Feeling Hot (29 page)

Cash shifted on his feet. “You still keep in contact with your editor at
Today’s World
, right?”

“Yeah, why?”

He rolled the memory key between his fingers, battling another pang of guilt as he remembered the way he’d snuck onto Jen’s laptop when she’d been in the shower earlier and copied her entire picture folder onto this stick.

“Jen’s a photographer,” he started. “And she’s damn good.”

“Really? I had no idea.”

“She doesn’t advertise it. And I don’t think she realizes how talented she actually is, but trust me, she’s the real deal. The thing is, she’s too scared to show her work to people. She just started researching possible publications she can submit to, but I remembered that you worked at
Today’s World
and I figured it wouldn’t hurt to ask you to take a look at this.” He held out the memory key. “All her stuff is on this.”

Jane took the USB and tucked it in the front pocket of her denim capris. “Sure, I’d be happy to take a look, and if her photographs are as good as you say, I’d also be happy to forward them to the photo editor at
TW
. He’s always on the lookout for talented freelancers.”

“Wow, that would be amazing. Thanks, Jane.”

She tilted her head pensively. “Why didn’t Jen just ask me herself?”

“Um…well, she doesn’t exactly know I’m talking to you. In fact, if you don’t mind, I’d like it if we kept this between us.”

Her bewilderment grew. “Why?”

“I don’t want her to think I’m overstepping my bounds and messing around with her career. She’s got this blog where she puts up her pictures. I can send you the link, and if your editor likes Jen’s work and wants to meet with her, maybe he can pretend he came across her work through the blog.” Cash offered a sheepish shrug. “That way Jen will feel like she did it on her own, you know?”

Jane stared at him, slack-jawed.

“What?” he mumbled.

“You’re sleeping with her,” she accused.

“No,” he said in a half-ass denial. “We’re friends, that’s all.”

“Bullshit.” Jane grinned. “You’re sleeping together. And not only that, but you care about her, don’t you?”

Continuing to deny it was fruitless. Jane would see right through it, anyway.

“Yeah, I care about her,” he admitted.

“A lot.”

“A lot,” he conceded.

“Oh, Hot Stuff, you’ve really gone and done it now.”

Cash arched a brow. Hot Stuff?

As if reading his mind, the redhead waved a hand. “Yeah, that’s what all the wives and girlfriends call you. Deal with it. Anyway, you know Carson will kick your ass, right?”

“I know.” He let out a breath. “I tried to keep my hands off her, but she was determined to seduce me.”

Jane laughed. “How long did you manage to hold out for?”

“Two days.”

“That’s actually pretty impressive, considering that…well, that you’re a
man
.” She paused. “What about Jen? Does she feel the same way?”

Discomfort rippled through him. “She insists we’re only having a fling.”

“Becker insisted the same thing when we first got together. Don’t worry, they always come to their senses eventually.”

He had to smile. “That’s reassuring.”

“She’d be crazy not to want something more. You’re a great guy, Hot Stuff. A real catch. She’ll figure it out sooner or later.”

“I hope so,” he murmured.

Jane stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek with a loud smack. “She will. Now, will you be a doll and carry these cases upstairs for me?”

“Sure thing.”

Jane’s sandals clicked on the wooden stairs as she hurried away. Cash bent down and picked up the cases, easily carting all three up the stairs. He was two steps from the kitchen when a familiar voice caught his attention.

“Can we please just talk about this?”

Carson.

He followed the voice to a closed door off to the left. The hall bathroom, he guessed, and when a female voice joined Carson’s, Cash realized the lieutenant wasn’t alone.

“For God’s sake, we’re at Sadie’s birthday party. We can talk about this later.”

Holly.

Cash breathed a sigh of relief. Okay, well at least Carson was in that bathroom with his wife, and not some member of the catering staff.

He felt guilty for even considering the latter as a legitimate possibility, but the memory of Carson with another woman refused to leave his brain. Unfortunately, the identity of the woman remained a mystery since Carson was yet again avoiding Jen’s phone calls.

“You can’t tell me seeing Penny and Sadie and Lucas doesn’t make you want the same thing for us.”

“What I want is to fix this rift between us. A baby isn’t the solution, Carson.”

“It’ll bring us closer together, you know it will. And I’m ready for this.” He sounded desperate now. “Besides, it’ll be nice for our kid to be around other kids his age. He’ll have an instant playmate in Penny and—”

Holly cut in angrily. “You want to knock me up so that Garrett and Shelby’s daughter has someone to
play
with?”

Cash stifled a sigh. Carson was really digging himself into a hole. Who knew the lieutenant was so dense?

“That’s not the only reason. I’m getting older, babe. I just turned thirty-four. I don’t want to be an old dad.”

“Then you shouldn’t have married a woman who’s five years younger than you! You should’ve married one whose biological clock lines up with yours!”

Cash’s sigh spilled free. Edging away from the doorway, he readjusted his grip on the beer cases. He felt like a shit for eavesdropping, especially now that the argument had treaded into TMI territory.

But he didn’t escape fast enough, because the bathroom door suddenly swung open and Holly flew into the hall.

She froze when she spotted Cash, instantly reaching up to wipe the tears welling up in her green eyes. Her mouth opened as if she wanted to say something, but then a little sob escaped her lips and she hurried past him. Rather than head for the kitchen, she rushed toward the front door, which slammed with gusto.

A second later, Carson burst out of the bathroom, his blue eyes wild, frustration clearly etched into his
GQ
features.

When he saw Cash, some of the craziness left his eyes. “You heard all that?” he said in a weary voice.

Cash nodded.

“Fuck.
Fuck
. I don’t know what to do anymore, man. I can’t fucking stand having her mad at me all the time.” Carson raked both hands through his blond hair, then took a determined step. “I have to go after her.”

Cash hastily moved into the other man’s path. “I think you should probably give her some space.”

“Space,” Carson echoed, his tone wary.

“Hold up, let me put these away.” Without waiting for an answer, Cash quickly ducked into the kitchen and dropped the beer cases on the counter.

When he returned to the hall, he studied Carson’s ravaged face and softened his tone. “Let her be for a while. Maybe Jen should go and talk to her. They’re close, right?”

“My sister’s the one who got my wife riled up in the first place,” Carson snapped. “She filled her head with all these ideas about how we’re not
communicating
. Like Jenny’s one to dish out relationship advice, for fuck’s sake. Any advice, for that matter. Her taste in men sucks, she can’t hold a damn job, she’s the biggest underachiever I’ve ever known, she—”

“
Enough
,” Cash growled.

The hallway went so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

“What the fuck, McCoy?” Carson finally said.

“Don’t talk about Jen like that,” Cash retorted, trying to control the anger flowing in his veins. “I get that she’s your little sister, but she’s not a child, Carson. She’s a grown woman, and it’s pretty damn sad that you don’t know a thing about her. She’s intelligent and compassionate and talented and she deserves a helluva lot more respect than what you give her.”

Another deafening silence followed.

Cash caught his breath, instantly regretting the outburst, but the damage had already been done.

Understanding had dawned on Carson’s face, along with the hard glint of accusation. “You’re sleeping with her,” Carson hissed out.

Cash held the eye contact. “Yes.”

“You’re
sleeping
with my
sister
. Jesus Christ, McCoy. I told you I didn’t want you messing around with Jenny.”

“Jen,” he corrected. “And yes, I didn’t listen to you, okay? But I don’t regret getting involved with her. I care about her. She’s amazing, and it’s a damn shame you can’t see that.”

Carson must have picked up on the possessive note in Cash’s voice, because his eyes blazed once again. “You care about her? You expect me to buy that?”

“It’s the truth.”

Carson swore savagely. “This ends now. I don’t want you playing games with Jenny.”

“I’m not playing games,” he said evenly, crossing his arms over his chest. “And I’m not ending it. I told you, I care about—”

For the second time that week, a fist came flying at Cash’s face.

And yet again, those irate knuckles caught him in the side of the mouth, ripping open the cut that had just began to heal. Blood spurted and dripped down his chin, but this time, Cash didn’t fight back.

He just stood there and eyed Carson. “You done?”

The other man was breathing heavily, his fists clenched as he glared at Cash like he wanted to kill him. “Yeah, I’m done,” Carson spat out. “And so is your involvement with my sister.”

“What the
hell
is going on?”

Both men spun around to see Jen standing at the end of the hall. Shock and horror contorted her features, and when she caught sight of Cash’s face, she raced over and damned if she didn’t blot the blood on his lip with the sleeve of her thin blue cardigan.

Keeping her sleeve there to staunch the blood flow, she turned to glower at her brother. “What the hell is the matter with you?”

“Me?” Carson said bitterly. “What’s the matter with you? You’re the one sleeping with McCoy.”

Jen remained completely unfazed. “So what if I am? Who I sleep with is none of your business.”

“It is when it’s my teammate you’re fucking.”

She flinched at the crude word, but recovered quickly. “So what?” she said again. “You just said it—Cash is your
teammate
. He’s your
friend
. I don’t see how you can be so opposed to this.”

“I’m opposed because I know the way he operates,” Carson retorted, speaking as if Cash wasn’t standing right there. “He doesn’t do relationships. One-night stands and casual flings, that’s all he’s interested in, isn’t that right, McCoy?”

Cash decided now wasn’t the time to admit he wanted more with Jen, so he wisely kept his mouth shut.

“Well, you deserve better than that,” Carson told his sister. “You deserve someone who’ll love you and honor you and—”

“Are you kidding me?” Jen interrupted.

She dropped her sleeve from Cash’s mouth and got right in her brother’s face—well, more like his chest, seeing as Carson was a foot taller than his sister. But she didn’t back down, and her petite frame vibrated with anger.

“You’re such a hypocrite, Carson! Love and honor? Isn’t that what you promised your
wife
when you recited those wedding vows?”

Carson jerked as if he’d been shot. “What the fuck does Holly have to do with this?”

“You tell me,” Jen snapped. “Were you loving and honoring her when you were sneaking around meeting your little
angel
?”

Her brother’s face paled.

“Jen,” Cash said cautiously. “Maybe now is not that time to—”

“Now is definitely the time, Cash! He’s standing here passing judgment on us when we both know damn well what he’s been up to.” She glared at her brother. “Who was that redhead you met at Starbucks?”

Silence descended. Carson’s ashen face took on a hint of defeat, and his broad shoulders sagged beneath his white button-down. For a moment, Cash felt a pang of sympathy for the man, which intensified when he remembered the heart-wrenching argument Carson and Holly had been having only minutes ago. He suspected there was more to the story than he and Jen would ever know, but rather than clarify or explain, Carson simply released a ragged breath.

“I’m not talking about this with you,” he mumbled, edging away.

Jen gaped at him. “That’s it? You’re just going to avoid the subject? Cash and I
saw
you. And I heard you on the phone with another woman. Not even an explanation?”

“I don’t owe you any damn explanations.”

“Well, then apparently I don’t owe you one either.” She looked at Cash. “We should go.”

He touched his swollen lip and his hand came back stained red. “You’re probably right.”

“Why don’t you clean up your face and wait for me here?” she said tersely. “I’ll tell Jane and everyone you said goodbye, that way you won’t have to go out there and scare the kids with all that blood.”