Page 13 of Beyond Perfect

Silence.

“Well, I’ll leave you to your game.”

“Thanks for calling me.”

Jackson hung up, dissatisfied with the contact. He wanted more from her.

Hell, he had to stop thinking about her. So he strode to his bedroom, tore off his suit, tossed it on the floor, threw on somegym clothes and hit the machines. He forced himself to warm up on the treadmill, then set it to a high challenge and ran for twenty minutes. He was breathing too hard to think about anything else.

He did some stretches and then lifted weights. He shouldn’t be on the bench without a spotter, but he did it anyway. After using three more machines, he went back to the treadmill and cooled down.

He was exhausted but covered in sweat so he took a hot shower then fell onto the bed and zonked.

The nightmares came at midnight.

Chapter 3

When Hale Hanson stopped by Maisy’s classroom later the next day and asked her out, she said yes. He was a nice guy and Maisy needed distraction. Surely she could be drawn to someone else. They agreed to meet at La Trattoria right in the center of town. Annie and Maisy reserved a private room here for the shower/rehearsal dinner. They combined the two because of the short notice for the nuptials.

She found Hal waiting at the bar. He saw her when she walked in and he stared at her approvingly when she crossed to him. “Man, you look great, Maisy Shepherd.”

Caleb had saidyou clean up real good.

“Thank you.”

He was dressed casually in a yellow shirt, taupe blazer creased khaki pants and loafers. His blond hair was still damp.

“You too.”

“Yeah, I don’t get out of those sweats much.”

A hostess led them to a table. The atmosphere was hushed but homey, with only one dining room and one for private parties. They sat. “Want a glass of wine or a drink?” Hal asked.

“Sure.”

They ordered cabernet and then perused the menu. “It’s a small listing.”

“Yeah, I’ve been here before. Tony, the owner, changes the features every week. He says he refuses to offer everything under the sun. His dishes take time to prepare and are stellar.”

“That makes sense.” After they were served their drinks and ordered meals, he smiled over at here. “Hey, I hear Annie Stefano’s getting married.” His brow creased. “To that cop whowas in the news a while ago. Geez, not sure I could handle what happened to him.”

“You were a soldier, Hal. I’m sure you could have. But in any case, they were high school sweethearts who reconnected when he got shot.” She shrugged. “I guess something good came out of the tragedy.”

A slight frown marred his forehead. “But she was engaged to Seth.”

“Yeah but try not to think badly of her. She said she never stopped loving Diego.”

“Okay. I felt bad for Seth, though. But he’s dating the school nurse, now.”

“Oh, my gosh, I didn’t know that. I’m so happy he’s seeing someone.” She wondered if Annie knew.

“Tell me more about yourself, Maisy. I don’t know your background at all.”

“I grew up in Westwood. I knew Annie and Diego of course, because they’re from here too. Like Annie, I went to college.”

“Where?”

“SUNY Binghamton. A state school was all I could afford. Even then, I lived with my brother. He was a minister there.”

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