Rose winked. “You might as well be. Mark my words, you’ll be married to that girl by next Christmas.”
He rolled his eyes. Women.
****
A date. The last thing in the entire world Jordyn wanted to be doing right now was going on a date, but one of her friends from work had a nephew her age, and she assured her that this one was a “a good man.” She didn’t miss the implication that Harper most definitely had not been. She had been a little insulted. That woman didn’t know Beckett, and she didn’t know her. So why was she judging her judgment?
But after she thought about it, the woman had meant well. Obviously, her judgment had been impaired if she had ever seen a future with Beckett. And so maybe a date was what she needed. To prove to herself that she wasn’t as broken as she felt. To prove to herself that she would find her someone, that she wouldn’t just give up. And to prove to her coworkers at AgGroSo that she was doing just fine, whether she felt like it or not.
Because behind closed doors, she felt like she was going to be alone forever. It was shocking she didn’t already own at least seven cats. In fact, she had thought about going and adopting a cat when she got home and realized how much she missed Mable, but she felt as if she would be cheating on Mable. And though Beckett did cheat on her, Mable didn’t. Mable didn’t deserve that.
Her only big reservation about this date was the tabloids getting wind. But fortunately for her, Ethan, her date, had suggested meeting at the movies. Which was perfect. She didn’t even really have to talk much to the guy. She could eat an outrageous amount of buttery popcorn and then be on her way. Sure, he might ask to do something after, but if she wasn’t feeling it, she had an out.
As she pulled into the movie theatre and parked, her heart nagged at her—so much so she had to take a minute and rest her forehead on her steering wheel. She didn’t want to be here or doing this. It didn’t help that she had talked to Glenda. She had told her “not everything was as it seemed” and that Jordyn should read her other emails from her. Jordyn hadn’t. She hadn’t wanted to reopen the wounds she was still struggling to close. She saw with her own eyes that Harper grabbed Ariana and kissed her. There wasn’t a way she could twist it in which that wasn’t what had played out.
And Harper—though at first relentless with his phone calls, emails, and texts—had now stopped trying to reach her. He had probably moved on to his next conquest, or back to Ariana. Or both. And that thought hurt her more than she cared to admit. But, tomorrow was the last showing of the commercial, and then it all should be finalized. Other than having to watch the stupid thing during the Super Bowl, she was finally done with all things Beckett Harper.
“Hi, I’m Ethan,” her date said with a smile as he reached out his hand to shake hers. He had waited for her outside the front of the theatre.
“Jordyn,” she said and tried to smile. Her first thought was that Ethan was so short compared to Beckett. And so . . . well, he didn’t look anything like Beckett. Which was probably a good thing and should probably interest her more, but her stupid traitorous heart was still missing seeing Beckett. How messed up was that? Not that this man wasn’t attractive. He was attractive enough, in a nerdy sort of way. He even wore glasses. He was cute.
They had met fifteen minutes before the movie so they could chat and get to know one another while they waited for the previews to start. It took less than five of those minutes for her to realize that Ethan was not going to be her forever. She made sure to keep her elbows in by her sides so he wouldn’t try to hold her hand or anything.
Not that Ethan wasn’t nice. He was. And again, he was an attractive enough man. He just . . .
Ethan didn’t joke around. He was all about his career as an accountant. He was rational and analytical in the short conversations they had before the movie, but it seemed to annoy her. Ethan was too much like her. What she had appreciated in dating Beckett was how similar—and extremely unsimilar—they were. She liked that Beckett was playful and drew that out of her. She liked how they could joke around with one another and bond over football. They were opposites, but they provided one another with balance. They were very different, but still held some of the same hobbies, like food or football, to be able to relate to one another with. Different, but also the same.
And though she never wanted to date another football player ever again, she did know that she wanted to find someone different from her. Someone who could balance out her own analytical ways. A partner to cover up her weaknesses and spotlight her strengths.
So after their rom-com movie, when she was feeling more helpless than ever that she’d never find love and a happy ending, Jordyn declined Ethan’s offer to go grab some drinks and talk afterward. She didn’t even drink alcohol, but Ethan didn’t need to know that. She was thinking of hiring him to do her taxes though, so she had that going for her. From what he explained to her, he really knew his stuff. So at least one good thing came from this stupid date.
And that was the extent of her love life. She had better luck finding a tax man than finding a decent boyfriend. What a sad, sad state of affairs it was.
“So would you like to go out another time, then, or are you just not interested?” Ethan asked.
Shoot. She didn’t want to break the poor guy’s heart, but she didn’t want to lead him on either. “No,” she said with a sigh. “I don’t want to go out with you again. I just got out of a rough relationship, which I’m sure you knew. I wanted to be ready to date again, but the truth is . . . I’m not. I could use a friend, and I could use an accountant for my taxes this spring, but anything other than that, I’m afraid I just cannot do.”
He smiled, taking it well. “Hey, I’m good with that. Thanks for giving it a shot even though it’s probably too soon. And at least now we can both tell my aunt we tried but it didn’t work out, so she can quit bothering each of us about the other.”
She laughed for the first time that night, glad he was being a good sport. “No kidding. Thank you, Ethan. I enjoyed the movie, and it was nice to get out of the house, even if we aren’t the right person for one another. I’m sure you’ll find your person. She’s out there somewhere.”
He nodded. “You too.”
And just like that, her first date post-Harper had ended. It was a flipping disaster. She made the drive home somehow keeping the tears at bay, though they were hardcore threatening her, then threw herself on her bed and cried once she got home. She hadn’t cried the last three days but this called for some serious feeling sorry for herself.
No matter how hard she forced it, no matter how hard she wanted to hate Beckett, she was having a heck of a time getting over this. Why couldn’t her heart get on board with her head? He had cheated on her. Cheated. So why was he this hard to get over?
Why couldn’t she just forget Beckett and move on like she had with Thomas? Had she met Ethan before dating Beckett, she totally would have given him another date. But now? Now she just kept looking for Beckett. And that probably made her pathetic. Heartbreak Harper had broken her heart in two, yet she still missed Beckett Harper. Why, oh why, couldn’t she convince herself they were the same person?
Flea-Flicker
CHAPTER 27
Houston. Today was the day.
Blakely had decided to make the trip with him, most likely to distract him and help him not feel as nervous, but he didn’t mind. If Blakely sitting by his side in that conference room helped Jordyn to have one little doubt about what she’d seen, he’d take it. Because if he really was guilty like she thought he was, why would Blakely be with him? She wouldn’t be. And if things went south and Jordyn refused to talk to him or hear him out, he’d at least have Blakely there.
So he allowed it. They had to be up at an ungodly hour. He had arranged for someone else to do chores for a few days. Blakely and Beckett had stayed in a hotel the night before so they could fly directly from Omaha to Houston the next morning. Their flight was so early that they had to be up before he even norma
lly was.
For once he didn’t mind an early morning flight though. The tires of that plane could not touch down in Houston soon enough for Beckett.
Walt had someone from AgGroSo waiting to pick them up.
“Walt informed you I have a stop I need to make first, right?” Beckett asked the driver.
The driver nodded, so Beckett handed over the address he had written on a piece of paper in his suit jacket. He had no idea where the place he needed was, but he was counting on GPS and the driver to get them there.
Blakely looked at him, eyebrows furrowed. “You have a stop to make? Please tell me it’s for coffee.”
Beckett smiled. “No. I have one more trick up my sleeve for making sure that Jordyn comes home.”
“And what would that be?” Blakely asked, sitting up straight in her seat, finally looking among the living. “You calling an audible right now?! Do the Pink Ladies and Rose know about this?”
She had not enjoyed the early morning flight as much as he had. He was fairly certain she may be regretting her choice to come already. Maybe they needed another stop to get her some coffee. Surprisingly, he was doing okay, amped up just like he used to get before big games.
Beckett grinned. “No, you’ll just have to wait and see. Let’s just say I’m pulling out the trick plays.”
Blakely looked intrigued. “So you’re saying you’re calling a flea-flicker?”
Beckett tipped his head back and laughed. If only his sister knew. “Exactly, B.”
****
“We have final viewings for the commercial this afternoon,” Walt reminded Jordyn Friday morning, the morning after her dreadful date.
It had been nine days. Nine days since she ran from Beckett’s farm. And today they’d have to watch the final options from the filming company and decide on one. Jordyn had tried to get out of it, like she had with all the going back and forth between marketing and the film company, but this time Walt didn’t let her. Since it was her vision that led the whole thing and this was the last step, she supposed he was probably right. But that didn’t mean she had to like it.
“I remember.” She let out a heavy sigh. “Let me go grab some lunch first. The meeting is at one, right?”
He nodded.
She took a steadying breath. Watching the commercial options were going to be driving the dagger in her chest in even deeper. She missed Beckett’s farm. Immensely. Irrevocably. But she was going to get through this. She had to. And then, hopefully, everything Beckett-related in her life would finally be over.
Seal His Fate
CHAPTER 28
To say he was nervous was the understatement of the decade. And he hated that he was stuck wearing this suit and tie, but he was technically here for business after all. Walt had personally taken them to lunch, and he had been starving but could hardly eat at the same time. He was nervous, but he was also excited to lay eyes on his girl. Finally. He reached to adjust his tie for what had to be the hundredth time.
“Stop fidgeting,” Blakely hissed from beside him. “I swear, I’ve never seen you fidget in my life. And I’ve seen you before some pretty big games.”
He whisper-yelled back to her, “Well, nothing has ever been this important in my life.”
Blakely grinned but rolled her eyes and whispered, “So dramatic. Stop putting so much pressure on yourself. If this doesn’t work, we’ll follow her home and then tie her to a chair until she listens. She’s little and we aren’t. We can easily overpower her. We’ve got this.”
That made Beckett smirk. “You’re insane.”
Blakely nodded pointedly. “We’re blood, so if I am, it’s a pretty safe bet you are too.”
Beckett groaned, not in the mood for these games with Blakely today.
They were in the stuffy conference room by themselves. Walt had shown them in, told them to get comfortable, and explained he would bring Jordyn in. Jordyn thought she was going to a meeting with marketing and a bunch of people, but really she was going to be cornered by Beckett.
And she was going to see the commercial options—that part wasn’t a lie. One option, though not the one they would go with, had a bit of her and him in it. Beckett needed her to see it. He needed to remind her that what they had—have—is real. To remind her where her home was. With him.
They heard voices down the hall. This was it. This was go time. And if he could get through rival football games and away games and not choke, he wasn’t about to start now.
“And how was your date last night, by the way?” Walt asked casually before he could even see them, probably thinking they couldn’t hear.
Beckett was immediately standing, hands clenched into fists at his side. She had a date? She went on a date?! WHAT. THE. HELL.
Blakely put a hand on his wrist and squeezed, having heard it as well. She shook her head at him, and he knew she was telling him to stay calm without her having to actually say the words. Telling him to keep his cool was something she had done to him a ton growing up.
It usually worked, just not this time. He was so ticked off he didn’t even hear Jordyn’s answer until she rounded the corner and stopped dead in her tracks. Those green eyes he had been craving were finally looking into his, and he didn’t even care that she didn’t look pleased. He wasn’t pleased either if she had gone on a freaking date.
But God, she was beautiful. She was wearing a black dress and matching heels with one of those sweaters she loved over the top. Probably because she was cold. She was always cold. Her hair was down his favorite way. Other than some dark circles under her eyes, she looked normal. Completely normal. Had she even felt as devastated as he did when she left? Apparently not if she was dating already!
She took one long blink to reset her facial features. He picked up on it right away. Maybe she was more affected than she made it look. But she had gone on a date.
He took two steps toward her. He asked—okay, more like demanded because he was hurt and being a brat, “You went on a date?!”
At the same time, she asked, “What are you doing here?”
He then added, “And what are you wearing?!” He didn’t mean to sound like a prick. She just looked amazing. Too amazing if other guys were asking her out obviously. She looked so good it physically hurt him. He just missed the hell out of her. And now he was shooting himself in the foot. Big time.
“I’m sorry?” she asked, squinting at him. Now she was mad. And he was terrified. Terrified this master plan was not going to work. “It’s called a dress, Harper. I believe you are more familiar with them than I am. Or maybe just taking them off.”
He heard Blakely cough to hide a snicker. Traitor.
“So it’s back to ‘Harper’ just like that?” he asked, taking a step closer. Trying to calm down. This was his shot. No more messing up.
He just wanted to kiss her senseless and get rid of all her hostilities. But Walt and Blakely were both in the room with them, and now was not the time for that. That would be a major prick move—another wrong move. Jordyn probably wouldn’t even let him right now, and he didn’t want to further hurt her by rushing things. This was not at all going as planned. He hadn’t wanted to make her mad; he was just pissed she went on a date. Already. It had only been a little over a week!
Jordyn gave him a look that would absolutely gut him if he had any reason to feel guilty for what went down with Ariana. “Well, I finally met Heartbreak Harper with my own two eyes, so it seems fitting.” She snapped to Walt, “Why did you bring me here for this? Where is marketing?”
Walt looked on with wide eyes at the two of them very obviously not making up.
“Was I that easy to get over?” he asked quietly. “That you would already be dating?”
She sighed, looked to the floor, and answered quietly, “I want you to be.”
She wanted him to be that easy to get over? So that meant she wasn’t over it, right? . . . So she was saying there’s a chance?
Walt, hands in the air in surrender, piped
in: “Marketing left our options to look over. You and Beckett get final approval. And he had his flight booked for this meeting before filming was over.”
Jordyn sighed again. And in that sigh he heard everything he needed to hear. She was hurting. She looked fine, she was trying to act fine, but underneath her strong front, she was struggling. Which meant she cared. He just wanted to explain everything, shout that he wasn’t guilty of doing what she thought he was, and then take her home.
“I’m Blakely.” Blakely waved. “We spoke on the phone, but never in person.”
They exchanged handshakes, and Jordyn moved to the seat across the table from where Blakely had been sitting. Beckett still stood in the corner where he had approached Jordyn. He wanted to block any and all exits Jordyn had in this room. He wanted her to stay until she knew the truth.
She gave him an annoyed look and gestured with her head to the chair beside Blakely. “Sit. Let’s get this over with, shall we?”
He nodded and unbuttoned his suit jacket for something to do. “Yes, fine. But you need to listen to what I am about to say . . . . ” She looked like she was about to say something, so he added, “Without interrupting. Then we will watch these videos, and I’ll be out of your hair forever.”
Like hell he would, but he thought if he said that, she’d calm down. And it did seem to work.
She nodded, in work mode. And she was amazing in work mode. He’d seen her boss everyone around back at the farm, so he knew she was good. But he didn’t want to talk to that Jordyn; he wanted to talk to the woman who had been burned by everyone she loved. He wanted to talk to the woman who held a heifer’s head in her lap while he stitched it up. The woman who yelled at the TV during football and loved to bake for people. The woman who tried to catch a snowflake in her mouth. But he’d take work Jordyn because that was all he could get right now. She accused him of having two different sides when she was the same exact way. He ventured to think that they all were that way really—the person we wanted the world to see versus the person we really were.
Snowed In Page 20
