by K. A. Linde
“Yeah, he mentioned something about that. I can’t blame him. I still sometimes get mad when I think about Landon living across the country, but it’s irrational. He’ll adjust.”
“I know. We’ve just never been apart. It’s always been me and Julian against the world.”
Jensen nodded his head in complete understanding. He was also an older sibling. He knew what it was like to take care of others. And how hard it was to watch them live their own lives.
“Well, now you’re not alone anymore.”
I turned to look him in his face. One that was so similar to my own. “I’m not sure I’m used to having other family.”
“Me either. When our parents died, it was just me taking care of the five younger ones. I never knew if I was doing it right or being enough for them. But it’s family that gets us through, and you’re family, Jordan.”
“Thanks,” I said with a hand back through my hair.
“I understand your decision to stay in Vancouver, but I would like to let you know that you are welcome here, just like your brother and your mom.”
I nodded. I had known that. At least, I’d sort of known that.
“My life is there,” I said automatically. The same argument I was giving everyone. “And I’m heading the company up there. Morgan has it handled here as far as I can tell. There wouldn’t be a spot for me.”
“Let me assure you that you shouldn’t worry about work. I already talked to Morgan, and we both agreed that we could make room for you. You wouldn’t have to trade the work that you’re doing, and we wouldn’t reduce your pay. We want you here. We want you to be happy here.”
I stared at him in mild shock. Words I never thought would come out of his mouth. They’d just find a place for me. As if it were that easy. But maybe it was. Maybe they’d restructure so that I had a spot, doing what I loved. I wouldn’t be at the head of a company, but I wouldn’t be lost in the dregs either.
“It almost sounds too good to be true.”
“Family first,” Jensen said, offering his hand again.
I took it. “What’s Wright is right, huh?”
Jensen laughed at my reiteration of the company motto. “Exactly. You should think about it.”
I had thought about it. And every time, it felt impossible. Leaving everything behind to move to a new country with family that I barely knew and a place I had no idea whether or not I’d ever learn to love.
Then a certain redhead popped into my vision, and that freedom settled over me again. That sense that I had a choice, and I could do anything. Even move to Lubbock…
13
Annie
After Jordan left, I must have fallen back asleep because I woke again with a start when someone banged on my door.
“Annie, Sutton’s here,” Jennifer called.
I stretched and yawned again. “All right. I’ll get up.”
Jennifer huffed. I could hear her disdain through the door. “You’re still asleep? It’s nearly eleven.”
“And?”
I was going to have to change my schedule up once I started school, but why would Jennifer want to force me out of my happy place on one of my last days of freedom? I rolled off the bed and found a pair of shorts and a tank. I wrenched the door open to find Jennifer smirking at me.
Her gaze drifted to my destroyed bedroom. “Late night?”
“I can neither confirm nor deny.”
Then I shouldered past her and into the living room. Sutton was seated in a chair with a cup of coffee in her hand, staring out the back window into our tiny backyard.
“Morning,” Sutton said.
“Hey.” I stifled a yawn and went to pour myself a cup of coffee. I flopped down on the couch across from her. “What’s up? Where’s Jason?”
“He’s with his grandparents,” she told me.
“Cool. To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?”
She looked at me finally, a small smile tugging on her lips. “As if you don’t know.”
I laughed and shrugged. “I mean, I know, but how do you already know? Did Jennifer tell you?”
Jennifer sank into another seat and shook her head. “I wouldn’t break your confidence like that.”
Sutton rolled her eyes. “She should have told me, but for one, I already guessed at the pool party when you were all up in Jordan’s business. And two, I saw him come back to his hotel, doing a very convincing walk of shame. After his mom and brother tried to tell us he’d gone out for coffee. Of course, he came back without coffee.”
“Whoops,” I said with a mischievous grin.
“Why am I not even surprised that you had a one-night stand with my cousin?”
“Because she’s Annie,” Jennifer said.
“Hey!” I muttered, flinging a pillow in her direction.
“Precisely,” Sutton said.
“Just because neither of you are getting any doesn’t mean that I shouldn’t!”
Jennifer’s cheeks heated a bright red. Sutton just flinched slightly. Maybe that hit a little too close to home.
“I didn’t mean—”
“It’s fine,” Sutton said at once. “But did it have to be my cousin?”
Of course, it didn’t have to be her cousin. But it was. It was a hundred percent Jordan. A slow smile touched my lips. One I couldn’t even seem to control. We’d had a perfect night and, beyond that, a perfect morning. I’d wanted everything that happened. I’d shocked myself into admitting that I wanted more.
I couldn’t have more though. Obviously, he was going back home today, and I was starting medical school. I’d have no time for anything. Let alone a guy who lived in a different country.
I sighed, letting the smile disappear. It was fun while it lasted.
“Wait,” Sutton said. “Do you actually like him?”
“What? No,” I said at once.
Jennifer arched an eyebrow.
I set my mug down and shrugged. “Okay, maybe a little. We were really good together, but it was just one night. We both knew that. A one-night stand to send him home to Vancouver. It’s not like I’ll ever see him again.”
Sutton looked alarmed.
“What?” I asked in confusion. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Did you two talk last night when you were together or just…” She left the end of the question implied.
“We talked some,” I said defensively. “Why? What am I missing? He’s going back to Vancouver, right?”
“Yes,” she said quickly. “But how could you think you’d never see him again when his brother and mom are moving here in a month?”
I nearly sprayed the coffee from my mouth. “They’re doing what?”
“I don’t know how you missed that,” Jennifer said. “They announced it at the pool party.”
I scoured my brain for that information, but no, I must not have been there when they announced it, and Jordan hadn’t told me. Maybe he’d thought I already knew?
“But…but why are they moving here?”
Sutton looked down, clenching her mug with a white-knuckled grip. “Their mom has cancer. She’s coming here for treatments.”
“Oh, Sut,” I whispered.
So much loss in her life. She wouldn’t handle any more of it well.
“It’s fine,” she said simply. “They’re moving here for treatments. I guess she’s always wanted to move back, but she didn’t want to leave her kids.”
“And Julian is moving with her?”
Sutton nodded.
“But not Jordan?”
“As far as I know…no. But he’s going to visit. His mom and brother are moving here, and she has cancer. He’s going to be here, Annie.”
“Fuck,” I whispered.
“I’m pretty sure they’re coming to Jensen and Emery’s wedding next month.”
My eyes widened. Why hadn’t Jordan told me any of this? Not that I’d expected much from a one-night stand, but a part of me had thought—unrealistically—that th
is was more. I didn’t know when it had happened last night. But it felt almost like…fate had brought us together. Then when I’d woken up and seen him leave, I’d tried to convince myself that it didn’t matter.
And now, here was the proof that I’d been right.
Because if Jordan Wright hadn’t told me that he’d be back, then he hadn’t wanted me to know. Which made me the one-night stand that I’d been telling myself I wasn’t.
“It’s fine,” I said instantly. “Why should I care?”
“Annie…”
“Seriously, Sut, it’s cool. It was a one-night stand. He’ll visit, but it’s not a big deal. It’s not like he’s moving here.”
“But I thought you were into him.”
“I was, but I’m starting medical school. You know I won’t have time for anything. Jordan was a fun…and that’s all.”
The lie must have been convincing because my friends moved on to different topics. Sutton’s issues with David and Jennifer’s upcoming pharmacy applications and the wedding she’d been asked to be a second shooter for.
I sat back and let the conversation wash all around me.
Jordan was going to be in town to see his mom and brother. He clearly hadn’t wanted me to know that. So, while last night might have been the best sex of my life and I might have said something outrageous about wanting him to stay, he didn’t actually feel that way.
It was just a one-night stand.
It wasn’t like I’d fallen in love with him.
Right?
Thank you so much for reading ONE WRIGHT STAND! I hope you enjoyed this prequel to Annie & Jordan’s story which continues in WRIGHT WITH BENEFITS! Coming April 27th! “I shouldn't have hooked up with my one night stand... again. But, old habits die hard. Only problem? I'm leaving. Maybe in the meantime, I can still have my Wright...with benefits.” Turn the page for a sneak peek!
See where the Wrights started in The Wright Brother, available for FREE! USA Today Bestselling author Jillian Dodd said it was “hotter than a Texas summer.” I’d dated his brother. He didn’t remember and I wished I could forget…
Or if you want something more like Cruel Intentions meets Gossip Girl for adults, try CRUEL MONEY. “I don't care that I'm Manhattan royalty and she's the help. Only that she's living in my summer home. With me. And I want more.”
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Wright with Benefits
Chapter One — Annie
A brisk wind whipped around my bare legs, swirling the skirt of my black dress and flipping it upward, Marilyn Monroe–style. I shrieked, batting at the material in a desperate attempt to bring it back down to an acceptable length. The wind didn’t seem to hear my string of curses because it just bit into me harder, making me regret forgoing tights.
“Oh my God,” I snapped as I clutched the material in my hands.
The wind whistled in response. A cackle if I’d ever heard one.
I glared up at the stupid Lubbock wind. It wasn’t enough that the temperatures were in the low thirties already at five thirty on this Friday afternoon right before my last semester of medical school started; the wind had to rub it in.
“Annie, why are you standing out here?” Cézanne asked. She wore a black jumpsuit that highlighted her dark brown skin with her box braids pulled up into a high ponytail. She somehow looked professional and like an imperious, avenging angel. “It’s below freezing.”
I prayed to the Lord for patience and grinned at my closest friend in my cohort. “The wind attacked me.”
She eyed me skeptically. We’d known each other pre–med school, and she still sometimes looked at me like I’d sprung a second head.
I waved her off. “Whatever. I’m not having a good day.”
Which was an understatement. My house had flooded! Like, straight flooded. My room was a wreck. I’d lost half of my closet, including all of my shoes. Like, every pair, except the impossibly high snakeskin heels that I’d scrounged out of a pile of donations I hadn’t gotten rid of yet. My room was essentially awash until maintenance showed up. I’d be living on the couch for the foreseeable future.
If that hadn’t been bad enough, I’d been nearly run off the road on the way here. Some dipshit had driven straight through a red light, and I’d had to swerve to avoid getting T-boned.
Today was officially over.
I stepped inside the rustic building the medical school had rented for the event, and Cézanne closed the door.
“Well, if you’ve been having a bad day, I hate to ask, but where’s the wine?” Cézanne asked warily.
“What wine?”
“The…wine. You know, the case of commemorative wine for Professor Rodgers and the rest for the retirement party. The entire school is coming, and…there’s no wine.”
“What the hell? Who was in charge of that?”
Cézanne looked at me blankly.
“No,” I told her.
“It has your name next to it.”
I shook my head. “I swear I wasn’t in charge of the wine.”
She passed the list to me, and I saw where my name was scrawled unintelligibly. I groaned.
“Are you sure it was even called in? I didn’t do it.”
“I’m not sure who called it in, but I have the original order request.”
“Let me see it.”
I plucked it out of her hand and stared down at it. Phew! It was three thousand dollars’ worth of wine. The commemorative case alone was a grand. Well, no wonder Cézanne was wondering where the hell all the wine was.
Unfortunately, it didn’t say who had put the order in. But I knew for a fact that it wasn’t me.
I took a deep breath and then released it. “How can I help?”
Cézanne grinned. “Can you please call the Wine Boutique and find out what happened?”
“Yeah, I can do that.”
“Thank you. Thank you. I knew I could count on you to get shit done.”
I sighed. What else could possibly make this day worse? Might as well try to get the wine, so we could all get fucked up today. Professor Rodgers was only retiring once.
Cézanne checked off a slot on her to-do list that rested on an actual clipboard. I loved Cézanne to death, but sometimes, her organizational skills were so extra. There was a reason she was top of our class and in charge of all of our events.
I stepped away from Cézanne to make my phone call. The Wine Boutique’s number was on the top of the order, and I dialed it with another sigh. This was what I got for being dependable. The line rang and rang and rang. It felt like an eternity before the voicemail clicked over.
“Thank you for calling the Wine Boutique. Sorry we missed your call…”
I hung up and tried again. And again. And again.
No answer.
Their hours said that they were open until six. I had another thirty minutes. They should have answered their phone.
“Gah!” I growled, wanting to throw my useless phone across the room.
Of course no one was answering. It was just my day. I checked the address on the sheet again. I knew where this place was. It was only a five-minute drive downtown on a good day. Today was not a good day, but I had enough time to still make it.
“Cézanne!” She glanced over at me. “No one is answering. I’m going to head over there and find out what happened.”
“You’re a goddess, Annie. Truly.”
“I still say that I wasn’t in charge of this.”
“Well, find out who was then, ’kay?”
I braced myself against the cold and hustled back to my car. As soon as I shut myself back inside, I blasted the heat. The Spirit Ranch was a wedding venue on the north side of town that we’d gotten at an uber discount since it was the off-season. But Cézanne had somehow still made the space look gorgeous, even going as far as renting an outdoor tent, complete with heaters. But with the sun already going down, I couldn’t imagine standing out there. Maybe with enough alcohol in me.
I winced.
Right…alcohol. That thing we didn’t have.
With a groan, I peeled away from the building and headed toward downtown. The Wine Boutique was nestled in the heart of the city between an old city hall and a historic hotel, which had recently been renovated into high-end apartments. Downtown was finally—finally—beginning to blossom into the Lubbock local scene that everyone had always hoped for. It had a long way to go, but I could see where it was headed.
I parked out front, bracing myself for the cold, and rushed toward the front door. My hand settled on the gilded doorknob, and I yanked on the door. I groaned, feeling my shoulder give as I pulled too hard on a door that wouldn’t budge.
“Fuck,” I spat.
The hours on the front door said I had another fifteen minutes before they closed—because, of course, it had taken me longer to get here. I peered inside at the darkened interior. A few lights were still on, and a woman sat behind the counter, typing on the computer.
I banged on the front door. “Hello!”
The woman’s head popped up in confusion. Then she dashed across the room, unlocked the door, and threw it open. I nearly fell inside.
“Hey! Sorry about that. I didn’t expect any other customers,” the woman said. She wore a blue dress with sensible heels. Her brown hair was severely parted down the middle and pulled back into a bun. Her lips were painted a pretty pink, and her dark eyes were lightly lined.
