Page 128 of Beach Vibes

“Which puts her in a worse position.”

Jana thought about all the questions she had about Dex and what her brother had said, then tried to figure out how to ask if he had feelings for her. If only there was an easy way to slide into that particular topic.

“What?” he asked. “You have the strangest look on your face.”

She opened her mouth, then closed it, hoping for some kind of inspiration. The only thing that occurred to her was the truth.

“Are you in love with me?”

Despite how some people dismissed Dex as simply a brainless action hero, he was actually a gifted actor. In that moment, as silence filled the room, nothing about him changed, and she had no idea what he was thinking. That realization was followed by the horrific thought that maybe she’d gotten it all completely wrong, and he only ever thought of her as Teddy’s baby sister.

“Yes.”

Wait, what? She blinked. “You’re in love with me.”

His dark gaze locked with hers. “Yes.”

“You never said anything. I don’t understand. When did this happen?”

One corner of his mouth turned up. “I wasn’t thinking I should send an announcement.”

“Why not? It would have been helpful.”

“Because you don’t see me that way.”

He had a point there, she thought. At least, she never had before.

“As to the when, it was when you came back pregnant with Linnie. I took one look at you and knew.”

Her mouth dropped open. She consciously closed it. “But that was five years ago.”

His expression turned rueful. “Tell me about it.”

“But you could have hinted or flirted.”

“I was giving you time to settle into being a new mom. Then you got busy with school. Just when I was about to say something, you started dating Paul.”

Ugh. And that had gone on for months. “After that I swore off men,” she said, more to herself than him. “And then there was Rick.”

“No offense, but you have horrible taste in men.”

“I know.”

Dex was in love with her. Dex. She was going to have to take a minute and think that through. She’d thought maybe he would say he liked her or had wondered about them dating. But love was a whole different thing.

“I’m going to need a moment,” she told him.

“No problem. Take all the time you want. I’m used to waiting for you.”

* * *

Jana sat in her car outside the urgent care center. This was the third time she’d driven over and parked. Previously she’d ended up driving away without going inside, but today she was determined to actually speak to Galaxy.

She’d gone around and around, trying to figure out the right thing to do. She didn’t want to be vindictive. Instead she wanted to give the other woman information. If the situation were reversed, she would want Galaxy to come see her and tell her the truth about the man she was in love with.

She grabbed her bag and got out of her car, then walked inside and went to the reception desk. She smiled at the young man standing there.

“Hi. Is Galaxy working today? I need to speak to her. It’s personal, by the way. My name is Jana Mead.”

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