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“You've got a strange sense of humor.” Jake's voice took on a hesitant tone. “If you're mad because I didn't call sooner, I'm sorry. I've been busy and then there's the time difference.”
“I know how busy you've been. I saw a picture of you and the pretty blond you're so busy with.” A warm breeze blew around her and she could hear the crickets chirping in the grass creating a relaxing environment that was completely at odds with the anger raging inside of her.
“Blond?” Jake asked sounding truly confused. “Charlie I don't know what you're talking about. I'm in England. My cousin …”
“Don't bother feeding me any lines. I should've expected as much from someone like you.” Maybe his lines worked with the other women he knew, but not her.
Once again there was silence. Part of her wanted him to deny her allegations, but she knew even if he did it wouldn't change anything. Pictures didn't lie and hadn't he already admitted he was in England just like the caption claimed.
Before he could say anything in his defense she added, “It's fine Jake. Really, I don't care. Enjoy your time in London.” With her final sentence Charlie hit end on her phone and shoved it back into her pocket.
She should feel relieved. She told him what she thought without letting him know how much it bothered her. Yet all she felt as she walked back into the kitchen was shame and emptiness. Shame at herself for believing that Jake was different. For thinking that maybe he could truly care for her. And emptiness because she'd just lost a tiny part of her heart to him.
After the line went dead, Jake pulled the phone away from his ear and stared at it. What the hell just happened? Yeah, he expected Charlie to be a little upset that he hadn't called sooner, but the conversation they'd just had made no sense at all.
Shaking his head he tried to replay the conversation over in his head. Despite his efforts it still didn't make any sense to him. Obviously she was upset about something. Should he call her back and try to straighten things out? Or would it be better to wait a little while, maybe give her a chance to cool down?
For some reason he doubted waiting would help the situation much so he hit redial. The phone range several times before going to voice mail. Even though he assumed she wouldn't call him back in her current mood, he left a message asking her to do just that.
Okay, you can figure this out. Jake paced in front of the empty fireplace. She'd referred to a picture of him and some blonde. He hadn't been out with anyone since meeting Charlie so what picture had she seen? Could it be an old one some magazine just released. Was some media outlet trying to play up the scandal already brewing with Blair? And why had she said he was in London? Had she guessed when he said he was in England? If she'd spoken to Cindy, she'd know he was in Bristol not London. He'd left a detailed message for Cindy to pass along if and when Charlie called. Was it possible she never got the message? But if she had spoken to Cindy she would know he wasn't here on some kind of vacation.
“AJ is out of the ICU and asking for you,” Sophia, AJ's girlfriend, said walking into the room.
Lost in thought Jake hadn't heard her come in, but at the sound of her voice he stopped and turned. Petite and blonde, the two words echoed in his head. Sophia was both. Could Charlie have seen a picture of them together somehow? Sophia was the only woman he’d been around lately. Had a photographer taken a picture of them together and published it?
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Sorry. I have a lot on my mind. Listen I want to know how AJ is doing, but I need to check something out.” Jake moved toward the guest room where he'd left his laptop. He didn't bother to wait for a reply. Instead he brought up his favorite search engine and typed in his own name. Several links came up, but he chose the one with the most recent date. After opening the link a color photo popped up and sure enough it featured him and Sophia at the airport together with a short article beneath.
“What are you looking at?” Sophia asked entering the room. “Is that us?” She peered over his shoulder.
“Bloody hell,” he swore using one of Dylan's favorite expressions. “She must have seen this picture,” he groaned running his hands through his hair. While he agreed the picture looked bad, he'd hoped that she had a little more faith in him. Didn't Charlie trust him at all?
“Who are you talking about?”
Jake turned away from the screen. He didn't need to see the picture or headline to figure out exactly what had happened. “Charlie. Someone I've been seeing. Just talked to her and she accused me of seeing someone else. That picture is why,” he said gesturing toward the computer.
Damn it. Once again the media was butting into his life.
Sophia sat down on the edge of the bed. “If you explain, I'm sure she'll understand.”
Without intending to Jake laughed sarcastically. “Would you? With my reputation to back up that photo?” Jake tried to ignore the dull pain settling in his chest. He'd really thought that Charlie had come to know the real him, rather than the Jake Sherbrooke the media liked to portray. Evidently, he'd been dead wrong. If she could jump to conclusions about him so quickly she didn't know him at all.
“Maybe. I'm not sure.” Sophia shrugged.
Jake heard the uncertainty in her voice.
“You could at least try, Jake. It's her loss if she doesn't believe you.”
Sophia only had that half correct. If she didn't believe him, he'd be losing a lot too. During their time together he'd come to care about her in a way he'd never felt before. And he knew he would hurt like hell if she walked out of his life forever.
“How's AJ doing?” Jake didn't want to continue discussing Charlie. Later he'd try her again. He knew in her current mood, she wouldn't listen to him. Maybe if he gave her a chance to calm down she'd hear him out.
Chapter 13
A week later Charlie sat on her bed packing. The following morning she was returning to Virginia. She had another week of leave left but she intended to spend it at her own place. She also had an interview at the hospital in Williamsburg. Although she'd hoped to make up her mind concerning her career in the Navy by now, she was still on the fence. Hopefully after this interview she would be able to make up her mind.
A mere week earlier, before she'd seen that picture of Jake on the internet, she'd been certain she wanted to retire from the Navy and start the next phase of her life. Now that he'd shown his true colors and she was back to thinking rationally, staying in the Navy seemed like an excellent idea.
