by Janice Lynn
“We’ll have so much fun.” Amy’s excitement was almost palpable. “You moving here will be like old times. Plus, you’ll be able to get to know Jack better.”
“Amy, please don’t push us together.” Taylor took a deep breath. “Jack is a good guy. Thanks to you insisting that he babysit me, we watched a few concerts together, but it wasn’t a big deal.”
Liar, liar, pants on fire. Everything about Jack was a big deal.
Especially the sex.
Her pulse sped up just recalling how it had felt when she’d crawled onto his air mattress with him.
Taylor pushed back the memories. Rebound sex. Nothing more. Just rebound sex.
Very good rebound sex.
“And?”
“And nothing,” she assured her friend. “Amy, we didn’t even get to know each other well enough to exchange cellphone numbers. You’re making something out of nothing.”
True, yet not true. They hadn’t exchanged numbers and yet she felt she knew him very well.
But the reality was that she didn’t know Jack at all.
Taking the job in Warrenville meant having to come face to face with him again, but only for a short while.
Regardless, she’d never let another man prevent her from making the right choices for her. Taking the job in Warrenville and sharing an apartment with Amy was the right choice.
If Jack didn’t like it that she’d be around, tough.
He could go work a music festival or something.
* * *
“Taylor starts orientation today. Isn’t that great?”
Jack fought looking up from the chart he was finishing.
Thrilled her friend was relocating to Warrenville, Amy had talked about little else for the past month. Jack had been a bit blown away that Taylor would be in town, that he’d see her again, would get the chance to make up for his verbal blunder.
“Great,” he agreed, and meant it. He was happy for Amy that her best friend was going to be close.
As for having his last two months in Warrenville interrupted by a beautiful blonde who’d turned his Rockin’ Tyme experience upside down, well, worse things could happen.
Taylor was a beautiful, sexy woman with whom he’d had a great time. Other than her having overhead his conversation with Duffy and the fact they’d had sex at all, Jack had no regrets.
Duffy had been right that Taylor deserved better than a music festival affair, and Jack wasn’t a man who could give that to her. Still, he believed the affair had been good for her.
He knew the sex had been. For him, too.
Best sex of his life.
Why hadn’t Taylor told her best friend they’d gotten together at the music festival? Was she ashamed that she’d had sex with him?
If anything, she should be ashamed of what he’d said to Duffy. He was. He hadn’t gone into Taylor’s tent because he’d wanted to protect her. Instead, he’d cheapened what they’d shared with defensive words spat out at the man who knew more about him than any other person.
Taylor was in Warrenville. As she’d done from the beginning, she’d fascinated him. But Duffy had been right to question him.
Sure, mentioning Courtney’s name had thrown his hackles up, just as Duffy had known it would.
Jack had enjoyed a lot of relationships over the years, but no one had interested him the way Taylor did.
No one had even come close. Not since Courtney.
Wild, fun-loving Courtney who’d been his soul mate at the tender age of seventeen.
She’d been his first.
He’d been her last.
His eyes blurred and he blinked to clear them.
He was a rambling man, would only be in Warrenville for two more months.
Taylor had been hurt in the past.
Whatever he did, he had to be certain not to add to that hurt. He’d watched her confidence grow throughout the week, knew it was telling that she’d come to his tent, and could kick himself for his words, meant only for Duffy’s ears, as he’d watched her deflate.
He’d also been proud when she’d lifted her chin and put him in his place.
Glancing up from the desk where he sat, he realized Amy had still been talking. He hadn’t a clue what she’d said, or had asked apparently as she seemed to be waiting for an answer.
“Jack, have you heard a word I’ve said?” Amy demanded, hands on hips and giving him an expression she usually reserved for uncooperative patients.
Fortunately, he was saved from answering by a new arrival. Not that Amy didn’t give him a knowing look before she took off to triage the patient.
A knowing look with a big smile.
A look she’d given him multiple times since Rockin’ Tyme.
* * *
Taylor made her way down the Warrenville Hospital hallway to start her new employee orientation early on Monday morning.
A month had passed since she’d worked Rockin’ Tyme.
A month in which she’d ended her apartment lease, packed her belongings, given what she wasn’t taking with her to charity, and moved to Tennessee.
No. Big. Deal.
She had this.
The move had been accomplished over the weekend and she’d semi-settled into Amy’s apartment.
Now she had a week of orientation prior to starting work in the emergency department. Even then, she’d be partnered with another nurse for the first few weeks for training on the electronic medical record system and hospital protocol. Then she would be on her own.
She’d worked the intensive care unit since graduation, but had enjoyed her emergency room rotation while in nursing school. She wasn’t worried about her nursing skills. She was a good nurse and would take good care of her patients.
Her only hesitation about the entire move was seeing Jack.
How would he take her being in Warrenville?
Would he even care? How much longer would he even be there? A few months at most.
A few months that would fly by.
Regardless, her butterflies at seeing him had been unfounded as she made it through her first day without bumping into him once.
As she lay in bed that night, she wasn’t sure if she felt relieved or disappointed.
Disappointed, a voice inside her head whispered. Definitely disappointed.
CHAPTER NINE
TO HAVE NOT seen Jack the day before, Taylor started Tuesday morning out by almost crashing into him first thing in the hospital hallway.
“Jack,” she rushed out, hating how breathless she sounded as she stared up into eyes so blue they pierced her. Just as quickly, she averted her gaze.
How could she have forgotten how intensely blue his eyes were? How masculine he was and how every female bit of her responded to that virility?
Face it, Taylor. Your body recognized what a potent man he was from the moment you laid eyes on him and went from zero to a hundred. He woke you up inside.
“Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going,” she told him, staring at where his almost neon-green scrubs brushed over the tops of his equally bright tennis shoes.
“Taylor.”
Her name on his lips dried up all the moisture in her mouth, making her tongue stick to her palate. She couldn’t look at him and not remember, not ache inside at how it had felt to be beneath him, over him.
He’d made her feel really good.
Get a grip, Taylor. It was just a fling. Rebound sex.
“I heard you were starting at the hospital,” he continued, causing her eyes to drift upward.
His smile was full and dug indentations into his cheeks. No doubt if she looked into his eyes they’d be all sparkly and happy.
Part of her felt all sparkly and happy at seeing him, too.
“From Amy, no doubt.” Not having been pr
epared to see him so early after not seeing him at all the previous day, before even making it to her Tuesday orientation class, she stumbled over her words. “For the record, I interviewed for this job prior to arriving at Rockin’ Tyme, before you and I had met, and I was lucky enough to land the job.” Acclimating to the fact that he stood a foot away, Taylor steeled herself and met his gaze. “My being here has nothing to do with you or what happened.”
His smile didn’t waver. “I understand.”
Did he? She hoped so. Only she hoped he didn’t understand too much.
Like how good it felt to see him and yet how part of her wished their paths had never crossed again so she could keep the memory of their night tucked away as something precious that had helped her along her path to discovering who Taylor was.
Trying not to stare, she reminded herself that she should get to orientation before they started without her or she lost her new job.
“That’s good because, although it’s good to see you—” definitely not a lie “—I don’t want you to think I’m here because of you. I’m not.” She gave a little laugh. She was rambling but wanted to make it clear that he shouldn’t feel any type of obligation to her because of what had happened at Rockin’ Tyme. “Honestly, considering, it would be simpler had we never seen each other again.”
She pasted a cheery smile on her face. “But no worries. You’ll be gone soon, right?”
* * *
Jack stared at the woman who’d haunted him for the past month.
Longer than that.
She’d haunted him since he’d first seen that photo in Amy’s apartment.
Maybe a premonition of things to come?
He’d missed her.
Crazy.
They’d spent less than a week in each other’s company and he’d missed her.
Taylor was here and for the next two months, they’d be working together.
Taylor kept her expression guarded. Despite the tension when they’d said their goodbyes, he hadn’t thought she’d regretted what had happened, but regret was written all over her lovely face.
Of course she had regrets. Just as she’d likely been dreading their reunion. He’d been her rebound sex. Who wanted to come face-to-face with their rebound sex every time they went to work?
Lucky for her. Jack never stuck around any place too long and had already been in Warrenville much longer than anywhere he’d been since med school graduation. Soon enough he’d be out of here until next year’s Rockin’ Tyme.
The thought of leaving, of heading to the event in Daytona, should have his feet itching to get on the move. He loved his life.
Only he didn’t like it that Taylor so obviously wanted him to hurry up and leave. Yeah, he didn’t like that at all.
“Great to see you again, too.” He gave a low laugh that echoed hollowly through him.
“Oh, I didn’t mean...” Pausing, she winced, then gave a repentant little shrug. “Um...can we just start over? Hi, Jack.”
She glanced up, met his gaze for the briefest moment before her big brown eyes filled with panic and she shook her head. “I’ve orientation this morning. Probably wouldn’t look good for me to be late my second day to work. Nice seeing you, Jack.”
Before he could get out another word she took off down the hallway at a pace meant to get her away from him as quickly as possible.
Watching her go, Jack scratched his head.
Seeing Taylor again hadn’t gone anywhere close to any of the dozens of different scenarios he’d imagined over the past month.
* * *
“Hope you don’t mind, but I invited company for dinner.”
Even before Amy finished her sentence, Taylor guessed who she meant and wanted to throw her cellphone across the room.
No. No. No.
She needed to tell Amy everything and just be done with it so her friend would let up.
“I knew you had bought stuff last night to make something yummy for dinner,” Amy reminded her, “so, I invited Jack over. I told him what a great cook you are.”
Gripping her phone tighter, Taylor winced.
Oh, Amy, what are you doing?
“My cooking skills are mediocre at best. Call and tell him you’ve changed your mind about the invite before I poison the poor man.”
“But I haven’t changed my mind,” Amy insisted. “I’m almost home. Or maybe I should say we’re almost home because he’s following me. I just wanted to give you a heads-up so you could look your best.”
“You know I was looking forward to a night with just you and me catching up, right?” Taylor sighed. “I think I’m going to put on my oldest, most ragged outfit and toss flour everywhere.”
“We’ll have plenty of time to catch up.” Amy had the audacity to laugh. “And just remember, you make the mess, you have to clean it up.”
In spite of having her evening plans completely changed, Taylor’s lips twitched with a smile. “I thought it was if one cooks, the other one cleans.”
“Is that how we used to do things?” Amy sounded amused. “Get to tossing that flour, then, cause we’re almost there and if I’m busy cleaning the kitchen, that leaves you alone with Jack, right?”
Taylor sighed. How was she going to convince her friend to quit with the matchmaking?
Why was Jack going along with her anyway? Or did he realize that’s what Amy was doing? Maybe he thought she just wanted to talk about Greg?
Maybe that did push Amy to keep trying. After all, wouldn’t it be cool for two best friends to be dating two best friends?
But it wasn’t going to happen. Not for her and Jack.
Taylor was making a new life for herself and that new life didn’t include a relationship.
Especially not one with a man who was a doctor who she already knew wouldn’t be sticking around long.
* * *
“This is really good,” Jack praised, not surprised that Taylor was a good cook, and not because of Amy’s glowing reviews. Long before that he had been sure Taylor could do anything she set her mind to do.
“Thank you.”
Looking back and forth between them, Amy gave a big grin and asked, “So, Jack, who was your favorite act at Rockin’ Tyme this year?”
Jack named the band that had been playing when Taylor had kissed him.
Although she’d been smiling and participating in the conversation, Taylor stared at her dinner plate as if she thought it might engulf the rest of her food.
“Although...” he named a band they’d danced and partied to “...gave a really good show, too.”
Amy had grilled him multiple times at the ER about the festival, so her questions had to all stem around the fact that Taylor sat across from him.
If he moved his leg, no doubt it would brush up against hers.
He didn’t move. It wasn’t his place to purposely touch her if she didn’t welcome his touch. But hell if he was just going to be complacent that she hadn’t forgiven him for his stupid, careless words to Duffy.
“I’m still sad I missed it,” Amy whined, her gaze going back and forth between Jack and Taylor.
“There’s always next year. What about you, Taylor?” he asked, determined to pull her into the conversation. “You signing on for Rockin’ Tyme next summer?”
Eyes wide, she shook her head. “Doubtful. I’ll be busy.”
Amy frowned. “Doing what?”
Taylor shrugged. “One never knows what life is going to throw at her. I mean, you had planned to go this year and that didn’t happen.”
“But you plan to sign up, right?”
Deciding to rescue Taylor from Amy’s probing, Jack asked, “How is your grandmother, Amy? Still recovering nicely from her fall?”
Amy nodded. “According to my mother, yes. According to Granny, no. I’m planning to see for myse
lf weekend after next.”
Seeming surprised, Taylor’s gaze lifted. “You’re going out of town the weekend after this one?”
“Sorry. I just decided for definite earlier today. No worries. Jack will give you a good intro to Warrenville and keep you company. Won’t you, Jack?”
Jack wanted to show Taylor Warrenville, but he didn’t want to force his presence on her.
Like tonight.
He shouldn’t have accepted Amy’s invite. So why hadn’t he said no?
Because he’d wanted to see Taylor.
It was for the same reason he said, “I’d love to if Taylor’s not busy and wants to go.”
* * *
“You did this, didn’t you?”
Taylor watched as Jack ran his finger along the fluid lines of the sculpture. Although she loved the piece she’d given to Amy, causing her friend to gush on and on about how good it was, Taylor still felt insecure about her art.
“You don’t have to answer,” Jack assured her, still eyeing the piece. “I know you did. She’s beautiful.”
Her breath caught. “She?”
“It’s a woman,” he explained needlessly. “A woman dancing on the water.”
Taylor doubted most people could look at the foot and a half piece and immediately see the sum of the lines and curves.
Stunned by his insight, she admitted, “I’m impressed you see that.”
Glancing her way, he added, “It’s you.”
Her throat threatened to close. Jack saw too much. “I made the piece, yes.”
His expression softened. “Not what I asked.”
He knew. He looked at the piece and he knew, had seen the truth. Why did that make her feel both vulnerable and ecstatic?
Staring into his eyes, she confessed, “Some days I think she’s me. Others, she’s who I want to be, free and not afraid of anything, not even walking on water.” With a half-smile on her face, she shrugged. “My reality is most likely somewhere between drowning and treading water.”