Page 8 of Beach Vibes

“A guy at work asked me out, and I said yes.” Jana shook her head. “I don’t date. I had a really horrible breakup about a year ago. It was shattering. Before that, I was dealing with being a new mom and figuring that out. I want to do the right thing for my daughter. I want to be strong and a role model.”

Beth didn’t understand. “Why would you worry about that? Look at all that you’re doing. You’re admirable.”

“I’m not. I’ve screwed up a bunch. In the past—with guys. In high school, my teachers begged me to consider college. They wanted to help me get into a really great school, but I said no. I wanted to take a different path. So here I am, pushing thirty, living with my brother, working part-time, dealing with classes and my four-year-old. Sometimes I think I’ve done it all wrong.”

“You haven’t. I’ll remind you, I’m living with my aunt. And hey, you said multigenerational households were the best.”

“I was trying to make myself feel better.”

Beth had to admit she was a little relieved to find out Jana wasn’t perfect, but she didn’t like her friend having doubts.

“You deserve a little fun in your life. If you like the guy, go for it.” She paused. “By that I mean go out on the date. Not, you know,go for itin any other sense.”

Jana grinned. “You mean no sex on the first date? I agree.”

“You said you work with him? Is dating allowed?” Beth didn’t know the ins and outs of corporate policy when it came to dating, and she’d never had to deal with an interoffice romance at Surf Sandwiches.

“Oh, it’s not that. The derm office is in a medical building. The guy isn’t from the practice. He works in another one.” Her smile softened. “He’s sweet and funny. Very attractive. I told myself not to give in, but he said he thought I glowed.”

Beth felt a whisper of envy way deep down in her gut. No man had ever said that about her. “You absolutely have to go out with him.”

“That’s what I thought.” The smile returned. “He wears a suit. I’ve never dated a man who even owns a suit.”

“Ah, so he’s successful.”

“Very,” Jana said, her voice teasing. “Hmm, maybe I should embrace the whole ‘when in doubt, marry money’ thing.”

Beth grinned as she raised her can of sparkling water. “Absolutely. To the rich guy. May he fall madly in love with you.”

3

Jana pulled into the wide driveway in front of her brother’sone-story ranch-style house. The big rambler sat on an oversize corner lot. After moving in right before their oldest was born, Teddy and his late wife had built a separate office and treatment room for Teddy’s business.

There was no ocean view in this residential part of Malibu, no movie stars or paparazzi. Just older homes with plenty of bikes and toys scattered in the front yards. Teddy’s house had been built in the 1970s. The inside had been mostly updated, but the high beamed ceilings and layout were a reminder of another time.

Jana pulled into the large garage, careful to keep to her side. Her small SUV fit in easily, but Teddy’s classic Corvette had a special place in his heart, and she didn’t want to get too close and risk a door ding. Her brother parked his Suburban outside.

She went into the house, pausing for a moment to embrace the silence. It was far from the norm, and just for a second or two, it was lovely to hear…or not hear. A quick glance at her watch told her she had about twenty-five minutes until Dex returned with all four kids. As soon as that happened, the decibels would hit jet-engine level, but until then, she would take advantage of the quiet.

She turned left, past the living room and kitchen. Beyond them was the large family room, and just past that was the “guest” wing she and Linnie called home. Two bedrooms shared a good-sized bathroom. In the hallway was a small alcove with a built-in desk where Jana did her homework.

She sat and pulled her laptop from her backpack. She wanted to double-check her grade on the last calculus homework assignment. If she had the B she’d hoped for, she would have a bit of a buffer going into the next few weeks.

She logged into the community college and quickly accessed her grades from calculus, then smiled when she saw the B+ by her most recent assignment. Thank goodness. She’d gotten a D on her first homework assignment—a grade she’d never seen before and one that had caused her to start visiting the math lab. Calculus was the toughest class she’d ever taken, but she was determined to do well. If she was accepted to the UCLA nursing school, her acceptance would be conditional. She would be expected to keep up her grades during her last semester at community college, and that meant passing both her classes with at least a B–.

After backing up her notes, she closed her laptop, then looked at the paper academic calendar she’d pinned to the wall. She had her calculus test next Tuesday. Her second paper in her sociology class was due on Thursday, but she was nearly finished with that. She pulled out a pad and paper, trying to calculate how much time she could spend studying for her test between now and Tuesday morning. Magnolia, Teddy’s oldest, had offeredto watch Linnie for a few hours Saturday afternoon, and Teddy was taking all four kids Sunday morning. She would have a couple of hours after Linnie went to bed—at least until she got too tired to focus. Although not Saturday night.

She put down her pen. Saturday she had her date with Rick. As she thought about him, she realized she was equally excited and nervous about going out with him. Some of it was her lack of a romantic life for the past year, and some of it was how…genuine he was. Plus the whole thinking she glowed.

Before she could revel in that memory, she heard the front door slam against the doorstop and the sound of her name being called. Linnie’s voice was the loudest as she raced into the house.

“Mommy! Mommy! Where are you?”

Jana grinned as she hurried to the front of the house. Linnie spotted her and ran toward her. At the last second, she launched herself. Jana caught her and spun her around.

“You’re back!” she said as she set down her daughter. “How was it?”

“I had the bestest time.” Her daughter danced with excitement. “We ate dim sum, which I didn’t think I’d had before, but it was very good.” She paused, her green eyes widening with the thrill of it all. “You eat it with your hands and there’s dips and we made a mess but Dex didn’t care.”

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