“Well, here’s your stuff,” Tyler cut in, thrusting the box into her hands. “As you can see, we’re kinda busy, but thanks for stopping by.”
Her face dropped and he could see the hurt in her green eyes. That wasn’t his intention. He didn’t want to hurt her. He didn’t want to hurt anyone. But such were the circumstances he’d created for himself.
“Goodbye, Trisha,” he said, his heart sinking as he closed the door.
That was uncomfortable and unpleasant and it was safe to say that Operation Cupid was a total, epic fail. This was what he’d wanted. He’d wanted Trisha to see them together, use jealously to make her realize what she’d lost. He’d even begged Matt to help him out and now that it had happened, he just felt like a despicable human being.
He turned to Jordan and tried to smile. “You okay?”
She nodded, but he could see thatstandbycomment had slashed right through her. “Run-ins with exes are never easy. Just ask Brian, the douche-face.” A slight smile tugged at her lips. “Are you okay?”
“I’ve had better days,” he admitted.
“Do you want me to leave?”
He shook his head. “No.” Closing the gap between them, he placed both hands on her shoulders. “You’re not a standby, Jordan. Don’t take anything she said to heart.”
Again she nodded, but doubt still lived in her eyes. It was understandable. He’d been going back and forth with her since the middle of June, but he wasn’t lying. Somewhere in that time something had happened to shift his focus. He was confused, yes, but Jordan was by no means just a standby, and he was ready to do anything to take that sullen look off her face.
“God, this is awful…and tense. You know what we need?”
“What?”
“Ice-cream.”
And then a perfect smile lit up her face.
“Also I have muesli and I’ve heard the combination makes for a very nutritious breakfast option.”
Her mouth dropped with fake awe. “Where did you hear that? That sounds like the words of a true genius.”
“There’s a thin line between crazy and genius,” he responded as he led her into the kitchen.
They nibbled a bit on the bacon and eggs before he took out a pint of Ben & Jerry’s. Sitting down on either side of the counter, they ate it straight from the tub. The tension was replaced with the enjoyable silliness he had come to expect from her. He could sit there and look at her for hours. She was exquisite, beautiful without even really trying. She giggled and told jokes and he could feel himself being pulled deeper into this tangled web.
The more he watched her, the more confused he became. The line was blurring, the line of the boss-accountant relationship. Getting Trisha back had been his plan. He’d set out to pursue this plan with determination, fortitude. Yet a few minutes ago she was right in front of him and he closed the door on her, willingly, without a second thought. In his head, he kept trying to deny it, kept telling himself that he had only done it to protect Jordan from her spiteful words. Jordan didn’t deserve to get hurt by the sheer idiocy of this plan. She was an innocent in this stupid game.
Yet as much as he chanted this in his head, there was a part of him that knew better, a part that acknowledged and even accepted what had happened.
Whether he knew it at the time was still unclear, but here was the fact of the matter: He had just chosen Jordan over Trisha.
Rock…meet hard place.
Going Home
Jordan arrived at work, bright and early. She had spent the entire weekend with Tyler. After talking until eleven o’ clock on Saturday night, he’d ruled out the possibility of her leaving again and she’d only went home on Sunday afternoon, just in time to say goodbye to Gemma and Neil.
Somehow in the last few days, their relationship had evolved to something less than professional, but more than friendly. This she liked. This she could work with. It was a state of limbo. On one side, they could slip into being friendly colleagues and the other side held the promise of a little more than fling. She was comfortable with either outcome, but the side that included the body of Tyler Evans was obviously the more appealing option.
She had just completed her first month-end recon when her phone rang and seeing her mother’s number flash on the screen caused trepidation to flood through her. Her mother only called during working hours for two reasons:
1)Shane had ratted out about something; or
2)Bad news
Last Christmas she’d broken two plates from her mother’s favorite dinner set. Shane had caught her disposing of the evidence and used his usual act of bribery in exchange for keeping quiet.
“Please say he told. Please say he told,” she whispered desperately as she lifted the phone to her ear. “Hi, Momma.”
