With his arms around her, holding her tight against him, Chip watched as she worked through what had just happened. He almost expected her to pull away from him, to shut him out. Instead, she took comfort in his embrace. Even without asking, he knew she was thinking about her brother and Annie. Their friendship meant a lot to both of them and this could put a strain on it. Said friendship had been the reason he’d kept his feelings to himself for so long, but that time was gone.

She deserved someone better than him, but that knowledge didn’t stop him from wanting to claim her as his own. He couldn’t allow that knowledge to sidetrack him because he knew what it was like to lose her. When he learned she was engaged to Sal he thought he’d lost her for good. But now, the door he believed closed was open, so he had to try.

“Don’t overthink it, Jos.” He pressed his lips to the top of her head.

“Jack and Annie—”

“This isn’t about them.” He leaned back to look down at her. “This is about us.”

“Bull. Ever since kindergarten we’ve always been a foursome. What do you think they’ll say when they find out? You’re Jack’s best friend. What do you think he’ll do when he finds out you’re sleeping with his sister?”

“I’m planning on more than sleeping.” He ran his hand down her arm, caressing her. “Jos, I can’t tell you when it happened because it feels like it’s been this way forever, but you’re the woman who’s filled every fantasy of mine. The one who occupies my dreams at night. The strength that I needed to keep fighting after coming home from my tour of duty, burned and damaged. I understand if you want someone…unscarred, but don’t use Jack and Annie as the reason. Be honest.”

“Unscarred…” She shook her head. “That never crossed my mind. Your scars take nothing away from you. If anything, they add to you.”

“Bullshit!” His tone was deeper than he’d meant for it to be but still, she didn’t pull away from him.

“Okay, maybe I’m wrong. They did take something…” As he started to pull away, she grabbed hold of his arm, her fingers pressing into the scars from the burns on his arm. “They took skin. Nothing more. They don’t make you less of the person you were before. They show what kind of man you truly are.”

She pushed up the long sleeve of his T-shirt, revealing his forearm and the beginning of the burns that laced their way up his arm and across his torso. “These scars show that you’re a man who would risk everything to save someone. You ran into a burning building to save that little girl and a fellow soldier. Everyone else was escaping the inferno but not you.”

As her fingers traced along the burns, his thoughts were pulled back into the past. After hours on the plane with the horrors of the past pressing on him, the last thing he wanted to do was revisit them again. Those memories held nothing but horror and sadness and brought the need for a stiff drink back to him. Only one drink wouldn’t be enough. He’d need a bottle of liquor to push the past away this time.

“You don’t believe me.”

Her soft words brought him back from his thoughts and into the moment. He wanted to wrap his arms around her, to bring her back against his chest and take comfort in her the same way she took comfort in him. Instead of giving in to his desire, though, he glanced down at her hand as she traced along each of the burns. The tender touch lit something inside him that he couldn’t put into words.

“What if all my actions did was cause more pain and suffering?” The question was out before he could stop himself. Never before had he voiced his concern and he hadn’t meant to now.

“I know you went through some rough patches when you came home—”

“I wasn’t talking about that.” He shook his head. “Forget I said anything.”

“The little girl.” Her hand stilled over his arm and she looked up at him. “Jack told me she’d lost her leg from where it was crushed under the pillar that collapsed on her, but she survived.”

In the blink of an eye, he was taken back. Not to his tour of duty, or the weeks in the hospital recovering from his injuries, but to the letter he’d received that had ultimately led him to Ireland. He could see himself standing in his kitchen with the small silver cross in his hand.

I found this on E.

The letter had been short and to the point. He already knew about the attack on her village and the injuries she’d sustained. It had happened weeks before, but the news had been sketchy at best. He held out hope that she was strong enough to get through it but that hope had been destroyed in one short sentence.

“Chip.” Her fingers tightened around his arm until her fingernails pressed into the skin. “Chip!”

“Huh?” He opened his eyes to look at her and the concern etched on her face sliced through him. He had been so lost in his own torment, he hadn’t realized she had been calling to him. “I’m fine.”

“You’re not, but you will be.” She slipped her hand into his, interlocking their fingers, and pulled him toward the bed. “Come here.”

“What about the food?”

“It will be there.” She let go of his hand and crawled up onto the king bed. Pressing her back against the headboard, she tapped the space beside her. “You don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to but come here.”

His lips curled up into a smile as he slipped onto the bed next to her. “This is why I went to your apartment. I hoped you wouldn’t mind me showing up unannounced because I needed this.”

“I never mind when you show up.” She curled against his body, and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, bringing her closer.

“After I opened the envelope, I didn’t know what I was doing…everything was hazy. One minute I was standing in my kitchen and the next I was knocking on your door. The only thing I could think of was seeing you. I didn’t want to talk; I just wanted to turn on some movie or television, order a pizza, and hold you in my arms. Whatever was going on inside of my head, I knew that it would settle the moment you were next to me. Just like it did whenever you’d visit me at the hospital.”

“I’m sorry I wasn’t there.” She looped her arm over his waist and rested her head on his chest, just as she always did when they’d curl up together.

“Don’t apologize.” Needing to see more of her, he reached over to push her dark brown hair back from her face. “Right here, right now, this is what gives me confidence in moving forward with us.”

She tipped her head to look up at him. “Sometimes I feel as if we bounce around like ping-pong balls. One subject to another. Yet somehow for us it works because we always make a full circle. So, tell me what is it about right now.”

Knowing she was right, he let the first comment slide. He’d work back to the little girl, but he couldn’t talk about E yet. He needed to just embrace the moment. “Having you in my arms, I know this is where we’re supposed to be. Maybe not in Ireland, but us together, that’s what this is all about. Jack might be angry at first but he’s going to realize I’d never let anything happen to you.”

“You’ve always been my protector.”

“And you’ve always been my supporting angel. In the darkest times, you’ve shined a light on me and gave me the strength I needed to get through it.”

Minutes ticked by silently as they just enjoyed each other’s company. With them there was no uncomfortable silence. They could remain in silence, or they could talk for hours. There was nothing they couldn’t share with each other.

“Annie knows.” She tipped her head up to look at him. “I mean, she knows I’ve always had a thing for you. I’ve never confirmed it or anything, but she knows.”

“I suspected my cousin had an idea.” He ran his hand down her back. “She gave me the hotel information for you. She might not have realized I was going to come after you, but she figured I’d contact you.”

“Then I’ll make you a deal.” She propped herself up on her elbow and stared down at him. “I’ll see where this goes on the condition that I get to tell Annie, but you deal with Jack.”

“I’m not sure that sounds fair but for you I’d do it.”