Page 22 of Kiss the Girl
Luckily, he laughed. “That sounds good. You know what I like, so…surprise me.”
“You got it. I’ll text you when I’m on my way because I have no idea how the rest of the day is going to go.”
“No worries, Savi. I’m just sitting around doing nothing.”
Yeah, she was going to make sure that changed soon.
Real soon.
* * *
With his knee mildly aching,Jackson knew part of it was because he wasn’t doing his exercises. Since he’d arrived in Laurel Bay, he’d been fairly content to stay in the apartment and sit on the couch watching TV. With all the streaming services, he’d lose track of time after binging an entire series.
After going out last night, however, he knew he needed to be a bit proactive with his therapy so he could hang out with a pretty girl without needing to sit because his knee hurt.
Savannah’s face instantly came to mind and he smiled.
Why didn’t I get her number?
Yeah, at the time, he thought it was the right move—with his being home secretly, the crap with his recovery, his father showing up with some chick who may or may not be his half-sister…his life was kind of a mess. All those things really needed his full attention and he couldn’t allow himself to be distracted—even briefly—by an attractive, husky-voiced woman who starred in several erotic dreams last night.
She certainly didn’t strike him as the type to have a quick fling or even a one-night stand. There was something about her that was infinitely innocent. Obviously she’d been married, but from the way they had talked, it just seemed like she was a genuinely decent person who was looking to start her life over.
And he really hoped she would accomplish everything she wanted because she deserved to be happy.
Of course, since they never did exchange anything personal, he didn’t know what that entailed, but it didn’t make it any less true.
As he walked around downtown Laurel Bay, he made a note of some of the businesses. There was a pizzeria, a Chinese restaurant, a coffee shop, a nail salon, hair salon, print shop…
That last one tripped him up. He figured everyone just ordered their stuff online and little places like that didn’t exist anymore, but clearly, he was wrong.
Stopping in front of it, Jackson glanced in the window and saw posters on the wall and banners hanging from the ceiling, along with shelves full of samples of their work, and his cousin Parker staring at him with wide eyes.
Uh-oh…
It was too late to run and there was a good chance he wouldn’t be able to either. So, with a sigh of resignation, he watched as she practically skipped out of the shop smiling from ear to ear.
“Oh my God!” she cried as she ran over and hugged him. “What on earth are you doing here?”
“Um…”
Pulling back, she cupped his face. “Look at you! It is so good to see your face! Gah! I can’t believe you’re home! No one mentioned it and you know this kind of news spreads like wildfire!”
Taking a step back, he raked a hand through his hair and tried to figure out how to get his overly chatty cousin to…not chat.
“Parker, look, um…no one knows I’m back,” he said carefully.
“Seriously? Why?”
It took a few moments for him to figure out exactly how to explain it without sounding awful.
“You know I had the ACL surgery and the recovery is sort of going slower than I wanted. I’m officially discharged from the Marines and I needed some time to just…adjust. I have no idea what I’m going to do or what life is going to look like and I knew if I went home—either to my mom’s or stayed with one of my brothers—there was going to be some pressure and…”
She held up a hand to stop him. “You are preaching to the choir. Been there, done that, bought the t-shirt.” Frowning, she said, “I’m sorry you’re dealing with all of that. I know it’s not easy.”
“Yeah, well…”
“So you’re staying here in Laurel Bay?”