Page 102 of Hurry Up And Wait

I leaned against the railing, shoving my hand through my hair. “No, I was going to say that they deserved the time with their families. I’m not married. If anyone should stay behind, it’s me.”

“And the woman? Red let it slip?—”

“It’s not at all what you think. And I swear I will tell you all about it when the job is over.”

“But not now.”

I waited for her to yell at me, but it never came. “Isla, I know I’m asking a lot, but I need you to trust me on this. I am not, and I never would do anything to hurt you. I swear to you, it’s not how it sounds.”

“Why didn’t you just tell me from the start?” she asked, her voice a lot less tense than when she answered the phone.

“Because…” I had to give her a piece of the truth. Anything to make her believe me. “Because I thought this job would be over sooner rather than later. And I’m not used to answering to anyone. When you came into my life, this job was already in motion. I just…didn’t handle it well.”

She huffed out a laugh. “We can agree on that. But you will tell me. When this is all over, you’ll tell me everything?”

“I swear to you.”

“Okay.” She didn’t sound quite so angry anymore, and I thanked my lucky stars that she was so understanding. If it were anyone else?—

“Kavanaugh…”

“Yeah?”

“Don’t go falling in love with this woman.”

“How can I when I’m already halfway there with you?” I confessed, smiling as I finally admitted it to myself. I heard her slight intake of breath and kept going. “I knew I was the luckiest man in the world the moment I saw you in the grocery store.”

“You should have known that when we were kids.”

“Trust me, I did.”

I waited for her to say something back. Anything to acknowledge what I just said, and when she didn’t, I knew it was my own fault. Admitting I was half in love with her after she found out I’d been hiding a woman wasn’t exactly the smoothest move.

“Kavanaugh?”

“Yeah?”

“Finish this job and come home to me.”

My lips curved up at the corners. “That’s the plan.”

24

ISLA

Three weeks.

Three fucking weeks of hell.

I was irritated, pissed off, and frankly, ready to murder someone. I hadn’t seen Kavanaugh in the flesh in way too long. Yes, our nightly video chats were amazing. He found new ways to torture me every night, bringing me to orgasm with only his words and that sexy gleam in his eyes. It was hot as hell, but it wasn’t enough. I wanted to touch him, to sleep with my face smashed against his chest as his heart thudded beneath my cheek. Was that really too much to ask?

I glanced at the clock and sighed. He would be calling any second now and I had to find a way to check my attitude so I didn’t ruin what little time I had with him. But ever since I lost my shit and jumped to conclusions three weeks ago, I was the epitome of the understanding girlfriend. I just didn’t know how much longer I could hold out like this.

My phone buzzed in my hand and I stared at the screen, considering not even answering. Maybe if I just gave myself tonight, maybe I would relax and find a way to be okay with our situation. But in the end, my need to see him won out. Except, it wasn’t a video call like I expected.

I slid my finger across the screen and tried to perk up. “Hey.” I rolled my eyes at how depressed I sounded.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, instantly on edge.