Of course, Anna made the appropriate noises in all the right places. She’d become an expert at smiling and nodding and sleeping with her eyes open as the women went on and on and on about utter nonsense. Funny thing was, it didn’t seem to matter that she had nothing to contribute. They were so busy talking and not listening—too busy formulating what they were going to say next while trying to get a foot in on the conversation—that it didn’t even matter that Anna sat there in silence.
Until the last dinner. Anna had sensed the shift in the air even before they sat down to order. The women were unusually interested in her. Their eyes glinted as they asked her about her job, the hours she worked. Did she ever work weekends? Nights? How long had she and Hal been married now? How on earth did they make their two-career marriage work?
It reminded her of those days back in elementary school when one kid was chosen to be the student of the week and all the bits and pieces of their lives were put on display for all to see. Of course, the elementary school spotlight was kinder and gentler. The interest was sincere, even if the others really didn’t have a burning desire to know.
This sudden interest in her personal life was downright creepy. And she’d left the club that night with the unshakable feeling that something was up. Something was different. They knew something, and like a pride of lionesses, they were going to play with their prey—get maximum enjoyment from the game before the kill.
On the way home Anna had tried to talk to Hal about it, but as usual he wasn’t interested.
Exactly one week to the day later—after the niggling feeling that something was different grew into a gut-wrenching knowledge that something was very wrong, something that everyone but her seemed to know about—she’d checked Hal’s email and everything was spelled out right there. Sexy messages from his office manager. Plans for hookups and out-of-town getaways. The jackass had been so smug in his cozy little affair that he’d left it all right there for her. All she had to do to learn what was really going on was type in his email password, which was the month, day and year of their wedding anniversary.
And Hal had had the nerve to accuse her of being more than just friends—or wanting to be more than just friends—with Jake.
Anna’s gaze automatically picked out Jake in the midst of the crowd. As he walked toward her carrying a large white bag in one hand and a bottle of wine in the other, she shoved aside the bad memories of Hal, refusing to let him ruin this night.
She watched Jake as he approached. He was such a good-looking man—tall and broad-shouldered, with dark hair that contrasted with blue-blue eyes. But what mattered even more was that he was a good man, an honest man. He might be a serial monogamist, but he broke up with a woman before he began something with someone else. That was more than she could say for her ex-husband.
It hit her that she was luckier than any of Jake’s past girlfriends. They had a connection that went deeper than most lovers. As far as she was concerned, she would do whatever it took to keep their relationship constant.
“They had this incredible-looking bow-tie pasta with rosemary chicken, mushrooms and asparagus,” Jake said as he lowered himself onto the blanket. “I got an order of that and they had another type with a red sauce. I picked up a couple of salads and some flatbread. And they had tiramisu. So save room for dessert. Unless you don’t want yours. I’ll eat it.”
“I’ll bite your arm if you try to take my dessert.”
He held up his hands. “Never let it be said that I came between you and your tiramisu.”
“You’re a smart man.”
Yes, he was.
She took the feast out of the bag and set the containers out on the blanket as Jake opened the red wine and poured it into two plastic cups. He handed one to Anna and raised his, touching the rim to hers.
“Thanks for being such a good sport and coming out here with me tonight,” he said. “I would’ve hated for the tickets to go to waste. Cheryl doesn’t know what she’s missing.”
“Poor Cheryl,” Anna said. “No, actually, not poor Cheryl. I understand that she needed to take care of her cat. I wish she could’ve given you a little more notice.”
“No problem,” said Jake as he began dishing up pasta on two plates. “I’ll probably have a better time with you anyway.”
“Are you going to give her another chance?”
Jake gave a noncommittal shoulder roll. “We talked about it, but she didn’t sound very eager. If I didn’t know better I’d think she changed her mind about the date altogether. But hey, that’s fine.”
Anna tasted a bite of the bow-tie pasta. It was delicious. She hadn’t realized how hungry she was until now, and she had to force herself to chew her food slowly to keep from eating too fast. As she chased down the bite with a swallow of wine, she noticed a couple of women who were sitting in lawn chairs a few feet away from them blatantly looking at Jake and talking to each other. Clearly, they were talking about him.
Really?
She wanted to tell them that they were being obvious.
What if he was on a date tonight? For all they knew, she could’ve been his girlfriend. They were being so obvious it was rude. Through it all, Jake seemed to be oblivious.
Anna reminded herself that she wasn’t his girlfriend. She had no right to feel territorial.
Yeah, what was with that anyway?
She may not have liked Miss Texas—er Dorenda—but she never felt...like this.
Then again, she’d always done her best to give Jake and his women plenty of space.
Now that he was free, what was she doing? Why was she meddling? Jake certainly did not want for female attention. And he really wasn’t looking to settle down into anything permanent. Maybe Cheryl’s canceling was a sign that she needed to back off.
Maybe she should simply enjoy this time with him before he got involved with somebody else—maybe she shouldn’t be so quick to pair him up with someone new.
Right. But how was she supposed to get out of the bet now?
* * *
“Is that the blind date you’re with?” asked Dylan Tyler, an orthopedic doctor who was brand-new to Celebration Memorial Hospital. He’d come over to say hello after Anna had excused herself to find the ladies’ room before the music started.
“No, I’m here with my friend Anna Adams. Do you know her? She is a nurse at the hospital. Works up in OB.”
“How did I miss her?” Tyler asked. “You’re not going out with her?”
Jake shrugged off Dylan’s question.
“If not, introduce me. It’s nice to meet new people. I’d certainly like to get to know her better.”
I’ll bet you would.
Since Tyler had moved to the area, Jake got the feeling the two of them might occasionally fish in the same pond. He hoped his colleague wasn’t the kind of guy who would poach. Because his interest in Anna encroached a little too close to home.
“I don’t think so.”
“So you are interested?” Tyler asked. “If so, I’ll back off. No problem.”
No. He just didn’t want someone like Tyler messing with Anna.
Still, Jake nodded.
Dylan Tyler was a good doctor, but he was the last person he’d fix up with Anna. Or one of the last. There were others who were probably worse, but Dylan’s overenthusiasm had helped Jake make an instantaneous decision that he wanted to keep the hospital a dating-free zone—for both of them. He’d have to talk to Anna about that as they continued to work out the parameters of this bet they had going on.
Besides, she didn’t want to date a doctor anyway. So that automatically ruled out Dr. Dylan Tyler and any lecherous ideas he might have in mind as he tried to get his hands on her.
“No problem, bud. I can take a hint. Anyway, here comes your lady. I’ll let you get back to business. You’re welcome to join us.” With a jerk of his head, Tyler gestured to his party of at least fifteen people, who had set up camp a few yards away from Jake and Anna’s blanket for two. “O
r if you’d rather be alone, have fun not dating her.”
Tyler smirked and gave Jake a fist bump before he walked away.
“Who was that?” Anna asked, watching Tyler still watching them—or her. Was the guy blatant or what? She waved at him, obviously wanting to let him know that she was aware of him. It wasn’t exactly a flirty move, as much as it was an I-see-you-there act of self-assurance. Even though she had a shy side, when it came to things like this she had a wit that Jake loved.
“That’s Dylan Tyler. Orthopedics. He’s the new kid in town. Only been at the hospital for about ten days. You haven’t met him?”
He knew she hadn’t. He just wanted to see what she’d say.
“No. I haven’t had the pleasure. He’s cute.”
Something strange and possessive reared inside Jake. “I thought you said you didn’t want to date a doctor.”
Anna dragged her gaze from Dylan back to Jake. In the evening light, her blue eyes looked like twin sapphires. “Yes. I did say that, didn’t I? Maybe I need to reconsider my criteria. Or at least make an exception. Why let Hal...rob me?”
“What? Rob you of that guy?” Jake asked.
“You look like you smell something gross. Is he that bad?”
Dr. Tyler wasn’t really bad, but Jake wasn’t convinced he was good enough for Anna. Hmm...maybe he identified with Tyler just a little too much? That’s why he understood his game.
“Look, you can’t keep changing your list of deal breakers,” Jake said. “If you do, how am I supposed to know what kind of guy to fix you up with?”
He lowered himself onto the blanket and Anna did, too, gracefully curving her legs around to the side and positioning her dress to cover her thighs. Even so, there was still a whole lot of pretty leg showing.
“Who said anything about not being able to change criteria? The list shouldn’t be set in stone, Jake. What if we go out with someone and we realize that something else is a deal breaker, or maybe there’s a quality we originally thought was a deal breaker that turns out to not be such a bad thing after all?”
It irritated him the way she glanced in Tyler’s direction when she said that.
“If you want me to introduce you to him, I will.” He hadn’t meant for his voice to hold that much edge.
“Someone’s a little touchy tonight.” She raised a brow at him.
“I’m just saying, how am I ever going to win this bet if you don’t know what you want?” With that, he took care to infuse humor into his tone.
“I don’t think either of us knows what we want. If we did, there would be no bet.”
Touché.
The first musical group up, a Rastafarian reggae-jazz fusion band, took the stage and preempted their conversation. After a short warm-up, they got the party started with a Bob Marley tune, which got most of the crowd to its feet. Some people swayed, while others sang along.
After the first song ended, the singer in his smooth Jamaican accent shouted, “Hello, all of you beautiful people. We are so happy to be here tonight. How are you all feeling?”
As the crowd cheered, Jake and Anna exchanged glances that seemed to call a truce to the discussion they’d had a moment ago.
“We are releasing our first CD next month and we would like to introduce you to the first single from that album. It’s all about feeling the love and sharing it. Isn’t that a great thought? Wouldn’t you like to fill the world with love?”
As the band broke into the first strains of their song, the singer said, “I want to see everybody on their feet. Let’s all dance and sing and fill the world with love. I don’t want to see anybody sitting down looking sad.”
Jake took her Anna’s hand and pulled her to her feet.
“Oh, no, you’re not—”
“Oh, yes I am.”
He pulled her in close, holding one of her hands down at their sides as she placed her other hand on his shoulder and he placed his hand on the small of her back and sent her out for a twirl. Back in middle school, they had learned to swing dance in PE. It was something that the two of them still loved to do, though he couldn’t remember the last time they had gone dancing. Anna’s husband, Hal, hadn’t been very understanding. So Jake had let it go so as not to rock the boat.
Other than their Sadness Intervention Dance, it had been far too long since they’d done that. They weren’t the only ones dancing; it seemed a good part of the crowd had been inspired by the Rastafarian singer as he sang his song of spreading joy and love.
It was funny how even after all these years the steps moved through him and into Anna and back to him, the steps and twirls pulling each other together and breaking them apart, but ultimately reeling them back in.
Maybe it was the wine or the music, or it could have even been the setting sun that was sinking lower in the evening sky and bathing everything in a warm golden glow, but for the first time in a long time Jake felt as if he didn’t have a care in the world.
As the song wound down, the Rastafarian hopped down off the bandstand into the audience and was encouraging people to fall in love, “at least for tonight. Love the one you’re with and send a message of love and good energy out into the world.”
Jake gave Anna one final flourishing spin and reeled her back in so that they stood face-to-face, still in each other’s arms. Jake’s hands moved slowly up her back and over her shoulders until his fingers cupped her face.
His body knew what he was going to do before his mind could stop him.
He bent his head and covered her lips with his.
She didn’t pull away. She accepted the kiss like a gift. A gift that was as much for him as it was her.
Her mouth was soft and yielding.
She sighed, a feminine little shudder of a breath, and he pulled back the slightest bit to allow her to object.
But she didn’t.
So, he took that to mean that she had accepted his gift and leaned in and kissed her with hunger, and conviction and a need that made the axis of his world shift.
And she kissed him back.
He didn’t care that they were in the middle of downtown Celebration in Central Park where anyone could see. Hell, for all he knew, her parents and sister or his brothers might be watching him kiss his best friend, Anna Adams. But he didn’t care. Because, for that moment, they were the only two people in the world.
It was just him wanting her and her kissing him back.
Chapter Five
Jake wasn’t avoiding Anna.
But he wasn’t at all positive she wasn’t avoiding him.
He had no idea what had gotten into him Friday night. One minute they’d been dancing and having a great time, and then they were kissing. He wasn’t sure who had started it—or if it even mattered. The thing was, he’d kissed his best friend, and at the time neither of them seemed to mind. In fact, it felt good...as if it worked.
Would they work? The two of them...?
It should’ve felt like kissing his sister. But it hadn’t. It felt warm and ripe and right. At least in the moment. Then they had done a damn good job of settling down and pretending as if nothing had happened. They’d watched the rest of the concert with a respectable amount of space between them on the blanket. He’d taken her home, walked her to the door and they’d wished each other a platonic good-night.
To the untrained eye, it might’ve looked as if nothing had happened between them. But then they’d gone all weekend without talking to each other. Proof positive that all was not well and it simply shouldn’t have happened.
Jake couldn’t remember the last time he and Anna had gone two days without talking. Not since she’d moved back to Celebration. Even when he’d been dating Dorenda and the women who had come before her, he and Anna had talked. They may not have seen each other every day, but they’d talked. Now everything felt off balance and he knew it would stay that way until one of them broke the ice. And that was exactly what he intended to do.
It was eleven-thirty on Monday morning and h
e’d be damned if he was going to let this weirdness go on a moment longer. He did his best to isolate the kiss, to box up the memory of it and relegate it to the places in his mind where he kept things he didn’t want to think about, the things that got in the way.
With that done, he realized that on a normal day by now, he probably would have already seen her—razzed her about whether or not she’d seen Dr. Dylan Tyler today and probably asked her if she had plans for lunch.
He might’ve been a little behind schedule, but it wasn’t too late to man up and get up to speed.
The elevator opened on the maternity ward on the third floor of the hospital. It wasn’t his usual territory. He generally stayed one floor below on the second floor. But every so often—mostly when he wanted to see Anna—he’d find his way up here.
It must’ve been a slow morning, because three nurses stood talking behind the main desk. They looked up and one blushed as he approached.
“Hi, Dr. Lennox,” said one nurse. Her name was Marissa. He knew that because Anna always spoke highly of her. “How can I help you?”
Jake glanced down the empty hallway toward the patient rooms, but didn’t see any sign of his friend. The sound of a newborn crying cut through the air.
“Hi, Marissa, ladies. Is Anna around?”
On the wall behind the desk a bulletin board was full to overflowing with baby and family pictures, thank-you notes and pictures drawn in crayon. A call light came on, signaling that a patient needed help and one of the nurses—he wasn’t sure of her name and she wasn’t wearing a name tag—excused herself to tend to the woman.
“No, we’re pretty slow up here today. But I hear you’re hopping downstairs. The chief asked if Anna would come down there and help until y’all are caught up. I’m surprised you didn’t see her since that’s your floor.”
How to Marry a Doctor (Celebrations, Inc.) Page 5
