My cheeks heat as I shake my head, and Jordan runs his hand through his thick, dark waves. I’ve seen him do that a million times, but today it catches me off guard, settling deepwithin me. Not out of cockiness, but almost as if he’s as embarrassed as I am to be called out by a teenager for our kiss. He subtly smirks at me, and I can’t help but embarrassingly smile back.
“If you two are done making out with your eyes, I have some questions,” Kellsie teases as she crosses her arms, interrupting our ridiculous glares at one another. I blink in shock, wondering if I’m in a hospital or a courtroom.
This girl is serious.
“Questions?” Jordan and I answer simultaneously.
“Yep! Jordan, you need to go find something else to do so I can interrogate her alone.”
My eyes go wide as I see this sweet, innocent girl, dealing with far more than any teen should ever have to, looking at me like she’s got a scalpel hidden under her pillow, more than ready to slice me up if I don’t meet her standards.
Jordan laughs. “It’s okay, Kells. She’s been vetted.”
“So? I love you, but you can’t vet someone you made out with. That’s against the rules,” she grumbles, glaring at him like a parent who is going to ground him for a week. “I’m serious, Jordan…get out of here!” She shoos him out of the room. “Just give us five minutes. I’ll be able to tell by then.”
He looks to me, his eyes almost comically big, as if asking permission to leave me alone with his youngest bodyguard.
“I can handle myself,” I say to him.Surely, I can handle a harmless teenager. At least…I think she’s harmless.
He nods as he walks toward the door. “I’ll go grab us some coffees.” He gives me a quick peck on the cheek, and the small, quiet gesture has me ready to melt into a puddle. I jolt at the smile lifting my lips, straightening my spine.What is wrong with me?I am a badass woman who does not whimper over stuff like this.Pull yourself together!
“Behave yourself, Kellsie!” he throws over his shoulder as he closes the door behind him.
I turn to face Kellsie, a slight twitch in my jaw as I search for something to talk to her about. “So, tell me about?—”
“What are your intentions with Jordan Boucher?” she interrupts, her sunshine smile nowhere to be found.Wow. This got intense quickly.And how the hell do I answer this question?Cue the nervous stomach. I never thought about my intentions, other than things that arenotappropriate to discuss with a teenage girl.
“Well, we’ve been dating for a few months. I guess, right now, my intentions are to just keep dating him.”
“Interesting.” She taps her fingers on the tray across her lap. “You don’t want to marry him for his money?”
I can’t help but snort out a laugh as I take a seat in the uncomfortable guest chair next to the bed. “To be honest, his money is the least attractive thing about him. I don’t care about any of that.”
“So youareattracted to him then?”
I blink.Who the hell is this kid?Does she have some sort of magical truth serum running through her IV?
I look down at the tiles, hiding the stupid smile that hijacks my face. “Yeah. I am.”
“Good answer. If you said no, I would haveknownyou were lying. I saw it in the online kiss.” My brows kiss my hairline as Kellsie rolls her eyes. “I have a lot of free time to analyze videos, plus I saw the way you blushed when I brought it up a few minutes ago. I can tell hereallylikes you. I’m just making sure you’re not going to break his heart.”
My stomach drops, the guilt of how I’ve treated and misjudged Jordan creeping in. And after everything he confessed to me last night? Damn, do I appreciate her looking out for him.
“Wow, you guys are close?” I hum.
The genuine smile lifting her lips steals my breath. “Jordan’s the best. He comes here when he’s not on the road, and we just sit and gossip. He gives me all the tea on the Riders, and I give him all the tea from the hospital and catch him up on our fav reality dating show,You’re the One. Have you seen that show?” I shake my head, fighting my smirk, realizing Jordan binges reality dating shows. “Oh my God! It’s the best. There are rumors next season may feature a hockey player, and I am going to riot if that’s not the case.”
“Jordan watchesYou’re the One?”
“Oh…he does. He knows all the contestants and sends me messages to talk about who got eliminated if he’s on the road. We also watch all kinds of movies and learn TikTok dances. He’s the coolest.”
My heart is beating out of my chest as I lean closer, listening to this young woman talking about how cool my boyfriend is.Well, fake boyfriend.The more I get to know him, and see the pieces of his heart I’ve never seen before, the more I want to take the word fake and throw it off a cliff.
“Yeah, I’m starting to realize there’s a lot more to Jordan than I thought,” I mumble.
“I like that you call him Jordan. Everyone here calls him Bougie. Not me. I hate getting called nicknames at school when I’m feeling well enough to go, so I always call him Jordan. Plus, I feel kind of special getting to call him by his real name.”
“I only call him Jordan, too,” I say with a bit of a laugh, not really liking his nickname either.
