by Jeannie Moon
They walked down the hall and Nick heard her father’s big belly laugh. Immediately, Jordan smiled. The charge nurse waved from her desk, her blue eyes twinkling when she called out a greeting and congratulations. There was no halfway with the engagement story, they were in it up to their necks.
As they got closer, Jordan couldn’t hold back; dashing into the room, she hugged her dad and he held on as tight as he could.
“There’s my girl. You look pretty as ever. How are you feeling?”
“Feeling much better. Thankfully.”
Suddenly, her dad’s face dropped. “I wish I could have been some kind of help.” His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down, and his eyes opened wide. “You’re really okay?”
Nick could see the strong bond between father and daughter. Whether it was the eye contact or a movement, it was palpable. Jordan crouched before him and took his hand.
“Yes, I’m much better. I still need to take it easy, but I’m really fine.”
“That’s good. I’m glad you could come back.”
“Me too.”
“So, how is your life of leisure? Are you going crazy?”
Satisfied George had settled, Nick was startled when he looked to his right. He didn’t expect to see Adam and Jack Miller rise from the couch.
“George, we’re going to go now that you’ve got your daughter here.” Adam, who was the football coach at Jennings College, was an old friend, as was his brother Jack, an FBI agent. Seeing them visiting Jordan’s father was unexpected, but it shouldn’t have been if he thought about it.
The Miller brothers were part of the circle of founding families in Compass Cove. Like the Velsors and the Jennings families, the Miller, Perry, and Sammis families also traced their roots back to the beginning of the town. Still, it never occurred to Nick he’d see his old friends. Jack had served in Army Intelligence before joining the FBI, and Adam had been a standout pro football player until an injury sidelined him for good. They’d been his teammates, classmates, and friends for the better part of his life.
“Surprised to see you guys. How are you?” They all shook hands, but something felt off.
“Gran wanted us to come and check in with George. She usually stops by every week, but she has a bit of a cold, so she stayed home.”
Nick nodded, suspicious of the looks passing between the men. He followed as they moved to the hallway, saying goodbye to George and Jordan.
“So, ah… heard about the tree that took out Jordan’s car.” Jack eased into the subject like a trained investigator. If Nick were a betting man, he’d lay money Jack was going to start fishing for information about their relationship. “And that she was pretty sick.”
“Yeah, she was. Much improvement there.” He refused to give too much. Jack was going to have to work for the information or ask straight out. It was a game, and Nick wasn’t going to play.
“Mia’s been worried,” Adam added. He and one of Jordan’s friends were engaged. It was a match Compass Cove was still trying to figure out because the shy librarian and the high-octane jock seemed like polar opposites, but they’d clicked and were going to be married in a few months.
Nick nodded. “Mia should stop by to see her. Jordan’s not going back to work for a few more days.” He almost laughed because Jack was getting frustrated.
Silence dropped between them, and Nick could see in their eyes that their brains were turning over trying to figure out what to do or say next. Inside, he was laughing at their sorry asses.
“You’re not going to tell us, are you?” Jack mumbled.
Nick grinned. “Tell you what?”
“About you and Jordan,” Jack snapped.
“You could have opened the conversation with ‘Congratulations’ if you wanted to talk about it.” Nick leaned into the wall, glad he’d had the opportunity to face down some of the gossip. Even friends were talking.
“What the hell? Last I heard, she’d vowed never to get involved in a relationship again.”
“Don’t believe everything you hear,” Nick reminded him. “Especially around this town.”
“So, you’re not together?” Adam asked.
“No, we are.” It felt good to say that, for some reason. The more he got to know Jordan, the more he wanted to know. “It evolved slowly,” he lied. “We didn’t draw a lot of attention to it because we wanted to avoid being gossip fodder. You know how it is.”
Adam nodded. If anyone understood how information traveled in Compass Cove, he did. His celebrity life came crashing to earth when he played fast and loose with rules.
The brothers looked at each other. There were no questions they could ask that wouldn’t make them look like nosy old women. If they got personal, Nick might have to hurt one of them. And that was fine. The less he said, the less he had to remember. This was what Jordan warned him about.
After a couple of minutes, they gave up.
Patting him on the shoulder as they made their way out, Jack looked back and called to him. “Good luck, man. Congratulations. I hear she’s a handful. But let’s get a beer soon, okay?”
Nick had no doubt that Jordan could be a challenge, although he didn’t know if he liked the way Jack said it. That was the kind of shit the Stanleys had been telling people about her, and even though the Velsors were well-known in town, it seemed people always listened to petty gossip.
Nick wanted to know a lot more about her, and most of it had nothing to do with questions and answers. He’d love to know what it felt like to kiss her deep. To have her in a big bed so he could make love to her for hours. The woman had him tied up in knots. Stepping into George’s room, he found her seated in a chair next to her father, looking over a piece of paper.
She popped up when she saw him. “They changed his medication. Can you tell me why?”
Handing over the paper, Nick could see the anxiousness in her face, in her bearing. Every change triggered dread, and he understood. With a terminal patient, changes could mean they were coming up on the time everyone had been fearing.
Looking it over, the dosages on most of his medications were the same, except one. They’d increased his pain medication. Which meant George was having more trouble than he was letting on.
“Changes are to be expected at this stage,” Nick said gently. “It’s not unusual.”
She might have known, but Jordan was terrified what the next stage would bring. The end was going to be horrible for her.
Nodding, she sat next to her father. “You make sure you ask lots of questions. Or I’ll ask. I can get Nick to help, too. Are you eating enough? You seem thinner than the last time I saw you.”
“Honey, I’m aware of the medications. You can’t let every change cause you this much upset.”
This was where George wasn’t being completely honest. He was thinner. He’d mentioned that he was losing weight when Nick saw him a couple of days ago, but Jordan hadn’t seen him in almost two weeks, so the drop in weight was more obvious. He guessed George wasn’t eating as much, or he was having trouble eating, especially if he had nausea or vomiting.
These were things he and Jordan could talk about later, depending on what she wanted to know. He bet that Jordan was pretty well versed about what was going to happen next. She was a smart woman, not much was going to slip by her.
Which made the whole ordeal that much more difficult.
“How’s your place?” Her father was turning the tables, changing her focus.
Jordan breathed a sigh. “I moved back in this morning. It’s good as new.”
“Good, good,” he said. “Are you getting enough sleep? You have dark circles around your eyes.”
“Thanks, Dad. That’s nice.”
Her father laughed, and Nick had to say, the father-daughter pair was something special. His parents loved him and they were proud of him—at least, his mother was—but they operated with their own set of rules. That wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t something he understood. When they took his sister and moved acr
oss the country, their concern was pretty singular. They didn’t like that he wouldn’t go with them, but they didn’t look back when an opportunity to manage a major vineyard popped up.
The thing was, neither did he. He didn’t want to leave his town, his friends. Not yet. Nick was used to being a free agent. Now he had to think about someone else, even if it was just for a little while.
After about an hour, Jordan kissed her father goodbye. “Behave, Daddy.”
“Never.” He chuckled as Jordan rolled her eyes.
“You’re impossible,” she called out. As she and Nick left the room, her father was still laughing.
Stuffing his hands in his pockets, they walked down the hall side by side. Barely touching, but not. Relaxed, but not. Jordan stopped to speak to one of the nurses, who admired her ring and wished her luck. If she was uncomfortable, it didn’t show. Oddly, her dad hadn’t brought up anything about their being together except to acknowledge the ring on her finger.
Once they cleared the building, Jordan linked her arm with his. It was familiar, comfortable. Nick didn’t know if she was still playing a role, or if it was just a nice show of affection. Whichever it was, he’d take it.
“How are you?” he asked.
“Worried. Part of me wishes I knew what to expect, and part of me doesn’t. I’m so torn.”
“I wish I could tell you what happens next, but there’s no way to know.”
She nodded and leaned her head on his shoulder.
“Are you hungry?”
Looking up at him, she nodded. “I am. What do you have in mind?”
“I don’t know. Let’s see what we can find.”
*
Jordan sat in a gorgeous Tuscan Italian restaurant across from possibly the sweetest man on the planet. He was also a complete mystery. She still hadn’t figured out what drove the do-gooder inside Nick Rinaldi.
Looking around at the frescos painted on the walls, the twinkling lights and the roughhewn tables, she might think this was a date. But they weren’t dating, they were pretending.
“How is your pasta?” he asked.
She’d ordered an amazing fresh linguini with shrimp, spinach, and tomatoes. Everything was cooked to perfection. The shrimp had a sweet, savory flavor, and a little snap to let her know it was fresh. The pasta was perfectly done, and it was all tossed in garlic and oil. Nothing had tasted this good in a long time. It was the first real meal she’d had since she was sick.
“Delicious. Your lasagna looks good.”
“It is good. I was thinking about something else, but I went for comfort food.”
Jordan laughed. “Isn’t that always the way? For me it’s brownies. Really dark chocolate and fudgy.”
“Ahh. There’s a bakery nearby that makes brownies just like that. We could get some before heading home.”
Jordan’s mouth watered. “Could we? The chocolate won’t be a problem?”
“I’ll feed you small bites.” As soon as he said it, her heart picked up its pace. The suggestion was seductive, intimate. Sexy. And Nick knew it. His eyes had darkened, smoldering with suggestion. She’d love it if he fed her chocolate. Or anything else, for that matter.
Dropping her eyes, Jordan caught her breath and changed the subject, floundering for something safe. “Does your nona hate when you eat out?” She knew how Lina reacted when she brought home takeout. It was like she had some kind of radar—she always knew. Before Jordan could get the take-out bag in the house, her landlady would yell across the yard that there was no need for her to carry food in, and eating that crap was going to kill her.
“You mean do I get ‘That crap is going to kill you’ every time I bring home takeout? You bet. Everyone does.”
Jordan thought about Lina. She put her nose into everyone’s business, but no one was sweeter or more well-meaning than that lovely lady. It always overwhelmed Jordan to think how Lina came by every day after she called off her wedding to bring her food. Some days, it was a sandwich. Other days, it was sweets. On one of her days off, she made them root beer floats to have on the back porch.
She could see from where Nick got his heart.
“She’s been so good to me. All of you have. I don’t know how I’m ever going to repay your kindness.”
Reaching out, Nick laced his fingers with hers. The warmth wiggled inside her, just like it did the other night, and inched its way right to her heart. Jordan wondered if something real could be happening. If the compass might be right.
“You don’t owe us anything. This is what friends and neighbors do. We take care of each other.”
Her thumb drifted over his knuckles in lazy circles. Touching him was becoming second nature, and that could end up being very dangerous. “I hope someday I can do the same.”
Jordan looked up and her eyes met his once again. She should be used to seeing him by now, but taking him in like this still made her breathless. The man didn’t have a flaw, but his eyes were the door to his heart, and it was there that Jordan knew she could be lost.
A soft gray green, they were deep and the same color as the water around Compass Cove in the winter—sometimes turbulent, sometimes calm, but always deep. Jordan could drown in them. Then, without any warning, his face dropped. “Give me your other hand,” he demanded.
“What? Is everything okay?” Just about to turn around, Nick hissed at her.
“No. Look at me. Your ex is here with some redhead, and his parents.” He glanced toward the bar. “Damn if those people don’t look as hard and cold as all the marble in their McPalace.”
Jordan smiled at the description. “There’s probably a nice big piece stuck…”
Nick laughed before she could finish the thought. “Probably.”
“I have no idea what I ever saw in him. I wonder who the redhead is?”
“She’s not a local, but looks like a nice enough woman,” Nick observed. “I wonder if you should tell her to escape while she can.”
It was sad, really. Jordan knew there was nothing she could say to change the woman’s mind. Chase was that good at fooling people.
“He’s coming over,” he said softly, then his eyes flashed with mischief. “You’re totally into me, okay?”
Jordan nodded, not telling him that really wouldn’t be a stretch.
“Well, look who’s here.” Chase Stanley glared at her like she’d slipped into the grand ballroom from her place in the kitchen. The guy was a first-class tool who used people and then threw them away. How had she not seen it?
“Chase.” Jordan didn’t want to give him the time of day. Even asking him how he was was more than he deserved.
“So, I hear congratulations are in order. Didn’t take you long, Jordan,” he sneered.
Jordan tilted her head. “A dig about moving on from a man who cheated on me the day before the wedding? Did you really go there, Chase?”
Boom. If Jordan had a mic, she would have dropped it. Heads turned at the surrounding tables, and Chase was none too pleased about being called out so publicly. Trying to regroup, he continued. “Right. Do you have a date for this wedding?”
Nick squeezed her hand and again, a mischievous look came to his eyes. “Not yet. We’re going to enjoy the engagement.”
“Well, be careful,” Chase warned. “She’s not too stable. Doesn’t stick.”
That bastard. Not stable? She didn’t stick? Screw him.
Rising, Nick approached Chase, and placing one large hand on Chase’s back, he grinned as he leaned in. “You’re such a stupid fuck, Stanley.” Nick’s voice was deep and menacing. “You don’t even know what you lost. But here’s some advice—don’t insult my fiancée again, or I will bring down a world of hurt on your sorry ass.”
“Are you threatening me?”
Nick turned his eyes to Jordan, and then to Chase. With two quick pats on the back, Nick said simply, “Yes.”
Without responding, Chase made a quick retreat, nose in the air like he smelled something rank. And all Jorda
n wanted to do was stick his face in a bowlful of pesto. “I have no idea what I ever saw in him.”
The feel of Nick’s fingers stroking the back of her hand was heady. “I don’t either,” he said. “I never did.”
“He really fooled me.”
“He fooled a lot of people. I saw the two of you together, and I couldn’t get my head around it. I mean, I never liked the guy. I’ve known him since high school. He’s always looking for an advantage. He never did anything or talked to anyone without calculating the value.”
“The anti-Nick?” Jordan wondered aloud.
“I guess. Thanks. Are you ready to head home?”
Jordan found herself staring as he paid the check and made small talk with the waiter. He was so kind, extending simple courtesies to every person he met. Couple that with the realization that she really liked him, and Jordan found herself up against wicked desire.
Sure, the guy was a dream walking, but gorgeous men were easy enough to find. Men who were genuinely kind and honest? Decent? Not so much. As hormones flooded her brain and all her nether regions, Jordan found her attraction to him overpowering her good reason.
The revelation was nothing Jordan ever expected. After having her heart broken in a dozen ways, and her trust shattered, she didn’t know if she could put herself through that again. But the pull toward the handsome doctor was proving too much. She either had to get him off her radar, or she had to stay off his.
Or, she had to take a chance and see what happened.
Once they left the restaurant, it was a short walk to the car, but her brain was a jumble of thoughts and emotions, everything rushing in and out like the ocean. The streets echoed with quiet, and she expected it was because so many people were still recovering from the storms that had hit only a week ago.
A week. Everything had changed, and it was only a week.
With her hand tucked into Nick’s elbow, Jordan drew in the scent of his leather jacket and the salt air. This was the longest she’d been up and out of bed for five days, and she’d grown used to him being there. Simply leaning into him for support was like second nature, and that was dangerous. Yet, knowing all that, it didn’t stop her.