Page 46 of Come Back to Me

I chuckle to myself, remembering how creeped out Jack was when I told him his little sister is in my sexy book club. But he’s glad we’ve become friends, so he copes with it.

“So, Shayna, I’m thinking about maybe asking Jack if he wants to take a day to go to Columbus and meet my mom and my sister. Do… do you think that will freak him out?” I ask her.

“Are you kidding? Jack would love that. He’ll lay on the charm really thick, too. Your mom will swoon over him just like all the old ladies do.” She giggles. “Haven’t you ever seen how those older servers at Pat’s Diner fawn over him?”

A knock at the door interrupts us as one of the other women arrives, so our conversation is cut short. I guess I’ll think about taking Jack to Columbus. Hell, if he can handle my mother, he’s most definitely a keeper. As everyone arrives, we dive into the appetizers and pour ourselves some wine.

Since everyone is here but Emily, I ask Trina if she knows if her sister is running late.

“Not that I know of. When I talked with her this morning, she was coming,” Trina answers.

“Hmm, let me try to text her quick. I know she was loving this particular book, so I don’t want to start without her if she’s still coming.” I smile.

Me: Hey, Em. We are all here for book club. What’s your ETA?

Emily: Sorry, not feeling well. I can’t make it.

Me: You okay? Do you need one of us to come check on you or bring you medicine?

Emily: No, I’ll be okay. I’m just going to go to sleep. Talk to you tomorrow.

I tell the rest of the group that Emily isn’t feeling well so she’s staying home and Trina says she’ll call her in the morning to see if she needs anything.

“All right, let’s get this show on the road then,” Shayna suggests. “I’ve got some quotes underlined I’m dying to share.”

JACK

I get a text from Annie around eleven p.m. and smile. Even with some wine on board, as per usual book-club-nightprotocol, she didn’t forget our newest routine of me calling her before bed when I’m at the station. I usually talk to her as she’s trying to fall asleep and it’s become one of the favorite parts of my work day.

Annie: Book club is over, bae. Is my man ready to talk to me sleep?

Me: Sure thing, I’ll call you in a minute. Also, ‘bae’? Is that the wine talking?

Annie: Maybe, LOL. It’s one of the nicknames from our book we discussed tonight. You usually like things I bring to our relationship from the books… WINK WINK

Finally, outside on a bench where I can talk with her privately, I call her number. She answers on the first ring.

“Hi, Jack…” she answers in a sultry voice—tonight was definitely a multiple glasses of wine night.

“Hey, sugar. How’s my girl? Did you have a good time at book club?”

“It was extremely good. We had a nice time. Do you want me to tell you about my favorite parts of the book?” she asks.

“You know I want to hear them, baby… but not when I’m at the station. Last time you had me walking around here with a hard-on and I looked like a full-on creep until it went away,” I tell her. Her giggling makes me smile.

Our conversation is interrupted by the beeping of another call coming in and I look down and see that it’s Teddy. I send him to voicemail. He’ll understand when I call him back and explain I was on with Annie. Annie and I talk for another ten minutes until she starts to drift off.

“Sweetheart, it sounds like you’re almost asleep. Am I right?” I ask her, talking softly to help keep her relaxed.

“Mmhmm… I love you, Jack,” she responds sweetly.

“I love you, too. Have sweet dreams for me and I’ll see you tomorrow. Okay?”

“Okay, sweet dreams…” she says in a sleepy voice just before our call ends.

God, I fucking love that woman.I’m not sure what I did to deserve her, but I’m so glad she’s mine.

When I head back into the station, I glance down at my phone and see Teddy didn’t leave me a voicemail, which is a little odd. I call his number, but it goes right to voicemail so I leave him a message.

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