Over You (17 page)

Ellen’s eyebrows went up. “Really? What do you mean?”

Sighing, Jessica frowned. “You remember Alex, right?”

“I’ve never met the man, but I know you said you broke up with him just before coming to visit.”

“Yes. He showed up this morning.”

“Oh?”

“And then Kyle showed up.”

“Ohhh.”

Jessica nodded.
 

“What happened?”

Jessica described how the conversations had gone, even telling her how Kyle had said he didn’t care about her.

“Oh, sweetie. I’m so sorry you’re having difficulty.”

She nodded, not wanting to talk about it anymore. When they reached a bench, the two of them sat down, enjoying the scent of the flowers that filled the air. Ellen told her about some of the other residents, and Jessica smiled, happy to know that the social aspects of the long-term care center were making her aunt happy.

When Jessica pulled up to the house a while later, she saw Kyle’s truck in front and felt her stomach knot up. She parked her car, took a deep breath, released it slowly, then calmly walked into the house.
 

The sound of power tools floated down the stairs. Relieved she wouldn’t have to face Kyle, Jessica grabbed her laptop from the desk and took it into the sunroom, then placed her ear buds in her ears before getting started on her latest programming project. Immersed in her work, she didn’t hear Kyle leave, and when she stopped to take a break, she noticed it was time to get ready for her date with Alex.

Before going upstairs to get ready, she glanced out the front window to make sure Kyle had left, then went to her room and changed into slacks and one of her favorite blouses.

Alex knocked on the door right on time, and though Jessica had second thoughts about going to dinner with him, she pushed a smile onto her face and opened the door.

“You look fantastic,” Alex said, a bouquet of flowers in his hands.

When Jessica saw the beautiful flower arrangement, her heart softened a bit, and her smile became genuine.
 

“These are for you.” He handed her the flowers.

“They’re gorgeous, Alex. Thank you. Come in while I put them in water.”

Alex followed her into the kitchen.

“Will you hold these a sec while I find a vase?”

Alex took the flowers as Jessica hunted for a vase.

“I’m sure my aunt has a vase stashed around here somewhere,” she said as she dug through the cabinets. “I suppose this will have to do.” Jessica held a glass pitcher in her hands.

Alex laughed. “That will work.”

She put water in the pitcher, then placed the flowers inside before stepping back to admire her work. “I like it.”

“It looks great,” Alex said. “Just like you.”

Jessica turned to him and smiled. “Thanks.”

“I wasn’t sure where to take you for dinner so I thought I’d see if you have a favorite restaurant here.”

Jessica thought about the place she’d eaten the week before, when she’d seen Melanie for the first time. “Let’s drive to town and I’ll show you where to go.”

A short time later they were driving down the main street. They passed the restaurant where Jessica had eaten the week before. She glanced at it, but then focused on other places to eat. “That one,” she said suddenly, pointing to a random place. “Let’s go there.”

Alex found a parking place and within a few minutes they were sitting on a padded bench just inside the door, waiting to be called to their table. A few minutes later they were seated in a booth toward the back. Jessica picked up the menu and studied the food options, remembering how the previous evening she’d been feeling sorry for herself because she was alone. Now she had Alex sitting across from her, but she wasn’t certain that that was what she wanted either.

“I’m so happy to have you sitting with me,” Alex said.

Jessica looked up from the menu at his earnest face and immediately felt the pressure she’d feared. Though she admitted he wasn’t pressuring her on purpose, just being there with him pushed her to make a decision. She smiled at him, ignoring his comment. “What are you going to order?”

He picked up the menu, a crease between his eyebrows.

She couldn’t help but feel bad for not responding to him the way he was obviously hoping she would, but she just couldn’t bring herself to say something she was too uncertain about.

“The lasagna sounds good.” He set the menu down.

Nodding, Jessica said, “I was thinking about the chicken salad.”

The waitress came to their table and they placed their order. Jessica struggled for something to talk about that had nothing to do with relationships. “So, how are things at work?”

“Same as usual. How about you, Jessica? Have you been able to get a lot of work done while staying here?”

“Yes.” She paused. “My mom told you about my aunt hurting her ankle, right?”

“Yeah.”

“We’re hoping she can come home from the long-term care center soon.”

“That must be hard on her to be away from home.”

“She seems to be doing okay, but I know she’s anxious to come home.”

The waitress placed their food in front of them and they began eating.
 

“How much longer do you think you’ll be staying here?” Alex asked, lifting a forkful of lasagna to his mouth.

“I don’t know yet. I came to help my aunt because she hadn’t been feeling well, but now that she hurt her ankle she needs me around more than ever.”

Alex set his fork down. “You
are
planning on coming back to your apartment eventually, right?”

Jessica dug around her salad with her fork. “As far as I know. I’m just not sure when.” She stabbed a piece of chicken. “I’m just kind of playing it by ear.”

The sound of a child crying suddenly filled the restaurant. Jessica looked toward the noise and saw a woman with a young child entering the restaurant. Though the entry was a little ways off, Jessica felt her stomach clench at the familiarity of the woman. The child continued crying until a man appeared at the woman’s side and took the child from her. The child immediately stopped crying.

Jessica watched as the man spoke to the hostess, then he, the woman, and the child followed the hostess to a table. As the couple and child approached the table, any doubt Jessica had about their identity fled.
 

Kyle.

Jessica focused on her salad, forcing herself to be calm.

“Well, I think it’s great that you’re helping your aunt out.”

Jessica glanced at Alex and gave him a quick smile, before looking toward Kyle, Melanie and the child. Their table was far enough away that Jessica hoped her presence would go unnoticed. Though she could see Melanie and the child well enough, Kyle’s back was to her.

“It’s also fortunate that your job allows you to work from where ever you want.”

“Yeah, that’s one thing I like about it.” She tried to pay attention to Alex, while surreptitiously watching Kyle. Her eyes kept drifting to the little girl. Jessica admitted that the child was adorable. She looked about the same as she did in the pictures. Evidently the pictures were taken recently.

“Is your food okay?” Alex asked.

Jessica dragged her gaze away from the little girl at Kyle’s table and looked at Alex. “What?”

“You’ve hardly eaten any of your salad.”

“Oh. I guess I wasn’t as hungry as I thought.”

“No, Daddy!” the girl’s voice shouted loudly enough to be heard at Jessica’s table. Then the girl started crying loudly.

Jessica’s gaze shot in their direction.
She called him Daddy!
There was little doubt that he was the child’s father.

“Some people should utilize babysitters before going to restaurants,” Alex said, obviously annoyed by the crying.

“Yeah,” Jessica muttered, mesmerized by the certainty she now felt that Kyle was a father. She watched as he picked the girl up and placed her on his lap with a confidence that only came from practice. The girl snuggled up to him and stopped crying.

Despair washed over Jessica as she saw what a good father Kyle was and knew he would never be the father of her children.

“Are you done, ma’am?” the waitress asked Jessica.

She glanced at the girl and nodded, suddenly desperate to leave.

“Do you want dessert?” Alex asked.

“No thanks.” She had a hard time not staring at Kyle and his family.

“I’d like a slice of the cheesecake, please,” Alex said

Jessica’s gaze shifted to him, panic filling her chest at the idea of staying a moment longer. What if Kyle saw her? Or what if Melanie did? But what could she do—tell Alex she needed to leave because her former fiancé, who by the way was doing renovations on her aunt’s house, was there with his girlfriend and their child and making Jessica uncomfortable? She found herself twisting her fingers together in her lap, trying to control her agitation.

“Are you okay, Jessica?” Alex asked, staring at her.

“Um, well, actually I’m not feeling very well.”

“Oh. Is there anything I can do?”

You can skip dessert and take me home
, she wanted to scream. “I’d really just like to go home.”

Alex didn’t hide his disappointment. “Of course.” He looked around the restaurant. “I don’t see our waitress.”

Frantically looking around, Jessica spotted the woman and pointed. “There she is.”

Alex turned towards Jessica, his eyebrows drawn together, and she realized how manic she must have sounded.

Ignoring Alex’s puzzled expression, Jessica picked her purse up from the floor and pretended to be looking for something. She saw Alex motion to the waitress, and when the woman approached their table and Alex asked for the check, Jessica felt her nerves begin to settle.
 

A few minutes later when they stood to leave, she led the way, winding through the tables that were on the opposite side from where Kyle sat. Once they were on the way home, Jessica remembered her manners. “Thanks for dinner, Alex.”

“You’re welcome. I hope you feel better.”

“Thanks. Me, too.” Now that they were safely away from Kyle and his family, calmness had begun to replace her agitation, but as she thought about Kyle and his complete rejection of her in favor or Melanie, her calmness faded as self-doubt took its place.
Will I ever find happiness?

“I really enjoy spending time with you, Jessica.”

She turned in his direction, almost having forgotten he was there. She didn’t respond, not knowing what to tell him.

“I hope to take you out many more times.”

Jessica heard the question in his comment. Though she was trying to come to terms with the fact that Kyle surely was a father and committed to Melanie, and therefore not available, the knowledge that Alex really cared about her sent a jolt of self-confidence through her, buoying her up. The more she thought about it, the more the idea of choosing Alex, who was right in front of her and actually wanted her, settled over her like a brand-new wool blanket—a bit scratchy, but with time and use it would feel comfortable. “Me, too,” she said, surprising herself as much as Alex.

“Really?” The hope was plain in his tone.

She smiled as they turned up the road to her aunt’s house.
 

“I’d love to take you to lunch tomorrow,” he said.

“I think that would work,” she said, forcing cheerfulness into her voice.

He parked in front of the house, then came around to Jessica’s door and helped her out of the car. They walked up the steps to the porch, and when they reached the door she unlocked it but didn’t open it.

“So, I’ll see you around noon tomorrow?” Jessica asked.

He nodded. “Sounds great. I’ll see you then.”

Impulsively, Jessica threw her arms around his neck. He immediately responded with a warm embrace. She had to admit that the physical contact was comforting, even if she wasn’t in a romantic mood. She’d missed having his strong arms around her.

He pulled away and gazed into her eyes. She knew he wanted a kiss, so she quickly stood on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek. “Good-night, Alex.”

He let her go, and she smiled at him before opening the front door.

“Good-night, Jessica.”

She went in the house and closed the door behind her, relieved to be by herself so she could think. Without consciously making the decision, Jessica found herself walking over to the desk and putting the disc with the pictures into her laptop.

“Why do I torture myself?” she said to Hudson, who jumped into her lap and began purring. She scrolled through the pictures, her eyebrows pulling more tightly together with every picture as she absently petted her cat.

When she got to the last one, she sighed. Then she picked up Hudson and held him in front of her, face to face. “He went on without me, big guy.” Her voice shook a little as she spoke. “I can’t believe he replaced me. It’s like I didn’t even exist for him anymore.” She set Hudson on the floor and went to the bathroom to splash water on her face.

Staring at herself in the mirror, she wondered what was wrong with
her
. Why hadn’t he chosen
her
? Suddenly a new idea occurred to her. Maybe he’d known Melanie even then. Maybe he’d chosen Melanie way back then. The thought hurt more than thinking he’d been alone after he’d left her.

Finally getting her emotions under control, Jessica went back to her laptop and ejected the disc before putting it back in the drawer.

I need to give this to Kyle. Then I won’t be able to look at it anymore. Then she realized that since Melanie was back in town, she must have asked Kyle if Jessica had given him the disc. What must he think? Jessica thought. That I’m a pathetic old girlfriend? Holding on to his things?

Chapter Twenty-One

Early the next morning Jessica drove toward the diner, gratified she’d thought of a way to avoid Kyle. She’d left a note on the front door telling him she had an errand to run and to let himself in. The idea of facing him after seeing him with his child had been too much, and Jessica had tossed and turned the night before until she’d remembered she wanted to talk to Thomas Naylor about Charles and Teal Harrington. Once she’d settled on the excuse to avoid Kyle, she’d fallen right to sleep.