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“Good enough to be granted a college scholarship.” She paused when the server brought their food to the table. “Thank you. This looks delicious.”
“Enjoy.” The server smiled, then hurried away.
For several minutes they concentrated on their respective meals. Alec glanced at her, his gaze drawn to her lovely face. She'd mentioned living a sheltered life and he could easily see how that might be the case. As far as he was concerned, Jillian shouldn't have to take care of any victims of drug abuse. Which was an entirely unrealistic thought in this day and age. Despite their best efforts to get drugs off the street, substance abuse and narcotic overdoses were on the rise.
He took another bite of his chicken marinara, wishing the ugly side of his job hadn't touched her. No one liked dealing with criminals at any level. Unfortunately, there was little he could do except continue his investigation and then hand over the details to his boss.
Which reminded him of one more thing. “I really need to see your medication dispensing machine up close.”
“Stop by while I'm working and I'll be happy to demonstrate it for you,” she offered. “The way the machines work isn't a secret. There’s no reason you couldn’t see how the staff obtain medications from it. And when you get the list from administration, make sure you ask for the names of the staff members who accessed it during those time frames.
“I will. Thanks for the tip.” The way Jillian dug into her pasta made him grin. He appreciated a woman with a healthy appetite.
She was beautiful. Successful. Financially secure. He hid a grimace. She probably made at least three times as much money per year as he did. If not more. She was way out of his league.
What was he doing, spending time with her like this? There was no point of satisfying his urge to see her again. No matter how much he might want to. Easy to imagine taking out to a fancy restaurant for a nice, quiet dinner. Followed by a romantic walk along the beach of the lakefront.
His phone rang. He glanced at the display and then flashed Jillian an apologetic smile.
“Excuse me, this is my daughter.” He accepted the call. “Hey, munchkin, what's up?”
“Daddy!” Shannon shrieked in his ear. “I slid down a water slide and my whole head went underneath the water!”
A flash of panic made him tighten his grip on the phone. “Are you alright? Are you hurt? Did you cry?”
“No, silly.” To his relief she giggled. “I just held my breath. I didn't like it when the water went up my nose, though.”
Swimming lessons, he thought, relaxing his fingers the death like grip on the phone. His daughter needed swimming lessons, and fast. “You're supposed to blow air out of your nose so the water doesn't come in.”
“Eww. Gross.” He chuckled, imagining the scrunched expression on her face. “Oh, Auntie Andrea is calling me so I have to go, Daddy. I love you.”
His throat tightened. After years of not knowing his daughter even existed, he knew he’d never, ever get tired of hearing her say that. “I love you, too, Shannon. See you later.” He cleared his throat as he pocketed his phone.
Jillian stared at him on her eyes wide with shock surprise. Then she seemed to pull herself together, although he noticed her smile was strained. “Your daughter sounds adorable. How old is she?”
“Five. Almost six.” He tried to think of a way to explain without going into the whole complicated story. “She has only lived with me for the past nine months, since her mother died. I just found out about her, then.”
“Oh, I'm so sorry.” Her expression softened. “That must have been very difficult.”
“For Shannon more so. Thankfully, kids are incredibly resilient. She seems to have adjusted fairly well. So have I. We make a pretty good team.”
She glanced away, making him realize he'd given the impression that he wasn't interested in expanding that team.
A truth he hadn't meant to state so bluntly.
She reached for her water glass but as she lifted it, the glass slipped from her fingers and fell back onto the table. The glass didn't break, but some of the water slashed over the edge. “I'm such a klutz!” Her cheeks were pink as she leaned over to mop up the mess, avoiding his gaze. “And, actually, I'm sorry but I need to get going. I have a number of things I need to do today.”
He couldn't let her go, not like this. Reaching across the table, he caught her hand. “Wait.”
She froze, staring down at their joined hands. Then she looked up at him, her gaze uncertain. “For what?”
He couldn't prevent himself from stroking a thumb over the soft skin of her hand as he held her gaze. “You dropped the forceps last night and now this. You are not a klutz. But you certainly seem upset. I hope you don't mind me asking, but is something wrong?”
There was a long pause, but then she tugged her hand from his. “I honestly don't know. But really, I do need to go. Please, excuse me.” She picked up her purse. “Thanks for lunch, Alec. I hope you hear from hospital administration soon so you can find the person you're searching for.”
Without giving him a chance to say anything more, she hurried away. His gaze trailed after her, and he felt bad about how she’d pulled away from him. He also couldn't help ruminating over what was wrong. She said she didn't know but, as a physician she must have an idea.
He signaled for the check, sternly reminding himself that Jillian’s medical problems weren't any of his concern. He needed to stay focused on finding the person stealing percocets from the hospital and placing them in the hands of children.
