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“Perhaps.” He’d dated during their breakups before, but he’d always ended things when she wanted them to get back together. “But I’d hate to put any woman in her cross-hairs.”
“Don’t let her rob you of the possibility of a healthy relationship.”
“I hope that this is the last time I have to talk to her about this. Surely she’s got to see that I’m not backing down, and I’m not changing my mind.”
“We’ll pray that this will be the end of it,” Gareth said. “In the meantime, enjoy your time with… others.”
The smile Gareth gave him let Jay know exactly who he was referring to. “I already am.”
“Perfect.”
“Your next patient is in room three, Gareth,” Janessa said as she appeared at Jay’s side. “Where’s Casey?”
“I let her off out front.”
“You didn’t get back together with her again, did you?” Janessa demanded, her brows pulled low over her dark eyes.
“No. I most certainly did not,” he told her. “I just took the time to reiterate that to her.”
“For such a smart woman, she’s really bad at picking up on the subtleties of a conversation.”
“Oh, I wasn’t subtle. She’s just stubborn.”
They stepped aside so that Gareth could leave his office.
“Well, I, for one, am happy to have seen the last of her,” Janessa said. “I think she was cheating on you, and that just isn’t cool on any level.”
“I’m pretty sure she dated other guys while we were broken up.” He didn’t necessarily hold that against her since he’d done the same thing.
“No. I mean while you were dating.”
For a moment, Jay wanted details, but then he decided he didn’t care. “Oh well. It doesn’t matter now. That all needs to stay in the past.”
Janessa smiled at him. “That’s an excellent plan.”
“Now, I’m getting back to work.”
Jay felt lighter as he returned to his office. He might not have enjoyed seeing Casey again, but he felt like he’d finally gotten his point across. He’d shot down every attempt she’d made lately. Surely that said something to her.
He felt like his heart was well and truly ready for another relationship. The only problem he had was that underlying fear that maybe Casey was right and he really didn’t know how to have a good relationship, even with the examples around him.
The last thing he wanted was to hurt someone because he didn’t know what he was doing.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
“Do you want to go for a hike on Sunday afternoon?”
Misha looked at Jay where he sat on the mat beside her, leaning back on his hands. She’d debated coming to the gym that night. Spending all this time with Jay had become a double-edged sword.
She really enjoyed being with Jay, getting to know him. But the more she got to know him, the more she felt attracted to him.
Unfortunately, earlier that day, she’d learned something new about him. Something that made her think she didn’t have a chance with him, which meant her growing feelings were only going to lead to heartache.
When she’d seen the woman Jay had left the clinic with earlier that day, all Misha had been able to focus on was how she looked. Tall, slender, white. Her shiny blonde hair had been silky straight.
When she’d been younger, Misha had wanted hair like that. Shiny, straight, and silky. She’d tried to convince her mom to let her get her hair chemically relaxed, but her mom had forbidden it.
Her mom had had pride in her racial heritage, and she’d tried to help Misha accept who she was and all that meant. Which had included accepting her curls and not trying products that could be harmful to her hair in order to straighten them out.
