“You need touch-screen systems with digital maps of the layout of the house in every room and every hallway that say ‘You Are Here.’ I got lost earlier trying to find your bedroom.”
I decide not to say anything about my not-so-pleasant run-in with Daniella.
Jordan chuckles as he slides a logoed T-shirt over his head. I immediately miss the sight of his bare, toned chest. Then again, Jordan in a fitted cotton tee is just as captivating. I’m still floating in a sea of awe and disbelief that this insanely gorgeous man said he loves me.
“I saw him race once,” I say, gesturing to the name of Seamus Knox emblazoned across the front of his shirt.
Knox, as he likes to be called, races Motocross and is a close friend of Harper’s sister, Aurora. Harper and Bennett took Mason and me to see one of Knox’s races in Charlotte last year.
Jordan tugs on and zips up a pair of faded denim jeans that hang low on his narrow hips. “He’s a cool guy.” Sauntering over to the bed, he cages me to the mattress with his arms. “Stay with me tonight.”
I push a lock of his hair off his forehead. “Okay.”
I’ll be here anyway for the cookout before Bennett has to fly back and would rather sleep next to Jordan in his big bed than alone in my tiny twin in Natalie’s empty house. I also never got a chance to ask Mason if he’ll be going back with Bennett tonight. If so, I’d like to spend as much time with him as possible before he leaves. With that thought in mind, I give Jordan a quick kiss on the lips and pull him toward the door.
“Do you think everyone is still outside?” I ask, walking over to the French doors that lead directly out of his bedroom to the courtyard and gardens.
What would it have been like to grow up here as a child? I would have pretended to be a princess and the gardens outside my magical kingdom. I would’ve sat underneath the tallest oak tree with a book to read and not a care in the world.
“Let me text Harper and find out where they are.”
“You may not want to interrupt her and Bennett. As much as she’s missed him, they’re probably already…you know. I’d be surprised if we saw them before tonight.”
Jordan’s fingers stop moving over his phone, and he glares at me. “Didn’t need that visual, babe.”
I take pity on him and hold back my giggle.
He starts typing again. “I’ll see if Danni knows where they are.”
I’ll need to figure out what to do about her instant disliking of me. She’s important to Jordan, just like Mason is important to me.
“Mason is outside at the pool. I’ll follow your lead, but if he says shit to piss me off, you can’t get mad if I deck him.”
He opens one side of the double glass doors and pulls me through to the outside. The humidity has jumped up considerably since this morning, making it feel like we just walked into a sauna, and sweat begins to bead along my neck and hairline.
“Maybe it would be best if I talk to him alone first,” I hedge, because Mason is absolutely going to—and will do so on purpose—say something to piss off Jordan.
Jordan abruptly turns and grips my waist. “The fuck you are. I’m not giving him another chance to kiss you.”
“He won’t.”
“He’ll try.”
“No, he won’t,” I insist. “Because I won’t let him. He caught me off guard earlier, and Mason isn’t like that. It was his way of trying to protect me. Stupid, I know. Please don’t hate him for a mistake I know he regrets making.”
I let the silent allusion sink in. If I continued to judge Jordan because of his past mistakes, I wouldn’t be standing here now, and vice versa.
His chin drops to the top of my head. “Fine. I’ve got some work to do anyway in my office. But I’m coming to find you in an hour.”
My curiosity is piqued because he doesn’t talk about what work he does do, only that he invests in some things like Mickey’s and wants to do more, whatever that means.
I tip my head back. ‘Thank you.”
Rubbing his hands up and down my arms, he kisses me softly. “Love you.”
My chest constricts painfully, stopping my lungs from functioning. Hearing him say it again hits me straight in the heart like an arrow aimed true.
“Love you, too. Now, kindly point me in the direction I need to go.”
