“So now what?” she asked.
“Now I call my agent and do things on my end to smooth it over to keep them off your back. Then we shoot the most amazing commercial in the history of commercials.”
She laughed and sniffed the rest of the tears away. “You really have come around to this idea of doing the commercial.”
“Among other things,” he offered slyly. “You didn’t get in trouble with work, did you? For schmoozing the client?”
She rolled her eyes. “You mean by doing what Walt sent me to do? No. In fact, they were all excited. AgGroSo is trending on Twitter right now. Everyone wants to know what got Beckett Harper back into civilization.”
He smirked. “Figures. I’m sorry I didn’t know better. We should’ve just gone to Rose’s again. I just wanted to do something different and special with you, but I should’ve considered the risks more.”
She shrugged. “I loved our date. If this is a part of dating you, I need to learn to calm down and deal with it. It’s just intimidating that we’ve only been dating such a short time and they’ve found out already. Today marks only a week left. I just feel like there are so many things trying to pull us apart.”
He gave her a kiss on the cheek and whispered, “So don’t let them.”
She took a deep breath and nodded. “I’m going to take a long shower and relax after this morning. Then I’m going to turn off my phone and bake some brownies. How about you do the chores early, and then we can fire up those old college games you and Mason were talking about?”
He looked shocked. “Seriously? You want to see me play?”
Heck yes she wanted to see him play. She’d already looked up a video—or seven—of him already. “Yes,” she said strongly.
He grinned slowly, that single dimple taking its time torturing her. “You have been the best surprise.”
His words melted her. And she knew exactly how he felt. He wasn’t what she expected either. She kissed him on the cheek and turned to go shower, trying to shake off the questions and emotions that were rolling through her. What was she really doing here? Were they really going to try to date long-distance? Did she really want to come back for Christmas? And what did someone whose love life graced the tabloids see in a regular person like her?
She hoped her doubts and insecurities would drown in the shower, but she had a sneaking suspicion they’d stick around for a while.
****
“Ohhhhh, he got burned!” Jordyn clapped as Beckett scored a touchdown. She then punched him on the arm and said, “You totally smoked that guy. And how did you even catch that ball?! It was like all fingertips. Didn’t bobble at all. And you stuck the two-foot landing so he couldn’t push you out. Freaking wow!”
He had to admit, watching himself play was a little weird. Seemed a little self-serving and egotistical. But seeing his girl get all sorts of excited about it was a major turn-on. Major.
Then she started clapping along to his alma mater’s school song, and he busted out laughing.
“You’ve really come a long way in the last couple of weeks, Houston,” he said with a laugh.
“You too, Harper,” she laughed back.
He told some stories and gave her insider information as they watched the game: what the play calls were, what the quarterback saw and didn’t like so he called an audible to switch the play, the dirty things the defense was doing on the bottom of the pile—stuff like that. And she acted like this was the most fun she’d had in forever. She even paused it a few times to have him explain a few things, playwise, and how they were going to pan out.
They took a break only to make hot dogs and popcorn. “Game food,” she had simply explained to him as she camped out to eat in the living room.
And it was at that moment—seeing Jordyn cheer for him, even when she already knew the outcome of the game—that he missed playing the most. What he wouldn’t give to still be able to play. To have Jordyn sitting in the stands, watching and cheering for him. To have that extra motivation to do well.
It was also at that moment that he knew he needed her. Yeah, he wanted her too. Definitely that too. But he needed her to cheer for him.
When they got to the play where his career ended, he paused and explained everything to her before it happened. A fast route to the corner of the endzone. He was double teamed. The ball was thrown exactly where it should have been too; it was no one’s fault—just bad timing.
Feeling her tense up beside him as the footage replayed the play in slow motion, he grabbed her hand and intertwined his fingers with hers.
“Just remember that I’m okay today, and that’s more than some people can say,” he said, watching the tears fill her eyes.
“What hurt worse, knee or back?” she asked quietly, breath quivering.
He nodded twice. “Yes. All of it. I was in a ton of pain. I wanted to get up but couldn’t. I was trying and failing to not be a sissy about it. I knew my knee was messed up, but as I lay there, I knew it was way worse than just that. The medical team and trainers came running out and yelling at me to not move. I can distinctly remember lying as still as possible but still wiggling my toes. In that exact moment, I just wanted to be sure I could walk again someday.”
He stopped to swallow hard. “But I could move my toes and that gave me a small amount of hope. This,” —he paused as he knew they were about to put the neck brace around him on the TV— “was a terrifying moment. I can still smell that neck brace. Smelled like it had been in a hospital for all of eternity. I have never felt more vulnerable in my life than this moment right here. I still wish I would’ve been knocked out for this part.”
She caught her breath so he looked at her.
“Oh my gosh, Beckett, you still have the ball,” she snorted through her tears. She stared at the screen as the medical team took the ball before they put on the neck brace.
He smiled at her. “Told you I caught it.”
She shook her head and then looked back to the TV.
He knew without even looking they were getting ready to place him on a stretcher while his team looked on.
With searching eyes, she looked back at him.
“What?”
She squeezed his hand. “I’m so sorry that happened. And how terrifying that was.” A tear spilled out of her eye and rolled down her cheek. “And I also want you to know how proud I am of the person you are today.”
Now it was his turn to fight down emotion. He wiped her tear away with a kiss and then kissed her hard.
Yep. He needed Jordyn. She was part of his team now. And she was filling a huge, gaping hole he hadn’t really realized was there from when his parents died. He’d date her for years with them living in two different cities if he had to; he just couldn’t let her go.
You’ll Ruin Me
CHAPTER 18
Watching Beckett’s college tapes that night had been amazing. He was freakishly talented. Remembering how fast he snagged that dropped Christmas ball while tree decorating, she knew he still was. His injury stole his love of football away from him though. Snatched it all right out of his hands. And she knew, other than watching games from the comfort of his couch, it still hurt four years later to do much else with the sport. He couldn't be on the field and not want to reach up and grab the ball himself.
It was a weird sensation being able to watch the exact moment someone’s heart broke. Because in the few seconds it took for Beckett to reach for the ball and land, he lost the love of his life. He lost the opportunity to play football. It was all over in the blink of an eye. He had gone up for balls like that time and time again. He snagged the ball in one hand like a beast and twisted to make sure his feet were in. A wrong hit and getting mixed up in another guy’s limbs were all it took. Just like that, Beckett’s promising football career was over.
And she knew a few months later he buried his mom. No wonder he was a mess after that. No wonder he went a little crazy afterward. His whole world was off-kilter. Nothing probably made
sense. How he got from Heartbreak Harper back to the man he was today was beyond her. He lost almost everything he cared about in the span of six months. He’d had to deal with the pain and surgeries, grieve the loss of his football career, and mourn for his mom at the same time. Knowing how far he’d evolved from that shell of a man, how hard he’d worked to make a successful living off his grandfather’s land . . . well, it made her never want to leave.
Yep. As Mason had said, she was a goner.
She was pathetic really. She hated small towns. She hated football players.
But one blizzard and two weeks later, she was falling for both.
****
They were cuddled up on the couch in their usual spot after watching the football tapes. They had been talking some more on what the tabloid rumors meant for them and what they needed to do about it. Jordyn logically had lots of “what if” scenarios running through her pretty mind, and he fielded her questions. She was being brutally honest, per her usual way.
He supposed part of it had to be because she’d seen the statement he and his agent threw together. It stated he was in fact “smitten” with the AgGroSo representative who was helping with the commercial and she was a big part of the reason he’d decided to do an endorsement when he had refused in the past. It went on to sing Jordyn’s praises, without actually saying her name of course, and then explained the feel of the commercial he’d be doing. It would effectively confirm they were dating, despite his usual refusal to state he was dating anyone, and simultaneously take the heat off her and put it on AgGroSo. It was an admission of their dating, but a bit of a tease for the commercial. Everyone would hopefully be more concerned about what he was up to with AgGroSo and less about where she came from.
After answering her slew of questions, he decided to take his sweet time kissing her, as if that could help alleviate her doubts.
She moved to put her hands under his shirt. Her cool hands on his skin were affecting him for sure, trailing what felt like fire across his skin where her fingers touched. He wanted more. So damn much more.
Despite struggling to breathe or think or do anything other than feel, he had a quick, rational thought that she was only touching him like this because of his statement confirming they were dating. That wasn’t why he did it. And he didn’t want her to do anything she would regret. He’d known from the start she was not the type of woman to sleep around. He respected her for that. And he also knew for a fact that once the clothes started coming off, stopping it became impossible. He was stuck between a rock and a hard place. No pun intended.
He forced himself to stop her hands, look her in the eyes, and whisper, “You aren’t this type of woman. We don’t have to do this.”
He turned her down. The one woman he probably wanted more than any before. He was going to regret it later. He was absolutely certain of it.
That seemed to snap her out of her haze. “What?”
She looked so good like this. All disoriented and well kissed. He’d love nothing more than to get tangled up with her in the sheets for a decade or so.
Beckett smiled and leaned in to kiss her cheek, putting her hands on his chest, on top of his shirt. “Believe me, I want you.” He stopped to take a still-shaky breath. “So freaking bad, Jordyn. Just not yet. I don’t want you to do anything that you would hate yourself for in the morning.”
“So you’re stopping me?” she frowned. “I mean, I don’t think I would’ve let it go that far anyway.”
He nodded. “That may be, but I’m going to stop you before either one of us even puts it on the table. Even though stopping you is killing me, Jordyn. Kill-ing. Me.”
She thought about that for a long moment before asking at a whisper, “Okay, but aren’t you worried that I won’t measure up?”
No. What?! Hell no. Though they were still stuck on first base, he was already completely convinced the rest of it was going to be a great time. Fantastic. It was going to be fan-freaking-tastic.
“Definitely not. I’m more worried you’ll ruin me,” he said honestly with a laugh.
****
On Friday morning, she woke up a kind of a celebrity now too. AgGroSo coworkers she didn’t know so well were being super nice to her in her work emails. Social media friends she hadn’t talked to in forever were coincidentally reaching out. And in all the extra attention, the only people she cared to talk with were Sam and Walt. Sure, Walt was her boss, but he had also been a fatherlike figure for her in Houston. And when Walt called her to discuss work things, he always, always just checked on her first.
Walt was the reason why she stuck with AgGroSo. She didn’t want to work for an agriculture-type company. That wasn’t her big dream out of college, but he offered her a fair wage. And then he earned her trust and her loyalty. She could do much worse jobwise. After living with her mom for so long, her unpredictability and horrible ways with finances, she wanted to work hard and earn an honest living. So she did. She had a 401k and a savings account, things her mother probably still didn’t have. She was smart with her money, she invested, and she never, ever needed a man to provide for her. Granted, she wasn’t as well off as Beckett, but she wasn’t doing terrible either. She was making it. Completely on her own.
As far as bosses go, Walt was a man of integrity, and she loved the way he carried himself and handled his business. She was not just an employee to him. None of his employees were. And that’s why she hadn’t left once she started. AgGroSo was home. It was a small company that had gradually expanded in the last few years, but recently they were making a killing. Obviously. They were doing well enough to buy the Super Bowl commercial slot, and those things were not cheap. She appreciated how Walt had grown his business from the ground up. And though his success was mounting, he never let it go to his head. He could afford to drive whatever yuppy car he wanted, but he preferred a Chevy truck.
He had checked on her a ton in the last twenty-four hours. He was running interference for her, and she appreciated it. Yes, he had sent her here because she was a pretty face to present to Heartbreak Harper, but she highly doubted he ever thought she would end up dating the man. So he felt a little responsible. He knew Jordyn. He knew she didn’t like the spotlight or to be the center of attention. And he had his own personal PR team working around the clock to make sure certain stories from her past were not dug up. She wasn’t sure how it was possible, but nothing about her background had come out yet, so she supposed they were good at their jobs. Walt was probably paying extra for that, but hey, he got his fancy commercial, so he could deal with the ramifications.
Walt was even flying in himself on Wednesday for the wrap-up of the commercial filming. It was unusual for him to get out of his office, so she knew how excited he was about this. The entire company was. Everyone had an extra spring in their step, according to Walt. The following year was going to be their year.
“Hey honey, you need some more hot tea in there?” Beckett asked from the kitchen. He had spent part of the morning in the shop sprucing up and power washing the main tractor that was going to be used in the commercial. He had apparently worked up a very large appetite because he was in the kitchen cooking up a storm for brunch.
“I already have some, thanks!” she hollered back. She was curled up in her new favorite work spot—the couch in front of the tree they had decorated together. Mable always camped out with her in the living room and kept her company too.
“You sure you aren’t empty yet? I’ve seen how much of that stuff you consume,” he yelled back.
“Ha, ha,” she responded, smiling. “Says the man who drinks his sugar with coffee and no fewer than four cups a day.”
“What can I say? I appreciate the sweet things in life,” he said.
“Good thing I can bake,” she said back. “And speaking of that, check that coffee cake in the oven for me, will ya?”
He opened the oven and let out a moan. “So that’s the amazing smell. Hell yes, darlin’. Hell to the yes.”
&nb
sp; She finished her email and pet Mable while her computer shut down. Beckett continued puttering and clanging in the kitchen, mumbling about bacon and how bacon goes with everything.
Then she kind of had a moment of panic. That entire conversation—everything they had just said to one another—didn’t sound like a couple making a run at trying to date. It sounded like a married couple. A couple that enjoyed being in one another’s presence and giving one another crap. A couple that knew one another.
The blizzard had afforded her the opportunity to date this man at a rapid pace. She already understood that much. Maybe her going back to Houston in a week would put the brakes on some of these feelings. This right here was the exact reason she had told herself she’d never live with a man she didn’t marry, quite unlike her mother. She didn’t want a trial run on marriage, or a pretend go at it. She just wanted a permanent, never-give-up type of commitment. Her mother was currently on marriage number four, and while Jordyn grew up, she probably lived with four or five more men her mother had never married. She wanted to be as far opposite of that as possible.
And Beckett. Beckett had been nothing but a gentleman with her, even stopping her last night.
Who the heck was this man?
Yep. That was just what she needed. Air. Going to Houston would be a nice slowdown. Because things were moving extremely fast, and if she wasn’t careful, she’d start planning out the rest of their lives together. And if life had taught Jordyn anything, it was that “happily ever afters” weren’t meant to happen to her.
The Repeat Offender
CHAPTER 19
Friday had been the best day. Had been. Past tense, for sure.
Snowed In Page 15
