Chapter 12
CHAPTER TWELVE
Kara sat at the table off the kitchen in Arrow’s house and smiled down at the spreadsheet she’d just put together.
She’d been working to perfect it for a week now and it was finally where she wanted.
The formulas were all inserted and working as they should, and it would now be much easier to make monthly statements for her clients.
Sitting back in her chair, Kara thought about the last few weeks.
They’d gone by so fast, and so many things had happened.
She was still living at Arrow’s house, and honestly, she had no desire to leave.
The topic hadn’t come up, and Arrow seemed more than content to have her there, which was a huge relief.
Because honestly, she was still struggling with anxiety.
She found that she had to leave a light on in her bedroom in order to sleep.
And when it rained, she still had horrible nightmares.
But otherwise, things had been really good. Which was kind of scary, since it had always been Kara’s experience that when life was smooth, bad shit was getting ready to happen. She was trying not to be pessimistic, but it was difficult.
Jen felt horrible that Kara had such a bad PTSD incident that first night, when she’d had to go out on the search with Fred.
Guilty, as if it was somehow her fault. Kara had reassured her over and over that it wasn’t, that the toddler she’d been sent out to find was much more important than a grown-ass woman locked safely in a secure apartment building.
And in turn, Kara felt bad that she’d ditched Jen. It was obvious that Arrow was right, the woman was a little lonely and had been looking forward to having a roommate. But she didn’t have to worry about that for long…
Because the biggest news lately among her new group of friends was that Jen had a new man in her life.
Which was a huge surprise since, based on hints from the other women, Kara had been under the impression that Edge was interested in dating her.
And that theory seemed correct when Jen told the group about Asher, the new guy, while they were all at Anchor Point one evening, an adorable hole-in-the-wall bar and grill where everyone liked to hang out.
Edge had seemed visibly upset, then left not long after.
Talking with Arrow later that evening, Kara learned that Edge never made a move toward Jen because of troubles with his ex-wife.
Apparently, she was a world-class bitch who’d been making Edge’s life hell ever since their divorce.
Which Kara didn’t understand. They’d ended things years ago and, as far as Arrow knew, she’d been treated fairly in the divorce.
So the fact that she was still harassing Edge was mind-boggling.
But the man apparently felt that he couldn’t subject anyone he might want to date to her brand of crazy. Thus, he’d never started anything with Jen.
Kara thought it was extremely sad, because Edge was awesome.
All of Arrow’s teammates were, but since he hung out with his copilot more than the other men, she’d gotten to know Edge pretty well over the last few weeks.
He came over to the house to eat dinner and watch TV, or they’d all play poker—using cookies as currency.
She’d never laughed as much or as hard as she did on those nights.
But Jen was obviously excited about Asher, saying he was charming and romantic.
He also didn’t seem to care about her alopecia, which was a huge deal for her…
and everyone else in their friend group.
Just because Jen didn’t have hair didn’t mean she was any less amazing.
And honestly, Kara was in love with the different wigs Jen wore.
One day she might be a short-haired blonde, and the next a long-haired redhead.
No one had met Asher yet. Things were still very new, and Jen said he was super busy with his career as a contractor. He spent long hours on job sites and apparently was in high demand. But Kara and the other women were looking forward to introductions.
She was happy for her friend…even if she noticed that Jen still couldn’t seem to keep her gaze off Edge whenever they all got together.
Which had only been a couple of times since her move to Norfolk, but still.
It seemed that even though she was happy with the man she was dating, she might still have feelings for Edge.
That made the whole situation bittersweet. They were both awesome people and, in Kara’s mind, would make an adorable couple. But she hadn’t been around long enough to comment on it or butt into a relationship that was none of her business.
As long as Jen was happy, that was all that mattered.
The woman worked extremely hard and threw herself into every search.
She and Fred were constantly being called out to help find missing people, and lately, she’d been trying to train Fred to sniff out missing pets, as well.
So many dogs and cats got lost, and Jen had said once that if she ever lost Fred, she’d be heartbroken, so she wanted to do what she could to help others find their beloved pets.
The woman had a huge heart, and Kara was honored to be considered one of her friends.
Thinking about all of her new friends, the women who’d become so near and dear to her heart in such a short period of time, had Kara smiling.
They were all very different, but that seemed to make them click even more.
Laryn was a little rough around the edges, and according to the others, her pregnancy was making her snarkier than usual, which didn’t seem possible.
Hearing her and Casper’s banter was adorable.
He loved her so much, and when he stood behind her and put a hand over her belly, Kara wanted to melt.
Mandy was softspoken, empathetic, and fun.
And while Kara had never seen her in a classroom, she guessed she was probably an amazing teacher.
She and Buck doted on Rain, the dog who’d “found” them in the South American jungle.
He was like their child, which was how it should be with pets, as far as Kara was concerned.
Zita was no-nonsense, down-to-earth, and great in emergencies, which obviously came from her experience as a paramedic.
She’d gone shopping with Kara one day recently, and an older woman tripped on the sidewalk in front of them, dislocating her hip.
Zita didn’t hesitate to jump in to help, calming the woman and moving her into a more comfortable position.
When the ambulance arrived, she gave a concise rundown of the woman’s basic information, which she’d deftly gotten out of her while they’d been waiting for help to arrive.
Then there was Penny and Pyro. If anyone was meant to be a dad, it was Kylo Mullins. If she didn’t know better, Kara would assume he was Bowie’s biological father. The little girl clearly idolized her “Kylo-Pyro,” and being around the pair made Kara smile even if she was having the worst day.
All in all, things in Kara’s life were going amazingly well. She’d found an accounting job that she could do from home, she had friends, and she felt safe…for the most part.
And then there was Arrow.
He was everything she’d ever wanted in a partner.
Was he perfect? No. He worked too much, but she’d never really complain about that, because what he did was so important.
She worried about what he actually did when he was deployed, but understood that she’d probably never know the details because of the classified nature of his job.
Unlike Nolan, he never showed even the smallest bit of jealousy when she was with his friends.
He seemed to like that she got along with his teammates so well.
She’d caught him smiling in what seemed like contentment as she and Edge mock argued when they were playing cards.
He supported her and complimented her all the time.
He made it clear that the anxiety and panic attacks were completely normal, doing everything in his power to help talk her out of the spiral she fell into at times.
In short, Kara couldn’t imagine living alone anymore. She didn’t want to leave Arrow’s house, and she hadn’t brought up getting her own place, even though she was making decent money at her new job. She’d feel a little bad about that, except…Arrow hadn’t brought it up either.
Which went a long way toward making Kara think maybe he liked her just as much as she liked him.
She felt like she was a teenager again, wondering if her crush liked her back.
And all indications were pointing to the fact that Arrow, indeed, was interested in her as more than a friend.
It had taken the last few weeks for her to get comfortable with the idea of getting into another relationship.
She hated to keep comparing Arrow to Nolan, because the two men were nothing alike.
For starters, unlike when she was with her ex, she wanted to kiss Arrow.
Enjoyed when he touched her in platonic ways. Wanted him to touch her more.
She was well aware that his gaze was glued on her most of the time when they were together. As if he was studying her, making sure she was all right mentally. It was a comfort instead of creepy, which she might’ve thought if it was anyone other than Arrow watching her.
Lately, she’d even thought she’d seen longing in his gaze when he looked at her. And that longing even transformed into lust a time or two, when he thought she wasn’t looking.
Even something as simple as sharing the one full bathroom in his home was getting more difficult, because lately all Kara could imagine when she showered was the fact that Arrow had stood under that same spray of water, just as naked.
It became intimate to see and smell his soap in the shower, to see his toothbrush and toothpaste on the counter, see the stray hairs from his beard in the sink that he’d missed when cleaning up after shaving. They didn’t even gross her out.