In Love with John Doe by Cindy Kirk Page A

grudgingly admitted.
    He reached over and took her hand. Her heart flip-flopped.
    She pulled back her hand. “I didn’t want to.”
    “Why not?” His tone was cool, well controlled.
    “Ah, Jack, you know why.” Lexi kept her gaze firmly fixed on the road. “You’re going to be gone soon. I can’t get attached to someone who’s going to walk out of my life and never look back.”
    “It doesn’t have to be that way,” he said, the words rushed and filled with urgency. “Maybe we could—”
    “There can be no plans, Jack.” Lexi tightened her fingers around the steering wheel until her knuckles turned white. “Not until you know if you have a wife or a girlfriend.”
    He heaved a harsh breath. “But I like you, Lexi.”
    “My father used to say you have to play the cards you’re dealt.” Lexi took a deep, steadying breath. “If I had a boyfriend or a husband who’d been injured and didn’t remember his name or our life together, I’d hope that someone would be nice to him while he regained his memory. Nice…as in be his friend.”
    “But no kisses or hugs or—”
    “No. None of that.” She cut him off before his words could build any more sensual images in her mind.
    “Where do we go from here?” he asked in a quiet tone.
    “We continue as we have been,” Lexi said. “I’ll be your friend. We’ll hang out and do things together for the sole purpose of bringing back those memories. You’ll keep your hands off me and I’ll keep my hands off you.”
    “We’ll play the cards we’ve been dealt,” he said, sounding resigned.
    “Exactly,” Lexi said. “Now, about you moving in with Mary Karen…”



Chapter Nine
    “D id you really think I was serious?” Jack asked Lexi as she pulled onto the drive leading to Wildwoods.
    “Weren’t you?” The tight clench to her jaw was at odds with her casual tone.
    “For a minute or two,” Jack grudgingly admitted. He wasn’t proud that for those few moments he’d been tempted to disregard Travis’s feelings and do what was best for him . “But your friends have been great. I wouldn’t want to hurt any of them.”
    Lexi hit the button for the garage door. While waiting for it to open, she studied Jack’s profile. “You obviously caught the looks Travis was sending you.”
    “How could I miss them?” Jack chuckled, then sobered. “I understand where he was coming from. I wouldn’t want him moving in with you.”
    His gaze met hers. Though the garage door was now fully opened, she made no move to pull the station wagon inside.
    “I hope you understand why I can’t offer my place,” she said in a quiet tone. “It’s not that I wouldn’t enjoy having you around. It’s just that—”
    “It wouldn’t be a good idea with a child in the house.” Jack smiled at the look of surprise that flashed in her eyes. “What? You don’t think I can be sensitive to all the nuances of this situation?”
    “No, I—”
    “You can’t honestly think I care so little about you.” Without Jack quite realizing how it had happened, the lighthearted teasing was gone, replaced by something deeper, something he didn’t want to analyze too closely. He gave in to an impulse and touched her face. “I meant what I said the other day. I never want to do anything to hurt you or Addie.”
    She leaned her head into his caress and his heart filled with an emotion that was new, yet at the same time familiar.
    “Mommy?” a sleepy voice sounded from the backseat.
    Jack dropped his hand and pulled back.
    “Are we home?” Addie straightened in the backseat, not bothering to cover her yawn.
    “Yes, we are.” Lexi pulled into the darkened garage and flicked off the ignition. “I should never have kept you out so late on a school night.”
    “’s okay, Mommy.” Addie yawned again. “We don’t have much going on tomorrow except for a math test.”
    Jack stifled a grin at Lexi’s groan.
    “I’ve got an idea.” He twisted in his seat so he could see