CAROLINE WALKED OUT of the barracks and silently cursed her surroundings. She’d been here for a handful of days and still hated everything about the base. She stared straight ahead and wondered if the California sun was playing tricks on her. She raised her hand to block the powerful rays, fully expecting the mirage to disappear. But he was still standing there, one ankle crossed over the other. His shoulder rested against the wall of her temporary home.
“Noah?” she said. “What are you doing here?”
He pushed off the wall and gave a small shrug. “I thought you could use some company on your day off. You’re not working today, right?”
“I’m not but—”
“Join me for lunch.”
“You drove all the way down here to take me out to lunch?” She narrowed her gaze. “There’s not much around here. We’re hours from the ocean.”
And civilization, she thought.
Or at least she thought they were. She hadn’t paid attention on the drive, slipped back into numbness.
“It took me twelve hours to get here. So I’m not dying to get back in my truck. I have a couple of sandwiches that I picked up just in case you had a break. Want one?”
“Sure.” She followed him, feeling as if she’d traveled back in time. She was wearing her uniform and walking beside Noah. “What are you doing here?” she asked.
“Checking up on you,” he said. “Seeing how you’re holding up with all that’s going on.”
She stopped beside his truck. “Noah, I don’t have a clue what is happening. I’ve been here for four days and I keep expecting a court-martial. According to every rule and regulation, I should be in a military prison right now.”
“You should.” He opened the driver’s side door and retrieved a brown paper bag from the driver’s seat.
“Instead I was assigned a room in the barracks and a desk job.” She followed him to a nearby picnic table and claimed one of the benches. He sat on the other side and opened the bag.
“Hard work?” he asked as he handed her a six-inch sub.
“I don’t have any responsibilities. I report for work and I sit there.”
“And you have no clue why you’re hanging out at a desk?” he challenged.
She shook her head.
“Didn’t trust Josh when he said he’d find a way out, did you?” he asked.
“Josh?” She set her sandwich down before she dropped it onto her lap. Across from her, Noah unwrapped his sub and took a bite.
“It’s not that I didn’t believe in him,” she said. “I trust him as much as I trust anyone . . .”
Maybe more in the bedroom, she thought. But she wasn’t sharing the intimate details of her relationship with Noah. Not over subs on some out-of-the-way Marine base in God Knows Where, California.
Noah raised an eyebrow and took another bite.
“But how could Josh stop the United States Marine Corps from tossing me in a cell for unauthorized absence?” she demanded.
“After you turned yourself in,” Noah said, his blue eyes flashing with temper. “Without so much as a word to anyone I might add.”
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I couldn’t hide anymore.”
He sat back and crossed his arms in front of his chest. “I know. But that man cares about you. And I’m not stupid, Caroline. I know Josh didn’t take a scenic little road trip with you so that he could be your personal baker.”
“What happened to staying out of my relationship with Josh?”
“He gathered us all at the bar. Dominic and Lily. Josie. His brothers. Brody Summers’s wife. Hell, even Lena showed up. And he asked for help. He refused to accept failure as an option.”
Her lips parted as she imagined all of those familiar faces gathered around the bar. “I don’t even know his older brother,” she murmured.
“Look, I know you went through hell. And starting over with a guy, even a good guy like Josh . . .” Noah raised his hands and ran them through his short, blond hair.
“Did you draw the short straw? Is that why you’re sitting here and not Josie or Lily?”
“No, I didn’t draw the damn short straw,” he snapped, lowering her hands. “No one else knows I’m here. I woke up before dawn to come down here because Josh Summers is busting his ass to keep you out of jail. He’s called senators and spoken to legal experts. He’s fighting for you. He’s trying to win your love and your trust, but if you can’t give it to him, you need to tell him. Or shit, I will.”
She arched an eyebrow. “You’re offering to break up with my boyfriend for me?”
“Caroline,” he growled.
“I’m not broken, Noah. And Josh knows that.” She looked down at her untouched sub. “But I messed up. I should have talked to him before I turned myself in. I let him into every other part of my life . . .” She looked up. “I thought I had to fix this first. Before I could have another shot at falling in love. I didn’t think I could give him what he wanted until—”
“Caroline, that man wants you. And if you’re sure you’re ready to move on, then you should probably tell him, not me.”
“You’re not going to relay the message for me?” And she couldn’t help adding a healthy dose of sarcasm to her words.
“I like the guy. And after everything he’s done for you . . . Do you know he went on a local morning show talk show and baked a cake with the host so that he’d have a chance to raise public support for you?”
“He what?” Panic rushed at the thought of thousands of people in Oregon knowing she’d been attacked—and seeing her as a victim.
“He didn’t use your full name or broadcast your picture,” Noah assured her. “But he told your story. And people listened. There is a petition demanding your release. Josie showed it to me. Josh kept Dustin’s name out of it too—”
“He’s not coming after me.” She shook her head and filled him in on her drive-by visit to their former CO.
“Hell, I wish Josh would turn the media’s attention to him,” Noah grumbled. “But he’s not. Josh is attacking the system that is threatening to lock you up while Dustin goes free. That’s a lot to take on.”
“He loves me,” she said softly.
“And he’d willing to fight for you,” Noah said.
She closed her eyes and nodded. She was haunted by her own choices. But this time—if she got the chance—she would choose Josh. She wanted to be a part of his happy-ever-after.
“He’s going to get me out of here, isn’t he?” she said.
Noah nodded. “Probably sooner than you think.”
She fought the urge to hear those words and think impossible. She would put her faith, her love, and her trust in him.
“Noah, I need to be ready for him.” She drew a deep breath. “You’ve done so much for me already, but I have to ask for more. I need an advance on my paycheck. Probably a couple paychecks.”
“Done.” He smiled across the picnic table. “I’ll even toss in a promotion to part-time bartender when you get back.”
“Thank you. I don’t know how to mix drinks, but thanks.”
“You’ll learn.” He shook his head. “You can’t be any worse than Lily.”
She rested her arms on the table. “Now, I need to ask one more favor.”
CAROLINE TOOK A tentative step forward. After weeks of walking around this base with purpose and determination, carrying her faith that Josh would come through for her around like a secret weapon, she felt nervous.
Is it really over?
She glanced down at the piece of paper detailing her medical discharge from the Marines. After spending over a year hiding, feeling hunted by her past, it was officially behind her. The Marines were done with her. And she had the man leaning against a familiar silver pickup to thank.
She wanted to run to him. She needed to weep with relief. But not yet. Right now she had to savor this feeling.
This is what freedom feels like. Scary. New. Exciting.
Oh yes, the tears could wait until much, much later. Right now, she needed to share her gratitude, her relief, and her love with the man who’d set her free.
“You’re here.” She crossed the parking lot, the base becoming a blur behind her. She’d spent days, weeks trying not to feel, and now . . .
Emotion erupted as if a faucet had been turned on. Her pulse raced and tears burned paths down her cheeks, refusing to wait. So she broke into a run. She needed to feel his hands on her, his arms around her. She wanted to hold on to him and never let go.
But first, oh God, she had to tell him.
“I’m sorry I didn’t trust you.” The words came out in a rush as his arms wrapped around her. She placed her palms flat against his chest and looked up at him. Ever since Noah’s visit two weeks earlier, she’d been planning her speech. She refused to write him another letter. She needed to tell him.
“I should have told you that I was going to turn myself in,” she continued.
“Caroline.” His hands roamed over her waist and hips before settling on her lower back. “I know you’re sorry. Noah told me.”
Her eyes widened. “He did?”
“We had a sleepover, ate one too many cinnamon rolls, one thing led to another and he told me everything.”
She laughed and it felt so good and so right. “Josh—”
“All right. We skipped the sleepover. And I didn’t bake for him. But we did have a few shots of whiskey the other night.” His smile faded and his hands stilled on her back. “I owe you an apology too. For the past year, I told myself I was giving you space and working around your issues.”
“You did, Josh,” she murmured, trying to fight a fresh wave of tears. She was free and he was here, holding her. She didn’t want to cry.
“But I have one question for you,” she said quickly, reaching for facts to keep the feeling from running away with her. “If Noah found his way down here, why didn’t you? Too busy making TV appearances?”
“That’s part of it.” He touched his mouth to hers, stealing a quick kiss. “I’ve also been poring over this mysterious set of blueprints that arrived.”
She stared up into his green eyes. “You figured out they were from me?”
He let out a laugh as his hands pressed into her back, drawing her closer. “The architect that you hired dropped them off at the farmhouse,” he said. “He wanted to walk me through them.”
“Actually Noah hired him for me,” she murmured, arching her lower back. Her chest pressed against his and her thigh brushed his.
I’m never letting you go, she thought.
“And was the ‘Superhero’s Lair’ in place of a master bedroom Noah’s idea too?” he asked, running one hand up her spine. His fingers brushed the bare skin at the nape of her neck and she felt a rush of pleasure.
“I might have sent a few suggestions,” she said softly. But they could talk blueprints later. Right now, she wanted to touch him.
She ran her hands up to his shoulders, over his neck to his jaw. The red-gold stubble brushed against her palms as she drew his mouth to hers. With his lips hovering over hers, she added, “I don’t want to hold you back from your dreams. I want to be a part of your happy-ever-after. I want to build that house with you. Set up our lair together.”
She rose up on her toes and kissed him. Her tongue swept into his mouth, tangling with his. And she felt every inch of his excitement.
Slowly, she drew her lips away from his, but she kept her body close. Her back arched as she looked up at him. “We might want to start the road trip home soon. I think it would be a good idea to get off the base before we find out how much trouble we can get into in the front seat of your truck.”
“I’m not taking you home.” He grinned down at her. “Not yet.”
“I recognize that look,” she murmured. And I trust that smile. “You have a plan.”
“I would have come down to visit you,” he said, releasing his hold on her and she instantly wanted to climb back into his arms. But he reached into his jacket and withdrew an envelope. “I didn’t want to settle for an afternoon,” he continued. “I wanted to take you away with me.” He held out the envelope. “These are for you. Go ahead.”
She took the blue packet, opened it, and peeked inside. “Airplane tickets?” She pulled them out, her eyes widening as she read the details. “We’re going to Hawaii? Tonight?”
“I packed a bag for you.” He nodded to the truck. “And don’t worry, I grabbed your black undies. But your gun had to stay in the safe.”
“You planned a trip for me,” she murmured, staring down at the tickets. “In between starting petitions to keep me out of a military jail cell, going on national TV, demanding meetings with senators, hiring lawyers—”
“Noah kept you informed”
She nodded. “You did all of this for me.”
“For us. Plus I have this rule.” His fingers touched her cheek and she looked up at him, her fingers still clutching the tickets. “I need to spend the sixth date with the woman I love—the beautiful, brave, fierce woman I’ve fallen in love with—on an island.”
“I love you too, Josh Summers.”
“I know, Caroline.” His smile faded, but his eyes still sparkled with amusement. “But you know, I still haven’t received a rose.”
“I have a rule about that.” She tried to match his pseudo-solemn expression—and failed. “No roses until the hot tub date.”
“It’s a damn good thing there happens to be a private one waiting for us in Hawaii, my love.”