It takes me a minute to gather my wits before I’m able to open the car door and get out.
“Was wondering how long it was going to take you.”
Jordan is standing on the top step, a casual shoulder leaning against the porch column, looking so incredibly gorgeous. Those pale blue eyes of his glow under the porch lighting, beckoning me, as Harper’s words replay on a loop in my mind.
I tug on the hem of my blouse and sweep my hair back over my shoulders. In the scant time it takes me to do that, Jordan somehow manages to walk from the house to me until he’s standing so close, I have to crane my neck to look up at him.
His gorgeous mouth that has a tendency to curve up more on the left side, spreads in a smile that liquefies my insides.
“Hi.”
“Hi,” I whisper up at him, shyness overtaking me.
I’m transported back ten years ago to when I first met Jordan. I was walking out of Bailey’s Bookstore just as he, Mike, and Chase walked in. Seeing him for the first time was like being struck by lightning. Like looking directly at the sun—that’s how blinded I was by him. I think it was the Maya blue of his eyes that captivated me and sucked me right in. Or maybe it was how he walked, all confident and a little cocky. It might have been the dimple in his cheek that only appeared when he smiled. Jordan has always had a fantastic smile. Or perhaps it was the timbre of his voice, smooth and deep, with a touch of a Texan drawl. Whatever it was, it was potent and irresistible to my young, inexperienced heart. Love at first sight, as the saying goes. Or in my case, crush at first sight.
Transfixed with one another, Jordan strokes a hand down my hair. He twirls a strand around his forefinger and gives the tress a tiny tug that sets off an explosion of tingles that cascades a path from my neck down to my feet.
“You look beautiful.”
The way he says it, and the way he’s looking at me, I believe him. He makes me feel beautiful.
I’m sure he can see me blush, even in the dimness of the surrounding dusk. “Thank you. You look very handsome,” I reply.
“Harper may have helped dress me.” The self-effacing smirk curving his lips is adorable and helps put me at ease. “Take a walk with me?” he asks, holding out his hand.
I look at it. Tanned, large, and masculine. Somehow, I know—this is the moment. If I cross this line, there’s no going back.
Let the past go and take a chance on the future. Choose life.
I take a deep breath, and my nerves begin to ebb like the retreating tide of the ocean along the shore. In its place, two other emotions start to blossom deep inside my chest. Hope and happiness.
“I’d love to.”
Chapter 35
The air I’d been holding while waiting for her answer rushes out of my lungs in a gust. She takes my hand, and I bring hers up to my mouth and just hold it there, letting my lips trace over her knuckles and watching how her eyes shutter with desire. Her responsiveness to my touch is something I’ve noticed during our last few interactions, and seeing it now rattles the cage of the beast inside me that wants to push her against the car and fuck her where we stand.
Instead, I drop our joined hands to swing between us and lead her down the pathway that will take us around the house to the back garden where I have everything set up.
“Tell me about your day.”
She lifts a dark red-brown brow at me. “You saw me this morning.”
I’m trying hard not to demand she tell me about her meet-up with Chase. I’m dying to know though.
“Tell me anyway.”
“Well, I woke up to a strange man in my bed who insisted he fix me breakfast.”
“Smartass.” I bump her hip, and she giggles.
“I didn’t get around to fixing the porch steps. After I got home, I helped Natalie start packing for her trip. But that’s not what you really want to know, is it?”
“I want to know anything you choose to tell me.”
Holding her hand like it’s the normal and natural thing to do, I watch Douglass as she looks around as we walk. The uplights scattered along the pathway and in the plant beds give the bushes and greenery an almost magical appearance.
“Is Nat excited about her trip?”
