Free Love Online (Truly Yours Digital Editions) by Kristin Billerbeck, Nancy Toback

Aren’t you searching for the things of God?”
    Jess’s spine snapped straight, drawing her upright from the hunched position she’d maintained to make herself appear smaller. But clothed-in-self-confidence-Jim certainly didn’t need a boost from her. “I may have put marriage on the back burner, but I’m not—”
    “Sorry?” Jim’s sparse brows curved in a show of skepticism. He smiled and smacked his lips. “Great bread.”
    Jess noted her clenched fists, eased them open, and inched aside the bowl of wilting lettuce. “I guess I’m not most women , because I’m not sorry.” Of course at times she feared she’d missed the boat, passed her one, true love on the street without ever knowing it.
    “Forget it. I didn’t mean to hit a nerve.” Jim brushed aside the crumbs, scattering them over the surface of the wooden table.
    “You—I—” She picked up her glass of iced tea. If she didn’t occupy her mouth, she’d have to repent later for what might tumble out of it. Tipping her head, she knocked back her drink the way John Wayne did before a showdown.
    “Hello, Jess.”
    Cold liquid splashed over her chin and onto her white blouse. She gulped, set down her glass, and stared up at Tom. Clutching the linen napkin, she dabbed her mouth in an effort at composure, fully aware she was gawking.
    “Tom.” Jess’s lips pulled into an easy smile. Her pulse raced. Tom . He’d come to rescue her. Later, he’d help her find humor in Jim’s obnoxious comments. To hear the joyful rhythm of her heartbeat, anybody would think Tom was her one, true love.
    “How are you, Jess?” Tom smiled, but his tone alerted her to something amiss.
    “Great—I’m great.” She turned toward Jim. How could he not feel the dot of butter shining on his chin? She squelched the urge to reach across the table and spruce him up a bit. “Jim Hunt, this is Tom Winters.”
    Jim popped out of his chair like a jack-in-the-box. “Nice to meet you.”
    “Yes, same here.” Gazing down, Tom shook his hand. He had to be remembering her insecurity about being taller than men, though Tom’s handsome face revealed nothing.
    Jess took a sip of tea, waiting for Jim to sit, then chanced another glance at Tom. “So what brings you into Flavors tonight?”
    “I’m here with Frank”—Tom gestured with a tilt of his head—“and a couple of friends.”
    Her heart paused, then sank. But, no, after Sunday’s argument, Tom wouldn’t squire Internet Woman into Flavors. He wouldn’t rub salt into the wound. Holding fast to that belief, Jess peered around him.
    She caught sight of the back view of Frank, sitting at a table about twenty feet away. Her gaze moved on to a smiling woman who could’ve easily passed for her sister.
    Jess swallowed past the thick ache in her throat, nodded hello, and found her voice. “Oh, good—I see you snagged table 12. Your favorite.”
    “Yeah, well, Frank made the reservations, but, um. . .” Tom cleared his throat and glanced over his shoulder. “Anyway, I’ve got to get back to—”
    “Okay, then—see you.” Jess stabbed her fork blindly into the salad, nearly knocking over the bowl in her zeal.
    “Right—and nice meeting you, Jim.” Tom turned away.
    Jim’s response mingled with the sound of her blood coursing through her ears. She watched Tom walk toward his date. The woman eyed him like a grinning Cheshire. Tom dropped into the chair beside her, leaned next to her ear. An invisible band tightened around Jess’s ribs. “That’s only Jessica,” Tom had to be whispering. “She’s just an old friend.”
    “Er, as I was saying. . .” Jim’s voice pulled her attention from the numbing spectacle. She desperately wanted to shush him. “Is that your ex or something?”
    Jess’s hand went to her forehead. She rubbed the hive that had swelled to a hard, inflamed tumor of anxiety. “No, why do you ask?”
    “Because I don’t want to be involved in anything messy. We can leave now—go