Tell Me a Secret (15 page)

Jimmy’s eyes flickered when Jace and Maggie stepped into the room and Jace offered his hand. “Hey man, I’m Jace Sloan. Nice to meet you.”

“I know who you are,” Jimmy said and clasped his palm. “All American wide receiver for the university. Dude, that catch yesterday was sweet!” Jimmy looked at Maggie. “You been holding out on me?”

“Whataya mean?”

“You never mentioned Jace Sloan was your boyfriend.”

“He’s not.”

Jace smiled. “Well, I’m a boy and her friend, so technically that makes me her boyfriend.”

“Dude. You know what I mean. Are you making it with her?”

“Jimmy!” she snapped.

“Sorry,” he said and turned back to Jace. “Well, are you?”

Jace cut his eyes to her and thought of last night. “No, I’m not making it with her.”

“That’s good, because if you were, I’d be screwed and tattooed. Cause I’m in love with her. Right, Maggie?”

She shook her head and gave him one of her sweetest smiles. “You
think
you’re in love with me. But like I’ve said before, I’m way too old for you. Besides, you already have someone crazy about you.”

Jimmy narrowed his eyes. “Who?”

She wrapped the blood pressure cuff around his arm and pumped it. “A certain young girl in the group of kids who come to visit you every weekend. She stands back behind the rest of your friends, but can’t take her eyes off you. You haven’t noticed her?”

“No. Who is she?”

“Shh, just a minute, I need this reading.” She removed the cuff and wrote on his chart. “Her name is Laura.”

“You saying Laura is cupcakin’ on me?”

Maggie laughed. “Yeah.”

“She never says two words.”

Maggie slanted a look toward her study partner. “Jace has lots of experience and he’ll tell you it isn’t always what a girl says.”

 
“She’s right. Sometimes it’s what they don’t say.”

Maggie checked Jimmy’s temp and noted it. “Today, when your friends show up, pay attention. Those eyes of hers drink you in and she still can’t get her fill.”

“Damn, Maggie, that’s sexy talk. When are you gonna give up and give in to me?”

She leaned over and whispered. “You know, there’s a word that describes me giving in to you.”

“What? Cougar?”

“No. Felony.”

Jace and Maggie broke into laughter.

“Ha, ha, very funny. What if my dying wish was to have sex with you? Would you?”

“Oh, good grief. You’re not dying.”

“Just play along. Answer the question.”

“No, I would not.”

“Why? I know you love me. I can tell.”

“You’re right. I do love you—like a little brother. If you wished to have sex, I’d want it to be with someone you loved and who loved you back. Because sex without love is just sex. Understand what I’m saying?”

“Yeah. You sound like my mom. Damn, what a turn off.”

Maggie patted his cheek. “The next time Laura’s here, watch her. And, Jace, if I don’t see you again before you leave, thanks for coming.”

“Wait, can’t we have a Coke or something together before I go?”

“Sure. I’ll get a break in thirty minutes. I’ll meet you in the cafeteria.”

She stepped into the hall and stopped to speak with a doctor. When he put his hand on her shoulder, Jace’s stomach knotted. “Who’s that with Maggie?”

Jimmy leaned forward and raised his eyebrows. “Oh, dude, that’s the competition. Dr. Roberts. He’s been hittin’ on her forever and I understand she finally gave in.”

The knot in Jace’s stomach spread to his chest. “Whataya mean, gave in?”

“I’m such a regular here, the nurses’ talk in front of me, especially if I have my ear buds in and they think I’m listening to music. Rumor has it, they’re dating. But I don’t have long to worry. He’s accepted a position in Temple, so he’ll be leaving soon and Maggie will be all mine again.” He chuckled, then got serious. “Unless she changes her mind. Has she said anything to you about moving?”

Jace had his eyes locked on the couple until Jimmy mentioned Maggie changing her mind. “What are you talking about?”

“Dude, he’s asked her to go with him.”

An hour later, while Jace waited in the cafeteria, he thought about Dr.
Nasty Mnemonics
Roberts and Maggie as a couple. He came to a conclusion. He didn’t like it. Not one damn bit.

He drummed his fingers on the table and tried to direct his thoughts elsewhere and for a moment it worked. The vision of her crawling across the floor flashed in his mind. He admitted he’d stared at her ass and enjoyed the view for a few minutes before he spoke.

The night before he’d put forth real effort to keep from staring at her breasts so perfectly outlined beneath her red pajamas. Now that he knew she was interested in him, due to her drunken confession, he planned to do something about it. He couldn’t put it off any longer and take a chance on the good doctor getting his hooks into her.

She glided into the cafeteria and broke his concentration. She’d pulled her hair into a ponytail, wild tendrils shooting in every direction like a Fourth of July sparkler. She even made scrubs sexy.

She spied him and bounced over to him. He loved her enthusiasm. She always had a smile, except when he pissed her off, and he’d been doing that a lot lately. Maybe that’s why she’d started dating the doctor. For the first time, it occurred to Jace how’d he feel if he never saw her again. Panic caught at the back of his throat. He wasn’t going to risk that happening. Steeling his shoulders, he prepared to bring his A-game.

He dragged out a chair for her and slid a plate across the table. “Hey Magpie, I took the liberty of getting you cookies and iced tea.”

Her eyes brightened. “Sugar?”

“What, Honey? Oh, you mean are they sugar cookies?”

She giggled. “Thank you for coming today. The kids enjoyed your visit, especially Jimmy.”

“I was happy to do it. You were good with him.”

She broke off a piece of cookie and stuck it in her mouth. “I guess I did sound a little like his mother. I’ve been feeling maternal lately.”

“What does that mean?”

“Oh, nothing.”

“No. Tell me.”

“I shouldn’t have mentioned it. Just forget I said anything.”

Worry lines formed on his forehead. What if her motherly emotions had to do with Roberts and his move? Jace needed to find out. “Please, tell me. I want to know.”

She averted her eyes around the room, then looked back at him. “I’ve been thinking how important family is, probably because I’ve spent so much time with yours. But I need to refocus and concentrate more on my career.”

“As in moving up the ladder?”

“Possibly. I have an opportunity I’m considering, but it’s in administration, not nursing. I’d miss my contact with patients.”

“Well, it seems your favorite patient has a big time crush on you.”

Maggie wiped crumbs into a pile then raked them onto her napkin. “The brain’s pre-frontal cortex doesn’t fully develop until our twenties. At Jimmy’s age, he’s oblivious to the consequences of a relationship with an older woman.”
 

Jace shook his head. She was just as sexy talking nerdy as she was drunk. “I noticed you with a doctor in the hallway and he looked to be well over twenty and interested. Of course, I guess it’s natural for a nurse to get involved with a physician.”

She stiffened and lost her smile. “You think I became a nurse to hook a doctor?”

“No, but it stands to reason since you work with them, you might marry one.”

“That makes as much sense as tutoring an athlete to hook a jock.” Her smile returned.

“Magpie, are you cupcakin’ on me?”

Pink rose in her cheeks. “Uh—no. I mean—maybe.”

He took a long moment to enjoy her expression. “Let’s go out.”

Her eyes went wide. “On a date?”

“Yeah. On a date. We’ve already slept together, so I think it’s time. Don’t you?”

Now her cheeks went red and at first he expected her to decline, but then she said, “Okay. When?”

“Tonight. Nothing fancy. We can get a burger. You get off at three, so how about I pick you up at seven?”

She wrapped her two remaining cookies in a napkin and stuck them in her pocket. “I’ll see you at seven.” She twirled and walked away.

 
~~*~~
 

Heart still racing, Maggie paused at the window on the third floor and stared into the parking lot. Jace had asked her out. Maybe there was hope after all. Scanning below, her heart stopped. He had his arms wrapped around a woman. They talked for a moment, then they went to his truck, got in and drove away.

Maggie tried to breath, but all the oxygen had left the room. Tears burned her eyes. How could she be so stupid? He couldn’t even wait until he left the hospital before he hooked up. Once a man-whore, always a man-whore. Well, she’d finally learned her lesson. He would never change.
I’m done with him. Once and for all.

When you want what you want more than you fear what you want, you will have it.

~Alan Cohen

Jace arrived at his parents’ house, got out and walked across the lawn determined to not let anything ruin his good mood. He’d spent too much time trying to convince himself he wasn’t right for Maggie.
To hell with that
.
 

He rolled his neck first one way and then the other. In a few more hours they’d be at a restaurant and she’d beam at him and giggle at his silly remarks, then he’d be able to forget the bruising and battering from yesterday’s game. Somehow, her smile always made him feel better.
 

He strolled to the door and mentally put himself back at the hospital in Jimmy’s room, and got a clear vision of Dr. Roberts standing in the hallway with his hand on Maggie’s shoulder.
Why did that guy think he had the right to touch her
? Jace shook the notion away. He didn’t want to think about it anymore.

Inside the house, voices came from the kitchen, and as he got closer, he heard his mom say. “Your dad said Maggie gave you a good suggestion for the hospital project.”

Jace glared at Jared. “You met with Maggie?”

“Yeah.”

Heat rose in Jace’s face along with his temper. He fisted his hands. “I told you I didn’t want you to do that.”

“Calm down. It’s no big deal.”

The urge to choke Jared simmered under Jace’s skin. “When did you meet with her?”

“Yesterday. She dropped by the office after work. We watched the last few minutes of the game. Great catch, by the way.”

“And that’s it? She looked at the plans and left?”

As soon as he asked, his brother straightened in his seat, and Jace knew he wasn’t going to like his answer.

“Don’t make a mountain out of a mole hill. We went to Joe’s and grabbed a burger. That’s it. Then she left.”

Jace managed to take two steps toward his brother before his mother moved in front of him. “Stop, Jace. You’re acting like a child.”

He thinned his lips into a tight line. “Am I, Mom? From the minute Jared met Maggie, he’s wanted her for himself. Even you thought they belonged together.”

Jared left his seat and moved closer. Mom put one hand on Jace’s chest and the other on Jared’s. “You’re right. I thought she’d be a good match for him only because I didn’t think you’d be interested. Now that you are, I’m thrilled.” Jace leaned forward and she pressed harder.

“Listen to me, you idiot. It doesn’t matter what I want. The only thing that matters is what she wants,” Jared said.

Jace started to speak, but his phone chimed. He read the text. “Shit!”

“What’s wrong?” Mom asked.

“Maggie and I were going out tonight and now she’s cancelled. Says something’s come up.” He texted back.

“Oh, Jace. What have you done?”
 

“I didn’t do a damn thing, Mom. I swear.”

“Are you sure? This is unlike her. First the cancelled dinners and now she texts to break a date. Something’s wrong and I suspect it has to do with you. Are you sure you didn’t say or do something inappropriate?”

All the pain from yesterday’s game intensified. “What do you mean cancelled dinners?”

“She phoned last night and said she couldn’t have dinner with us anymore because she needed more time to study. I didn’t think anything about it, but now…”

Jace zeroed in on big brother again. “What the hell did you do?”

“Why do you blame me?”

“You met with her
yesterday
. She called Mom and cancelled
yesterday
. I sure as hell haven’t done anything to upset her, so you must have.”

“Well, I didn’t.”

“Did you get
fresh
with her?” Mom asked Jace.

“Fresh? Nobody uses that word anymore, Mom. But no, I didn’t get fresh. I’ve been a perfect gentleman.” He studied his blank, silent phone. She wasn’t going to text back. He had no choice but to go to her house.

 
~~*~~
 

Maggie put the pants back on the hanger and replaced it on the rod. For dancing, she should wear a skirt. Of course the way Marc tossed her around, her butt might get exposed, but she didn’t care.

She was done playing the fool. She’d learned her lesson this time for sure. What kind of man makes a date with one woman then picks up another one within minutes? He was worse than a man-whore. He was a man-slut. A man-skank. A skanky-slutty-man-whore.