Page 56 of Beach Vibes

Her heart melted. “Going away sounds perfect. I’d need totalk to Teddy about keeping Linnie, but I don’t think that would be a problem. What about your schedule?”

“I could get a weekend off.” He brushed his mouth against hers. “Let me look at my calendar and get back to you. Then I’ll plan the whole weekend. It’ll be special for sure. For you, Jana.”

“Thank you.”

He kissed her again. “As much as I’d like to stay, I have patients, and you have to get to class. Can we talk later?”

“Yes, please.”

He left. She logged off her computer, then collected her backpack and the flowers. The sweet scent and perfect petals made her smile. After the disaster that was her last relationship, she was probably due for a little good luck in the romance department, but with Rick, she’d really hit the jackpot. Now that he’d explained himself, she understood what had gone wrong and vowed it would never happen again. Everyone had quirks, and his made perfect sense to her.

Still smiling, she walked toward her car. In a few weeks, she and Rick would go away for the weekend. She couldn’t wait. And between now and then, she should probably think about introducing him to Linnie. Because if it was up to her, Rick was going to be in her life for a very long time.

12

Beth carefully stored the celebration cupcakes she’dbought in the food bank’s storeroom refrigerator until after her shift. She’d ordered them as soon as she’d received Jana’s text about making it into nursing school. They were two parts “yay for my friend” and one part “holy crap—how do I tell her about Teddy?” Which made them celebration andguiltcupcakes, she supposed. Not that she had anything to be guilty about, she told herself as she transferred pints of blueberries from the big crates onto the display in the produce section. She was a single adult. Teddy was a single adult. They could go out if they wanted to.

Which sounded fine, but with Jana dating Rick, it was all so…twisted. Okay, not twisted exactly, but strange. And she’d been such a cow about Jana dating Rick. What if Jana wantedpayback for that? Beth tried telling herself Jana wasn’t that kind of person, but wasn’t sure she deserved her friend’s grace.

There was also the possibility that Teddy had already told Jana about asking her out to dinner and Jana was fine with it, but why be rational when there was so much worrying she could do instead?

Finally her shift ended. She collected the cupcakes and the sandwiches she’d brought and went to their usual table out back. Jana was already there and smiled at her.

“Next time I bring the food. Seriously, you have to let me. You’re doing all the work.”

Beth laughed. “This is where I remind you that I have a sandwich shop. Pulling together whatever’s left over for our dinner is easy.”

“Not the point. Next time I’m taking over.”

“If you insist. But first, there’s these.” Beth set the small bakery box on the table. “Ta-da and congratulations on getting into nursing school. I never doubted you, but it’s nice the admissions department agreed with me.”

Jana pressed a hand to her chest. “Thank you.” She opened the box and grinned at the two cupcakes, each overly frosted, then topped with a little plastic sign reading, “Congratulations, Superstar.”

“I wanted them to put on a little stethoscope, but they didn’t have any.”

“I love them just as they are. This is so thoughtful.”

They hugged, then sat down.

“Are you excited and nervous or just excited?” Beth asked as she passed out sandwiches and salad.

“Both,” Jana admitted. “I’m terrified I won’t be able to get through the curriculum. It’s going to be daunting for sure.”

“You’ll do great. You’ve practically gotten straight A’s at community college.”

“That’s different. I’ll be moving right into more advancedscience subjects, along with things like anatomy. Plus I’ll be taking a full load rather than going part-time like I have been.”

“That will be a change.” Beth hadn’t been to college, but she would guess that three or four science classes a quarter would be challenging. “So you won’t be working?”

“Not once I start there. I’ve been saving as much as I can to cover my expenses. Teddy agrees this is the best way for me to be successful in the program. He’s going to help where he can. And Dex will pitch in, too.”

“Dex is Teddy’s friend, right?” she asked without thinking, then wished she could call back the question. A week ago, it would have been as innocent as it seemed. In a few minutes, when she confessed all, it would sound like she was fishing for information. “As in Dex Thursdays for the kids.”

“That’s him.” Jana rolled her eyes. “He’s annoyed with me for applying for financial aid. He offered to pay for college when I started back, but I want to get through it on my own. Maybe it sounds silly to him, but I have something to prove to myself. I need to be capable and handle it.”

Another admirable quality, Beth thought, trying to remember why she’d been so upset at the thought of Jana dating her brother. And speaking of which, she needed to just say it.

“You’re doing it all,” she told her friend. “I admire that.”

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