Chapter One
Four Months Earlier . . . .
Evan Jordan and I had become pretty good friends during our senior year of high school. He was by far the cutest, most unattainable boy at J.C. Clarke High, and I was exceptionally shy, awkward, clumsy, and smart enough to know he was off-limits.
He’d dated several girls at our school over the years, including a brief stint with the class snob, Amanda. He finally settled into an on-again, off-again relationship with Cali, the daughter of his dad's best friend, who went to a private, all-girls school a few towns over. Today, I think they were in the on-again phase.
Evan and I were lab partners for the year. At first, I was scared to death to open my mouth, but once I got to know him, I realized he wasn’t just the typical, good-looking rich kid I’d always perceived him to be. He was smart, funny, caring, and a really good friend. After a few days, we hit it off, and I was glad to have him in my life.
Before becoming Evan’s lab partner, I'd spent most of my time alone, never really fitting in. I wasn’t very athletic, but I wasn’t a girly girl either. I was smart, but not brilliant. I came from modest means. We lived about an hour from Denver, Colorado, in a small town, in a little two-bedroom house I shared with my father, Max, the town’s Police Chief. I often referred to him as Max behind his back, a habit I picked up as a child. He worked long hours, hung out with his friends, and liked to watch an unhealthy amount of sports. Except for my part-time job at the local coffee shop, I really didn't get out much.
I used to spend most nights reading or surfing the net, but since we'd become friends, Evan had me over several nights a week. I was growing rather attached to his parents, too. He lived in a huge house with what appeared to be the perfect family. His father, Jack, was a prominent surgeon at a Denver hospital. Jack loved his family very much and catered to their every whim. They all drove really expensive cars and wore only the best designer clothes. He was married to the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen. Sarah Jordan was a fantastic wife and mother. She doted on Evan, his sister, Brenna, and their older brother, Alex.
At twenty-one, Brenna, a goddess in her own right, still lived at home. Evan often said she was still trying to find herself, but she seemed pretty content living off her daddy’s money. She’d tried college, beauty school, and now she was attending a well-known fashion academy in the city with her BFF, Julia Miller. Brenna had dated Julia’s brother, Ryan, since high school and they seemed pretty exclusive. I didn’t know Brenna well, since she spent most of her days in the city and many of her evenings out with either Ryan or Julia.
The only Jordan I’d yet to meet was Alex, but by the way everyone else around here spoke of him, he seemed pretty special. He was a straight-A student and always had been. He'd finished his undergraduate degree in three years and at the age of twenty-three had already earned his Master's in psychology. He was hanging out back East until he made a decision on what he should do next. According to Evan, Alex was struggling to decide if he should enroll in medical school to become a psychiatrist. He was Jack’s pride and joy. Apparently, he was also a pretty good baseball player and had made a name for himself at J.C. Clarke. My father had mentioned Alex's athletic abilities when I told him I was hanging out at the Jordan house. Max said how thrilled he was that I had made such impressive friends.
Whatever!
I’d never seen Alex in person, but all the pictures in the house suggested he was just as beautiful as the rest of the family. He and Brenna possessed similar features and favored Jack with their blond hair and pale skin. Evan looked more like their mother, but I could definitely see Jack in him too. I often found myself daydreaming about Alex when I was alone.How silly was that?I had become obsessed with photographs and stories of a man I’d never met.
Stalker much?
It was clear by the way Evan talked about his brother that he looked up to him. I noticed he wasn’t the only one who admired Alex. Julia seemed pretty taken by him too. I hadn’t hung with her much, but the few times we did, he was all she talked about.
Evan said they’d gone out a few times, but Alex wasn’t interested in her. It was more to please Brenna and Ryan when they went out and felt like having company. Julia was still holding out hope, but who could blame her? He was hot.
One particular day, Evan and I were at his house, and we’d been working on our lab project all afternoon, or at least I had. Evan had been texting Cali for the better part of an hour.
"Jocelyn, Ihaveto call her. Her texts are getting too involved. I won’t be long."
"Yeah, right." I rolled my eyes.
"I won’t." He flashed me his signature grin, the smile that had most girls at our school lifting their skirts and spreading their legs for him. "I just gotta sort out the details for this weekend." They were planning an overnight trip and had to get a handle on what story they’d be telling their parents. "We'll finish, don't worry. It's only March; we still have a few more weeks anyway.
"Take your time. I’ll do my econ homework while I wait."
"Thanks, klutz." He kissed the top of my head. Klutz was his special name for me, and if anyone ever saw me in gym class, they’d know why. "Help yourself to something to drink. My mother stocked the fridge with that iced tea you like."
"Okay." I got up and walked into the immaculate kitchen. I opened the fridge and smiled, shaking my head at Sarah’s thoughtfulness. My own father probably had no idea I drank iced tea. It wasn’t Max's fault; he just wasn’t very observant when it came to me. My mother had walked out when I was two, and Max hadn’t been prepared to raise me alone. He did the best he could, but lots of things slipped through the cracks.
I grabbed the bottle and headed for the table but was startled when I sawhim,standing in the doorway with a huge grin on his face.
Oh. My. God.Those pictures didn’t begin to do him justice. He was tall, muscular, and had the most brilliant green eyes I’d ever seen. His blond hair fell perfectly around his face, and for a second, I thought about running my fingers through it.
"Oh!" I screeched. "You scared me."
"Why?" He casually leaned against the doorframe, arms folded across his impressive chest. "Am I scary?"
"N-no." My cheeks started to burn. "I just didn’t expect anyone else to be here.
Evan didn’t tell me you were coming home. You’re supposed to be in Connecticut."
"You seem to have me at a disadvantage," he said, moving all the way into the kitchen and stopping just a few feet away from me.
"I do?" I didn’t know how I was managing to speak at that point.
"You know who I am." He smiled, and his teeth were so freaking white he should have been a toothpaste model.
