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Carly nodded.
“I’m sorry I did that to you. I didn’t mean—”
He looked so guilt stricken, Carly’s compassion was immediately aroused. “I know you didn’t. You were trying to do what you thought was right because you cared about me.”
“I do. More than you know. I want you to know something. If you find someone else—”
“Jesus, Justin!” She gaped at him. Did he really think she was the kind of woman who would shop around for a replacement while she was already in a relationship? She wasn’t sure if she should be offended or not.
“Let me finish.” His voice was low, and he didn’t look at her as he spoke. “If you find someone else—someone your own age, someone better—I won’t stand in your way. I care about you, and I want you to be happy, even if that means you’re with someone else.”
Carly felt her temper flare, but she managed to keep her tone calm and even. She told herself he didn’t understand how insulting the implications of his statement were. He’d never had someone in his life who hadn’t abandoned him, after all. There had to be part of him that expected she would do the same. “I’m not like that. I’m no cheater.”
“I didn’t mean to imply you were, but you could become unhappy in our relationship and want out. For whatever reason. If you do, all you have to do is say it.”
“Thanks,” Carly said acidly. “Nice to know it would be so easy for you to walk away.”
Sometimes she resented how well Justin controlled his temper. His voice was mild as he replied. “I didn’t say it would be easy for me. I said I would do it for you.”
“Well, I wouldn’t do it for you,” Carly retorted. “Call me selfish or whatever, but I would fight for you if some other girl tried to take you away.”
Justin chuckled. “Thank you. You have no worries there. I’m no cheater, either.”
“Have there been a lot of girls in your life? You told me it was ‘less than I would think,’ but what does that mean?”
“Three.”
She blinked. “Three? Really?”
“My first was a long-term relationship. We became a couple when we were fourteen and it lasted all the way up until after I joined the service.”
“Even as much as you moved around?” Carly was surprised by that.
He shrugged lightly, but he had that blank look on his face again. “They tried to keep foster kids in the same school district, if possible.”
She supposed that made sense, trying to keep their lives from being disrupted as much as possible. “What happened between you?”
“I thought she’d wait for me after I joined the service. She didn’t. The other two were, well, I don’t want to say one-night stands, but that’s pretty much what they amounted to because I made it clear I didn’t want another relationship.”
“Do you still not want another relationship?”
Justin glanced over at her. “It’s difficult—opening yourself up when you know you can be hurt. It was a long time before I was ready to do that again, and I hadn’t found anyone yet. Until you.” He gave her a small smile. “What about you?”
“Breaking up with Noah didn’t leave any scars. It really was mutual, about the most amicable a breakup can get. We just weren’t right for each other, and it was time to move on. But, like you, I hadn’t found anyone new yet.”
“So, Noah was the only one for you?”
“Yeah.” She felt her cheeks heat.
“Don’t be embarrassed. There’s nothing wrong with being selective.”
“I bet your army buddies teased you about it.”
Justin chuckled. “A bit. They nicknamed me The Priest.”
“Some of my girlfriends worried about me because I wasn’t dating very much. They thought Noah had really hurt me, no matter what I said about it. They were always trying to set me up with guys. It was exasperating sometimes, but they did it because they cared about me and wanted me to find someone who would make me happy.”
“They’d probably have heart attacks if they could see you now.”
