by Mia Kayla
My phone buzzed in my purse, and I perked up. I glanced inside, hoping to see Jordan’s number but also terrified at the same time.
My mind was indecisive, and it bothered me because I was the most decisive person on the planet. I didn’t know if I should be happy if it was him or crazy scared that he was calling me so soon.
When Angie’s face popped up on the screen, my shoulders dropped, and a tinge of disappointment coursed through me.
There goes that.
Goodness, Jordan had screwed up my brain in more ways than one, and nothing physical had even happened between us.
I picked up on the third ring, sending the call to my car’s Bluetooth.
“Hey.” Angie’s voice came through my car speakers. “What time are you meeting the Tolintino clients? You’re showing them the Wells property?”
“Yeah. Meeting them soon.”
Angie didn’t need to know I was already late to one of the most important meetings this year.
“I’m fully booked this morning too. I need to check on a few clients and get over to the Carina property. They’re going to sign the lease later on today.”
“Angie, that’s amazing.” Man, if I could only have the same luck.
“You’re coming over to check out my curtains, right?”
“I’ll be there right after.”
My sister was obsessed with home decor, ever since she’d moved in with Cade.
“Did you get home okay last night?” Her tone was soft, cautious, as though she were dipping her toe in water, testing the warmth. This was where all the small talk had been headed.
“Yeah. Why?” I tried to tame my voice, though my pulse raced, drumming against the inside of my wrists.
Jordan and Cade were brothers. I had to remember that. And Cade was not too keen on our friendship.
“Didn’t someone take you home?” Her tone sounded suspicious. Look at that; her foot was now completely submerged in the water. “Did you leave with Jordan?” she asked. And now, she had jumped in, headfirst.
I laughed over the phone. Angie was my sister, but we couldn’t be more opposite. I would’ve asked the question straight out.
“He did. But don’t worry. You can tell Cade that nothing happened. I was just over there late.”
“Like, late, late?”
“Angie, if you’re asking if I slept with the infamous Jordan Ryder, then the answer is no.”
“You didn’t?” Her tone increased with incredulity as though the thought were impossible. “What did you do then?”
I shifted in my seat, stopping at the next light. What came out of my mouth sounded impossible. “We talked, played cards, and fell asleep.” And flipping spooned. Somehow, that was more intimate than getting naked, rolling around in the sheets, and playing Poke-a-Girl-Go.
“Now, I totally don’t believe you.”
“I’m a little offended here.” If she wasn’t my sister, I would have hung up on her. “You should believe me because Jordan is hella scared of your boyfriend. I would be too. I’ve seen Cade angry.”
She huffed loudly, her tone sharp. “Honestly, Jordan deserves a good girl, and I just told Cade to let things be.”
“Me, a good girl?” Sarcasm leaked heavily in my voice.
I slammed my horn. People really needed to learn how to drive. And I needed to get to the Wells property fifteen minutes ago.
“Yes, despite your crazy lifestyle choices, in your heart, you’re the best girl I know.”
I gulped. That wasn’t what my mother would say. To my mother, I walked on fire with a pitchfork next to Satan himself.
“After all Jordan’s been through, he deserves happiness. It’s been forever since he’s dated anyone seriously. Years even.”
I laughed. “So not true. He just had Jezebel what’s-her-face on his arm last month.”
Victoria’s Secret models all started to blend together. I’d seen their picture together on a tabloid in the grocery store checkout not too long ago.
“I’m talking a serious relationship,” she said. “His last serious girlfriend was Candice, and that was years ago.”
Curiosity pushed to the surface.
Angie’s voice quieted to a hush. “I didn’t tell you because it wasn’t my business, and … it’s a sensitive subject.”
“I have Google-stalked him, but not everything can be found on Wikipedia.” I flicked on my turn signal and turned right onto the highway.
“Candice was Cade’s biological sister.”
“I already knew that.”
The beginning of traffic began to form in front of me. Could my luck get any worse?
“Cade’s sister was killed in a car accident, remember?” Angie’s voice was somber. “Well, Jordan’s last serious relationship was with her.”
I blinked. A heavy feeling in my stomach settled, and a sudden coldness hit me. I pulled over to the side as cars whizzed past me.
“Tene?”
Why hadn’t I connected the dots earlier?
Candice.
I had known he’d dated Cade’s sister when I met him.
“Tene!”
“Yeah?” I said, distracted and not feeling so well.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” No.
I guessed as carefree as Jordan seemed to be, his life had been plagued by tragedy.
I pulled into a spot in front of Wells, and my car screeched to a stop. In front of our property stood Geovani Tolintino, heir to one of the nation’s largest coffee chains. Tolintino’s famous coffee combined chocolate and high-end coffee to rival’s Starbucks’ white chocolate mocha. And I needed them to rent this spot and essentially entice bigger tenants and bring in more clientele, but, more importantly, to stop the bleed in our company. Since we’d bought it six long months ago, the property has been vacant.
I grabbed my purse, slipped on my overly large sunglasses, and scurried out the car door.
Seventeen minutes late. That was a first. I’d never been late before.
I lifted my chin, smiled, and walked at a normal pace to where Geovani stood six feet tall, sporting his cowboy hat with its tall crown and wide, flat brim.
A redhead in a fitted black minidress stood beside him. It looked like she was ready for a party. This wasn’t Mrs. Tolintino or the second Mrs. Tolintino.
And I should know. I had a twenty-page report on Geovani at my office. I even knew how he liked his steak—medium with a little pink on the inside—which I planned on ordering for him over lunch to sign the papers for him to lease Wells.
I stuck out my hand first and tipped up my chin. “Christene Armstrong. You must be Mr. Tolintino.”
A faint sense of nausea hit me directly in the gut. I didn’t know if it was the liquor from last night, the fact that I hadn’t eaten breakfast, or nervousness because I needed this win so badly.
His lips pressed in a fine line. He paused a bit, eyed my hand, and shook it. “You’re late.” His deep Southern accent was filled with disdain.
I smiled, wanting to vomit. “You’re early.” I glanced at my watch. “Our appointment is at eleven thirty.” My voice exuded confidence—a tactic I used on others to push some doubt in their heads.
“I’m not,” he snapped.
Sweat formed at my brow. There was no bullshitting this man. I wondered why I’d even tried.
“Oh, honey. Your pants are backward.” The redhead dipped her chin and gave me a once-over from the top of her sunglasses, making matters worse.
Fuck. My damn pants. I forgot about my freaking pants. “It’s the style. These pants are from Italy.”
“Oh.” She smiled and tipped her head. “I think I saw that in Cosmo. I’m Kat.”
Geovani’s mouth slackened as he was unbelieving.
I swallowed hard.
This was going to be a long morning.
Chapter 9
Damn it.
I chucked my Hermès purse in the back seat of my car and slipped in.
“
You were late, which is highly unprofessional, and is this how you dress for all your meetings? Is this how Armstrong Realty does business?”
Geovani’s scathing words still rang loudly in my ears.
If he knew that he wasn’t going to rent the property, why did he make me go through the motions?
I slumped against the steering wheel.
It had all been for show.
All for his girlfriend, Kat.
She’d done her research, and when I keyed into the impeccable place with newly-shined floors and polished countertops, I knew instantly that they knew it was supposedly haunted. She was hanging on Geovani as though she were entering a real, live haunted house—the kind you paid to get into at Halloween, and at the end, a masked madman would chase you out with a chain saw.
Maybe he had been initially interested in renting it, but she’d come for a show.
My phone rang, bringing me back to the present. A picture of my father with me on his lap, smiling my cheesy smile, lit up my screen.
I inhaled deeply before I picked up. “Hey, Dad.”
“Hey, sweetheart. I just wanted to see how your meeting went. Is it over yet, or do you want to call me back?”
I rested my head against the headrest. My father never gave me guilt for my failures. He never pressured me with extra goals. He loved me for who I was and pushed me to better myself within my own constraints, but shit … he wanted this property rented more than I did.
I debated. Should I lie? Should I tell him it’s rented and work my ass off to find a renter before I have to tell him the truth?
I couldn’t. I wouldn’t lie to my dad. Not him.
“It’s a no-go.” I let out a frustrated growl. “I’m trying. It’s cursed, Dad. I have a few more showings later this week. I hate that I pushed you to buy it. I’m so stu—”
“Tene.” He stopped me mid-sentence. “Stop. It’s part of the business. We’ll get it rented, but we need to give it a deadline, or else I want to put it up for sale. I don’t want to take a loss any longer.”
I closed my eyes, hating that I had to let the only man who had ever believed in me down. “I totally get it. Give me until the end of next month.” Disappointment settled in my gut, weighing me down like an anchor. I rubbed at my temple. “But, Dad … if we list it, we’re not going to get what we paid for it.”
“I know, honey.” He sighed. “We’ll just have to take the hit.”
I rested my head against the headrest, focusing on the street in front of me. A couple of upscale retail places had set up within the last six months. A doughnut shop, an old-style theater. I’d thought for sure this would be a winning buy.
My gut had never been wrong before, but I guessed there was a first time for everything. Case in point: my night of non-sex, conversation, and spooning with the hottie.
“It’s the best thing to do.” His relaxed voice was meant to calm me, but it didn’t.
“You’re right, Dad.” I threw my hands over my eyes and sighed. “I’m going to try my hardest to market this property, and after the month’s through, we’ll let it go.”
“Tene, don’t be too hard on yourself.” His tone was soft, soothing, one that was so familiar, coming from my father.
“Hmm.” My stomach clenched.
Silence ensued, one where I’d bet he was wondering what to say and knowing there was nothing that could be said.
“All right. You going to Angie’s today?” he asked, changing the subject.
I was more than okay with that. I pushed enthusiasm into my tone for his benefit even though my father, of all people, would know I was faking. “Yeah, she needs to pick out new curtains, and, well, you know Cade. He’s indifferent, or more likely, he wants to give her whatever she wants. So, now, I’ve got to help her decide.”
“Okay. Drive safely.”
“Thanks.” A lump formed in the back of my throat. “Love you.”
I hung up the phone, and for a few seconds, I let my head hang while my hands were on the steering wheel. The hot leather seared through my skin. I had a month. I didn’t want this to be my first failure. This was Angie’s and my future, our legacy. I couldn’t start making mistakes this early in the game.
Please, please, please, God, I need an answered prayer. I need this unit rented.
Desperate times called for desperate measures.
After I’d gone home to change and freshen up, I stopped in front of Angie and Cade’s new apartment building—a two-bedroom condo, walking distance from his bar.
When Angie opened the door, and I walked in, I hadn’t expected to see Jordan sitting on the couch. I hadn’t expected him to be super fine and looking at me through his sexy, endless ocean-blue eyes. Most of all, I hadn’t expected him to still be in Rosendell.
The tension was instant, the spark between us so palpable that I could taste it, feel it, inhale it.
My usual sassy words were stuck in my throat. “Hey … guys!” I croaked out with forced cheeriness.
“Teeeeene,” Cade hollered, watching the baseball game, his hands in a popcorn bowl.
Wyatt tipped his chin from the couch. Jordan gave me an awkward wave.
That wave should be our signature greeting.
Everything about our situation was weird, and I never did weird.
I wanted all this awkwardness between us gone. Enough was enough. I pointed a pretty red-manicured fingernail in his direction. “Jordan Ryder …,”I tilted my head toward the corner. “… can I talk to you?”
His eyes slid to Cade and then to me, as though he was unsure of what he should do. “Okay.”
He followed me around the corner, and I walked straight out the door, knowing Cade and my sister would be eavesdropping.
When I flipped around, his gorgeous half-smile was on display, making my heart race, my breathing hitch, and my whole world stand still.
Why is it that, whenever I’m around this man, he makes me feel like a teenage girl with her first crush? I was a responsible, levelheaded, grown woman. Well … most of the time.
His hair was styled back, his skin evenly tanned. His jeans hugged his nice, fine ass, and his shirt clung to his muscles like they were cold. And boy, did I admire them.
“So, I know nothing happened last night …” I started, trying not to stare at his bulging biceps.
“It didn’t,” he confirmed.
“Then, why does it feel so … so strange?” I motioned between us. “It’s like the day after drunk sex, where there’s this awkwardness around us, but the thing is, we didn’t even have sex.”
He looked relieved I’d just said it out loud. “I feel like it would’ve been better if we did have sex. Less awkward.”
I pointed to him. “Exactly.”
There was a silence suddenly. Thoughts of him and me and sex ran rampant in my mind, and I could see something similar on his face.
Did he want to? Would that make it better?
He cleared his throat. “But we can’t.”
By the sound of his gravelly voice, I knew the same thoughts had been running through his head.
“Of course not.”
With his schedule and what Angie had said earlier about his old girlfriend, he had baggage. He was complication wrapped up in a pretty bow. Another ticked box why I shouldn’t date him. I couldn’t and wouldn’t repeat the past.
“Well, now, since that’s settled.”
I stepped to move past him, but he grabbed my wrist. The warmth of his skin against mine sent a jolt through my body that made me stagger.
“Tene, wait.” He held my stare for far too long. Seconds felt like minutes. “I want to make you a proposition.”
Proposition?
My mouth felt dry, and I sucked in my bottom lip. I’d take it.
As though he could read my mind, his dimple appeared. “Remember what you said about that haunted restaurant?”
I blinked. “Yeah.”
“Well, I think I have a solution to your problem. It’s a te
mporary solution, but it’ll help in the meantime.” He shoved his hands into his pockets and leaned against the doorframe. “So … I haven’t brought it up to the production team yet, but my last film is on a project deadline, and we have to do a lot of reshoots. The premise of the story is, we’re being held hostage by terrorists at this restaurant. Only the restaurant we originally filmed at is no longer available. I was going to suggest that …”
I jumped into his arms, gripping his upper body. He caught me mid-flight.
“Omigod! Omigod! Yes! Yes! Yes!”
It was like the Almighty had answered my prayers in the form of a Hollywood star.
He wrapped his hands around my waist, and we were jumping up and down together.
The door flew open, and Cade, Angie, and Wyatt stood in full view. Angie laughed, Cade watched warily, and Wyatt looked straight-up amused for once.
When the jumping died down, I placed both hands on my chest, trying to catch my breath, and pointed to Angie and Cade. “You guys were eavesdropping, weren’t you?”
“Maybe. A little,” she cooed in her angelic way. “And when you started screaming, ‘Yes! Yes! Yes!’ I wanted to see the show.”
“Funny.” I tugged at the end of her hair. Then, I walked past them and back into the apartment.
“Glad that nonsense is over,” Cade grumbled.
She shot him a look and then faced me. “Okay, what was all the screaming about?” Angie placed both hands on her hips, smiling. She never did like secrets.
“It’s the Wells property.” I grinned. “Jordan is going to film there!”
He raised a hand. “Wait a minute. I haven’t even asked the production team yet, and there’s a process and logistics to these types of things. We’ll see, okay? I’ll ask them today. I wanted to run my idea by you first.”
I slugged his arm. “You so have this. You’re their moneymaker. I dare them to say no.” My mouth couldn’t keep up with all the things going through my head. “I’ll cut you the best deal, and filming in Rosendell is great. I’ll help with the permits, and the city will give you incentives. Tons of them. Plus, after you’re long gone, that will be the appeal. The nation’s biggest heartthrob filmed his movie here. It’ll be great.” I squealed, and it took all my restraint not to jump up and down again.
