by Jeannie Moon
Passing the bottle of wine, he finally spoke. “Thanks for having me over.”
“Thanks for coming,” she said softly.
Looking down, he saw Gertie was on the floor, on her back waiting for attention. “She’s predictable. I’ll give her that.”
Closing the door, Jordan nodded. “She really loves you.”
“That’s because I fed her and took her out in the rain. We bonded.”
They’d moved to the living room and Jordan set the bottle in the middle of a warmly set table. “I’m glad you came over.”
Suddenly, she looked nervous.
“Did you think I wouldn’t?”
“I don’t know. We’ve had a few little stops and starts. And last week was so intense…”
Taking a chance, Nick leaned in and kissed her. Her lips softened under his as his mouth moved ever so slightly. And for a second, it felt like he didn’t know where he stopped and she began. It didn’t have the fire of the kiss they’d shared after dinner last week, but he hoped she would get the message that he wanted to be there.
“What were you saying?”
Passing him a shy smile, Jordan touched the tips of her fingers to her lips. “Oh,” she said softly. “That was nice.”
Nick didn’t respond, but he felt like he’d won a small victory with her. Jordan was the definition of the word guarded. He knew she’d been burned badly, and she’d been faced with incredible loss in her life. He could understand why she wouldn’t want to put herself in jeopardy again.
Hell, he had issues of his own that could be scaring her off.
But he wasn’t Chase Stanley, and dying wasn’t in his plans. He just wanted to be with her, to see if they had anything going for them. He thought they did; it was Jordan who needed convincing.
The kiss was a step.
The cottage had a different feel when it wasn’t doubling as a hospital room. Throws were folded neatly on the couch and chairs. Pillows were scattered on the furniture. Her desk on the far wall was arranged with books and a computer. It was as pulled together as she was.
And then the smell from the kitchen circled around him. “Whatever you’re making, it smells amazing.”
“Gosh, I hope you like everything. I made a garlic soup, and a balsamic glazed pork tenderloin.”
“Garlic soup? I’ve never heard of it.”
“Apparently, it’s a recipe passed down through the Velsor family. They also passed down a recipe for eel soup, but I haven’t tried that.”
“I’m glad you didn’t decide to try it on me.” Nick followed her into the kitchen, where the aromas were even more delicious.
“Next time. If I can find the eel.” She winked. “The Velsors were seafarers, and traveled all over the world, bringing the food back to Holland with them. But the story with the soup is that one of my grandmother’s cousins was in Indonesia during World War II, and he shared the recipe on a stopover in the States.”
“Interesting. I’m learning something new about you every day.” And Nick loved it.
“That’s about as interesting as it gets.”
Putting the bottle of wine on the counter, Nick shook his head. “I doubt that.”
Without him having to ask, she handed him a corkscrew so he could open the wine. It was easy to be with her. It felt very normal.
The cork came out with a pop and he took his time watching as she stirred and then tasted the soup. “Mmm. It is so good. Do you want a taste?” Holding out the wooden spoon, with her other hand to catch any drips, she brought it to his lips. “Be careful, it’s hot.”
Nick blew on the spoon and once he had the soup in his mouth, the explosion of flavors – butter, cream, garlic – caught him off guard. “Wow. That’s amazing.”
“Right? Come on. Let’s dig in.” She filled two bowls and carried them to the table. Everything she did was graceful; her movements were easy and fluid.
Once she sat in a chair, he offered her some wine. “It’s from my grandfather’s vineyard.”
“Oh, then yes please.” She watched as he poured, and when he sat and faced her, Jordan took two pieces of crusty bread from the basket on the table and dropped them in her soup.
“Okay. When in Rome…”
Jordan smiled wide and Nick just about fell out of his chair. “Let the bread soak up the soup, and then spoon it all out together.”
Nick was enjoying watching her. She was happy. And for a while there, Jordan had been anything but. “How’s your dad doing?”
“Oh, you know. The same. He was tired today. He barely got up when I was there.”
“Jesus. Really?”
“I know. He asked for you. The nurses say he can’t stop talking about the wedding.”
Putting his spoon down, Nick leaned back in his chair. “We can tell him the truth if you want, Jordan. I meant it when I said it. I know you hate lying.”
She looked up from her soup and dabbed the corners of her mouth with a napkin. “I do, but…” She hesitated. “It could make it worse. I could lose him sooner.”
“I don’t think one has to do with the other.”
“I think everything is connected.” She dipped her spoon in her soup and then dropped it. “When I broke my engagement, he… I think that’s when he started to get worse.”
“I can’t believe for one second your father would want you married to that snake.” George adored Jordan, and he wanted her to be happy.
“I just wish we hadn’t gotten his hopes up.”
“I feel responsible. I’m sorry.” He’d never meant to make it harder for her.
“It will all work out, somehow. How is the soup?” she asked, trying to hang onto her composure. Something else had happened.
“Are you sure you’re telling me everything?”
Jordan took a deep breath. “Why would you ask that?”
Rising and going to the other side of the table, Nick squatted in front of her, taking her hands. “Tell me.”
She dropped her head, her hair falling like a curtain around her face. “After I left, he got aggressive. Delusional. He didn’t know where he was, he screamed at everyone, threw his dinner tray. They got him calmed down, sedated, but it sounded awful.”
Delirium and exhaustion were signs the disease was progressing. He squeezed her hands. “Why did you keep this to yourself?”
She still wasn’t looking at him, but he could hear her sniffling. “It’s not like we can do anything. And I wanted tonight to be nice, you know? A fresh start.”
Reaching down, he found her chin in the mane of hair and lifted her face to his. “It is. But you don’t have to go through this alone.”
Jordan’s lip quivered, and then a lone tear tracked down her cheek. Her arms reached for him, and Nick didn’t hesitate. Doing exactly what she wanted, he wrapped her securely in his arms, feeling her rest against him. There was no drama behind her tears. Leaning on him like this was soft, personal, and it fully expressed the frustration she must be feeling.
Like him, Jordan always wanted to help. She was a teacher, and the need to provide comfort and care was part of her. But she was also one who wanted answers. The disease was unpredictable. And that was another factor that was making this so hard for her. There was no way to know when the next stage was going to hit, when her dad would have a good day or a bad day, or when her father would say he’d had enough.
“Do you want to go see him after dinner?” Nick said into her hair.
Jordan looked up, her eyes bright, but hopeful. “You don’t mind?”
“Not at all. If you want, we can talk to the nurses together, and find out what happened.” Nick knew she was perfectly capable of standing up for her father, but right now he might be able to provide some extra support because of the MD after his name. “What do you think?”
Nodding, he could see relief on her face. “Thank you, Nick. Sometimes it’s overwhelming. It’s nice to have the moral support.”
Tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear
, Nick marveled at not only her strength, but her ability to keep her focus off herself and on her dad. She was remarkable. “Let’s enjoy this amazing meal, and then I’ll drive you over.”
Feeling her whole body relax in his arms, Nick received another gift when Jordan kissed him. She leaned forward, and pressed her lips to his. The heat kicked up immediately, because this wasn’t a simple peck. Her soft mouth sipped at his lips like they were candy. There was a sweetness to the contact, and awareness that the two of them were more to each other than they’d ever planned. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this.” Her words sent her sweet breath over his cheek, and so he wouldn’t lose that feeling, he held her even tighter.
Nick didn’t have to think about this anymore. In a week’s time, the woman had turned his life upside down. It might have been crazy, but at thirty-six he’d been around enough to know what he was feeling. And with Jordan, his heart was all in.
He just didn’t know what to do about it.
Chapter Thirteen
There were few things Nick missed about the military, but having close friends around would be counted among them. So, when Jack Miller called and told him he was going to be watching hockey at Dock’s End with his brother, Nick didn’t hesitate.
He and Jack went back to playground days at Cove Elementary. The two of them got into so much trouble together one year, their parents requested the two of them be placed in different classes.
It didn’t do any good. They still managed to get in a shit load of trouble. So much trouble that his parents were ready to send him to private school. They didn’t, which was good, because Nick would have just raised hell someplace else.
For a while, his family thought he was going to crash and burn, but around tenth grade, things started to click. He took a Classics class with Janet Lang, and AP Biology with Mr. House. Those teachers brought their subjects to life. His grades started to matter, and soon they shot through the roof. Nick grew—getting bigger and stronger, it didn’t take long for him to land on varsity football and basketball before he even turned sixteen.
But his coaches were clear—if his grades started to slip, he was off. So, Nick made sure his grades didn’t slip. He found he liked the grind. He had a tight schedule, slept and ate when he needed, and played on the weekend.
When he started college, he signed himself up for Navy ROTC to keep his ass busy. The last thing he needed was to get lazy, and screw up his future. Nick had never told anyone he wanted to be a doctor, so getting into medical school surprised pretty much everyone he knew, including his old friend, Jack Miller.
After college, Jack took a commission in the army, and then found his way to the FBI after a few too many tours overseas.
The Navy put Nick through medical school, and after two grueling residencies, he went wherever he was needed, whether it be on a ship, in a hospital, or a war zone.
The bullets that tore into his body threw his life into chaos. He had no plans other than to serve. It was only recently that he thought about staying in Compass Cove long term.
He leaned back in his chair and took a long pull on his beer, snapping out of his trance when a peanut hit him in the face.
“Need something, Miller?” Whenever Jack didn’t know what to say, he turned into the pain in the ass he’d always been.
“Less thinking, more hockey. Our boys are losing.” Jack nodded toward the big screen on the wall of the bar.
“Yeah.” Nick acknowledged him, but his mind wasn’t on the game. It was on a sweet teacher who had gotten under his skin. “Sorry.”
Their server dropped off their plate of ribs and wings, just as Jack’s brother Adam sat at the table. “How’s that for timing?” Adam rubbed his hands together and ordered a beer.
Jack rolled his eyes. “Well, you’re just in time to diagnose our favorite doctor. He’s distracted, distant, and looking all moony-eyed.”
Adam burst out laughing and Nick wasn’t loving the attitude. It wasn’t so long ago he was the one mooning over a certain librarian. “Bite me, both of you.”
“Jordan?” Adam asked.
Jordan. It had been a week since her father’s condition started to worsen, and Nick had been with her as often as possible. She was shouldering all the decisions regarding her dad’s care, and the understanding that the end was closing in was breaking her heart. He was glad she was out with her girlfriends today. Nick hoped she could take her mind off her father’s illness, even if it was only for a few hours.
Looking between the brothers, it occurred to Nick he was beaten. And if he was going to follow through on the fake engagement, he had to say something. “I didn’t expect it. That’s all.”
Adam nodded. “You rarely do. But if she makes you happy, just go with it. Once I stopped fighting how I felt about Mia, I was much happier.”
Jack shook his head. “You two crazy kids…”
“Fuck off,” Adam snapped. “You’ve had it bad for Lilly Vasquez since you graduated from OCS. You just don’t have the balls to do anything about it.”
Jack looked down in his beer, and Nick had to admire the way Adam could put his younger brother in his place.
“We’re not talking about me,” Jack snapped. “I’m the one who isn’t engaged.”
Filling a plate with ribs, Nick raised an eyebrow. “Maybe you should be.”
The bar wasn’t as noisy as normal because their local team was getting slaughtered, but it was packed to the gills. Built on a pier on the far end of town near Roosevelt’s Marina, Dock’s End sold good food and great times. In warm weather, most people opted to eat outside catching some sun and a breeze from the water, but whatever the weather, the place was always hopping.
Nick liked coming here, but it was his first time since settling back in town. He needed to change that.
Without any warning, a tall blond man grabbed a chair, spun it around and dropped it by their table. Liam Jennings smiled as he straddled it and sat down. “Hey. Ribs.” Taking one off the plate, Liam grinned. “The game is bullshit, so what’s going on here?”
“Nothing,” Adam took a sip of his beer as soon as it was set down. “Jack is jealous because he doesn’t have a woman. He accused Nick of being moony-eyed.”
“Did you really say that?” Liam was an artist. He ran the compass shop like a small gallery, but when it came to fitting in with the guys, even jocks and military types, he had no problem. He could trash talk with the best of them; he just tended to use bigger words. “Since when is that in your vernacular?” Then he turned to Nick. “He’s right though, you are kind of moony. You’ve got it bad.”
“I don’t need this shit.” Nick finished his beer and signaled for another one. “She’s smart. She’s funny. She’s gorgeous. I’m not stupid.”
“No argument here,” Jack began. “But when did it all happen? You guys flew way below the radar.”
Nick dropped his head as the question ran through his mind. This is what he and Jordan had prepped for. They’d spent hours refining and polishing their story, but all of it paled beside the truth. “She got to me the first time I saw her. She was coming in from a run. She was wearing an old tank top, some leggings. She was sweaty. But the way she moved when she walked up from the beach… the way she smiled… that’s the moment I knew she was special. That I had to find out more about her.”
Jack and Liam stared at him, their expressions blank. But Adam patted him on the shoulder. “I get it.”
“You do? Because I don’t get it.” Nick didn’t know what made him digress from their planned script, but what he said was the truth. She had affected him from day one. Everything about her made him take notice, and that never happened. The raw chemical reaction was overpowering.
“Please. The second Mia entered my orbit, it was over. I’m no believer in love at first sight, but I knew she was different.”
Jordan pretty much had him by the short and curlies. The woman owned him, and Nick knew it. Watching the way she handled the people s
he knew with care and compassion—from her students to her father—she was extraordinary. She was everything he never knew he wanted.
Liam raised his beer. “Power to you, man. She’s awesome.”
Nick clinked his bottle with Liam’s. “She is.”
With his chair tilted back on two legs, Jack folded his arms, looking every bit the G-man that he was. He didn’t believe Nick for a minute. He was going to have to tell his friend everything at some point, but at least it wouldn’t be a shock.
Jack knew him better than anyone. Possibly even better than his own parents. But Nick couldn’t shake the fact that what he felt for Jordan went far beyond what he ever expected, and even though their plans weren’t long term, he wished things could be different. For the first time in his life, he wanted more.
*
The Bridal Shop on Main was a relatively new establishment in Compass Cove, and in the year since the doors opened, brides had been coming from all over Long Island to find the perfect dress. The shop, which was run by a newcomer to town, had gained a big reputation in a very short time.
Madeline King, the shop’s owner, was a California transplant who landed in Compass Cove purely by accident. When her wealthy ex-husband decided to leave her for a twenty-something actress, the thirty-nine-year-old costume designer picked out a name on her contact list and made a phone call. The name she chose was Lilly Vasquez, whom she’d worked with on several films. So, with a big fat settlement check, Maddy decided she was going to make dreams come true. If she couldn’t have her own happily ever after, she’d make sure new brides looked spectacular on their special day.
Jordan liked Maddy. She put off a great vibe that was part down-to-earth, part sophisticate. Every dress she created was a work of art. The shop was filled with gorgeous one-of-a-kind gowns, and the custom designed gown she’d started to make for Mia was frothy perfection. As Jordan watched her friend walk out of the dressing room, with the tulle and chiffon skirt fluffed like a cloud, no one could have said otherwise.