Part 3 (1/2)

He watched as she dove through the crowd with an efficiency that spoke of experience. Jackson was studying the huge menu boards adorning the walls and trying to ignore his growling stomach when she returned.

”Marty is holding a table for us. He hates standing in line.”

So did Jackson. ”Is it always like this?”

She nodded. ”Once you taste the roast beef, you'll understand.”

”Right now, I'm hungry enough to eat anything.”

Fifteen minutes later they were finally sitting down to eat. The two men were soon deep in a conversation about horse-power and torque that completely excluded Nicole. She watched them with the air of a proud mother, an amused smile coming and going on her face.

The parking lot was only slightly less crowded when they left the restaurant. As he opened the door of the truck for Nicole to get in, Jackson noticed a car pulling into the open spot on the other side. He walked around the rear of the truck to wait on the pa.s.senger of the car to get out. A man opened the door, but instead of exiting, he leaned toward the driver. Jackson realized with some amus.e.m.e.nt that they were kissing.

Rolling his eyes, he went back around the other way and stood on the sidewalk. Surely the affectionate couple in the car would notice he was waiting. He glanced into the truck long enough to see Nicole laughing at his predicament. Just when he decided to make his presence known, the driver of the car emerged. Jackson felt his heart drop into his shoes.

Hannah's look of embarra.s.sment would have been funny in other circ.u.mstances. As it was, Jackson wanted to be anywhere else. The man finally got out and joined her on the sidewalk.

”Hey, Jackson. Sorry we kept you waiting.”

”That's okay.”

”This is too weird. I was just telling Bradley about running into you.”

She hadn't been telling Bradley anything. She'd been kissing him.

Her eyes strayed to Nicole waiting in the truck. ”Well, it was great to see you. Have a nice day.”

With a nod in their direction, Jackson got into the truck. He must have been more successful at hiding his disappointment than he thought because other than a comment about the man's rudeness, Nicole had nothing to say about Hannah and Bradley. She returned to the subject of Marty.

The trip back to the clinic seemed endless. Jackson couldn't rid his mind of the picture of the woman he loved kissing someone else. She had just ended a long relations.h.i.+p with Mitch.e.l.l. How could she already be involved with another man?

The rigid control and discipline that characterized Jackson enabled him to rebound from what happened in the parking lot. He couldn't afford to let personal issues affect his ability to do his job. His patients deserved all of his attention.

By the time he got home, he'd schooled his mind to accept the situation. All of his goals in coming here were still within reach. The world wasn't going to end because Hannah had a boyfriend, and it wasn't as if he had a chance with her anyway.

The next few days pa.s.sed quickly enough. As he was getting ready to leave work on Friday, he remembered Amanda's birthday party. In spite of what Laurel had said, he couldn't show up without a gift. He walked into the gym to see if anyone was still hanging around.

”Jamie, you have kids, don't you?” Jackson asked the man working on the hot pack machine.

”Yeah, do you want to borrow one?”

”No, I need to know what to get a little girl as a birthday gift.”

”Get a gift card. You can't go wrong with one of those.”

”That's a great idea; then she can pick out what she wants.”

”Exactly, and you won't end up getting her something she already has. The Publix at Parkway Crossing has a huge rack of them. It's been a lifesaver for me on more than one occasion.”

Jackson knew all about the Publix at Parkway Crossing. He'd been avoiding it like the plague. It appeared his self-imposed ban on the store was going to be lifted. ”I'll stop by on my way home. Have a good weekend.”

His behavior since seeing Hannah with Bradley disgusted him. Mature men didn't allow minor disappointments to affect them to this degree. Hannah didn't know he loved her and had no idea what it did to him to see her with someone else. This was his problem, and he needed to deal with it.

The resolve resulting from this internal heart-to-heart talk lasted only until he walked into the store. Jackson wiped his sweating palms on his pants with an impatient sigh. It was absurd that a grown man could get this nervous. Wis.h.i.+ng he could get his body to behave like an adult instead of a teenager with raging hormones, he made his way to the deli.

He decided to get a rotisserie chicken. What he didn't eat, Freya would. The elderly couple ahead of him got the last one. He asked the woman behind the counter when the next batch would be ready and was told thirty minutes. Too long to stand around; he decided to do his other shopping and come back.

Once the final item on his list had been checked off, he returned to the front of the store and surveyed the rack of gift cards. Someone walked up behind him. Jackson knew who it was before she said a word.

”Hi, Jackson.”

He turned around to face her. ”Hey, Hannah. How's it going?”

”Great. What did you think of Flannagans?”

He would never forget Flannagans, and it wasn't because of the food. ”They make roast beef almost as good as my mom.”

She threw him a teasing smile. ”You didn't tell me you had a girlfriend.”

”I don't have a girlfriend. Nicole is my boss.”

”Oh, really? I was hoping you'd found someone. You didn't date much in high school.”

Much? He hadn't dated at all in high school. ”I'm looking for a gift card for a little girl. Should I get the one to Toys R Us, Wal-Mart or Target?”

”I'd get the Wal-Mart card because it's closer. Her parents won't have to drive so far.”

He smiled down at her. ”That's a good idea. Thanks.”

She glanced into the cart. ”Not a single microwave dinner. You must know how to cook.”

”I know the basics.”

”Based on what I see here, you do better than that. What are you fixing tonight?”

”Rotisserie chicken courtesy of your deli.”

Hannah laughed. ”That's what I'm planning to do. Bradley and I were supposed to go out to dinner, but he got called away on business.”

At those words, Jackson's common sense as well as any idea of self-preservation flew out the window. ”You're welcome to eat with me.”

”You'd have to eat late again. I don't get off until seven.”

”That's fine. Do you want me to pick you up?”

”No need for that. I have my car back. What's your address?”

”It's 5538 Pelican Lane.”