AllFreeNovel
Share Us
After a beat, he got up from the sofa and headed that way. Nick was the one on the ground playing with the girls now—building with Mega Bloks instead of coloring—and he shot him a smirk as Jack stepped over him.
It wasn’t like everyone didn’t know he was dating Robin—not that they’d taken the time to put a label on it or anything. Why was she being so secretive about this?
That was exactly what he planned to ask her when he entered the kitchen a second later, but as soon as he stepped through the door, he was immediately grabbed by the arm and pulled into Joan’s massive walk-in pantry.
“What?” he asked in a surprised whisper.
“I just wanted a quick minute with you,” Robin replied, taking his hands and putting them around her waist before fitting herself snuggly against his chest.
Jack lowered his cheek to the top of her head and exhaled in a long, steady rush. This was good. A hug. A hug he hadn’t known he needed, actually. How could she tell he needed it when he couldn’t?
He inhaled the sweet, warm scent of her as he rubbed her back in slow circles, then closed his eyes without even meaning to.
After a long minute, she pulled back slightly and rested her chin on his chest so she could look up at him. “Better?”
Jack swallowed hard. “Better.”
“Good.”
Words completely failed him as he stared into her deep-brown eyes, and he felt his head moving back and forth even though he hadn’t given it any conscious thought.
“What?”
“I just don’t get how you knew I needed that.”
She stretched up on her tiptoes and pressed a soft kiss to his lips. “If it helped, I’m glad I was right.”
“It definitely did.” He looked around at the rows of canned goods and pasta and baking supplies. “Not sure why we had to hide in the pantry for it, though.”
Robin wrinkled her nose. “I’m not sure either. I guess it felt like a quiet space so you could have a second to… I don’t know. Let it out if you needed to?”
She’d offered to let him vent, but even if hewerethe type to want to talk things out like that, it wouldn’t be appropriate. No good would come of him telling her about the scene he’d been called to this afternoon regarding suspected abuse. No good would come from repeating it, and no good would come from going over it out loud when he’d been working so hard to get the images out of his head.
But when he’d declined her offer to talk it through, she’d moved on to plan B. This hug. This quiet moment. This opportunity to breathe through it and relax into knowing that he finally had something to bring light to a dark day. He’d never had that before. Not when he was a Marine, witnessing not only domestic situations but also needing to deploy with an infantry unit because it helped his career to volunteer for such things.
He hadn’t had that when he’d been Holly’s bodyguard, either. Back then,shewas his priority. Any hard days during that time impacted her more than him, and his only focus had been making sure his sister was okay by addressing her needs.
And when he’d worked nights as a rookie in Philly? Well, Tommy had been a huge help. But even if they offered each other a pat on the back, that didn’t compare to this woman dragging him into a pantry so she could wrap him into a hug and not press him for more details.
He needed this to be a forever thing. Was it too soon for that? Probably. He may have been slowly getting to know her better for years, but he’d only been dating her for what seemed like a millisecond. That couldn’t translate to love, right?
Except, apparently, it could. Because he did. Between the way their first date had gone, the small moments they’d shared since, and the fact that she’d been able to read him so clearly and know exactly what he needed, he knew with an alarming amount of certainty that he loved Robin McBride. The realization hit him as hard as their hearts were beating, and it nearly took his breath away.
The only question was … could she let herself love him back?
Tommy’s words echoed in his mind. “One thing at a time.”
“Hey, Robin,” he said, reaching out to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear.
“Yes?”
“Can we… um, can we make this official? Exclusive? Because there’s no one else I want to be with, and I hope the same is true for you. If it is…”
A quiet giggle bubbled out of her, so she put her hand over her mouth and then shook it off, composing her face in exaggerated seriousness. “Sorry, go on.”
Jack grinned and poked her side. “What was that?”
“Nothing! Are you asking me to be your girlfriend right now?”
