Page 10 of In His Arms

Chapter Three

“Wow, look at you, princess.” Mike Miller stepped into Jessica’s room, admiring her outfit. “You look amazing. Got a hot date tonight?”

Jessie smiled at her dad in the mirror. “Is it that miraculous?”

He chuckled and sat on the edge of her bed. “No. Your mom told me that Alex was back in town. I figured you two would hang out for old time’s sake.”

Jessie pulled at the waistband of her short black skirt while she searched her closet for a better top. It’d been so long since she’d even thought about men and dating. Most of the locals her age were married or gay.

“Dad, Alex and I have decided we want to explore a romantic relationship. He asked me over to his house tonight.” She felt like a teenager again, and it sucked.

“Oh, I see.” He stared at her. “Jess, I’m not going to give you the “no sex” talk like I did when you were a teen, but I am going to tell you to be careful. You’re an adult. You make your own decisions.”

Jessica looked at her father and noticed his pale face. He looked sick, like right when they found out he had cancer. The horrific memories slammed into her like a speeding truck. Several months of chemo-induced anemia, white blood cell transplants, and the fear of never having another day with him brought tears to her eyes.

“Dad, are you okay? You look a little pale.” She rushed to his side.

“Oh, don’t worry about me.” He patted her hand and then stood. “Get ready for your date and have a little fun while you’re at it.”

She watched him leave the room and wondered if he was telling her the truth. If he was sick, she wanted to know. She wanted to know everything so they could help him.

She picked a light pink camisole with a lace trim bodice and pulled her hair into a ponytail, then did a quick touch up on her makeup. After adding a few sprits of perfume she headed for the door, thoughts of her dad still lingering in her mind. Don’t get worked up over it. He’d tell you if he was sick.

“Jessica.” Lena Miller stood in the kitchen removing chocolate chip cookies from the sheet pan. “If you’re coming home tonight, I expect you to be back by ten when we go to bed.”

“Okay, Mom.” Twenty-five and she still had a curfew, she thought as she left her parents’s house.

She finally arrived at Alex’s house and immediately noted the extra car parked in his drive. He hadn’t mentioned anything about company, and she would have thought he’d call if he had to cancel. She slid out of the car, feeling more stupid with each step she took.

With the door ajar, she gently tapped her knuckles on the wood doorframe. Laughter spilled from the living room before Alex rounded the corner with a smile on his face.

“Hey, babe.” He opened the screen door for her. “You look amazing.”

She smiled, stepping into the foyer. “Thank you. I’m kind of early. Am I interrupting anything?”

“Babe.” He shut the door and then pulled her to him. His mouth came down hard on hers, not giving her time to think, much less breathe. “You aren’t interrupting anything. Erica is just here on business. She’s leaving out tomorrow.”

He grabbed her hand and led her into the living room. A leggy blonde in a short gray skirt and knee-high boots lounged on the black leather couch like she owned the place. She smiled at Alex and then frowned, her gaze traveling the length of Jessica’s body.

“Erica Rainer, this is my girlfriend, Jessica Miller. Jess, this is Erica. She works with me in L.A. on PR stuff. She flew in to help with Bob’s case.”

Jessica smiled at her while clutching Alex’s hand tightly. “It’s nice to meet you, Erica.”

The woman’s eyes darted from Jessica to Alex. “You’ve been in Texas for two days and you already have a girlfriend? Damn, you work fast.”

Alex smiled. “Nah, she’s just special. Jess and I’ve known each other since childhood. It’s meant to be.”

The room filled with awkward silence. Alex turned to Jess. “Babe, we’re almost done here. We just have a few papers to go over. Help yourself if you want something from the kitchen.”

He sat on the couch, effectively dismissing her while he continued their conversation, so Jessica took the hint. Leaving the room, she heard their laughter echo—or Blondie’s, rather. The woman had enough nerve to flirt with Alex. Conveniently, he ignored his proclaimed girlfriend. Something is wrong with this picture.

She excused herself heading to the kitchen for some alcohol. A beer—anything—to ease her nerves. Her thoughts reverted back to her father’s words about her being careful. If only she’d recalled that with Justin.

She popped the top to the beer bottle and gulped the bitter liquid down her parched throat. Justin had propositioned her for sex, and she’d given in. He’d called her his girlfriend, too, except in public and around the partners. What the hell had she been thinking? She sipped her beer before leaning against the counter.

Having a love life seemed like a full time job. Working at the diner for twelve-hour shifts, she didn’t have the time or energy to deal with men. She didn’t know how it would work when he went back to L.A. Alex had told her to stop worrying, that everything would work itself out. Yeah, typical guy’s answer.

More laughter came from the living room and Jessica mocked it before swallowing a long gulp of her beer. He could have had the decency to tell her his co-worker was coming to work with him. But no. He dismissed her like she was nothing so he could finish his work with the talking Barbie. Maybe he just wanted to get it over with.

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