“How did you know it was Jordan who…Harper!” My eyes cut to her. “You told him?”
She turns and punches Bennett in the shoulder. “I told you not to say anything!”
Bennett lifts his hands, his brow furrowed, not understanding what he did wrong to warrant his wife going off on him.
I follow Harper’s example and punch Mason in the arm when cognizance hits me. “You kissed me on purpose to get a rise out of him.”
“I’m trying to save you from the biggest mistake of your life. He’s the jackass who hurt you. That piece of shit doesn’t deserve your forgiveness for what he did. Sorry, Harper.”
Defending her brother, she replies, “He’s trying to make it up to her. There’s stuff you clearly don’t know. Tell him, Dee.”
I give her a narrowing of the eyes that tells her to let me handle this. I love my friends. I love how protective they are of me. I know Mason’s outrage comes from a good place, but he doesn’t know the whole story, and I don’t have time to stand here and explain it to him right now. Harper is stuck between being a friend and being Jordan’s sister, wanting to make everyone happy. But the only person who can fix this fiasco is me.
I point a finger at Mason as I walk backward toward the house. “I’m so happy you’re here, and we’ll catch up later. We have a lot to talk about.”
“Dee, don’t do it.”
I shake my head at him, determined to find Jordan and explain. “I promise I’ll be back soon,” I say and slip inside before he can stop me.
Quickly walking through the kitchen and down a hallway, I come to a stop when I don’t recognize anything. The first time I came here, Jordan walked us directly from the foyer to the kitchen. And the other night, I wasn’t paying attention when Jordan carried me to his bedroom.
Great. I’m lost in this big, fancy house. Backtracking down the hallway and coming to the kitchen again, I go in the opposite direction, passing by a large living area, a study, and another hallway. When I see the foyer and the flight of curved stairs that lead up to the second floor, I breathe a sigh of relief. I’m pretty sure Jordan’s bedroom is down the other wing on the first floor.
The faint clicking of heels on marble tile echoes closer just as a tall, statuesque blonde woman in a brown pencil skirt and sky-high heels rounds the corner. She’s looking down at her phone but must sense my presence because her brown eyes suddenly dart up.
Wait. I recognize her. It’s the woman from the café who was staring at Chase and me.
“Um, hi,” I awkwardly state, feeling a bit intimidated. She’s gorgeous, tall, and slender, and clearly works here. This must be Daniella. It’s the only conclusion I can come up with based on what Jordan has told me about her.
I take a step forward and reach out a hand in greeting. “I’m Douglass.”
Her nose twitches slightly like she just smelled something bad, and the temperature of the air around me drops considerably when she glances down at my hand, then back up at me.
“I know who you are.”
I let my hand drop.
“Are you Daniella?”
“Hmm,” she hums in answer.
I try again. “It’s nice to meet you. Jordan speaks very highly of you. Do you, uh… do you know where I can find him?”
She taps a fingernail on the side of her phone. “Hmm.”
Okay, then.
Her hummed replies are starting to irritate me. I don’t know this woman, and she’s being rude. Deciding it’s best to just walk away, I give her a wide berth as I pass by, heading in the direction I’m sure is the right one for Jordan’s bedroom. If he’s not there, I’ll search the entire house if I have to.
“You’re just like your sister. Manipulative and cruel.”
My steps slow, and I pivot to face her. “I amnothinglike Amelia.”
“That little scene outside of you kissing another man right in front of him says otherwise.”
Color drains from my face at the same time it floods with heat. “That’s not… that was…”
“Jordan doesn’t deserve you messing with his feelings like that. And if you think I’m going to stand by and let you hurt him like your sister did, you’re in for a rude awakening,Douglass. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get back to work.”
