Page 18 of Come Back to Me

“Jack, we basically work together. I like you too, and God knows my traitorous body made it obvious I want you. But after everything with Jason, I can’t date someone I work with. Physical I can handle, but I’m not looking to get serious again and risk my heart or my career. Dating someone from work isn’t an option for me.”

He watches me, saying nothing, before he pushes himself off the railing and stands upright, his gray eyes never leaving mine. I’m sure he’s going to walk toward the steps and away from me.

Instead, he moves closer to me, plants one hand on each side of my shoulders and lowers his head near enough to kiss me. But he doesn’t.

I look up at him, loving the sensation of being pinned in by him.

“We don’t work together. And I’m not Jason. I want you, obviously, but not just physically. I want more of the Annie I’ve already gotten to know. So, we don’t have to call it dating if you don’t want, but I’m not okay just being physical.I want to explore if there can be more than that with you. I guess we’ll just have to give it some time and see if you want that, too.”

Then, when I’m ready to jump him again, he brushes a kiss to my temple and walks away. It takes me a solid three minutes after he drives off to catch my breath and turn to go back into the house. And now I cannot concentrate on anything else.

An hour later, I’m sitting upstairs at my desk in my spare room, struggling to focus on the quality improvement project I’ve been working on for work and am hoping to get published in a nursing journal. But I can’t keep my mind on it to save my life, thanks to my thoughts constantly drifting to Jack.

Getting published will help when I apply for the Assistant Manager job, which rumor has it will open at First City when Leah, who currently holds the position, has her baby. She’s been open that she is likely going to cut her hours to be home with her kids and my Nurse Manager has given me a heads up that the position may open soon. Although I really need to get this done, I can’t get Jack out of my head.

Giving up, I look down at Bean at my feet and say to him, “C’mon, boy, let’s see if a nice long run will help us get our mind on something else.”

CHAPTER 10

ANNIE

The last few days at work have sucked.

Monday because it wasn’t a B shift, so I knew all day that Jack wouldn’t be coming in. Therefore, I couldn’t sneak a fix by discreetly checking him out.

Today, because it is a B shift, and I know there’s a good chance I’ll see him and an even better chance it will drive me crazy since I want him, but can’t let myself have him.

I realize it’s a damned if I do, damned if I don’t situation.

I’ve gone over the events of the weekend in my head a million times—especially our conversation Sunday on my porch.

It seems like I haven’t seen Jack in a week, but it’s only been two days. Remembering not just the physical—the feel of him under me as I straddled him on his couch, the sensation of his mouth on my nipple—but the man I was enjoying getting to know, I realize, with some alarm, that I’d like to keep getting to know him.Ifwe didn’t work together.

If that isn’t bad enough, the first time I see him today is when he comes walking into my ER carrying a five-year-oldlittle girl who’s fallen off her bike and has an open fracture of her arm. She’s crying into his chest. Fitz walks in next to him, guiding the mom and holding up the IV fluid.

Of course, today of all days, I would have the pediatric rooms as part of my assignment, making it impossible to avoid close proximity to Jack.

The little girl will have to go to the operating room for the repair of her arm, but she’s got a big gash on her forehead that we’ll need to stitch up in the ER first. She’s still crying big droplets of tears as I prepare some pain meds and the suture tray Dr. Evans will need to stitch her up.

I do my work while trying not to make eye contact with Jack.

Her mom is on one side of the bed, comforting her, and I try to relieve Jack on the other, but the little girl nearly goes hysterical when I do.

“No!” she sobs. “I want Fireman Jack. Please don’t leave me!” she cries, looking at him with giant eyes and a trembling lower lip.

My heart melts and my resolve weakens when Jack wipes one of those tears and says, “I’m not leaving. I’ll stay right here until the doctor is done and it doesn’t hurt anymore. Okay?”

Stay he does, distracting her with some story about a brave princess as he gently pushes her hair, wet from crying, back from her face.

Just as Dr. Evans is finishing the stitches, Janie pops her head in to see if we need any help.

I ask her to relieve me for a minute, saying I need to check on another patient.

That’s a lie, but I need to get away from this room before Jack does or I’m likely to pull him into our decontamination bay and agree to a million dates if he will just put his mouth on mine again.

What the hell is wrong with me?

JACK

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