Chapter 2
Chapter 2
“ W hy are you touching my pillows?” Jordan hovered at the edge of the room, observing Ribs a few seconds unseen. He was a seriously beautiful man, with features far more perfect than Jay’s. Jay had a sweet face, was more cute than handsome. Ribs had intimidated her from that first day he entered the café, not like Jay who had felt real and touchable from the get go.
Ribs jumped, accidentally launching the pillow into the air. “I lack the correct chromosome to know how to arrange these.”
“Thank goodness, from women everywhere,” Jordan said. She entered the room, swept the mass of pillows onto the floor, and plopped onto the bed, patting the space beside her in one motion.
Ribs eyed the bed warily, as if he wasn’t certain he should join her, and Jordan bit back a laugh. As if he would ever see her that way, his best friend’s ordinary little wife. Ribs was like Ethan, and the Ethans and Ribs of the worlds always dated the Amelias of the world, women so spectacularly beautiful and put together they made you wonder if they were retired supermodels or genetically modified by the FDA. Women who could make you feel old, chubby, and frumpy in comparison, if you let them. For Jordan, it was a daily struggle not to let them, at least since having the kids.
At last Ribs overcame any misgivings or hesitation and stretched out beside her, not that they were in any way touching. The bed was king size, plenty enough room for them to maintain a safe distance. Plenty enough room for Jay to curl into a ball away from me, night after night, shutting himself off, never crossing the barrier I desperately need him to cross.
Think about something else, anything but your marriage. “Please tell me you’re staying for supper. I made a ton.”
“Yes, please,” Ribs said, rubbing his tummy in an unconscious gesture that made her smile. Jordan liked to think she provided the wholesome stability in his otherwise glamorous life. He might be a globetrotting playboy spy, but she fed him real food and provided an anchor, a home base she hoped also acted as a touchstone for him, somewhere real and tangible where he was loved and cared for. She’d been married into the navy long enough to realize how important that was. No matter where he went or how far he traveled, she always wanted him to know he had a place to call home, that he always had them.
“The kids are going to be stoked. Amelia and Ethan are staying, too.” She yawned and covered it with the back of her hand.
“What time are they getting here?” Ribs asked. He sounded strangely tense, and she thought she knew why. Obviously the fight between her and Jay had disturbed him, like hearing your parents argue. Would it make him feel better if she told him how common those fights were now? Probably not.
“Not sure, but soon.” She yawned again, but she couldn’t help it. The baby was teething molars, keeping her up most nights, unwilling to wean even though Jordan was desperately ready to stop nursing. She loved her babies, loved nurturing them with milk she made for that purpose, but her body hadn’t been her own in far too long. Was that part of the problem with Jay? Did he see her as a mother instead of a wife the way she did? It was hard to feel sexy with a baby gnawing you at three AM.
“You should nap,” Ribs said.
“I have so much to do,” Jordan said, baleful glance sliding toward the kitchen and laundry room where piles of work awaited.
Ribs reached over and poked her, drawing her attention back to him. “Sleep, Jordy, I command you.”
He was so ornery she couldn’t help but grin at him. “Well, if you command me, obviously I have to obey.”
“At long last, that actually worked on a woman,” he said.
She laughed, and it was the last thing she remembered before she closed her eyes.
R ibs watched her sleep a few minutes like the pathetic loser he was. He was deeply worried, about both her and Shimmer. Basking in their epic love story had been painful, but manageable because he so desperately wanted happiness for both of them. But if their marriage broke up, that would be the worst sort of pain he could imagine, for all of them. Everyone would expect him to take Shimmer’s side because they were tight, but Ribs honestly didn’t know what he would do. He couldn’t imagine his life without Jordan. She’d become important to him over the years, as much as anyone in his life. They were friends, too, and she had made it a point to take care of him. Never in a weird or inappropriate way, never in a way that circumvented Shimmer. But she always invited him over when he was in town, took an interest in his wellbeing, and sent him packages when he was away, ones that were filled with homemade treats and pictures drawn by Charlotte, their oldest daughter. By now his fridge probably had almost as much of her artwork on it as theirs did, and he loved it. She and Shimmer were both family to him, and if they broke up…
They won’t break up, he assured himself. When Shimmer got back, he would talk some sense into him. They all would, the whole team. Everyone had a vested interest in their marriage, not just Ribs. Shimmer was the first one to get married, had been married when they were newbie SEALs, far before anyone else on the team was ready to settle down. It was only now that the other guys were beginning to hit their thirties and pair off like the world was ending.
Not you, though, that mean little voice inside him said.
Someday, he reassured himself, forcing his eyes toward the ceiling and away from Jordan. It wasn’t his unrequited crush on Jordan that had kept him from settling down over the years. Rather it was a combination of factors. And he knew enough about life and relationships to understand that his crush wasn’t in the same realm as her and Shimmer’s relationship. There was the very real possibility that if she had chosen him instead all those years ago, they wouldn’t have worked out. In fact there was a high probability that would be the case. Jordan had long been his dream girl, and that was where she had always remained, in the realm of dreams and fantasy. What she and Shimmer had was real. Ribs had watched it up close for more than a decade now. There had been times, including today, when he didn’t think he had the stomach for what they went through. She was an escapist fantasy and since that first day he had never, ever once pictured himself in Shimmer’s place. Never envied in a tangible way what they had. Rather he had felt protective of it on both their behalves. He had kept an eye on Shimmer when they were on assignment, wanting to make certain he remained faithful to the vows he’d made, to himself and to Jordan. Not that Shimmer had ever required a keeper. He’d been faithful, always. Had never partaken in even harmless flirting with another woman. He had been as devoted as a husband can be to his wife and family.
That devotion, Ribs now realized, had been a blessing to him as well. Because what if he hadn’t been so devoted? What if he’d cheated on Jordan, used the massive amount of time he spent away from home to run around and sow his wild oats? How would Ribs’s feelings toward both of them have been different? Would his feelings for Jordan have shifted into something more protective, more predatory? Would he have felt more entitled to push his agenda if he knew Shimmer was running around and being unfaithful?
Thankfully he had never found out. And I never will, he told himself, needing reassured again. When Shimmer got back, they would have a talk, a long talk about what was going on. Ribs would make certain everything was on the up and up, for both their sakes. Because if Shimmer ever cheated on Jordan…
Without his permission, his face swiveled toward her, taking in the soft set of her sweet features. With effort, his eyes turned back toward the ceiling. It was a moot point, and it would remain a moot point. Or else.
The doorbell rang and he jumped. Jordan didn’t stir, and he was glad. He almost expected to hear the baby cry before remembering the kids were with Amelia. He jumped off the bed and skittered down the hall, yanking open the door before the bell could chime again.
“Hey,” Ethan said, not sounding at all surprised to see him there. In his arms he held three-year-old Charlotte who was asleep on his shoulder. Beside him stood his wife, Amelia, holding 12 month old Nash who looked fussy and unhappy to see all of them.
“Mama,” he declared unhappily, starting to cry.
“Shh, shh, shh,” Amelia soothed, doing that bouncy sway thing that seemed to come naturally to every woman on the planet. “It’s okay, we’re home. We’re here now.”
“Jordy’s asleep,” Ribs whispered. “Hey, buddy,” he added to Nash, giving him a little nudge that made him shy away and cry harder. It was likely the baby didn’t remember him, which was a shame since he’d actually been in town on the day of his birth. He was the first person to hold him, after Shimmer and Jordan, of course. They’d all three sat on the bed, Jordan between them looking ridiculously beautiful for a woman who’d endured twelve hours of labor with an eight pound baby. Shimmer’d had his arm around Jordan while Ribs sat on her other side, both of them beaming at him as he held their boy.
“He’s perfect,” Ribs said and meant it. He never understood why people said babies were beautiful, until Charlotte and Nash came along. And he thought they were more beautiful than other babies he’d seen, not that he was biased. Or maybe he was, but he didn’t care. They were perfect.
“It’s about time you procured one of these for yourself,” Jordan had said.
“You’re not supposed to be so articulate this late in the day,” he’d returned.
“Don’t badger him, Jordy. He’s not ready,” Shimmer had said. “He’ll have to live vicariously through us.”
“Uncle Ribs,” Jordan had said, giving him a sleepy smile, her head resting on Shimmer’s shoulder.
Uncle Ribs he remained, though the kids barely knew, a testament to how often he came and went in their lives. Somehow despite leaving the navy, he and Shimmer still seemed to travel as much, maybe more.
If the kids barely know me, how much do they know their dad? Ribs wondered before shooing the stray thought away.
Nash was really working up a howl. “I think he wants to nurse,” Amelia said. “I hate to wake Jordan, but I’m sure she wouldn’t want him to get this upset.” She bypassed the men and headed to Jordan’s room. Ribs nodded his head toward the kitchen, inviting Ethan to follow. He deposited Charlotte on the couch and pulled a blanket over her before heading toward the kitchen.
“That kid can sleep through anything,” Ethan noted.
“Like Jordan,” Ribs said, then pressed his lips together. It was weird to know the sleep habits of a woman not your wife, but he’d spent enough time with Shimmer and Jordan to know that once Jordan was out, she was out. Good luck to Amelia trying to wake her now.
Ethan didn’t comment on the lapse, merely opened a cupboard and helped himself to a glass. All of them had a certain level of comfort with each other’s houses and families. It was the nature of their long and close connection that they felt a kinship that surpassed friendship, sometimes even surpassed family. They had seen and done things together, unspeakable things that bonded them in unfathomable ways. For life.
“Where’s Shimmer?” Ethan asked. He opened the fridge and spied its contents, trying to find something drinkable among Jordan’s healthy choices.
“Wheels up,” Ribs said.
Ethan whirled toward him with a scowl. “What? No.”
“Yeah, I watched him pack.”
Ethan set down his glass. “I’m privy to his itinerary. He’s not wheels up until tomorrow.”
“Then where did he go? And why?” Ribs voiced the questions both of them were thinking. They stared at each other, sharing a frown. It was never good when a military guy began keeping secrets. It could only mean one of two things: either he was cheating on his wife or headed for a breakdown.
“Maybe we should call Ridge, put a trace on him,” Ethan suggested.
“Something’s not right with him. When I got here…” he paused and looked toward the door to make certain they were still alone. “He was reaming Jordan. Bad.”
“That doesn’t sound like them,” Ethan said.
Ribs shook his head. “He said…he said he wants out.”
Ethan froze, wide eyed. “He said that to Jordan?”
“To me. I told him to hold off and we’ll talk about it when he gets back. But if he hurts her…”
He didn’t realize his fists were clenched until Ethan tossed a piece of ice at him, letting it ping painfully off his forehead. “You’ll do nothing because it’s their marriage and not your business.”
“But…”
“Not your business, Gaines. I know you and Jordan are…close. All the more reason to tread carefully here. You don’t want chatter.”
The military/espionage circle was close, small, and tight-knit. That made it a combustible combination for gossip. “Is there chatter?”
“There’s always been chatter,” Ethan said with a sigh, taking a sip of his drink, what looked to be some kind of green juice that made him grimace before taking another gulp.
“What kind of chatter? What do they say?”
“The usual. That you spend an awful lot of time here, that you and Jordan seem unusually close, that Shimmer must be an awfully understanding guy to let you so near his wife.”
“What?” Ribs exclaimed. “I am never here without him.”
Ethan quirked a brow at him.
Ribs sighed, annoyed. “Except now. This is the first time in forever I’ve been here solo. I’m always with Shimmer or we’re a trio.”
Ethan shrugged. “Not saying I give it any credence, merely passing the info along. And warning you. This is their relationship, not yours. Tread carefully and keep your nose out.” He tipped his glass toward Ribs before downing the rest of the green juice and grimacing again.
“I’m never here,” Ribs insisted, running his hand through his hair. He felt an odd mix of righteous indignation and a whole lot of guilt. He and Jordan hadn’t done anything, ever, not once. Not a surreptitious touch, word, or even glance. But apparently someone was privy to his secret thoughts and desires, the ones that made him squirm with shame for being unable to control feelings he didn’t want to have.
“Probably a good thing,” Ethan said. He held up his glass and stared at it. “This stuff grows on you.”
“Probably, if you drink enough,” Ribs agreed. He didn’t try to disagree with Ethan because what was the point? Part of being brothers meant you were real with each other, warts and all. He’d never admitted his secret feelings for Jordan, but he’d never had to. Everyone but Shimmer seemed to have guessed. Or had he? Take care of her.
What had that meant? Ribs pushed it away before he could think too much or peer too closely.