Page 59 of A Heart Worth Finding
He barely had the cap popped open before he knew.
“Sunshine,” Jack said quietly. She spun toward him, her braids swishing around her shoulders, giving him a soft smile at the nickname. He held the bottle out to her. “This is the one.”
Quizzically, she stepped closer and leaned in to sniff the lotion.
It was an intoxicating blend of citrus and sunshine, like summer in a bottle, and once she squeezed some out onto her palm and rubbed her hands together, Jack knew he was right.
“How’d you know that was the perfect one?”
He shrugged. “It smells like you.”
NOW: November 23, 2023
With the semester windingdown, Jessica was thankful for the break Thanksgiving provided her—even if it meant only three days off from classes and student teaching.
Still, three days was plenty when she got to spend them with her favorite people.
It was Thanksgiving morning, and Jessica woke in an unfamiliar room.
Okay, it wasn’tthatunfamiliar, but she’d spent so few nights at Brent and Berkley’s house that waking up here was still a bit jarring.
Finally, after scrolling on her phone for way too long, laughing at TikToks and sharing the random ones only they would findfunny with Kenzie—who was somewhere else in this house—Jessica rose, put on some sweats, and made her way downstairs to the kitchen.
Brent and Berkley’s house was enormous—which wasn’t surprising given the kind of money her brother-in-law made—but he and her sister had somehow managed to make it homey. Everything was bright and airy, balanced with enough earth tones throughout to make it cozy and welcoming instead of stark and inhospitable.
When she strolled into the kitchen, Logan and Berkley were already seated at the island. Berkley leaned back in her chair with her hand on her belly, her eyes closed in laughter while Logan leaned forward, his shoulders shaking with his own chuckles.
“What’s so funny?” Jessica asked as she took a coffee mug down from the cupboard.
“Just this case I’m working on,” Logan said.
Right, lawyer stuff that Jessica would never understand.
Before Jessica could respond, Kenzie walked into the room, followed shortly by Nate.
“Good morning!” Kenzie said brightly. “Happy Thanksgiving!”
Nate, meanwhile, only grumbled a greeting and set to chugging a cup of pure black coffee.
“Rough night?” Berkley asked him.
“Had a patient with some surgery complications,” he said. “Had to go in late to monitor him.”
“What kind of complications?” Logan asked.
“Low blood pressure. It seemed like an internal bleed, but it took ages to find the location. Zayas eventually figured it out,” he said, an edge to his tone.
“Who’s he?” Logan asked.
“She,” Berkley corrected, “is Nate’s archnemesis.”
“We think he’s secretly in love with her,” Kenzie added. “But you know Nate. He’s like a robot.”
“I am not,” Nate mumbled. “Physical touch is just not my love language. Neither are words of affirmation for that matter.”
“Or any of the other three options,” Kenzie said, and everyone laughed.
Everyone except Jessica, who drew her eyebrows together in confusion. And though Logan smiled, she noticed he, too, wasn’t entirely sure what was going on.
