“Letting you have a moment, then we’re gonna talk.”
“No, thank you.” I went faster, but it was silly to try. Preston could outskate me with his eyes closed and one skate missing. He reached for my hand, but I yanked it out of his grip, smiling at the challenge on his face. “Dare you to catch me.”
“Oh, Jordan. You beautiful naïve friend. This won’t end well for you.”
I winked and took off again, darting left, then right. The skates clashed against the ice, the cold air rushed my face, but I barely made it ten yards before Preston’s arm looped around my middle. His warmth surrounded me, and I leaned into him, just for a second. “Damnit, Charming.”
“You know better.” He smiled at me, continuing to hold me against him as we approached the bench. “Now, sit and talk.”
“That was a little bossy.”
“Mm hmm.” He placed his hands on his hips, his gaze hardening. “Why were you sad? Is it the event?”
“No.” I groaned into my hands. “It’s because I’m fucked up, alright? Everyone is being so nice and helpful to me, and I don’t know why. I don’t feel worthy enough to have Theo Sanders donate to this cause! Logan’s family just willingly spending a day to help me? I’m not used to it.”
He crouched down and placed his hands on my knees, waiting for me to meet his gaze before speaking. “You expect everyone to treat you like your mom. I understand that, Jordan. But we love you, and this is what you do for people you love and care about. You’ve also done incredible things for all of us.You’ve cleaned the entire Hart house when they were sick and couldn’t move. You’ve made them meals. You’ve stayed the night with Logan’s sister when her parents had to work. You’ve helped me in a million and one ways, and so we do it back because that’s what you do.”
Those damn annoying tears hit me again, and I took a shaky breath. “This event has me emotional and stressed.”
“It’s okay that you’re feeling those things, but as your friend who loves you, I can’t let you dismiss these feelings. You deserve more. I don’t know what it’ll take for you to leave your worries behind you, but it’s my and Logan’s job to make you feel safe.”
“You do. Both of you do.”
“I’m glad.” A pained look crossed his face, where his gaze turned sad and his jaw flexed, but then his expression relaxed. “Then let’s get back and warm the fuck up. I’m freezing my ass off here.”
18
PRESTON
It was happening—the event kicked off and surpassed any hopes I had for Jordan’s huge project. I smoothed the front of my tux down as I smiled at the people lining up inside the rink to check-in.
The Harts sat at the entrance table signing people in, being so gracious and kind. Logan and Quentin walked around with radios, ensuring everything was on track with our head maintenance crew. Coach Reiner and Coach Daniels walked in with their wives, smiling and shaking hands with everyone.
The hashtags Jordan set were trending. We’d already surpassed the donation goal she had of ten thousand, and the event hadn’t even started. I was so damn proud of her. My heart wanted to beat out of my chest every time I saw her.
The football team—due to Price—showed up to support. Our entire team was here, all dressed nice with dates on their arms. Jordan’s vision came to life—the ice looked packed with all the players and their dates at the tables.
“Brother.” Price approached me with two beautiful girls on either arm. “This looks sick.”
“Jordan did a great job.” I sought her out, trying to see if she needed help, but every time I asked, she told me toenjoy the event.“Thanks for bringing your guys.”
“Of course. I like Jordan.” Price smiled, a dangerous glint in his eyes. “This is Emery and Amanda. We met a few weeks ago, and they didn’t believe me when I said we were twins.”
Oh god. I knew what was coming next even before he said the words. While I’d thought about bringing a date tonight, I couldn’t do it. Not that Jordan would care, but I wanted to be available to help her, and it would be shitty to abandon my date every few minutes.Thatwas why I didn’t bring one. But my idiot brother looked too smug and annoying. Jordan spoke with Coach Reiner, a smile on her face as she shook his wife’s hand, and I wanted to know what made her laugh. Reiner wasn’t that funny.
“…date for the night,” he said.
“I’m sorry, what?” I asked, shooting daggers at Price.
“Emery offered to be your date for tonight.”
“I—”
“She knows you’re helping your housemate with the event, so she understands if you have to go help out.”
“I can speak for myself, Price, Jesus.” Emery blushed and closed her eyes. “This looks really bad, and I’m sorry for this. I’d love to be your date if this isn’t awkward as hell. Your brother is quite convincing, and I now realize that you didn’t know about this.”
Fuck. Emery seemed nice, which made this harder. I exhaled and smiled. She truly looked uncomfortable. “My brother gets into trouble often, but yes, I wasn’t aware of this until right now.”
