Page 14 of Come Back to Me

“This from the woman who’s eating pancakes with sugary cereal mixed into them.” He laughs.

“Touché,” I say, smiling at him. God, he’s so damn handsome. “I digress… Anyway, one day I went into work at five a.m. instead of my usual seven a.m. because my sister had gone into labor that night. So, I wanted to see the baby before my shift. Since I had to work that morning, I stopped down in the ER to put my things in my locker and bring Jason some coffee from his favorite shop. Then I planned to head to the maternity ward to see Kelly.” I hesitate.

He sits up straight and grabs my hand. “Annie, really, I’m sorry. You don’t have to finish telling me.”

“Nope, I’m finishing, hold on.” I grab another bite of my pancakes and finish my milk. “Okay, where was I? Oh, right, so I’m down in the ER but I don’t see Jason as I walk through the main part. And everyone is looking at me with an ‘oh, shit’ look on their faces and I can’t figure out why. Then, when I’m walking to the back of the department, toward the locker room, I dial his cell phone number. That’s when I hearit ringing as I pass the Assistant Nurse Manager’s office.”

At this point, I wonder if the three glasses of wine I drank this evening at the reception have made me too loose lipped, but figure I’m committed now. I also notice that he is still holding onto my hand and stroking his thumb in circles on my palm. You’d think it would make me feel awkward, but it’s really soothing.

“So, I open the door to the office and find my fiancé having sex with the night shift ER x-ray tech,” I say matter-of-factly. “It turns out it had been going on for a few monthsandlotsof my coworkers knew, but no one told me. To add insult to injury, I had been up for a promotion to Assistant Nurse Manager and that would have beenmynew office that Jason used for his… extracurricular activities. I ended things and tried to stay in the job, but I just didn’t want to be there anymore. Everything there felt tainted by what happened. Jason wouldn’t find another job, and between him and my mom badgering me to let it go and move forward with the wedding, I just had to leave.”

JACK

God, I feel like such a jerk for making her relive that, but I also can’t believe any guy would be foolish enough to cheat on this amazing woman. I catch myself as I push my hand through my hair, grabbing a chunk with my fist—something I do when I’m upset or stressed, according to my mom and sisters, anyway. I grab my coffee mug with that hand to keep myself from repeating the gesture.

“Wow, Annie, I’m so sorry you had to go through that. For what it’s worth, he sounds like a total asshole.”

She smiles a sad smile, then looks up at me with big doe eyes and asks, “Do you want to do something to make me feel better?”

Thinking I’d do just about anything to make her feel better right now, I tell her so. “Absolutely. You name it.”

She instantly goes from that sad look to a huge smile and I think I might have been played.

“Take one bite of my pancakes and see if you don’t realize what you’ve been missing out on your whole life,” she says. She’s grinning like the Cheshire cat.

It takes a solid two minutes for me to convince myself to try them, being egged on by this vixen. When I do, I’mshocked by the taste, and I give her my best smile. “Holy shit, these are amazing! Can I finish them?”

She nods, laughing, and I’m pleased as hell that she’s happy. I pull her plate to me as she puts her elbows on the table, cups one hand under each side of her jaw and says, with a glimmer in her eye, “Now, tell me why Joel Reid dislikes you so much.”

Finishing up Annie’s pancakes and washing them down with my last swig of coffee buys me a few precious moments to think of what to say. How do I explain Joel is holding on to a high school rivalry without sounding, well, high schoolish?

“Joel and I went to school together and got along pretty well for our freshman and sophomore years. We hung in the same circles with the jocks—just not best friends or anything. I played hockey and Joel was on the football team.”

“Yes, the quarterback, so I’ve heard once or twice.” Annie winks. “Now hockey, that’s a sexy sport,” she jests, with a sparkle in her eye.

Jesus, all this woman has to do is flirt with me a little and I get a semi. What am I, sixteen?

“Oh yes, the quarterback. I can’t forget that detail. So, we both had a crush on the same girl, Maggie, who was one of the cheerleaders,” I continue. “She and I had a lot of classes together and eventually started dating, which really pissed Joel off. He couldn’t grasp how she’d not want to be with him,” I say. “Maggie and I dated for the next two years, but Joel kept asking her out. He even tried to have one of the other cheerleaders lie and say she and I had messed around. It was all very immature. So, he’s hated me ever since.”

“What happened to you two? You and Maggie.”

I pause for a second, smiling up at our server as she refills my coffee and grateful for the few seconds to think about my wording before I reply.

“After high school, I enlisted in the Marines. I was set to ship out to basic training in September, barely eighteen years old. We were sure we were going to be together forever, so, in all the wisdom of our eighteen years, we did what any two honor students would think to do and we decided we should elope.”

Annie raises her eyebrows at me, and I put up my hands in a mock defensive position, teasing her. “Hold on, hold on, I’m not still married. No need to come up with another creative curse word for me.”

She laughs and throws a balled-up napkin at me, then reaches into her purse and pulls out a hair tie, twisting her mass of gorgeous curls up into a sexy, messy bun on top of her head. It momentarily distracts me.Is there anything this woman can’t make look hot?

Gaining my composure, I start again. “I was deployed for the better part of the first four years of our marriage. When I came home, we tried to make it work for two more years, but realized we had grown apart so much in that time and wanted different things. We could never bridge the distance that had grown between us. Eventually, Maggie asked for a divorce. In retrospect, she was stronger than me in that regard. I think I would have stayed, even though neither of us were happy.”

“I’m so sorry, Jack.” She pauses for a few seconds, looking a bit sad, but then smiles shyly. “Boy, you and I are just the picture of cheer tonight, aren’t we?”

I chuckle. “It’s okay, really, it was for the best and it’s been five years now. I’m healed from it and just wish her the best. And as for being the picture of cheer, I’m actually really enjoying myself tonight.”

She blushes a little, smiling at me, and I realize I’d do just about anything to keep seeing that smile.

ANNIE

---