Page 16 of Come Back to Me

Once everyone has been served, Jack comes and takes a seat next to me, across from Emily and Teddy. Beanie and Grace are tired out by now and have made their way to the picnic table as well. I think I fall a little in love with Jack when he not only intermittently pets Gracie at his side but also reaches down to scratch Bean behind his ears as Bean rests under the table below me.

After everyone has eaten, some guys from A shift grab a football and start tossing it around before challenging B shift to a game of touch football.

Jack puts his arm around my shoulders, leans in near my ear, sending a shiver down my neck, and whispers, “Do you mind if I play for a little bit? If you’re uncomfortable, I’ll stay here with you.”

I smile and assure him to go play—I’m fine. Trina went into the building a few minutes ago and Emily has stepped away to take a call, but she’ll be back soon to keep me company.

Jack isn’t gone from me for five minutes when the three women who I don’t know come and sit at my table, each with either a mimosa or bloody Mary in hand. I smile politely at them and return to sipping my coffee and watching a very hot Jack as he cuts across the field, dodging the A shift squad while running toward the makeshift end zone.

They’re playing shirts and skins, and Jack’s team are the skins—lucky for me. God, he’s so damn attractive I feel likeI’m going to need to go take a cold shower after watching this show.

He’s got well-defined muscles pretty much everywhere, yet isn’t overly bulky, and his lower abs are damn near sinful as they taper into a V-shape leading south. I’m admiring the way his ink spanning across both shoulder blades—a tribute to firefighting and his Marine service—flexes as he throws the football.

“So,” the platinum blonde in the middle of the women says to me, interrupting my focus. “Are you and Jack together? You don’t seem like his usual type.”

I spit out a little of my coffee and look at her pointedly for a few seconds. I’m already annoyed that they interrupted my entertainment, but that was also really bitchy.

“Jack and I are friends. I work with Teddy over at the ER,” I say flatly. I turn my head back to the game, not trying to hide that I’m annoyed.

“Sorry, no offense,” says her friend next to her. “We just know Jack has a lot of options so…”

I pivot in my seat and glare directly at them, about to tell them what I really think of their sorry asses when Emily walks up and sits next to me. Tilting her head at the girls, she says sweetly, “Aw, bless your hearts. Are you ladies still upset that Jack won’t give Chelsea the time of day? He has a lot of options, you know.”

The girls’ mouths drop open, and they stare at us for a few long seconds before getting up and walking away.

“Sorry,” Emily says. “I didn’t mean to abandon you to the ‘girlfriends.’ We all went to high school together and they’re classic mean girls… just petty bitches. Their primary goal in life seems to be to chase whatever firefighter will give them an iota of attention. They’ve all bagged one—hence why they were at the wedding and are here—but their friend Chelsea has had it bad for Jack for some time. It makes them crazy that he wants nothing to do with her. Or any of them, for that fact.”

“Why doesn’t he?” I ask, genuinely curious.

“He just doesn’t really date seriously since things happened between he and Maggie. With that bunch, though, I think he knows what kind of people they are, and he isn’t about that. I mean, he’s gone on some dates, but it takes a lot to turn Jack’s head. It’s unheard of for him to bring a date to something like this. So, you being here today is a surprise to everyone.”

“Oh, it’s not a date,” I explain quickly, not sure I’m even convincing myself.

Emily just smiles at me. She’s probably the sweetest person I’ve met here in Cleveland, but she has me dying laughing by the time the guys finish playing a half hour later.

I’m pretty sure I’ve not even heard truckers say some words I hear come from this five-foot-two kindergarten teacher’s mouth in the last half hour.

JACK

Once things wind down, Annie helps me clean everything up while the dogs play. I don’t think she realized it but even when I was trying to focus on the game, I couldn’t stop sneaking glances at her.

After we’ve finished, Annie pulls her phone and a business card out of her pocket. “I just have to call my Uber driver, Tim. He said just to let him know when I was ready to go home,” she explains.

I’m sure Tim only did that as a business strategy. Yeah, and it has nothing to do with the fact that she’s absolutely gorgeous today with her hair in a ponytail, cut-off jean shorts showing just enough of those toned legs, and thatfitted tank top that she fills out so well it’s been driving me mad since she got here.Yeah, right, Tim. Right.

“I have a better idea,” I say, smiling at her. “How about you and Bean walk the two blocks to my house with me and Gracie and then I can give you both a ride home. You’d be doing me a favor by helping me carry these supplies back.”

Annie agrees and by the time we get back to the house, give the dogs some water, and I have the remaining supplies put away, we turn around and find the dogs both asleep on the kitchen floor. Their heads are together and their paws touching. They look absolutely fucking adorable and Annie pulls out her phone and snaps a photo.

Grateful for the dogs needing a nap, I convince Annie to have a cup of coffee with me while we let them rest. I make us each a cup and we take it to the couch to sit.

She laughs and teases me for my “sorority girl” coffee with my sugar and sweet-cream creamer while she takes hers with just a splash of milk. I feign offense and we laugh and joke around for a few minutes before her face turns serious.

“Can I ask you something?”

Bracing myself, I flashback to seeing the “girlfriends” sitting with Annie during brunch, and I really hope it’s not about something they said to her. I’ve been wondering about the brief interaction since I saw it going down. Swallowing the small lump in my throat, I tell her, “Sure, go ahead.”

“Why weren’t any of Teddy’s family at the wedding or the brunch?”

---