War Wounded (The War Trilogy #2.5) (5 page)

“But you hang out with Tucker and his boyfriend,” he says, as if it means I should swing that way, too.

“So? They’re my best friends,” I tell him.

“I really thought that you were gay, or at least bi curious,” Keith says, his eyes narrowing at me.

I shake my head. “No, I’m not.”

A sly smirk curls his mouth, his glassy gaze dipping to my lips. “Are you sure? Maybe I can convince you.”

“No,” I say firmly. “I like women. No men for me.”

His bottom lip pops out and he pouts. “Boo. You’re no fun. That was the whole reason I invited you over. I thought maybe we could do the friends with benefits thing.”

“Ahhh, no. Definitely not. Are you gay or bi?”

“Gay. Always have been.”

“Wow, I would’ve never guessed.”

He shrugs. "I can usually spot another gay guy. Guess, I was wrong this time."

“Listen, I’m sorry, but I just don’t swing that way.” I sigh.

Keith nods in understanding. “Okay. I understand. Sorry I kissed you.”

“Yeah, I need to go wash my mouth out with beer, fuck you very much,” I scoff.

Keith laughs. “I hope we can still be friends. I didn’t mean to make it awkward.”

“Nah, dude. We’re cool,” I say and hold out a hand.

We shake hands then head back downstairs to the kitchen. I’m feeling fairly sober after being attacked in the hallway. I sit back down next to Arianna and finish off the last of my beer.

“After we finish this game, I’m gonna go,” I say.

“Yeah, us, too,” Jade murmurs then yawns.

Arianna looks over at Keith. “Guess I’m spending the night. Kyle drove us.”

“I can take you home,” I offer.

Arianna’s pretty eyes swing to mine. “Yeah? Are you sure?”

“Absolutely.”

She smiles slightly. “Okay, thanks.”

~ Arianna ~

Duke and I say goodbye to my brother about an hour later before Duke leads me out to his car. It’s a nice car. It’s a black, completely tinted-out, Nissan Maxima. It’s not overly flashy and it is probably overlooked a lot of the time. Exactly what he needs in his line of work.

“Are you sure you’re all right to drive?” I ask.

I guess he looks okay. He’s not swaying or slurring or anything like he was a few hours before. He glances over the hood of the car at me, his expression serious.

“If I wasn’t, you wouldn’t be getting in my car right now,” he says earnestly.

I nod. I trust him. There’s something about him that commands my trust. From the moment I met him, I’ve trusted him one hundred percent.

Duke was hilarious tonight. I could not stop laughing. The guy was insane. I wish Kyle had his sense of humor. Kyle is very dry and a little boring sometimes. Duke is so far from boring. And that smile of his, phew…it had my heart racing a few times. I don’t think that Kyle has ever made my heart race with just his smile.

And on top of being funny, the guy looks so damn sexy tonight. He's wearing a snug fitting green plaid button down shirt that makes his hazel eyes look greener than normal, and it also shows off how thick his biceps are. I'm surprised the seams don't burst open. His square jaw is scruffy, giving him a rugged, bad boy look that he pulls off extremely well.

I give Duke directions to my place as he drives. The ride over is quiet, but it’s a comfortable silence. It only takes fifteen minutes to get to my house, which is actually Kyle’s house. I moved in a few months ago. Duke finds a spot out front and parks then opens his door and gets out. I’m confused as to what he’s doing. I frown as I watch him trot around the front of the car before stopping next to my door. He opens it and holds out a hand for me. I blink up at him stupidly for a moment before taking his hand and getting out of the car. Since when do guys do that?

He shuts the door and walks me up to my front door.

“Thanks for the ride,” I say softly.

He shrugs. “No biggie.”

“Can you tell me about Kyle now? Since it’s just the two of us?” I ask hopefully.

I really can’t stand waiting anymore. It’s killing me.

He frowns. “Hang on, let me get the file,” he murmurs and goes back to his car. He opens his back door, leans in and grabs something before straightening back up and shutting the door. He comes back to stand next to me.

“Let’s go inside,” he says.

I nod and unlock the door. My heart has kicked up a notch. I’m about to find out if Kyle has been cheating on me or not. I lead Duke into the kitchen where he takes off his coat and hangs it on the back of a chair before sitting down. I also take my coat off and hang it on the back of a chair.

“Would you like something to drink?” I ask him.

“A glass of water would be great,” he replies.

I get us each a glass of water before sitting down next to him. I’m so nervous that I need to rub my suddenly sweaty palms on my thighs. Oh god, what am I going to do if he’s cheating?

Duke slides the manila folder over so that it’s sitting in front of me. “Everything is in here. Pictures, dates, times, phone numbers, and anything else I could come up with.”

Dread pools in my stomach.

“Does that mean…” I can’t even finish the sentence as I look up into Duke’s grim eyes.

“I’m sorry, Arianna, but he is,” Duke says sympathetically.

The words hit me like a ton of bricks and I just sit there. I don’t even know how to react.

“And it’s not with one person; it’s been a different woman every time,” he adds.

Different women? Not just one? That is somehow ten times worse. With a shaky hand, I open the folder. About ten photos are tucked inside along with other papers. I pick up the pictures and start flipping through them. Duke got some crystal clear shots of Kyle kissing and getting handsy with multiple women.

“Has he slept with all of them?” I whisper brokenly.

How dare he! How dare he do this to me?

“I can only assume so. He went back to all of their places after taking them out for dinner or drinks or whatever. And he’d stay there until morning,” Duke tells me.

My eyes well up with angry tears. “That fucking bastard,” I hiss.

I toss the pictures back into the folder and slam it shut. That’s when I lose it. I drop my face into my hands and bawl my eyes out. It hurts so badly. How could he do this to me? He’s supposed to love me! Duke tugs my chair closer to him and wraps his arms around me. I drop my head to his chest. He presses a kiss to the top of my head.

“I’m really sorry, Arianna,” he murmurs softly into my hair.

“Why? Why would he do this to me?” I cry.

“Because he’s a douchebag?” Duke offers.

I straighten up and look at him. He looks upset and pissed off.

“What did I do to make him feel like he had to go off and find other women to be with?” I whisper, my voice trembling.

Duke’s gaze hardens. He grabs the back of my knees and pulls me closer, making the chair scrape against the floor. He drapes my legs over his thighs before reaching up and grabbing my face. He tilts my head up, forcing me to look at him.

“Don’t you dare for one second think that you did something to make him do this. He’s a grown ass man and made the decision to cheat on you all on his own. He’s the asshole in this. You did nothing wrong. Do you understand me?” he rasps, his eyes locked on mine.

Eyes wide, I nod as best as I can with his hands holding my head.

“You are beautiful and funny and smart and independent, and he’s a complete idiot for not realizing what he’s got. He doesn’t deserve you. And you, sweetheart, you deserve so much better than him.”

New, fresh tears stream down my face. How can such a wonderfully caring man have also been hurt by such idiotic women? Could they really not see what they had either? Duke’s thumbs brush away the tears from my cheeks and his gaze softens. His eyes dip to my lips just before he leans in and places the softest, sweetest kiss there. My eyes flutter closed when he presses a little harder. My heart is doing flip-flops in my chest. I bring my hands up to hang onto his wrists as his hands continues to cradle my face, and I think that’s what makes him realize what he’s doing.

Duke yanks back, breaking the kiss and the spell he’s got me under.

“Shit,” he breathes and roughly scrubs his hands over his face before smoothing them through his short hair. “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have done that. I don’t know what came over me,” he says roughly.

“It’s…it’s okay,” I murmur breathily. My lips are still tingling, and my skin is on fire, and damn, I want to feel his hands and lips on me again.

Duke pushes his chair back, which forces my legs to drop from his. He stands and grabs his coat. “I better get going.”

I don’t want him to go, but it’s probably best if he did. Because if he stays, I don’t know what I would do. I’m feeling vulnerable and I might do something stupid like look for comfort in another man’s arms. I am technically still engaged, and I would then be no better than Kyle.

I get up and follow Duke to the door. He opens the door and steps out into the landing. As he turns back, he gives me a devilish little smirk. “I lied, I’m not sorry about kissing you. But I am sorry that you were still engaged when I did it. That doesn’t make you a cheater, though, because I kissed you and you really didn’t kiss me back, so…”

I laugh. I can’t help it. He just has a charm about him that makes me have to laugh at everything he says.

He smiles warmly. “There’s that smile. Alright, Beautiful, good luck. Please, dump shit-for-brains and then call me so a real man can take you out on a date.”

I chuckle. “Thank you for everything, Duke. I really appreciate it.”

He shrugs one shoulder. “It was nothing. Just doing my job.”

“I know, but you did a good job,” I tell him.

He nods. “Thank you. Goodnight, Arianna.”

“Goodnight, Duke.”

~
Chapter
Five ~

~ Arianna ~

I’ve been sitting at the kitchen table all night. There’s no way I’m going to be able to sleep after learning about Kyle's extracurricular activities. So, I wait, and think about everything I want to say to him. Finally, at six am, Kyle walks through the front door. My stomach rolls nervously as I wait for him to enter the kitchen.

Kyle walks into the kitchen a minute later with a confused look on his face. He’s wearing his scrubs, but I’m fairly certain that he changed into them before he came home.

“Hey, babe, what are you doing awake?” he asks.

“I need to talk to you about something,” I say as evenly as I can.

The hurt is ten times worse with him standing here in front of me. I can barely look at him.

“Okay, what’s up?” he replies, obviously not having any reason to think the worst. He sits down across from me.

I open the folder, take out the pictures, and toss them onto the table in front of him.

“Care to explain these?” I ask.

Kyle frowns as he takes the pictures and flips through them. A multitude of emotions flash across his face: disbelief, guilt, anger…

“You followed me?!” he snaps, tossing the pictures back onto the table.

“No, I hired someone, but that’s beside the point! You’re cheating on me!” I yell at him.

“Arianna, it’s not what you think. I’m just getting other women out of my system before we tie the knot. Once we’re married, it’s just going to be you, baby, I swear,” he cajoles, reaching across the table for my hand.

I snatch it away and stare at him in disbelief. “You really think that I’m still going to marry you after this?!”

Hurt flashes in his eyes. “Ari, come on. I promise, this will end once we’re married. I will be completely faithful to you.”

“Do you think I’m actually stupid enough to believe that?” I ask incredulously. “How long have you been doing this?”

Kyle shrugs sheepishly. “Since we got engaged,” he admits.

My mouth drops open. “Are you fucking kidding me?!”

“Like I said, I just wanted to be with a few more women before we got married, and then I was going to stop.”

“Did you ever think for one minute what would happen if I found out?”

“Well, I sure as hell didn’t expect you to hire someone to follow me,” he scoffs. Does he not understand the seriousness of this situation?

“Kyle! You have been cheating on me for almost a year! We were supposed to get married in a couple of weeks! Don’t you understand how badly you’ve hurt me?!” I scream at him, losing what little patience I had left.

“I’m sorry, Arianna,” he says, but it really doesn’t do anything for me. I’m not even sure if he means that he’s sorry that he cheated or that he’s sorry he got caught.

"Did you at least use a condom? Or am I going to find out that I have an STD?" I grit out.

"Of course I did. I'm a doctor for Christ's sake," he scoffs incredulously.

"Oh, how fucking nice of you! I'm glad your brain is useful for something!"

Kyle gives me a bored look. I really don't think he understands that what he did was wrong.

“This is over Kyle,” I say softly. “I can’t be with someone who’s been sleeping with other women while he’s engaged to me."

Kyle jumps up and comes around the table to kneel on one knee next to me. “Baby, no! Don’t do this. I won’t be with anyone else from this moment on, I promise. Just don’t leave me. I love you, I want to marry you,” he pleads.

I give him a hard look. “If you actually loved me, you never would have cheated on me in the first place.”

“Arianna, I didn’t do it because I don’t love you. I did it so that I won't cheat on you after we get married. I did this for you,” he says, trying to be convincing but completely falling short.

I laugh, but it’s a bitter, humorless laugh. “That’s the most absurd thing I’ve ever heard! I’m done listening to you because you’re talking out of your ass. I’m going to pack up all of my stuff and be out of here by tonight.”

“Where are you going to go? You gave up your apartment six months ago,” he says.

“It's none of your goddamn business where I’m going to go! Anywhere but here will work just fine for me,” I sneer and shove out of my chair, making him have to stand back up. "I can't even fucking be near you right now."

“Arianna, please, I’m begging you,” he whispers and takes my hand. “Just give me one more chance. I swear I can change. I love you.”

My heart is breaking and I would love to give him one more chance. But I know the drill. I’m not stupid. Once a cheater, always a cheater. I snatch my hand out of his and let my anger take over.

“Go fuck yourself, Kyle. I can’t trust you anymore. So, no, I won’t give you another chance. We are done. The wedding is off and I’m leaving.”

~ Duke ~

The bell on the door chimes as I walk into the shop. It’s been about a week and a half since revealing to Arianna that Kyle was cheating on her and I can’t seem to stop thinking about her. I want to know how she’s doing. And I desperately want to know if she’s dumped his sorry ass.

The young girl, Jules, lifts her head from playing on her cell phone when she hears the door chime. Her eyes immediately widen when she sees me. I smile and take note of all of the Christmas decorations all over the place. There are a lot of Christmas and winter-themed cupcakes, too. I stop in front of the case and glance around at all of the sugary goodness.

“Hey, Jules, can I get one of these Olaf ones?” I ask, pointing to the Olaf cupcake in the case.

How do I know who Olaf is, you ask? Shit, who doesn’t know who Olaf is?
And
I might have watched the movie with my nieces when I was home for Thanksgiving. Don’t judge me.

Jules takes one out of the case. “Do you want it in a container?” she asks.

“Nope, I’m going to eat it now,” I say, taking the cupcake from her and handing her the money for the cupcake. “Is Arianna here?”

“She’s in the kitchen,” Jules answers and points.

“Think she’ll mind if I pop in?” I ask, eyebrow raised.

Jules shakes her head. “Not at all.”

“Great, thanks.” I smirk and send her a wink that makes her blush.

I make my way into the kitchen and find Arianna with her back to me decorating some cupcakes. Music is playing and she’s shaking her little tush. I quietly step up behind her then stick my cupcake in her face while singing, “
Do you wanna build a snowman?
”

Arianna yelps and totally messes up the cupcake she was decorating. She turns to glare at me. I just give her a shit-eating grin and take a big bite out of Olaf.

“I’ll eat that one, too,” I say around a mouth full of cupcake.

She makes a disgusted face. “Gross, Duke.”

She turns back around while shaking her head. She slides the messed up one in my direction and I chuckle.

“What are you doing here?” she asks dryly, going back to decorating the non-messed up cupcakes.

I lean my butt against the counter and cross my ankles. “I just wanted to see how you were doing, you know, because I'm a nice guy like that,” I say after swallowing the cupcake in my mouth.

She gives me a dry look. “I’m fine,” she mutters.

“Now, that, Beautiful, is a bunch of bull,” I murmur before shoving the rest of Olaf into my mouth.

She shrugs. “What do you want me to say? I broke up with Kyle and moved in with Jade and Justin while I look for a place of my own. I also cancelled everything for the wedding, losing most of the deposit money in the process. Plus, Kyle won’t leave me alone. So, it’s whatever.”

I frown. “What do you mean he won’t leave you alone?”

“He keeps calling me and showing up at Jade’s, trying to get me to change my mind. I’m sure he’ll get over it.”

Irritation flashes through me. “Want me to talk to him?” I all but snarl.

Her eyes shoot to mine. “No, please don’t.”

I grit my teeth. “Fine.”

I grab the ruined cupcake and dip my finger into the icing. I then wipe it on Arianna cheek. She gasps.

“What the hell, Duke?” She huffs.

“You got a little something on your face. Here, I’ll get it,” I say, fighting back a laugh as I set my cupcake down and grab her face. I lick the icing off her cheek. Oh, how I would love to lick icing off some other body parts…

“Duke!” she squawks, but ends up laughing as she shoves me away and rubs her sleeve over her cheek.

“Ah, there’s that smile.” I chuckle.

“You’re insane.”

“But I got you laughing. That’s all that matters.” I grin.

She rolls her eyes at me.

“Let me take you out,” I say, picking my cupcake back up.

“Duke, I don’t think that’s a good idea,” she murmurs, shaking her head.

“Come on, I’m not asking you to marry me. Just let me take you out; we’ll have some fun. We can go as friends, not a date.”

She hesitates and I take that as a good sign.

“Fun with a friend,” I reiterate in a sing song-y voice.

She sighs heavily. “Alright, fine. I guess I could use a night out.”

“Yes!” I exclaim. “Friday, I’ll pick you up from here, sound good?”

“Yes,” she replies with an affirmative nod.

“Great!” I quick lean in and give her a kiss on the cheek. “Sneak attack!” I say quickly and practically run for the door.

I hear her laughing, but I am out the door before she can say anything in return.

~ Arianna ~

Duke walks through the shop’s door at exactly 7:00 pm, which is closing time. He looks dashing in his nice dark jeans, gray pea coat, and bright blue scarf. I’m not sure what kind of shirt he has on yet since it’s covered up by his coat. His face is a little scruffy and his short hair is spiked up on top. A nervous flutter in my stomach has me taking a couple of deep breaths. This isn’t a date. We’re just friends. I’m not looking for anything and neither is he.

He smiles wide when he sees me. “Hey, Beautiful. Ready to go?”

“Yep,” I reply. “I just have to grab my coat and purse from my office.”

“Okay.” Duke nods and shoves his hands into his coat pockets.

I race back to my office to grab my stuff. I stop in the bathroom on the way back to check my hair and makeup. It may not be a date, but I still want to look nice. I slip on my coat as I walk back into the shop and put on my knit cap. It’s freaking cold out. Duke gives me a warm smile.

“I like the hat, it’s cute,” he says.

I blush at the compliment. “Thanks.”

“Come on,
friend
, I have some things planned.” He grins and holds out his hand.

I take it and follow him to the door, locking it behind us. Duke then leads me to his car and opens the door for me. He’s such a gentleman. We take a short ten-minute drive over to Central Park. He finds a spot and parks. We get out and he takes my hand as we walk down the street to where all of the horse-drawn carriages are.

“A carriage ride? Isn’t that a little date-like?” I ask warily.

“Definitely not. There is nothing remotely date-like about two friends snuggling up under a blanket together and going for a carriage ride through Central Park,” he says deadpan.

I bite back a smile and shake my head.

We settle into a carriage and under the heavy blanket that is provided. Duke puts his arm around my shoulders and tucks me up against his side. He’s giving off a lot of heat so I let him. As the carriage jerks forward, Duke starts up a conversation.

“So tell me why you decided to open up a cupcake shop?”

I tell him about my love of baking, and how I’ve always wanted to be my own boss. Then we move onto why he went into the Marines. He said that he was always fascinated with the Marines. He loved watching shows about them, seeing them in their uniforms in parades, etc. So when he was old enough to join, he did, even though his parents didn't want him to. He was young and had something to prove. He wanted to be the best. He believed - still does - in fighting for this country.

After that, the conversation turns into favorite movies, books, TV shows, and music. We actually have a decent amount of stuff in common. I laugh when Duke tells me that he’s into country music.

“I never would have pegged you for a country music fan.” I snicker.

He sighs contently. “I don’t know what it is about it. I just really enjoy listening to it.”

“That’s not a bad thing.” I smile up at him.

He gives me a little lopsided grin that has my heart jumping up into my throat. “Yeah, I know.”

The carriage comes to a stop and the driver announces that we’ve arrived. Arrived? Where? I look around to see that we’re at the Wollman Rink. Duke hops down from the carriage then turns and holds his arms out for me. I put my hands on his shoulders while he takes my hips and helps me down from the carriage. Duke pays the driver before taking my hand and leading me toward the ice skating rink.