Page 18 of Beach Vibes

She forced herself to meet Rick’s gaze, prepared for disapproval or worse. But the man shocked the crap out of her by reaching for her hand again and saying, “You’re so brave.”

“Excuse me?”

“Look at what you’ve done, all on your own. You’re raising your daughter, going to college, holding down a job. Doing all that can’t be easy.” He released her hand and smiled at her.

She stared at him, not sure what to say. “Some days it isn’t,” she murmured. “But finding out I was pregnant turned out to be a really good thing. Until then I’d been pretty directionless. Learning about Linnie gave me purpose. I moved back to LA and started getting my life together. A couple of months later, Teddy’s wife died. You know the rest of the story.”

“What did you do before you had Linnie?”

“I worked for a few nonprofits.” She picked up her wine. “I didn’t go to college. In high school, my teachers kept telling me to apply, but I wasn’t interested, and my parents were fine with that. I started out at AmeriCorps and went from there.”

His expression was blank. “I don’t know what that is.”

“It’s like the Peace Corps, but based here in the States. I joined out of high school, helping out communities with disaster preparedness and response. From there I went to work for a nonprofit that helped rebuild housing for farm workers. A few years later I was an aide in a charity hospital in Texas when the whole Cancun thing happened.”

“As a volunteer?”

She laughed. “No, I got paid. Not much, but enough to survive. Housing was usually provided. Mostly bunkhouses or tents, but there was shelter.”

“Why?”

He sounded so confused that she laughed. “Why did I do the work, or why was I okay sleeping in a tent?”

“Both.”

“The tent came with the job. As to why I would choose that as my path, it was what I wanted to do, probably because that’s how I was raised. My parents are very focused on service and giving. As we speak, they’re building schools and churches in Africa.”

“For real?”

“I swear. Volunteering and giving back is kind of in my blood. Right now I’m not doing as much as I would like, but I worka shift every week at a food bank. It’s nice. The work keeps me grounded.”

His expression sharpened. “You work in a food bank?”

“Uh-huh. Right here in Malibu.” She picked up her menu. “We should probably decide on dinner.”

Once they’d chosen their meals, he said, “Tell me about your brother.”

She shook her head. “No way. We’ve only been talking about me. I want to know more about you, Rick.”

“There’s not much to tell. I was in school a long time, and now I’m not.”

She grinned. “Yes, I know about the gifted surgeon thing. Have you ever been married?”

“Not yet, but I’d like to be. I want the usual stuff. Kids, a dog, a life partner.” He leaned toward her. “Should I entertain you with a couple of jokes now?”

She smiled. “I would love that so much.”

5

Jana arrived home a little after eleven. She and Rick hadtalked all through dinner and then had lingered over dessert and decaf coffee. The more time she’d spent with him, the more she’d liked him, and when they’d walked to the valet and he’d asked her if he could see her again, she’d happily said yes.

Now, as she pulled into the garage, she told herself she was going to enjoy the fluttery feelings for as long as possible. She was due a little romantic good luck because it had been forever since she’d had any. More important, she couldn’t remember the last time a man had made her feel so…certainabout who he was. Rick wasn’t a controlling man masquerading as a concerned dad who had refused to accept when she said she was done with him. He wasn’t scary or mean or distant. He was exactly who he seemed to be.

She walked into the house and was surprised to find there were still lights on. Her moment of confusion was followed by a rush of affection. She stepped out of her heels and left them by the door, then walked barefoot into the family room where her brother sat on the oversize sofa, watching TV. He muted the show and smiled at her.

“How was it?”

“Good.” She walked over to the sofa and took a seat. “You didn’t have to wait up. I drove myself, so I was perfectly safe. If anything bad had happened, I would have called.”

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