking times had Ryan woken him in the middle of the night? A lot, that’s how many.
Dude, answer your phone.
He sent more texts, as if he could digitally poke Ryan. No response. Frustrated, he put his phone down and moved to the window, standing in bright moonlight. He’d spent so many nights in different parts of the world, but the moon had always been a constant.
His father’s face flashed into his mind. Yes, his father had been a constant, too. “Dad.” He sniffed, wiping at his eyes and hating how he couldn’t control his emotions. “I need you.”
He leaned against the wall, wishing he’d made more time for his dad. His father would have liked that he was getting on a Greyhound bus to chase down Chantel. Man, his father was probably laughing his butt off right now. He grunted, wiping his eyes again. “I guess you got your way, old man. I’m finally going after the woman you always knew was right for me.”