Long Gone Girl by Amy Rose Bennett Page A

that…last
night was last night, and today…Well today I’ve got plans.” She
sounded so unconvincing, even Mrs. Fingle’s cat wouldn’t believe
her if it was here.
    Jett cocked an eyebrow. “You do? But it’s
Sunday.” His mouth kicked into a wicked grin. “If you’re going to
church to confess your sins, I guess I should come along too.”
    “No…” Ginny pressed her lips together to
stop herself smiling back. Or crying. She blinked rapidly and
glanced toward the window. The white curtains were growing brighter
by the minute. Why was he making this so difficult? Isn’t he
supposed to love me and leave me? Wham, bam and thank you,
ma’am?
    Jett grasped both her hands and linked his
fingers through hers. “Look. How about I make tracks back to The
Beacon and then we could meet up for coffee there in an hour or two
before hitting the beach again? The sun’s out and I don’t have to
head back to Fort Dix until late this afternoon. And after that”
–he smiled and his hands slid to her waist— “both Fort Dix and
LaGuardia aren’t that far from Ridgewood. If you were free on
weekends—”
    “No, Jett…” Ginny closed her eyes for a
moment in an attempt to control the frustration and confusion
rising inside her, constricting her throat. She swallowed, then
drew in a steadying breath and met Jett’s gaze. “I’m serious. There
are things I have to attend to. And the way I see it…” She sighed
heavily, hating herself for the words she was going to say, but her
self-preservation was paramount. “Look, we’re both grown-ups. And
last night was terrific. More than terrific. But I think it would
be best if we said good-bye now.”
    Jett ran a hand down his face. Although
she’d always thought of him as a Lothario, there was no denying the
look of hurt confusion in his eyes.
    “You’re giving me the brush off,” he said at
last, his voice flat with disappointment.
    Ginny winced. Ouch. “Jett, you’re a
great guy, but I don’t see any point in prolonging...this…us…
You’re at Fort Dix, soon to be moving onto bigger and better things
and I’m… Well, I’m trying to get out of Ridgewood. I have a job
interview for a surgical nursing position tomorrow at Mount Sinai
and I don’t want to screw it up. I need to go over my resume and
some medical journals today, and aside from that…I’m not ready to
rush headlong into a relationship with anyone, casual or otherwise
at the moment. I need to be Ginny Williams for a while. No
commitments. No obligations except for my work.”
    Jett released her and rubbed the back of his
neck—an almost awkward gesture. It wasn’t like him at all. “Yeah,
sure, Ginny. I understand.” His mouth twisted into a small rueful
looking smile. “I wouldn’t want to get in your way. I’ll get
dressed and go.”
    Ginny nodded, not trusting herself to say
anything as Jett moved over to the radiator where his clothes hung.
When his hands moved to his hips to loosen the towel, she skittered
over to the door. “Just going to the bathroom,” she mumbled.
    Standing in the hallway, on the other side
of the closed bedroom door , Ginny bit her lip and clenched
her hands into fists, willing herself not to cry. Crap, crap,
crap . Had she got Jett all wrong?
    But even if she had, even if he’d changed,
it didn’t matter. She had to be strong. She couldn’t afford the
distraction he represented. And she wouldn’t give up her dreams of
a stellar nursing career, not even for him.
    When she returned to the room a few minutes
later—she trusted that the cold water she’d splashed onto her face
had removed the traces of any tears, if not her red-rimmed eyes—it
was to find Jett, fully dressed, standing by the window and looking
out at the beach.
    “Still all quiet out there?” he asked,
dropping the curtain back into place. When he smiled it was so
smooth and practiced, her heart twisted. The cool, confident,
disarming version of Jett was back. Absurdly, she wanted to