Chloe had a tell and couldn’t lie worth a damn. “Okay, spill it,” Linc said. “What else is on your mind?”
She sighed. “I didn’t want to ask you this sooner because it felt wrong, what with Dad’s surprise passing and it feeling so soon.” She swallowed hard, clearly struggling.
Of all the siblings, Linc knew their father best because they’d worked together, but they hadn’t been close. And Kenneth hadn’t understood his writer or rock star sons. Chloe had looked up to him because he was their father, but as soon as she was old enough to catch on to their mother’s misery, she’d shut their father out, too.
“It’s okay. Whatever it is, you can say it.” Linc didn’t want her to feel she couldn’t come to him.
Twisting her hands in front of her, she forced herself to speak. “Dad was going to walk me down the aisle because it was tradition. But I’m closer to you anyway and now he’s gone.” She glanced up, her eyes watery. “Linc, will you walk me down the aisle?”
He smiled at his baby sister, who was clearly no longer a baby. Although he didn’t think Owen was good enough for her, the wedding was set, and Linc wanted her to be happy. “Of course I will.”
“Thank you!” She popped up from her chair and hugged him, nearly knocking him over in her exuberance.
“Did you think I’d say no?” he asked as she stood up so he could catch his balance.
“No.” She shook her head. “But I know how you feel about Owen.” Looking up at him with those familiar blue eyes, she all but dared him to say something negative about her fiancé.
He drew a deep breath and took a moment to phrase things so she didn’t get hurt. “I just want the right man for you,” he said.
“And Owen is that man. We have a lot of things in common. He makes me feel safe, and unlike Dad, he’s a good man who won’t cheat.”
Chloe seemed so damned certain and sincere, but Linc wasn’t sure. If she was marrying the man for safety’s sake, the tax attorney might fit the bill, but his vibrant sister needed so much more. He hoped she wasn’t making a mistake.
Still, he schooled his features and forced a smile. “If you’re happy, then I’m glad.”
Her shoulders dropped and she relaxed. “So who’s your plus-one for the wedding?” she asked as he lowered himself into his chair.
What a day to ask him when he was still reeling over Angelica’s unexpected visit. “I’ll be coming with Jordan.”
His sister rolled her eyes. “Of course Jordan is coming. She’s invited but who’s your date?”
He looked his sister in the eye and repeated his answer. “Jordan.”
Her eyes opened wide. “You and Jordan?” She shook her head as if she’d misunderstood. “Oh, I get it. You want to fend off all the single ladies. That makes sense. Smart, Linc. Very smart.” She laughed until she saw he was deadly serious. “Whoa. Wait. You and Jordan?” she asked again. “Does she know she’s your date?”
It was Linc’s turn to chuckle. “No, actually, she doesn’t.”
“Linc!”
“She doesn’t know she’s my date to Aurora’s shower either.” He shrugged but he had no plans to explain things to his sister. “I’d appreciate it if you’d let me work things out my own way.”
Chloe nodded. With one hand, she raised her fingers to her mouth and gestured that her lips were sealed.
“Good to know.”
“Okay, I need to get back to work. Behave yourself, Linc. I have a feeling you’re in over your head.” Chloe braced her hands on the desk and leaned in. “Jordan isn’t one of us. Not like you think.”
Narrowing his gaze, he asked, “What in the hell do you mean?”
“Listen.” Chloe sat back down in the chair, and he sensed a lecture coming on. “You and Jordan are best friends and always have been, but you’re a guy. And you don’t see what girls do. The way women in your social circle look at her because her mother was our maid. Jordan has access to you, and people in our world resent her.”
“Again, you mean other women resent her.”
Chloe nodded. “Jordan might dress in designer clothes, and she knows how to hold herself and behave at the club, but nobody sees her as anything other than the help’s daughter.”
Anger filled him at the truth of her statement. “What kind of bullshit is this our world?” he asked with quotes around the words.
Sure, her mother and his father believed they shouldn’t even be friends, but he’d had no idea there were more people who bought into the antiquated notion.
Chloe glanced down, her cheeks flushed. “It’s something insecure bitches use to distinguish themselves from smart, beautiful women like Jordan who make their own way in the world and do it well.”
At least his sister didn’t buy into social class distinctions. What a load of crap, and Linc ground his teeth in frustration.
“Jordan’s mother feels the same way. She’s always telling her she doesn’t belong with me. Not even as my friend.”
Chloe’s expression turned sad. “What about you? If you had to walk into a charity event or the club with Jordan on your arm, knowing what people would think and say, how would you feel?”
“Proud.” He knew the answer without thinking.
His sister’s smile was all the validation he needed. “Then go for it and I’ll be right by your side.” She came around and hugged him again. “Love you, Linc.”
“Love you back. Now go work.”
Chloe walked out and Linc glanced around his office. Chloe had given him a lot to think about when it came to Jordan. So much more made sense to him now. The morning after they’d last been together, he’d walked into the kitchen as she’d been hanging up the phone after a call from her mother.
He’d sensed immediately things had changed. As usual, Tamara had probably filled her head with her negative feelings about their relationship. If Tamara knew he was sleeping with her daughter, she would lose her mind. And Jordan knew it.
On top of that, according to Chloe, Jordan also felt she didn’t fit in. He shook his head at the thought. As if money made a person a decent human being. Jordan was worth ten times more than a dense, shallow woman like Angelica. So was Chloe. Money had nothing to do with it.
One thing was certain, Linc didn’t care what anyone thought.
Now how to convince Jordan?
* * *
Jordan packed her things up for the day. She hadn’t had a minute alone with Linc. He’d had back-to-back visitors throughout the afternoon, which wasn’t unusual. At the moment, he was on the phone with a potential lender, so she left him a text on his phone letting him know she was leaving and she would see him in the morning.
She headed out and decided to take the subway instead of an Uber or company car, needing the fresh air she’d get as she walked the three blocks to the station. She’d been light-headed this afternoon and a little queasy and had attributed it to only eating half her yogurt for lunch. After listening to Angelica’s play for Linc, she hadn’t felt like eating.
Knowing she was too tired to prep food, she stopped at the grocery store near her apartment and picked up a couple of precooked meals before going home. At least she’d have them for the week. Once home, she put the meals in the fridge and changed into a pair of soft sweats and the tee shirt she’d stolen from Linc. Nobody had to know she slept in it whenever it didn’t need to be washed.
She microwaved and ate the pasta she’d bought and settled herself into her couch, suddenly tired. When her cell rang, it woke her, and a glance at the phone told her she’d fallen asleep for over an hour.
She answered the call, which was her doorman. “Hello?”
“Good evening, Miss Greene. Mr. Kingston is here.”
She really should put him on her permanent list, but she liked the heads-up before anyone came over. It gave her a few minutes to … whatever. Clean up. Look in the mirror. “Send him up, please. Thank you.”
Knowing she didn’t have much time, she chose the look-in-the-mirror
option, saw the sleep line on her cheek, and groaned. Just wonderful.
She ran her fingers through her tangled hair and couldn’t do much more before he knocked on her door. She wasn’t surprised he’d shown up. Not after the scene with his ex.
She let him in and shut the door behind him.
“We need to talk,” he said without saying hello first.
She smiled grimly. “If it’s about Angelica, I can live without the details.”
“But I need you to know a few things.” He shrugged off his jacket and laid it over a club chair, making himself at home.
She sighed as he pulled on his tie, releasing the knot and unthreading the ends. He tossed it over his jacket and proceeded to undo the top two buttons on his shirt and roll up his sleeves.
Dammit, why did he have to be so sexy?
“Are you hungry? I picked up a couple of dinners on my way home.”
He shook his head. “I grabbed something first. You don’t need to feed me,” he said, his lips lifting in a wry grin.
“So you had a busy day.” No point beating around the bush, she thought, striding over to her favorite corner of her couch before he could beat her to it.
He settled in right beside her, half facing her, his knee on the couch, touching her thigh.
“Yes, I did. And I want you to know I haven’t been with her in over a year. Frankly I hadn’t been with anyone, because I’ve been over having meaningless sex. Angelica called the night I showed up at your apartment drunk. I was on my way over and I made it clear I wasn’t interested. Obviously she needed me to be harsher than I was, because she didn’t buy it.”
Jordan had to admit she was relieved to hear there hadn’t been anyone else in a while.
“I know she’s a stage-five clinger.” It really was her favorite expression, Jordan mused.
He tipped his head back and laughed. “Great description.”
“It does fit.”
“Chloe’s excited about the baby shower this weekend,” he said.
Jordan smiled. “So is Aurora. She’s nervous about meeting so many strangers, but she’s looking forward to it, too.”
His warm gaze met hers. “Do you talk to her often?”
“Every day, every other day, depends. I check in or she calls. She’s a wonderful girl given all she had to live through. She hasn’t been hardened by life, and she’s open to her new family. It’s been great to see.”
He stretched an arm over the back of the sofa, his fingers running over the skin on her shoulder. A light touch but her entire body tingled, awareness shooting through her veins and her nipples puckering beneath her cotton tee shirt.
“So about the party,” Linc said. “It starts at eleven a.m. I’ll pick you up around ten.”
“Can you fit the huge horse rocker you bought into the back of your SUV?” she asked, grinning. He was such a sucker for buying Aurora and the baby things and having them delivered to the house.
“I already had Max drop it off at the club. Does ten work for you?”
She nodded. “Perfect. I appreciate the ride.” Otherwise she’d have to take an Uber and that wouldn’t be fun at all.
“Jordan.”
At the gruff sound of his voice, she jerked her head up. “What?”
“You don’t thank your date for picking you up to go somewhere.” He gripped her arm in his hand, firmly but without hurting her. “Make no mistake. You’re my date.”
She opened her mouth to argue. To tell him they couldn’t show up and act like a couple in front of his family when nobody had any idea they were dating, let alone had any kind of intimate relationship. Not to mention, they hadn’t had a discussion laying out the parameters of said relationship.
But she couldn’t deny they were involved in a deeper way than they’d been before they’d slept together the first time.
“Linc, we don’t want to give your family the wrong impression.”
His father would roll over in his grave if he walked into the country club with her on his arm. She had no idea what his mother would say. And though Jordan could handle whatever people dished out, she didn’t want to embarrass his family during a day that belonged to Aurora.
“You’re right. And we won’t.” He rose to his feet, leaned over, and pressed his mouth to hers, parting her lips and sucking on her tongue.
She moaned and kissed him back, unable to resist him even when he was his pushy self. By the time he pulled back, she would have agreed to almost anything he’d asked.
“Good night,” he said. “Sweet dreams.” He strode past the chair, grabbing his jacket and tie.
She was still lost in that kiss, wrapped up in his masculine scent, and her head spinning when the door shut behind him.
Dammit! He’d played her. He knew she wouldn’t argue if he kissed her into submission.
She had to find a way to deal with their new relationship, and she decided here and now it was a temporary thing. She would sleep with him when it suited them, be with him and try to enjoy the time they had, but when it was time to move on, she would let him go. Because their worlds didn’t mix, and that wasn’t something she could change.
As for the shower, they were both invited, so it wasn’t unusual for them to show up together. Or so she convinced herself because she had no other choice.
Chapter Nine
Linc picked up Jordan and drove them to the club near his mother’s house. She looked gorgeous in a fitted navy dress gathered at the waist and flared out beneath. Throughout the car ride, he was enveloped by her delicious scent, and arousal wound its way through his veins. If they didn’t have a party to go to, he’d put up the privacy divider and slide his hand up her dress and find out what she was wearing underneath.
Instead he looked out the window and attempted to focus on the scenery they passed so when they arrived his cock wasn’t tenting his pants and on obvious display.
She made small talk and he did as well. She clearly wanted things to feel normal between them. Since she had a big day ahead of her, dealing with the club atmosphere and his entire family, he decided not to push himself on her beforehand. After was another story.
Finally Max pulled up at the club, and they slid out of the car. “I’ll bring the gifts in,” his driver said.
Linc pressed his hand behind Jordan’s back as they walked up the stairs, and he held the door open as they stepped inside.
“Are you okay?” he couldn’t stop himself from asking.
She nodded. “Why wouldn’t I be? I know everyone at the party, and your brothers and Chloe always make me feel welcome. Plus I love Aurora. There’s no reason to worry about me.” Her smile reassured him.
Whatever Chloe thought about Jordan not fitting in, she appeared confident and ready. “Then let’s go,” he said.
His sister had reserved a private room, and when they entered, the décor stood out. On the tables, pink, silver, and white balloons were tied together, encircled with matching flowers around the base of each centerpiece. White cloths with pink liners covered the tabletops, surrounded by white chairs with huge baby-pink bows.
Jordan saw Aurora across the room and immediately headed in her direction. She hugged his new sister and then turned her attention to Leah, who was snuggled in a car seat carrier. Bending down, Jordan lifted the baby into her arms and held her against her chest, supporting her head with her hand.
It wasn’t the first time he’d seen her hold the baby, but in the hospital, he’d been worried about Jordan’s emotional state. Right now he was concerned with his own. At the sight of her cradling the infant, his chest felt heavy, and a lump settled in his throat, while a panicky feeling took hold.
He’d definitely had issues with the notion of having kids, thanks to his father’s behavior and how it had impacted what he and his siblings had seen and heard growing up.
“What are you staring at?” Xander asked, walking up beside him and cutting off anything else he’d been about to consider.
Linc gla
nced at his brother. “Nothing. How have you been?”
Xander shot him a curious glance. “What’s going on?”
Linc shook his head, not about to get into a conversation about feelings even he didn’t understand. And not at a place where someone could overhear.
“I’m good. Talking to the studio about the filming of my next project.” He shrugged. “Hanging in. You?”
Linc groaned. “Busy at work. Dad left some issues that have recently come to light. Wrapping up those loose ends hasn’t been easy.”
“Son of a bitch,” Xander muttered. “Sorry to hear that.”
“I’ll get it sorted.” Linc glanced around the room, taking in his mom and Chloe, who both caught his gaze and waved from where they were talking to their friends.
Chloe had invited people her age, and his mom had included her acquaintances, giving Aurora an opportunity to meet a lot of people at once.
“I’m really proud of Mom,” Linc said. “What other woman would take her husband’s illegitimate child in and treat her like her own?”
Xander shook his head. “None that I know of. Just another reason Dad was an ass.”
“I’m here! We can start the party!”
Linc looked toward the front of the room, where the familiar voice had come from, to find Dash standing in the doorway, a grin on his face. Making an entrance, as usual.
Linc shot Xander an amused grin, and they headed over to greet their brother. When he got busy working, not even a bomb going off could interrupt Dash’s creative process. Although his mother had told Linc that Dash had come by to meet Aurora and Linc was glad.
“Hey!” Dash said, coming up and pulling first Xander, then Linc into a one-armed hug.
“Look who dressed up for the occasion.” Xander patted Dash on the back of his partially unbuttoned white collared dress shirt.
His sleeves were rolled up, revealing his tattooed arms. Linc enjoyed his brother’s different style, the opposite of his own conservative attire. Including the tight black jeans, unripped thanks to club rules, and black Nike Air Jordans.
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