Caught Looking (Hot-Lanta Series) (14 page)

Once Molly left
, Jane cleaned up the soggy tissues that Molly flung around everywhere and looked apologetically at the men, hoping they would understand. 

“I’
m sorry about that, my friend is having a rough day. Please come sit down, I want to hear all about how the proposal happened and all the plans you have in mind. 

Jane listened to her hopefully new clients but could not help feeling sick to her stomach for Molly. She knew how much Molly fretted when Luke was gone. She always put on a good front but deep down Jane knew she was scared and nervous as hell. She could not imagine falling head over
heels in love with someone who risked their life for their country every day. Jane always thought it was the loved ones at home who had it the worst. At least the soldiers knew what was happening when they were overseas. Loved ones had to wait around at home, staying positive and praying for safety.

Mol
ly was one of the strongest women she knew. She could say bye to the one she loved and not see him for weeks on end but Jane, pathetically, couldn’t get over the fact that her ex-fiancé cheated on her…God she was a sorry excuse for a human.

                                                                      *** 

Molly went straight home and lay in bed. She obviously called into work, not being able to face the responsibility of teaching a group of third graders. She kept her phone next to her at all times while she wasted her day away in bed but it did not ring, no text messages, nothing. Molly’s heart was breaking. She would never send Luke on a mission without giving him a proper good bye. She could not stop feeling like she was a cold-hearted bitch. Why did she pick a fight with him? She was being selfish, she knew when he was home she needed to enjoy every minute of it because he would soon be leaving again.

Molly thoug
ht about how her life changed so quickly when Luke came home. She realized when Luke proposed she thought they were actually going to have a normal relationship. Maybe, just maybe, things were going to be like she dreamed, not only seeing him on occasion and the rest of the time wondering where he was and if he was safe. In her mind, she thought he was not going to go on anymore missions, he was just going to go to work like a normal person then come back home safe into her arms every night.

When Luke
asked her to marry him, thoughts of normalcy bled into her mind and implanted themselves there. She convinced herself that life was going to finally be normal. That was why she was such a bitch to him when he announced he was taking off again. Damn her ring and her stupid head. Well, no, not damn the ring. The ring meant the world to her because Luke wanted to become one with her. She just wished becoming one meant having a normal life as well. 

Molly’s phone beeped causing Molly to whip her head around to her nightstand and look at her screen.
Fuck, it was from Jane.

Jane: Hope you are doing alright and sorry if you thought this was a message from Luke.

Molly hated and loved her friend at the same time. Jane was so sweet for checking on her but she also hated Molly because she wished it was a message from Luke instead.

What the hell was he doing?
He should have messaged her by now. He was definitely gone, somewhere in the world, putting his life on the line knowing that his soon to be wife was a rotten bitch. With those thoughts swirling through her mind, she slowly drifted to sleep.

A little while later,
Molly was awakened by a crashing vase. She nearly crapped her pants from the loud noise that vibrated through the silenced room. She grabbed the bat that was next to her bed and held it up to her chest. Someone was in her apartment, what did Luke always say about intruders? If you keep swinging, they will leave you alone?

She slowly got out of bed
, walked up to her bedroom door and heard somebody rustling around. Oh my God, this was really happening, someone was actually breaking into her apartment and Luke was not here to save her. Why couldn’t this disgusting criminal have chosen yesterday to do this? Luke would have had the intruder’s head ripped off by now.

Molly s
lid behind the cracked door, realized she was only wearing her bra and underwear and hoped she was not an open invitation to the thief. She decided on the count of three she would charge out to the living room screaming like a lunatic and beat the crap out of whoever was in there.

One…two…three
…

BANG!

The bedroom door flew open and knocked her dead in the face. She saw stars and fell to the ground. All she could think about before she passed out was great, now she was going to get raped and there was nothing she could do about it.

                                                                      ***

Jane was lounging on her couch, watching her latest crazed reality show and finishing off her very bland but semi healthy lean cuisine when her phone rang.

Brady.

“Hey there, how’s it going?” 

“Hey gorgeous, it’s
going alright. How was your night? I wish we could have met up today at lunch.”

“I know me too. My night was pretty lame compared to
a movie at a ballpark.”

“Mine was lame too since I didn’t get to cuddle with you in my arms.”

Jane’s stomach did a little flip flop making her smile. “Such a smooth talker, did you take a class on that?” 

Brady laughed, “Yea it’s required when you make it to the big leagues. You take classes on how not to say the wrong things
in an interview after a game as well as how to make all the women swoon.”

“Well I’
m not quite swooning yet so maybe you need a refresher,” Jane joked.

“Oh, I’
m not even through chapter one with you, just you wait.”

“I’
m ready for it Brady Matthews, make me swoon!” They both laughed. She continued “What are you doing this week, are you ever going to ask me out again or was the movie a one-time thing?”

Brady sighed and Jane instantly went up on the defensive. Why did he sigh? Oh my God, it was a
one-time thing. Oh no, look at her throwing herself at him. This was exactly why she did not want to let her defenses down, now she felt like an idiot.

She quickly added in, “Sorry that was a litt
le up front, I had a great time the other night but I don’t expect you to take me out again. I know you must have other more important things to do, other people to see. I’m just going to go, sorry…” 

Brady cut her off, “Jane, sweetheart, slow down. I most definitely want to go out with you again. You are what I
think about twenty-four-seven right now. I’m just mad right now because my manager signed me up for a three day conference, where I go talk to different coaches and give them tips on hitting and how to teach a proper swing.”

“Oh, well that should be fun.” Jane replied, blushing with embarrassment.

“I guess, but I had other plans of spending time with you. I have to report to spring training next week and that only gives me Saturday night and Sunday morning to spend any time with you before I leave.” 

“Gee, I almost forgot you had a job
,” Jane laughed. “How long is spring training?”

“Spring training is a month and a half…and it’s in Florida.”

Jane’s voice raised slightly louder, “Florida?”

“Yea, Florida. It’s not too far away and I’
ll have some days off, so it shouldn’t be too terrible.”

Florida?
For a month and a half? So whatever was going on between her and Brady was going to turn into long distance. Could she do that? She was barely strong enough to handle what was happening between them now. Maybe she should just cut all strings with him and save the heartache. He was such a great guy, but he did not need to worry about a nutcase back home when he was trying to get ready for the season. Lord knows the media would plaster her face all over the gossip magazines and accuse her for Brady’s lack of performance. She didn’t need to carry around that kind of guilt.

“Uh, Jane
are you still there?” Brady asked.

“Yes, sorry. Well I’
m sure you will have a lovely time at spring training. Give me a call when you get back from your conference maybe we can have a bite to eat before you take off again. Talk to you later.” 

Jane hung up her phone. Yup, she just blew him
off and she knew he sensed her panic. She felt like such a jerk but sometimes she just had to consider herself first. She could not get involved with Brady Matthews. She was not strong enough for him. He needed somebody solid, who he did not have to worry about, someone he could go home to when he was back from the road and just sink into without having to answer any questions. Jane knew she could not be that girl right now, she was still too sensitive. She would have one last night with him for her own selfish reasons when he got back from his conference and then cut things off with him completely. She was doing it for Brady.

Chapter 11

Molly woke up in her bed. How did she get here? What happened? Then it all came flooding back to her, there was a robber in her house and when she was about to make her attack on him she got knocked out by her own door.

Where was he now? Panic swept her body when she heard heavy breathing next to her.
She felt around and nearly pissed her pants when her hand came in contact with a large human like mass next to her. She screamed bloody murder and started swinging her arms in every direction they would fly. She could hear someone telling her to stop in the distance but she just kept swinging.

“Baby, it’s me. Calm down.” 

Baby? Molly opened her eyes and made eye contact with Luke’s steal grey gaze. She broke down and started sobbing. He was home, he was with her. Was she dreaming? Luke scooped her up and laid her on his lap stroking her back.

“
Shhh, everything is ok. I’m here.”

“I…thought…you…were…a…rapist.”
She forced out in between sobs.

Luke chuckled at her almost incoherent words and pulled her in closer. “I’
m sorry babe. I didn’t mean to scare you. I didn’t want to turn on any lights and wake you up.”

“What are you doing here? I thought you were sent on a mission.”

“We were called in but when we were about to be sent off another team was close enough to take care of the mission instead. They sent us home but said to keep close in case they needed back up. By the time I found out, I thought I would just come home instead of call you since it was so late.”

Molly sobbed into Luke’s chest and hugged him. “I thought you left and I didn’t get to give you your good bye blow job.”

Luke threw his head back and laughed out loud. “Oh Molly, I love that’s what you were concerned about. I was more worried that we left on a bad note. I don’t ever want to leave in the middle of a fight.”

Molly sniffed,
“I was worried about that too. It tore me apart that I sent you out there thinking I was some evil bitch.”

Luke lifted Molly’s chin and stared into her eyes
. He placed a very gentle kiss on her lips and said, “I would never think that. I knew you were upset that I was being asked to leave again so early.”

“I was, but th
at has never affected me before. I know its part of the job. I think I was just upset because when we got engaged, it was such a normal thing to do and our relationship has never been anything close to normal. I thought that our relationship was finally going to be like everyone else’s and I engrained that in my brain. When I found out you were leaving, I lost it because why would you leave if we were going to live a normal life?”

Luke sighed and pul
led Molly down on the bed spooning her back while caressing her bare stomach with his thumb. “Baby, we won’t have a normal life for a while but I promise you when I retire, I will be all yours to do with whatever you like. We will buy a house and sit on the porch in our rocking chairs making fun of all the kids that walk by.”

Molly giggled, “That sounds like heaven. I love you, Luke, more then you will ever know.”

“I love you too, baby. So…we just had a fight and made up, I’m wondering doesn’t something usually come after that?”