“Call Mike.”
I follow the glide of his tongue as he slowly licks his lips, and a grin stretches across his sensuous mouth when he catches my obvious stare.
I immediately look away.
“Mike’s busy. Harper’s at work.”
He picks up a piece of toast from my plate and holds it in front of my mouth.
I’m quickly running out of patience. “Then call a freaking Uber—” I try to tell him, but Jordan takes that opportunity to shut me up by shoving the toast in my mouth.
I’m not crass enough to spit it out, so I grudgingly chew, but inside my head, I’m calling him every foul name I can think of.
He hands me the coffee he made for me, and I guzzle it like water.
Wiping my mouth with the backs of my fingers, I tell him, “I don’t want your Jeep, Jordan, and I don’t need your pity. I’ve been doing fine on my own for a long time. I’ll figure something out as soon as you tell me where my rental was towed.”
Cerulean eyes study me with interest, and I squirm in my seat the longer he stares at me without saying anything.
“What?” I demand after it feels like long minutes have passed.
“You’re beautiful.”
It comes out of the blue with no warning.
A thunderclap rocks through my ribcage as my pounding heart slams against it. I must look like a deer in headlights, my huge, shocked eyes unblinking. The urge to cry consumes me.
I jolt when Jordan skims his thumb across my jawline and up to my temple.
“Even though I don’t remember, I know I hurt you deeply. All I’m asking for is a chance to prove to you that I’m not that man. I’ll pay you twenty-five hundred a week with full health benefits if you reconsider coming to work for me.”
His abrupt change of subject takes me by surprise, and my wide eyes get even wider. He’s willing to pay me ten thousand dollars a month just to be his personal assistant,andI get health insurance? That money would go a long way in helping Natalie. I could also save up enough to take more online classes. I could pay for roofers and plumbers. I could lease a used car or buy a really cheap one.
He just dangled a piece of decadent triple chocolate fudge cake in front of a starving person. Bad analogy for someone like me to use, but whatever. I’d be a fool not to take Jordan’s offer. Too bad I already accepted the bartender’s job at Mickey’s. I called Mickey’s last night before bed and talked to Mike.
“I can’t.”
He shrugs as if it’s water off his back. “I know. Mike told me this morning. Thought I’d give it a last try. You’ll still be working for me, though, since I own thirty-three percent of the bar.”
The smirk curving his mouth says it all.
I give up. You hear me, universe? You win!
Jordan abruptly stands, and I’m forced to tilt my head back. He smiles down at me with affection, and my stomach swoops. The sun’s rays are directly behind him, casting his tall outline in an ethereal glow. An old Bible verse pops into my head for some odd reason:Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.
“Now, hurry up. We’re going for a drive,” he says, walking back inside.
“Why?”
“Because.”
It doesn’t matter what I do or what I say. He’s just going to steamroll over whatever I want, which is for him to go away and leave me alone. And why is he even bothering? Why go to so much troublenow? Guilt? Remorse? Forgiveness?
“I still hate you,” I shout.
“I know,” he replies from the kitchen.
I can’t stop from smiling when I hear his deep chuckle through the screened door.
